DBV Series 7: Fragile Peace
by Verto-Briefs
Summary: The life of Verto and the Z fighters continues as everyone goes through changes and meets new challenges. The future is no longer set, and darkness will descend upon their lives, from both outside and within...
1. Prologue

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**First things first, if you haven't read a word of this story, STOP HERE. Proceed back to Saga 1 and start there, you can reach it through the profile page. Then hit Sagas 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in that order before coming back to this one. You WILL be incredibly lost if you do not read everything beforehand at least once. **

Prologue

The darkened council chamber lit up just slightly, but only enough to see the enshrouded shadowy figures sitting at the table.

"So, things are proceeding much like we have foreseen. It appears that we were correct in sending an agent to their dimension," a woman covered in shadow said. Her features were completely hidden, as well as her true feelings on the matter. But there was a slight hint of concern in her voice.

"Don't assume Venestra, we have seen many versions of this boy's future in the visions. Many of them have been clouded by nothing but theory, and the boy hasn't meant anything. Even if he were to be a potential recruit for us, it is foolish to look into it. Peace has lasted for thousands of years," the man across from her said.

"There is another thing to consider, just by sending an agent, we have interrupted the flow of events in that realm. Even if the impact is minimal, which would be the best-case scenario, it will affect the future of that planet and the galaxy it resides in," another said from the side.

The second figure piped in again, "That in and of itself is why I have been stressing against this action. There is too much at stake Mr. Chairman, we mustn't do anything to provoke our enemies. The reports could be wrong!"

"When have they ever been wrong, Lord Razil?" Venestra asked, with a tone that could have melted the heart of a convict.

Lord Razil leaned backwards in his chair, enough that the low amount of light shined off his bald head, "You're basing intelligence reports off that half breed assassin you call a grand daughter! You fail to realize just how close she is to joining our enemy's ranks once again. Once a traitor, always a traitor! Do I need to point out you or your son's vaunted history?"

Venestra's fist hit the table, sending sparks from its impact, "Speak of me as you wish, but do not speak that way about my son. You are not even half the man he was! And if you want to test my grand daughter's loyalty, may I point out that it was she that saved your neck by tracking down the Shadow Hunter that stalked you in your own home? I seem to recall your gratitude at that time," Venestra said as she slowly calmed herself.

"That is convenient, seeing as she was simply in the area at the time. How do I know that it wasn't some stunt to gain my trust, only to betray me later?" Razil countered.

"Believe me, if she wanted to skin that smirk off your face, she would have done it long ago. You forget that she is an elite agent," Venestra replied in confidence.

The council chairman cleared his throat, "That is enough you two. We all know the history of your family, and we know what they sacrificed to help us. We should focus our attention upon the boy once more."

"You are right of course, how long until our, agent, reaches that planet?" Razil asked, drawing a sharp gaze from Venestra.

"She should be there now. However, the planet is still recovering from a genocidal attack, so the energy fluctuations are interfering with our ability to monitor. It should clear up within a few standard days in which I will contact her with instructions," she replied as she glanced downward.

"Is that concern on your face, or a malicious plot in the making?" Razil sneered.

"I said that is enough!" the chairman shouted.

Venestra stood up, but managed to take a breath before speaking in anger, "The only plots that we should worry about, are the ones from true enemies. The only thing is, I can't tell which one is worse. The enemies out there, or the one in here," she retorted before storming out of the room.

"Was that necessary? You do realize that she commands a great deal of our forces," the chairman asked.

Lord Razil's face was lightened enough to reveal a frown full of malice, "Only in her mind. As you know, I objected to her even being allowed in this room again. I don't care what her descendants have done since then, none of them have a shred of loyalty. She is the ringleader of a façade that I will unmask. Even if I have to use her new pet project as bait!"

* * *

**DBV Series 7: Fragile Peace**

_Theme: "Come Whatever May" by Stone Sour_

**Welcome back, I'm sure you know how it goes with me, but here's your little intro anyway. The story begins again shortly after Verto returns to life and defeats Viro. As many know, he saved 85 percent of the Earth's population with a Super charged healing wave that wiped out Viro's deadly virus, and the past Saiyans have returned to their new timeline. We begin right afterward that event and will proceed from there. This saga will focus on the state of the Earth after Verto's return. There are a lot of different and creative things I did with this saga, so don't expect the same old song and dance when it comes to that. Hell a lot of new ideas got thrown in and a lot of old ones scrapped when it came to push and shove. But know that any and all plot twists are going to come hard and fast as we lead into one of the biggest and most unpredictable DBV eras.**

**For those who are wondering, one of my long time readers has signed on to be the editor. Welcome aboard WDG (Weird Dutch Guy). I considered others in a short elimination process depending on spelling, grammar skills and reliability. **

**I think ya'll know the drill when it comes to the communication, but here it is anyway:**

"Blah blah blah" - Regular communication

"_Blah blah blah blah"_ – Telepathic or from an outside source

_Blah blah blah blah blah_ – _Mostly_ personal thoughts


	2. Dog Days of Summer

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 1: The Dog Days of Summer**

"Oh Verto, I have a surprise for you!" Bulma said gleefully as she knocked on my door. I instantly rolled my eyes at this, _Great, whatever this is, its bound to turn ugly! _

"Dare I ask what this one is?" I asked carefully as she poked her head in.

"Why the long face, don't you want to know what it is?" she asked with a smile that totally admitted guilt about something. It had been only three days since I had returned to Earth and saved it from Frost's mercenary Viro, and I hadn't exactly been allowed to relax very much. I expected it a bit with the usual reunion parties she liked to throw, but I was honestly hoping that she would throw them more in Videl's honor than mine. I didn't really care that she wanted to celebrate my saving the world, I just wanted to get away from it all for a little while. Only being able to save eighty five percent of it wasn't the only reason I wanted to be left alone, but it sure didn't help. I had even mentioned how much it bothered me a few times before and after those little celebration events, but it didn't stop her from doing it anyway. _Oh well, I guess it couldn't be as bad as the blown up news conference._

"Well, I could have Vegeta beat you to a pulp so I can get another blood sample, mine are a little outdated you know. And you never know what you could pick up in the land of dead warriors!" she suggested, casting that evil grin my way. _Well, she might be wrong about the Vegeta part, but I might as well get it over with. _

"All right, what is it then? Just don't tell me its another press conference! Or even a tournament, I just want to rest and relax right now. And it better not be another babysitting issue, we all know how well the last one went!" I said.

"What makes you think I would stick you with the boys in that situation again?" she asked with that blasted feigning innocence look again.

"Gee, that's a tough one. But even so, you can't tell me that Vegeta was away from the house _that_ much after he got back. Surely you two had time for the extracurricular activities," I said with a grin of my own. She blushed slightly at that one, and seemed to give in for the moment.

"Well, we signed you boys up for summer camp this year," she said timidly, almost as if she was expecting an explosion.

"What?" I asked as I gave her a blank stare.

"Oh come now, you boys will have all sorts of fun I'm sure, its only for a few weeks! Besides, Bulla will be teething soon, and I'm sure you don't want to listen to that!" she suggested with a finger straight up in the air. _Okay, not sure which one of those is worse come to think of it._ I had already been around Bulla enough to know how loud she could get when she was unhappy or wanted something. It could honestly be compared to nails on a chalkboard, times ten. "And besides, Vegeta said you can skip out on your training for some more rest and relaxation if you go," she pointed out.

"Oh that sounds just brilliant," I muttered, knowing Vegeta would probably not give that up and she was mostly likely saying that so I would give in.

"Doesn't it though?" she asked, satisfied that she seemed to have me cornered.

"In other words, Vegeta gave in to sending me along so he wouldn't have to watch them the whole time," I answered. I sensed her bad attempt at deception leak out, and the tables were momentarily turned.

"More or less, will you go?" she asked.

"Won't you just threaten me with no food or something if I didn't agree?" I asked, unsure of her attitude.

"Well, I would prefer not to do that. Vegeta told me how proud of you he was on planet Auir, when you took charge as a leader. And whether I like it or not, you are one of the strongest beings around and could easily do what you wanted at all times. Lastly, despite your appearance, you are an adult on the inside. You've even grown a bit since you've been gone, and here I thought your appearance doesn't change in Other World. You're even a little taller than Trunks now! I figure you should at least have a say in the matter since you are a bit more mature," she admitted. I blinked sharply, it was one of the few times that she actually referred to me as an adult, and that she gave me an option. Granted it wasn't much of an option - neither putting up with the twin terrors nor a screaming baby was exactly high on my list of recreational activities.

"I suppose I could put up with them for a few weeks, I wouldn't want to have to change a diaper or something," I muttered.

"That's my boy," she said happily as I frowned slightly.

"Well, have you paid extra insurance money for the camp counselors?" I asked as we headed down the stairs.

"Already covered, though the boys have been warned that if there is any injury at all, the consequences would be severe!" she claimed. I shook my head slightly as I sensed another presence heading towards us, a very tired presence by the feel of it.

"Let me guess, you got Final Flashed this time?" I asked as Lenz met us at the bottom step.

"How did you know that?" she asked as she caught her breath. Her clothes were pretty torn up, never mind her battered body, but seeing as it was Vegeta she was training with, that wasn't a surprise.

"I may not be able to sense past the walls of the Gravity chamber, but I know what his attacks end up doing to a person, assuming they can withstand it," I explained with a slight smirk.

"When are you two going to face off and go all out? I want to see a match like that!" Lenz asked.

I glanced at Bulma for a moment, "Maybe when the chamber can handle it," I said, snickering slightly. I felt her tap the side of my head in response, though she had likely smacked it judging by the sound that echoed.

"And what is that supposed to mean? That chamber is bigger and stronger than ever! I wasn't exactly taking it easy while you were gone. I could have used YOUR help rebuilding this place, but noooo! You guys had to go off playing hero!" she said angrily.

"Yeah, and believe me, I would have preferred staying here," I said with a slight scowl, I didn't want reminded of what the past year had been like. I also hadn't really told them all of the details either, most of my experience was maddening enough without having my friends and family worried all the time.

"How so, you were never really that interested in my work, despite that semi-useful brain underneath your skull!" Bulma pointed out.

"She's got a point little bro, you seem more like the type to loaf around if you're not training. You did that a lot at King Kai's place," Lenz said, jumping in where she didn't need to be.

"I'm not your brother, I'm your teacher. And it's called meditation, not that I could concentrate with all of your squawking. Sometimes I wonder whether I took it too easy on you or not, I guess we'll see soon enough," I fired back with a smirk.

"Why you little…" she growled.

"As for your question, Bulma, spending four months with the Zerg wasn't exactly fun either. When do we leave?" I asked, trying to get back to the point before the conversation went somewhere that I didn't want it to go.

She eyed me wearily, but relaxed, "In a few hours, I already have your bags packed, complete with several dozen special sandwiches," she said in a calmer tone, tossing me a capsule.

"Thanks, I'll probably need them at some point," I said as I sensed another presence approaching.

"Boy! I need to speak with you!" Vegeta roared as he stomped my way, looking unhappy.

Lenz snickered slightly, "Time to face the music!" I cocked an eyebrow as the muscular prince walked up, the usual death glare bearing down on me.

"Now just how much free time did you have to yourself in the afterlife? Spying on me from another dimension I'll bet! I never pegged you for a coward of that magnitude!" he growled.

"What is it now? Trust me I had better things to do than spy on anyone up there. Funny hearing that from someone I just rescued the other day," I replied calmly.

"So then boy, tell me how she knew my Final Shine finishing move, I haven't even shown it to anyone yet! I was saving it for Kakarot the next time we have a real fight!" Vegeta admitted. _Oh, that._

"Let's just say that you weren't exactly subtle when developing it on our way to Planet Auir, and while I was dancing with the shadows, I picked it up. I even used it once or twice up there. Awesome attack I might add since it allows me to keep the opponent guessing. She picked it up because she liked it too I imagine," I said smugly.

"Argh, copycat!" he growled.

"Hey you taught me the moves. I think I should declare that one my move though because I mastered it several months ago, so I call dibs on the exclusive rights. I'd be willing to bet you haven't mastered it if you've been saving it!" I reasoned.

"He's got a point, yours did look a bit sloppy. I could show you a few - pointers," Lenz attempted to stop herself, unsuccessfully. Vegeta only glared at Lenz for the moment, but then turned his wrath back to me before grunting and walking off.

"And here I thought I was the only one who could ever shut him up at times," Bulma sighed slightly.

"It's just fun proving him wrong when there's nothing he can do about it," I replied. Lenz looked at us like we were crazy, but shook it off. She had been around both Vegeta and I enough to know that I could talk directly through one of his death glares without causing a violent eruption.

"Well, I'm going to prepare myself for the horror of summer camp for the next few hours by drowning myself in loud music, let me know when its time for the fun to begin," I muttered as I headed back towards my room. _Now that there's no villain to deal with, I'm gonna end up being bored again_, I thought as I re-entered my room. I glanced at the golden medal hanging from the wall, the one I had won from the Afterlife Tournament. Its gleaming emblem reminded me of one thing, the future is always in motion. I had won it despite having to plow through the fusion of Cell and Frieza, and then had to immediately fight the monster Janemba. I had made the mistake of believing there was nothing to defend against during the early parts of that tournament, and I was quite mistaken. _Yeah, you're right, I must always train so I'm always prepared. We still have to deal with the possibility of Frost and his goons showing up eventually. And who knows what else is out there, just waiting in the darkness._

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Goten asked for the twelfth time in as many minutes. He had started off a little excited when the mothers broke the news to them, though he was saddened when Trunks wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about our little trip. Trunks hadn't been much better with his irritated and impatient stare, but at least he had been quiet.

"Not yet Goten, pretty soon though," Bulma said from the driver's seat. She had demanded that she and Chichi drive us there in her airboat, even though we could have been there much sooner by flight. _Whatever, it's going to be the same amount of agony either way._ _I guess the only question now is how many ugly surprises did Trunks have time to pack into a capsule, I'd bet at least two dozen. _

"Now I expect you three to be on your best behavior!" Chichi said sternly from the front passenger seat.

"We will!" Goten said, though Trunks stayed silent.

"Trunks, what about you?" Bulma said with a slight change of tone.

"Yeah, whatever!" Trunks quickly said, prompting an ugly response when a skillet came flying backwards, barely missing the side of his head. He gasped slightly as he glanced back at it in fear.

"Yeah, whatever? That had better mean that you swear to behave. If we find out that you two are causing trouble, argh!" Chichi growled slightly as Bulma attempted to calm her down.

"And you Verto?" she asked with a slight grin as her blue hair was caught in the subtle breeze from Chichi's sudden outburst.

"Humph, it was your idea to hook me into this. You don't have to worry about me since I don't really want to be stuck in another situation as a result," I grumbled as I continued to stare at the driver's sidewall in the back of the airboat.

"I'll take that as a yes," she chuckled. Judging by the sudden angry surge from Chichi's tiny ki signal, she didn't like my statement, but said nothing to it.

"So what exactly is the scoop on this place we're going to be staying anyway?" I asked.

"It was an abandoned camp ground a few years ago, then Mr. Cochteau decided to revitalize it. I trust you remember him. It used to be haunted or something. I guess a lot of people died there some thirty years ago and it's been run down ever since," Bulma explained.

"Sounds like a real winner," I grumbled.

"Well, you can get the whole story soon enough. We're here!" Bulma announced as the plane suddenly dropped towards the ground.

* * *

"Welcome Miss Bulma, I'm so glad you could make it!" the large Mr. Cochteau announced as we emerged from the airboat. He sported a plain white shirt with blue shorts. I took note that nearly everyone nearby had the same outfit on, and every shirt had the words "Camp Crystal Lake" embroidered across the chest. _Crystal Lake, now where have I heard that one before?_

"Well, I had to have somewhere to put these three for a few weeks, they are a handful," Bulma said glancing down at us with a grin.

"Understandable. Wow, I do say! Young Verto, have you grown a bit since I last saw you?" he asked, stepping up and comparing the top of my head to his abdomen. I only grunted slightly and rolled my eyes while Trunks and Goten gave him their own scowls. _Yeah genius, I'm a kid, it happens. Then again, it's another reason for those two to be jealous, even if it's only a few inches. _

"Now if they get out of hand, just beat them over the head with a kitchen utensil and they should behave," Chichi suggested.

"That, ahem, won't be necessary," Cochteau explained, paling slightly at Chichi's demeanor, "But we will need to do something about your clothes, we do have a dress code after all. Just because you three are stronger than anyone else out here, does not make you any more special than anyone else!" he said, crossing his arms slightly.

"Man, I don't wanna wear those crumby outfits," Trunks whined slightly.

"Why not, are they that bad?" Goten asked, unsure himself.

"Yeah they're not my style either. But unless you want the brand of her skillet implanted on your head, I suggest you comply," I suggested as the Trunks groaned. As Cochteau jogged over to a large array of boxes filled with clothes, Chichi went through the expected rulebook.

"Now let me make this clear you three. No misbehaving. No mischief. No foul mouths. Listen to your camp counselors. And above all else: NO FIGHTING!" Chichi ordered in a moderately raised voice while onlookers plugged their ears.

"Do what you have to so they out of trouble kid," Bulma winked slightly as she and Chichi loaded back into the airboat and lifted off. _Yeah, right._

"Now then, here are your camp uniforms. Your bunks are in Cabin F, right over there next to the tree line. There are signs all along the paths to where everything is, come to the shoreline by the boat dock after you change. We'll be fishing today!" Cochteau suggested as he glanced up to see another car arriving.

"Ugh, summer camp. I've heard horrible stories about it, but now I see that it really is this bad," Trunks whined as we walked towards our cabin. I took note that there was a large cluster of older teenagers around Cabin F, and a small crying kid between them.

"What's got that baby going?" Trunks asked.

"I don't know, as long as it's a one time thing. Going to be stressful enough around here without any late night disturbances," I said. Apparently the teens were also some of the camp counselors, likely the kind that didn't mind a summer job that included babysitting.

"Why did you have to say that Trey?" one girl said.

"What Lori, its not like that really happened. And even if it did, it was what, thirty years ago?" the teen known as Trey.

"Yeah, but you were telling a kid that previous occupants were gutted like fish by a crazy dude that lives in the woods. That hardly helps you know! The poor kid is only seven years old!" Lori shouted back.

"Hey, I thought a scary story would keep them out of trouble, they are supposed to stay out of the woods!" Trey replied. _Moron, I'd bet on at least a few more blockhead teens that know nothing when it comes to handling children. Good thing I don't need to worry about it._ The counselor Lori was busy consoling the tiny kid, who was bawling his eyes out, while another girl leaned down and smiled at us.

"You two must be the Briefs boys, and you are Son Goten I'll bet!" she said.

"Wow, how did you know that lady?" Goten asked right off as Trunks smacked his head slightly.

"I have all of the World Tournaments on disc and I went to the last one. I can't forget a few of the exceptional children that put all the adults to shame! Well, before that crazy dude with the golden hair started blowing everything up! My name is Gibb, I'm one of your counselors. That is Lori, that's Trey and Blake. The corky looking one is Linderman. And she is Kia," Gibb pointed out a darker skinned girl towards the back of the group. Trunks snickered slightly, which drew a slight scowl from Gibb.

"Wow, are you all as dumb as your names are?" he asked with a thick grin.

Gibb's reaction clearly read that she was expecting it, "And I suppose being named after underwear is a grand honor?" _Ouch._ I felt Trunks power up just slightly, and knew that my duty of keeping them out of trouble was about to begin.

"Trunks, don't even think about it," I whispered quiet enough for only him and Goten to hear. He suddenly stopped in slight panic as he caught my glare before settling down and pushing the Cabin door open and heading inside with Goten.

"Wow, your brother sure is temperamental," the black girl Kia suddenly said. Lori glared at her for a moment before taking the crying kid off.

"Yeah he takes after the old man. If anything strange happens, just let me know and I'll deal with it. Just ask your friend, he is pretty strong for his age," I suggested as I headed in myself. Trunks was right inside, glancing over a paper attached to the wall. On it was a map to the whole campground as well as a listing of all the counselors and which cabins they were assigned to. The ignorant Trey was assigned to our cabin, but I took note that Gibb was assigned to Cabin B. Trunks spotted this and grinned slightly before arguing with Goten over who got top bunk a moment later. _Great, prank target number one has a location to go with her. Ugh, long summer ahead._

**A/n: For those who noticed, I have officially stopped from referring to Bulma as "mother" in the first person POV starting in this saga. It isn't for any other reason other than I'm starting to leave most of the "childhood" aspects of this story behind. I will still occasionally mention it in the dialogue from time to time. **

**And no, I don't own the rights to anything regarding the horror movies I have just referred to.**


	3. Prank Revenge

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 2: Prank Revenge**

After getting all of our clothes put away and taking the chance to hide all of the food capsules from the demon pair, we headed down to the lake to join the activity. Trunks continued to groan about the clothes, but I suppose he was just used to being in training clothes most of the time like I was, or he preferred to stand out in a crowd.

"Guess the only thing that will stand out now is the purple hair," I chuckled.

"Hey, you're still wearing your weighted shirt, no fair!" he whined. I snorted a bit, it was barely visible under the camp shirt that Cochteau had given us.

"And you're complaining about that? It's called passive training Trunks. Kind of like always being in the gravity room. I really don't even feel the extra weight, but I figure if I have to put up with you two I might as well get some sort of benefit from it! I'd be glad to try and materialize one for you if it'll keep you two compliant for the rest of this trip! Although I can't promise what color it'll be," I grinned in warning, shutting him up as we approached the shoreline. Overall I'd say there were about eighty to a hundred kids present, with a dozen older camp counselors including Mr. Cochteau. To be honest I didn't think a dozen would be enough, not including what it took to keep the terrible twins under wraps. Fishing started without much of a hitch, for about five minutes. When I dodged a sudden hook that went by my head from a wild castoff, I lost sight of Trunks and Goten. I immediately tracked them under the water surface once I heard the splash, but they were swimming quite deep and didn't come up for a few minutes. Both were suppressing their energy down to almost zero, but my senses easily picked up their spirits.

"Great, here we go," I muttered, seeing they had discarded their shirts.

"Hey, where did your brother go? It's not a swim day!" the dorky chaperone named Linderman asked. I wasn't sure what his first name actually was, but that was what the other teens called him.

"They have selective hearing, I imagine we'll be seeing them soon enough. Otherwise I'm going to pound their heads in," I said calmly while keeping track of their positions.

"Maybe I better jump in and make sure they're okay, they've been under for over a minute!" Kia suggested, taking her T-shirt off to reveal a leopard skin-style bathing suit, one that earned some whistles. The sudden emotional and hormonal output I sensed from the older guys caused me to scowl a bit. _I think the guys only showed up for a late night out in the woods._ Kia had barely jumped in before I sensed Goten and Trunks coming back up quickly, and it felt like they had brought something with them. They sprang out of the water and floated above the surface by a few dozen feet, drawing the amazement from the younger generation. They ignored it and focused on whatever was trailing them, which was coming up fast. A huge fish suddenly jumped out of the water and attempted to swallow Trunks as if he were a worm. Trunks dodged aside and kicked it hard, knocking it towards the dock where most of the kids were, including myself. His aim was a little off and it lost momentum just before reaching the hard wood, but instead leaving a large spray of water that doused everyone. The terrible twosome levitated in the air and laughed like crazy at this as the counselors shouted up at them while the smaller kids were being pulled from the water. They stopped short when I appeared behind them suddenly, a classic and deliberate scowl on my face as I grabbed them by the back of their shorts.

"I think that's enough you two," I said sharply.

"Oh come on, we're just having some fun. This camp is so boring!" Trunks whined.

"That isn't the point, your mothers are going to have a fit if you two go crazy out here. And you are not going to pin it on me no matter how hard you try!" I replied as I dragged them out of the air and back down towards the dock.

"Now apologize!" I growled as we set down. I immediately cast an eyebrow up at the scowling Gibb, who not only had the wettest T-shirt I had ever seen, but also well equipped since she didn't appear to have anything else on underneath. Every girl covered her mouth in surprise while every boy either laughed or whistled, no matter what age. Trunks' eyes had gone wide at this point, while Goten just stared, dumbfounded since his naïve mind hadn't caught on just yet. Once Gibb realized what was going on, her face turned bright red as she ran for her Cabin to fix things.

"Whoa, babe! Looking good!" Trey called out just before Lori smacked the side of his head. She too was soaked, but apparently was smart enough to be somewhat prepared.

"Hey Lori, why don't we meet out here after lights out!" the airhead named Blake suggested quietly.

"Argh, get a life Blake!" she growled as she stomped off.

"I guess we will make this an impromptu swim day. We swim until dinner! Everyone jump in!" Mr. Cochteau announced as he did the same.

"Uh, oh," Trunks said. I grinned slightly as I was still behind both Trunks and Goten.

"You heard him boys, time to take a dip!" I yelled out as I grabbed them both by the arm and hurled them backwards, hearing a generous double splash several hundred feet away. I smiled in satisfaction as I walked back towards our Cabin for a dry set of clothes.

* * *

I looked at the general rulebook as I was changing into some drier clothes, noting that only the daytime had restrictions for clothing. Meaning I could stick to my green fighting gi. I had really grown to like it ever since King Kai gave me the first one, and the repaired copies that followed. It didn't take Bulma long to stitch together some extras, very easy since they were so similar to Goku's outfit. Vegeta hadn't been too happy when he saw my change in apparel for the first time, but he did add that it least it wasn't orange. As I was slipping into my green pants, Trey stomped in, nothing but anger being emitted from his small ki signal.

"Fuckin bitch," he muttered just as he noticed me tying my belt. I lifted an eyebrow in my usual wordless response, but his slightly panicked face was quite amusing to see.

"Don't sweat it, I was saying worse things when I was half your age," I replied as I dumped my soaked clothes into the laundry basket. The floor underneath it cracked a bit as the wet weighted shirt hit the ground. I sighed a bit and slipped on my green top, I didn't feel like changing it back with a semi-normal human watching. That and I had been in that particular shirt for three days straight, it was starting to smell a bit. As I was slipping on my wristbands, Trey finally caught up with what I had said.

"But you are half my age, aren't you?" he asked, a bit surprised at my answer. _Yeah, that's a good point._

"Forget that, I see you're having the lovers quarrel anyways. I'll leave you to your misery because I don't want to hear about it," I said softly as I headed for the door.

"How could you tell, have you even had a girlfriend at your age?" Trey asked, trying to pull me back into the conversation.

I snorted slightly, "Yeah you could say that."

"Oh sweet, was she hot, I mean for her age? I saw you eyeing my girl a little while ago, but she's off limits until I find someone better! Maybe when you're older!" he said, winking slightly. I scowled, it was obvious all he wanted out of Gibb was a piece of ass.

"That's okay, you can keep her to yourself. To be honest, I couldn't care less," I said. I sensed a sudden energy surge as Trey started bragging about when he supposedly picked her up. It was coming from the lake, and I quickly noted that Trunks and Goten's energy was much higher than it should have been, and was fused together.

"Damnit," I growled, breaking the door off its hinges as I rushed out.

As I suspected, half a dozen white figures were dancing around the campers, scarring the crap out of them as they dove towards them and flew back up, but never touching them. From what I could tell, Gotenks had improved his control over his ghost technique, or he was extremely lucky that they didn't hit anything. I saw him on the far side of the lake, smiling up at the twilight sky as his ghosts laughed crazily. The younger kids screamed and cried out for help while the older teens simply ducked behind anything they could find, as if it would provide protection.

"Man, this place really is haunted!" Trey said as he peeked out the broken door.

"I doubt that," I said as I ran towards the shoreline. I spotted Cochteau frozen in amazement at the so-called ghosts.

"Well, this will be bad for business," he muttered.

"No, having the twin terrors come here every year will do that, I'll take care of this," I said as I focused a small amount of Psi energy into my hand and lifted it above my head, aiming for the skies. The ghosts suddenly looked down, looking eager for what I might do as they no doubt noticed my glowing blue hand by now. They didn't expect a sudden lightning storm to erupt from it and strike them all until they exploded harmlessly.

"Wow, I heard you had learned some new tricks, but I wouldn't guess that as one of them!" Cochteau said in praise, several feet away now.

"You have no idea. I'll be right back," I said as I blasted into the air and flew to the other side to confront the troublemakers.

"Hey! Do you know how hard it is to make those?" Gotenks growled as I came down.

"Apparently not as hard as resisting the urge to torment others. Now knock it off before this goes down a path that you don't want it to," I warned, letting my power flare a bit as I hovered a few feet away.

"You can't tell me what to do!" he bragged as he charged forward to attempt to punch me. I collected a cold Psi blast in my palm as he sped forward, easily dodging and grasping his shoulder with it as I flipped over his head. He stopped dead in his tracks and literally froze before the ice covered him. It only took a few seconds for him to power up to Super Saiyan and get out of the trap, but he obviously got the message that I meant what I said.

"Man, and I thought I had cool tricks!" he whined.

"That's your last warning. Any more of this crap and both of you will be bearing the brunt of embarrassment for the rest of the night, and there won't be a damn thing you can do about it!" I threatened.

"Yeah right, right now I'm stronger than you! You can't push me around even with your new tricks!"

I grinned slightly, "I take it your dads never told you about my feedback technique?"

Gotenks seemed to shrug it off, "What kind of attack name is that supposed to be? Doesn't matter, I'll still win!" he declared as he jumped towards me. His eyes lit up along with the forest when I unleashed the small ball of white light.

* * *

"Hahahaha, did you two forget your dollies?" one kid laughed as Trunks and Goten slowly munched on their dinner, heads down in defeat.

"Hey look, it's the girls!" another shouted.

"I bet your hair goes really well with your dress Trunks!" a third shouted as the kids continued their riotous laughter. I crossed my arms and chuckled slightly as the torment continued while I stood off to the side, but in all honesty they probably deserved it. I found out that the feedback effect remained in both fighters after fusion wore off, and since they had no clue on how to get rid of it, their abilities were taken care of for the time being while I extracted revenge for the campers that had pissed themselves while the ghosts flew around. Taking their power away for the night was probably good enough, but using Chi energy to modify clothes produced true agony for them while the other kids constantly laughed at them. Let's face it, most boys at age eight wouldn't be caught dead in a pink shirt that said "Girl Power!" _Wow, I think this is the best revenge I could ever have. Knowing Trunks though, he will try to have the last laugh if I stick this on them for too much longer. But after all the shit he's done to me though, he can suffer for now._

"We'll get you back for this," Trunks shook his fist at me as his ki swelled again, right before a small lightning burst shut him up.

"Understand something Trunks, next time you two decide to challenge me, let's just say they won't have to wonder what you look like in a dress. And you already know that isn't the worst I can think up for torturing you! I think you remember what happened last time you screwed with me, think of this as payback for that! And do you really want me to pay you back for the pink hair incident?" I warned. Trunks paled along with Goten, who quietly ate his food while bearing the comments from the other children. I snorted slightly as the two backed down from whatever retaliation they were planning against me, I was happy enough knowing they would be thinking twice about their little pranks for awhile.

"Man, dad was right," Trunks muttered.

"About what?" I asked.

"You've still got a mean streak," he replied as he munched slowly.

"You haven't seen my mean streak. War teaches you things you don't want to see, ever again," I answered as I looked up at the moon.

The rest of the evening was rather uneventful, and I eventually showed them how to remove the feedback energy from their bodies once I felt they had suffered enough. Both boys had remained angry the entire time, thus it stayed in them for much longer. They had both burned their shirts after tearing them off, and I gave them both a hearty sandwich so they wouldn't get the late night munchies. After a marshmallow roast, Cochteau decided that telling a ghost story probably wasn't the best idea for now, and sent everyone off to bed. The boys climbed into bed, but as I expected did not actually fall asleep for a while. I sat right outside the cabin and meditated for the time being, knowing them like I did, I wasn't likely going to get any sleep. The only notable thing that happened was Kia asking Gibb for her shampoo and then was scratching her head an awful lot after using the showering facilities. Shortly after most of the campground fell asleep, Trey emerged from the cabin with a six-pack of beer and crept off towards the woods. A few minutes later I spotted Gibb coming out of Cabin B, heading in the same direction and wearing some very loose clothing. Neither one of them seemed to notice me, or were too distracted by their own activity. I quickly detected a heightened sense of emotion from those two a few minutes later, and decided to shut off my senses for the time being. I noticed another girl running off towards the lake a few minutes later and headed into the cabin to attempt sleep since all the teens couldn't keep themselves under control. I thought I heard a scream in the distance not long after, but when I heard Trey stumbling around outside and several more beers being opened, I shrugged it off and fell asleep.

A/Ns:

**WDG: tsk tsk, falling asleep at a time like that. Big mistake? Heheh.**

**VB: Well its not very epic if problems are fixed before they are really an issue you know. After all, what fun would it be then? (insert evil grin).**


	4. Investigation

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 3: Investigation**

I woke up before sunrise when I heard a police car pull up with its lights flashing. The police radio wasn't that loud, but the lights coming through the window eventually annoyed me enough to check it out. I crept out of the Cabin to the tune of Trey's snoring, disturbing no one as I quickly dashed in between the buildings. I got within earshot and hid around a corner, trying to pick up the conversation. The police car and uniform belonged to a nearby town called Springwood, but beyond the town's name I knew nothing of it. I glanced around to see a cop talking to Mr. Cochteau, and even spotted the kid Robby nearby. I had rescued him from a gang riot the day after we beat Buu and dumped him off at Cochteau's place since he had nowhere to go. He had to have been thirteen years old by now, my guess is he was a budding assistant. He looked very disturbed, like he just went through one of those bad nights on the street again.

"How long ago did you find the body?" the cop asked.

"About thirty minutes ago when Robby came running up to report it. It looks like she had been out all night, the teenagers around here tend to do that a lot," Cochteau explained, looking very upset.

"Well, foul play is obvious so I won't bother asking that question. Are there any troublesome kids on your staff this year?"

"No," Cochteau shook his head.

"Robby, my name is Officer Stubbs. Can you answer a question for me?" the cop asked, changing targets for the moment. Robby nodded slowly, but he looked like he was ready to scream.

"Did you see anyone around here that might have done this?" Stubbs asked directly. He shook his head as well, though his lip was quivering.

"Rachael and Robby have a slight relationship," Cochteau said for him, answering my own question that he had likely seen the body first.

"All right, I'll call a damage team for the body and we'll get a few units out here to search the woods. Try to keep all the children together," Stubbs suggested. Stubbs went back to the car and called in the order while I retreated back to the cabin for now, scanning around for anything out of the ordinary. Once satisfied for the moment, I entered, finding Trunks staring out the window.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Looks like there's been a murder of one of the counselors," I said shuffling back into bed.

"Any clue on who did it?" he asked.

"No," I said, closing my eyes. I sensed a sudden rush of excitement from Trunks and knew what he wanted to do instantly. I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head sharply.

"Oh come on bro, it would be so fun! I'm bored out here!" he suggested.

"We're here to relax Trunks, not to play hero again. The local authorities can handle this one," I said.

"But if they don't, you know our mothers will pull us out and back home, and then we'll have to put up with Bulla's crying!" _Shit, good point._

"God Damnit. All right, we can look into it, but if we actually find the assailant, we just beat him up and hand him over. Nothing fancy either, you two have caused enough trouble," I gave in as I shifted around in bed.

"Can't we check it out now?" he asked a minute later. I growled slightly, giving him his answer. He pouted for a minute or two and then crawled back into bed, knowing he wasn't going to budge me from that decision.

* * *

Breakfast was a silent affair for the counselors, who had all been informed of the situation, but declined on saying anything to the younger children. Being oblivious to the night's event, they remained the usual chatterboxes. The only major thing was that I noticed Kia's hair was now blue, no doubt due to Trunks changing up Gibb's shampoo at some point and she had been unlucky enough to use it. There was barely a reference to it though, the serious and saddened faces were on. Trunks spent half the morning explaining his plan to play detective to Goten, only because it wasn't something Goten did on a daily basis. Officer Stubbs hung around for the majority of the morning as well, patrolling the compound by the look of it. He had a few other cops with him for a little while, but they drove off once the area was deemed secure. _I doubt whoever did this is going to come back anyway, no one is that stupid. And even if they are, they'd be in for a surprise._ All of the other kids were engrossed in some sort of arts and crafts contest, nothing I was interested in. I snuck around to the backside of my cabin and sat in deep mediation as I scanned the woods with my senses and with my spiritual vision ability. I quickly locked onto two small ki signals that were emitting a lot of emotional energy. And then I saw why when I recognized them to be Gibb and Trey. _Good lord, don't those two have something else to do? A dozen kids are in their future at this rate. I don't care how depressed they are, this is not the time for that kind of activity._ I had just detected a third signal moving towards them when Officer Stubbs walked up and broke my concentration.

"Aren't you supposed to be over there with the other children?" he asked.

"Arts and crafts aren't exactly my forte. Besides, I'm trying to find your killer," I said as glanced up at him.

"How do you know about that? I told those damn kids to keep this quiet!" he said in anger, not bothering to ask how I was searching.

"Let's just say I have very good ears. Any idea who did this?" I asked.

"No leads, wait a sec, why am I talking to a kid?" he asked himself.

"This kid saved your ass a few days ago, I'm sure you remember that nasty virus," I muttered as his radio erupted with sudden chatter about a high-speed chase in the area.

"Just a second, negative dispatch! I'm up at Crystal Lake! Okay, now what did you say about a few days ago?" he asked.

"Forget it," I said, shutting my eyes again. Just as I did, I heard a scream nearby and turned my head towards the left. Gibb was sprinting barefoot out of the forest, screaming her head off. She only had her undergarments and a pink button down shirt on, one that was soaked in red.

"I think your killer has struck again," I stood up as Stubbs' hand went to his gun. I scanned the woods again, finding no sign of Trey at all. Whatever had been coming near them was also long gone.

"All right, I want everyone to stay in the open, I'll check the area!" Stubbs ordered once the panic stricken Gibb explained what happened. It was rather incoherent for a moment or two, as she had only seen the result, not the murder itself. She described it pretty well though, Trey had been stabbed repeatedly through the back and chest, and had likely been thrown into a tree. No sign of the killer, but he had to have been strong to be able to do that.

"What do you think bro?" Trunks whispered.

"I think that's our cue to check it out. Goten, stay here just in case that creep comes this way. I didn't sense whomever this was for very long. Me and Trunks will comb through the woods. If whoever this is shows up here, power up to warn us, but do not go after this enemy unless absolutely necessary. We don't know what were up against here. We'll find the body easy enough in there, just look for all the blood. Let's go!" I said as we sprinted towards the tree line.

"No don't!" one of the counselors shouted, though I wasn't sure who it was. Stubbs spun when he heard the shout, only to see two dust trails blowing past him. Within thirty seconds we found Trey's body, though the red vegetation gave it away. He was totally messed up just as Gibb had said, only a tenth of a mile away from the camp. The only false information was the fact that he was actually hanging from a partially lobbed off tree branch, one that was sticking right through him.

"Holy crap, this guy sure got torn up. Maybe it's a good thing we didn't bring Goten," Trunks said, looking a little sick himself.

"Block out your nausea as best as possible so you can focus," I replied coolly.

"You're not even a little sick at the sight of that?" he asked, surprised.

"The Zerg did worse. And so did I," I said in a low tone, causing Trunks to noticeably flinch as I resumed my scanning around the woods. I had already seen an array of large footsteps implanted around us, but the direction was unclear, almost as if this killer knew how to cover his tracks with confusion.

"Man, I still can't sense anything! Either this guy is really weak or he can hide his power even better than you can!" Trunks whined a bit.

"If you can't find him with your energy senses, you have to look the natural way, with your eyes and ears. There's barely any wind in here, so smell probably won't do us much good if we can't tell which direction he or she came from," I pointed out.

"Maybe it was a wild animal," Trunks suggested.

"While I wouldn't doubt it out here, what animal does that?" I asked, pointing at the corpse. Trunks shut up for the moment, until we both perked up to gunshots being fired from the area of the camp just as I sensed Goten flare his power just a bit. We nodded to each other at the obvious sign and blasted out of the forest, arriving at the clearing and seeing Stubbs emptying his pistol on a large figure. It was a big man to be sure, with wilted and dirty clothes, and an even dirtier skin tone. He had some sort of old hockey mask over his face and carried a large knife, much like a machete. The blade was dripping with blood, and I knew immediately that we had our killer. Stubbs was hitting him solidly in the chest, and the large figure barely reacted as he stalked forward, despite losing some blood himself. Stubbs' gun ran empty, so he took out his nightstick and ran at this figure, knocking the machete out of his hand with the first blow to the arm and then hammering on the guy's head. The killer barely reacted to the head blows however, and backhanded Stubbs in the chest, and sent him flying over twenty feet in the air.

"I think that's enough," I said as I stepped forward into the killer's path as he picked up his machete. "I suggest you surrender. You're not taking any more life today. Whether or not you walk out of here alive depends on you," I said simply. The killer walked up towards me with his blade out and swung down towards my shoulder. I caught the blade easily and held on as he tried to cut me down, unsuccessfully.

"Wrong choice," I said with a scowl. I rushed up and tapped him in the chest with my fist, watching as he went sprawling backwards some fifty or sixty feet before landing in a very bad position on one arm. I heard the snap of the bone even from that distance and watched as he attempted to gather himself. He got up favoring his very limp left arm.

"Stay down, unless you want to lose your other arm!" I warned as Stubbs walked up.

"Wow, I didn't realize you were the kids from the Special Forces team!" he exclaimed.

"Does this look like the time for admiration?" I asked in all seriousness. The killer decided to ignore my warning despite having a smashed arm, and stalked towards me again. I didn't even hesitate and phased out, reappearing and hammering his other arm with my own. This time he felt it a little more, as his shoulder snapped around the joint, and then I heard his breathing pattern change, meaning I might have hit a rib or two from the impact. He dropped his machete and crumpled to the ground as I heard the crowd of bystanders gasp.

"Are you done yet?" I asked. He didn't answer as he attempted to get up again. _Come on moron, don't make me kill you in front of all these kids!_ I watched as he struggled to move his broken arm to his separated shoulder. Then he did something I didn't think was possible at this point, he popped it back into place. _I hit him hard enough to shatter that damn shoulder, what the hell is he?_ With his right hand, he grasped a hold of his machete that had landed on the ground, and then turned to swing at me. I jumped backwards by reaction since I wasn't sure what to expect, and he missed completely. Due to being a little overzealous, he tripped as he stumbled forward, and I jumped on the opening without hesitation. I rushed forward and lightly kicked the back of his legs, taking him to the ground due to his own momentum. I quickly grabbed a hold of his leg and turned just slightly, more than enough to get a painful reaction as it snapped and fell limp. I backed off as the killer grunted in pain and attempted to stand on his own, unsuccessfully for the first few tries.

"This is your last chance to stop, stay down," I suggested. He didn't take the suggestion and managed to get to his knees, tossing his blade at me. I caught it easily and threw it back, skimming his arm and stabbing through his broken leg. The killer groaned again, but reared back and pulled the blade out of his own flesh, ignoring the blood that squirted out as result. Then, to my own amazement, he was able to stand on both legs, although he was favoring the bad leg a lot as he hobbled forward. _He either has a very high tolerance for pain, or he recovers incredibly fast. Either way, this moron doesn't deserve another chance, he's going to keep coming until he's dead. Locking him in jail isn't going to do a whole lot._

"I'm going to lure him into the woods, don't expect him to come back out. I doubt that squad car is going to hold him no matter what I do," I suggested loudly as I backed away, luring the killer towards the forest. He followed, eager to follow through with a futile plan. Once we were safely past the tree line, I powered up slightly.

"This is your last chance to back down before I destroy you, I suggest you be smart and take it!" I said. The man in the hockey mask didn't care about what I was capable of doing to him, and stalked forward anyway. He paused once when I gathered some energy and turned on my Psi sword, but resumed immediately. Just as he cranked back and prepared to strike with his machete, I swung through his neckline quickly, causing him to stop in slight surprise. A thin red line slowly formed across his neck just as gravity took over and removed his head from his body while it collapsed to the ground, twitching slightly. I turned off my sword and paid whatever respects I had before stripping his hockey mask off. His face literally looked like it had been through hell, covered in green algae and scarred badly.

"No wonder you wore this thing, hopefully you find your peace," I whispered as I fired small blast and incinerated the body, head and all.

"What was that explosion a moment ago?" Stubbs asked as I walked out of the woods. I tossed him the mask that had been on the killer's head,

"The end of whatever that goalie was pissed off about," I said as I stared at him coldly.

"You killed him?" he asked directly.

"How much detective work did it take to figure that one out?" I asked in a similar cold tone as I walked off.

"Hold on young man, I have questions I need you to answer!" Stubbs shouted, chasing after me. I growled slightly as I glanced back at him, eyes flashing briefly as my energy surged.

"Or it can wait," he said, filling up with fear all of a sudden. I snorted slightly at the cop's sudden cowardice and went back to my cabin, tearing through a large sandwich or two as I thought things over. _Scum like that don't deserve the mercy I offered him. Ugh, ok Verto, calm down, the threat is over. You did what you had to, its obvious it wasn't the first time that guy has killed someone._ _They probably would have needed three Swat teams to take that guy down anyway._

* * *

A few hours later a group of police officers from the same town were around the forest line, investigating the large burn mark I had left behind and the body of Trey. His friend Blake had gone from being clueless to enraged about his friend's death. He mostly sat on the edge of the dock, refusing any food or attempt at conversation. Gibb had also separated herself from the group, crying softly out on the bank of the lake. Her friend Lori managed to console her a little bit, but she was pretty shaken up herself. I took note of the young janitor that was eyeing them and myself carefully. He had a mysterious look to him, but rarely stuck around once his work was done. He also vanished once the rest of the cops showed up. That left Cochteau with only a few teenagers to mind the other kids, but they managed since most of the kids were scared out of their minds. What caught my attention was why the cops were hanging around so much, the case appeared to be closed for the most part. They were all from the same department as Stubbs as far as I could tell, though they all seemed nervous about something. They questioned the crap out of the teens, but left the smaller kids alone for the most part. They finally walked up to me as I was lazily sitting on a picnic table next to Stubbs, watching them all carefully. I had sent Trunks and Goten off so they didn't have to deal with the cops and their questions, they pretty much kept to themselves on the far side of the lake and stayed out of trouble for once.

"You better make damn sure none of these kids knows anything," the Chief whispered to one of his deputies, assuming I couldn't hear him. The deputy ran off to check things out again as they rest of them walked up.

"Well Stubbs, right time, right place, good work. And you too young man. Let's wrap this up!" the chief ordered.

"Wait a sec sir, we still don't know of a motive, or who that was exactly. Personally, I think it was a Jason Voorhees copycat, there was some history of that in the area for the past fifty years!" Stubbs pointed out. _Ah, so I have a name for that goalie, not that it matters now._

"We know exactly who did this and we'll handle it, now please go make sure these stressed out campers work things out. We have a few questions for the boy," he ordered. I lifted an eyebrow just slightly as Stubbs walked off, confused. I was a bit surprised as well, there was nothing else to say about this case from what I could tell, and the "save the day" job was done.

"Son, how have your dreams been lately? Have you had any strange dreams in the past few days?" he asked me.

"What does that have to do with the hockey player from hell?" I asked.

"Just answer the question to the best of your ability," the chief said.

"No, nothing out of the ordinary," I said simply.

"Then it couldn't be Krueger…" another deputy whispered before the chief cut him off.

"Don't even say that son of a bitch's name!" he warned.

"As much as I'd like to answer pointless questions about this, I think its obvious what has happened. I was nice enough not to leave anything but his mask behind. I suggest you get the other body out of here and back to the family so they can get through their mourning process," I suggested, standing and walking off.

"Have you seen anything else strange lately?" he asked. _Lately, as in the past few years? Boy that story would throw him for a loop_.

"Just wondering why the cops are so nervous about a supposed killer when I already wiped him out, enjoy the rest of your day calling parents," I said as I walked off. Just as the chief was sweating off what I had said, I sensed a sudden low-level spark of energy nearby, followed by another not far away from it. I quickly scanned the area, noting that it was not coming from the boys. As quickly as it had happened though, both sources were gone before I could pinpoint their exact location.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon and evening was rather uneventful, except for the stares of that janitor kid. I wasn't sure if he was actually the janitor or not, but he seemed to be cleaning everything up all the time, and managed all the trash, so I only assumed it. He still strayed away from any and all activity though, especially while the cops were around. Eventually all of them left after handing Stubbs a duffle bag. As I understood it, Cochteau had requested an officer stick around for the next few days just to help everyone feel more secure, and Stubbs was the victim. They probably didn't need to worry much with me and the boys around, I doubted though that any other wannabe copycat killers were going to show up. Eventually Stubbs settled into the roll as we all sat around a large campfire, apparently they were going to go forth with telling scary stories. Shortly before they started however, Linderman looked to be trying to put the moves on Lori, who had been stressed out all day.

"Hey, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always available!"

"Hey, nice try but we don't really need to deal with date a dork right now! Get lost!" Kia interjected. Linderman became very furious with this and stomped off towards the woods, he obviously needed to blow off some steam away from the smaller kids.

"God that guy is annoying, even more than Mitch," she said as Lori nodded. _Yeah, the Trey wannabe._ I grunted slightly, recalling that Mitch was another so called camp counselor that was out there to go fishing for a girlfriend, only he hadn't latched onto any of the older girls yet. Speaking of Mitch, he looked quite fixated on the two girls as Cochteau started telling some tale about ghosts that haunted the campground while holding onto what he called a story stick. I honestly don't recall what it was about since I nearly dozed off in the middle of it. Then he passed the stick over to the strange janitor kid, whose name was Mark. He seemed hesitant to speak at all, but was egged on by the others and suddenly got a serious look in his eye.

"There was once a sick old man on Elm Street that loved to torture children. He would kidnap them off the street and take them back to his house and do all kinds of horrible things to them. His name was Freddy, Freddy Krueger. He always had a glove with knives attached at the finger, that was his weapon of choice. Well, the parents of Springwood finally had enough when he was found innocent after a trial, and they burned his house to the ground while he was in it," Mark explained. Cochteau wasn't sure what to make of this, and neither was anyone else, but he held out his hand to pass the story stick to someone else.

"I'm not finished. Even though he was dead, Freddy could still kill people. He would come back in their dreams time and time again and their fear gave him the power to kill children in their sleep, in their dreams. After the town's attempt to get rid of him failed time and time again, they simply made everyone forget about him. This gave them peace until this day. But you never know when Freddy might come for you!" he finished as Cochteau cleared his throat. The level of fear in the area had increased ten fold, clearly Mark had a talent for telling a scary tale. It had even spooked me just a bit, but I had dealt with much worse than his feeble mind could conjure up.

"Okay, I think that's enough for tonight," Cochteau said nervously as Mark walked off. As me and the boys were heading back to the cabin, I sensed another disturbance in the forest as several twigs snapped loudly. I spotted Linderman tripped as he fell out of the tree line, running for his life from something. Just as he got back up, a long arm reached out and snatched him back just as he screamed loudly.

"What the hell?" I asked aloud as I dashed over. Linderman's body was thrown from the trees and landed just as we ran up, without his head. It came out a moment later and landed sideways on his stomach, a very shocked expression on his face. Judging by the shape of the rigid necklines, Linderman's head had been ripped right off. I growled sharply as the dark figure from the forest emerged just as the other teens ran up. He was a very tall and built man with a filthy outfit on. But when I glanced at his face, I almost panicked when I saw the hockey mask. _You have got to be fucking kidding me! _

"No way!" Trunks exclaimed. In all his glory, Jason Voorhees was back.

A/Ns:

**WDG: heh, regeneration from ashes. That's a neat trick! You'd almost think he's immortal, wouldn't you… Well, one thing's for sure; this summer camp definitely won't be a boring one!**

**VB: Yes, our forecast calls for a one hundred percent chance of gruesome deaths throughout the week.**


	5. Substitute

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 4: Substitute**

My stunned expression didn't last as Jason made his presence felt again. Trunks and Goten were already lowered into a ready stance behind me, but were just as surprised.

"I thought you killed him!" Trunks shouted.

"I did," I said.

"Then why is he here? Explain that will ya?" Gibb asked.

"You've got me there, I vaporized his whole body and brought his mask back. It's lying on the picnic table over there, wait what?" I pointed out, only to gasp when I saw it was gone. The group collectively backed up as Jason stalked forward, looking eager to continue where he had left off. I sensed a sudden energy surge coming closer, and this time it stuck around long enough for me to identify it.

"Whoa, who's that bro?" Trunks asked as he looked up.

I grinned sharply and crossed my arms as Jason got closer, "No one we need to worry about!" Jason stopped short as he heard the battle cry from above, and turned his head right into a high velocity kick that sent him bouncing across the landscape.

"Oh, its her," Trunks muttered negatively.

"Whoa, who's the hot chick?" Mitch suddenly called out, joining in with a few whistlers.

"Well now, are you boys having fun out here without me? I'd hate to think my little brothers would want to be away from me for three weeks just to sit out here and be bored all the time. I mean, my gosh, why would anyone want to be away from little old me? What a waste," Lenz said as she swung her hair suggestively around. She was decked out in the camper's gear, though the shirt seemed to be a few sizes too small, which probably fed her ego even more.

"Ugh," Trunks and Goten groaned.

"You do realize that guy is trying to kill everyone," Kia asked.

"Oh, shoulda known there would be competition, though it isn't much of a contest," Lenz said with a sharp grin as her shirt seemed to get even tighter. I noticed that she was actually tightening her purple tail around her waist so that any slack was pulled down, stretching the shirt even more. I rolled my eyes slightly as some of the whistling and catcalls got going, Lenz was doing it on purpose just to aggravate me. Ever since she had learned from both Bulma and Videl that I was older at one point. She had it in her mind that she had to remind me about it and flaunt herself around other people whenever I was around, a poor attempt to make me jealous. To be honest, there was a part of me deep down that was a little jealous, but it was a part of my personality that would be sleeping for several more years.

"That's your sister? Wow!" Mitch exclaimed again.

"No," Trunks and I groaned at the same time. Lenz continued to soak it in, but paid no real attention to a recovering dark figure coming towards us.

"Here comes that mean guy again!" Goten pointed out.

"Oh him, like he is a real threat. What do you think little bro, does this shirt make me look fat?" Lenz asked as she stretched out a bit.

"Depends on which part your talking about. Personally I think you need a reduction, Ma might be able to help you out in that department. Oh, and you may want to move," I said as I charged a blast in my hand. Lenz stepped aside just as Jason came up behind her, looking slightly surprised at the golden blast that had his name on it. I fired and watched as everything above his ankles was blown to smithereens. Somehow, the mask survived the blast, and dropped to the ground harmlessly.

"That was one ugly dude, I'd take Frieza over him any day," Lenz commented. _Ugh, the girly act continues._

* * *

"So, why are you out here?" I asked once Lenz and I had a moment alone from everyone else. The cops had returned to the scene, though they couldn't quite understand what had happened despite the explanation. I shook it off and attempted to get away from everyone to inquire just why she was there, and why in the hell Vegeta even let her out of the house. We all agreed that she shouldn't leave the compound by herself for at least a couple weeks while she got used to Earth.

"Well, Miss Bulma heard about some trouble out here from that big dude over there and asked me to come out here to keep you boys out of trouble. Looks like you've been bored though, I suppose I'd be stirring up trouble too if this was all I had to pick from. I'll bet these girls don't help you relieve any tension at all do they? From what I've seen, there isn't too much to choose from either gender anyway on this planet, I guess the prince was right," she said as she glanced around in disappointment.

"About what?" I dared to ask.

"That I'll have to mate with you once you're older again, at least that might actually be worthwhile once you're a little bigger!" she said, comparing my height to her own. _Oh no, we're not doing the future mate shit again, no fucking way!_

"Somehow I doubt he was sincere, " I groaned a bit as I crossed my fingers.

"Well its not completely out of the realm of possibility, I am half Rotarian, and we were very affectionate towards immediate family members. And he did seem into the idea," she trailed off with a slight wink.

"Yeah I'm sure he was, and for the last time, I am not your damn brother," I muttered.

"That's okay, it's never mattered on planet Rotaria, just occasionally frowned upon. Oh my, that boy over there is still staring at me. Maybe he's got a crush, he is pretty cute. He wouldn't be a bad first timer I suppose, I'll call it the Earthling Experiment!" she said as she gave Mitch a heart attack just by waving at him.

"You can cut the sweet and innocent act, you and I both know that you are neither," I frowned. I caught the hand aimed for the side of my head a moment later, she had obviously taken exception to that one.

"Hey! I was just teasing, you're so moody for such a runt!" she growled a bit.

"Yeah, well just remember, this runt bites. Now why are you out here? And don't start with the girly act again!" I demanded.

"I really did come out here because the local police called Bulma and she sent me out here to make sure you guys aren't in trouble. And the other reason is because Vegeta threw me out. He said I was unworthy of training with him, even after I tried so hard to beat him the past few days. He knows I have no chance against him," she said in slight sadness.

"Don't take it so personally, he probably wanted a night alone with his wife. And it took me almost a year and a half to beat him once, and that's when I finally had an advantage," I explained.

"I'll be surprised if a runt like you could ever take him down," she said out of habit.

"And I'm surprised you aren't pregnant yet, but that's beside the point," I grinned slightly, earning another attempt at a slap before I blocked it.

"God, why in the hell do you have to call me a slut all the time?" she asked.

"Maybe its because you act like one. Though a few others may not actually mind," I said, glancing at Mitch and a few younger males that had been looking around the corner.

"Hey, I've always had an overactive drive ever since I started to grow up, its not my fault! It's in my blood! Besides, I was stuck up there training with you all the time trying to make myself strong. Sorry if my body wants to catch up now that I'm alive again!" she said in slight anger.

"Well settle down before you consider experimenting with any humans. As strong as you are now, you'd probably kill someone if you did anything past flirting," I warned.

"Nah, I'll be gentle," she said, waving my warning off.

"You're part Saiyan, gentle isn't an accurate description. Trust me on that one," I said as I gave Mitch and the others a warning glare.

"Is that a promise?" she asked as her hand went through her hair.

"Just watch it, anyone else around here will get the wrong impression if you keep that act up, assuming they haven't already," I suggested.

"Fine, but it's not as fun. Anyway, I came out here to substitute for one of the dead counselors, and to keep you out of trouble. I know those other two won't be a problem, right?" she asked as she glanced the other way, seeing Trunks and Goten peeking around the corner of the cabin.

"Ha, like we're going to listen to you!" Trunks declared.

"So what is with that big guy in the mask that you killed?" she asked, ignoring Trunks.

"Jason Voorhees, apparently he haunts this place a lot. That's the second time I've killed him today. I sensed an energy surge shortly before he showed up again, but he is hard to sense. What we need is to find out is how he came back, and we need to be prepared in case he comes back again. He may not have a chance against any of us, but he is very good at killing normal humans with ease," I explained.

"Well, I guess I can handle watch duty for tonight," Lenz said with a deep smile.

I cocked an eyebrow at her, "And let your overactive sex drive crush one of the civilians, I don't think so!"

"Nah, I'm not going to go that far. Tell ya what, I'll try and find this Jason's lair, or wherever he pops out at. I'm good at remaining unnoticed. If it's a problem I'll just power up and you can come save me!" she suggested with a slight wink. My eyes narrowed a bit, something about her words didn't seem sincere. "Either that or I'm sleeping with him first!" she pointed towards Mitch again.

I sighed heavily, Lenz still wasn't used to being around Earthlings, but she knew how to compromise with me pretty well. "Fine, but if there are any problems let me know right away! Try not to leave this place unguarded though. If you spot him coming, just wipe him out quick and then you can search the woods," I said while opening the door to my cabin. Somehow, I suspected there was a long night ahead, but on the other hand, I didn't think it was going to be because of Jason Voorhees.

**Interlude 4.1: Findings**

"Hey babe! Slow down! I can't keep up with your cute ass!" a stumbling human male shouted as he rummaged through the forest. The girl ahead of him moved with incredible speed to match her strong and attractive figure. She also looked slightly disgusted with the human boy that was following her, but let him continue the chase for the time being.

"Damn pond scum can't even control their own instincts, not a surprise I suppose," she muttered.

"Babe! Where'd you go?" the boy called out.

"Over here!" she called back. The boy tripped over a thick branch as he laid eyes on her standing in a clearing next to an old and broken headstone.

"Wow, you're even hotter than that other chick, I can't wait to see what's under those clothes," he said as he glanced downwards to untangle his feet from the brush. When he looked back up though, she was gone, and he was immediately confused.

"Hey, where'd you go?"

"I'm hiding, it's my first time after all!" her voice said from the air. To him it sounded like she was still standing there, but he saw nothing.

"Babe! Come on, don't hide from big Mitch. I promise it won't hurt for long!" Mitch said as he walked towards the broken headstone. He couldn't read what was written as weather had worn down the inscription, but the grave looked like it was open. He peered inside, seeing nothing but dirt and weeds along the ground surrounding it. Inside the grave though were a collection of bones and what looked to be decomposed organs of whoever it used to be. A moment later, the remains glowed green for a few seconds before fading, and then repeated itself. Mitch gazed at this, trying to figure out what the deal was. As he was fixated on this grave, he didn't detect something sneaking up on him. He heard a footstep and assumed the best.

"Oh babe, about time you came out, check out this weird thing. What the, but you're dead?!" he suddenly shrieked as he turned and found that it was not the girl he was chasing. Mitch's head was grabbed by a large pair of hands and turned harshly, breaking his neck instantly and leaving his head twisted backwards. Mitch collapsed with his shocked expression intact as the large figure spun on his heel and glanced around. Even from under his hockey mask, Jason knew that it was far too quiet for him to be alone. He never even saw the kick coming until he was already falling backwards. The same attractive girl that had appeared with the boy a moment ago landed before him, with a stern expression on her face. She wore a one-piece black leather bodysuit with a crimson red shirt underneath that was only slightly darker than her hair. The jumpsuit was unzipped just enough to see more of her frontal features, but the rest was skintight. She wore black gloves and black boots to match her suit, and her hair was dark red and tied back high, letting an eight inch long pony tail wave freely around in the air. Her eyes were a deadly black color that seemed to be surrounded by an invisible fire. This girl wasn't normal by any measurement, and in the back of Jason's mind, he knew he was in for a fight.

"You are fortunate that I have to fight you in this state, for I would likely be discovered if I used any of my power. Still, you don't have a chance!" she boasted. Jason looked around for a weapon, but didn't find his trusty machete anywhere nearby. The strong girl jumped and kicked him square in the chest, knocking him backwards. When he looked up again, she was in the motion of throwing solid metal objects at him. Five sharp daggers zipped through the air and became implanted in his chest. Jason stumbled, but reached up and pulled each dagger out before tossing them aside, ignoring the gushing blood from his chest. The girl snorted a bit at this, as if she was expecting it. Jason stalked towards her and swung his forearm as she ducked under it. The girl kicked him harshly again in the chest and then in the back as he staggered into the second blow. Jason fell forward as the girl dropped an elbow into the center of his back, and then locked in a headlock from behind. He attempted to just shove her off, but even his strength didn't compare to her own. As her arm slipped around his neck, he attempted to pull it off with his hands, unsuccessfully. He began to lose oxygen, and tried once to buck her off by using his own head against her pressure. It worked, and he nailed her in the face with the back of his head. She stumbled off and wiped the hint of dirt from her lips as Jason got back up.

She suddenly cracked a smile, "I suppose with your recovery rate, I can risk a small sample. Prepare yourself!" Jason only turned his head slightly as her finger glowed white for barely a second. She ran at him with absurd speed as he only lurched forward, and tapped him on the top of his head as she flew by and landed. Jason froze for a moment, before his entire head exploded from the inside out, showering the area with the pink remains of his cerebral cortex as the mask flew off. His body dropped to the ground and remained motionless as his mask landed nearby. Moments later, his body vanished into thin air. The girl landed and snorted slightly before walking over and examining the glowing green grave. Inside, the recent remains of a body were beginning to regenerate and take the form of a large human. She detected a slight energy surge as the regenerating form began to grow arms and legs.

"Have you found something, Leira?" another feminine voice asked. The girl spun on her heel and saw a partially transparent figure floating in mid air. She bowed immediately to this figure dressed in purple and white. This was a healthy and mature looking woman that didn't appear to be more than thirty years of age, despite her long white hair. Her calm eyes and radiant aura signified someone of great importance, and someone equally deadly on a battlefield.

"Madam Venestra!" Leira gasped slightly.

The older woman scowled a bit, "Skip the formalities child, did you find something unusual or not?"

"Yes your eminence, it appears that this human creature has remarkable regeneration capability, however I believe that the boy's healing power accelerated it. Instead of being restored once every few years, it can return to its normal living capacity in a few hours!" Leira said, casting a suspicious eye towards the grave as its glow died down.

"I see, has the Saiyan boy figured it out yet?" Venestra asked.

"No your majesty, no one has visited this site as of yet. The boy has encountered this violent being a few times and dispatched it with ease, but he has yet to discover its origins as of yet," she replied, still bowing.

"See to it that he finds his way there, but do not blow your cover. I want that kid to figure out that his powers have adverse effects on the human environment, he needs to stop using them so recklessly. I suspect that this might have happened due to the kid trying to heal the whole planet with his energy. A bold and difficult thing to try, and as I said, reckless. Now the consequences of that action are beginning to take shape. I doubt that this is the last you will see of this kind of activity, so watch out for abnormal abilities in humans. As for the other ordeals, let things proceed with as little interference as possible. You may also put your plan into action for the time being, that might help our cause. In all cases though, see to it that the boy cleans up his own mess," Venestra ordered.

"Yes of course," Leira said with a respectful bow.

"Did you acquire one of the magical objects?" Venestra asked. Leira pulled out something from her back and held up a small orange ball, nodding. "Excellent, make sure to hide it somewhere safe. I suggest beyond the dark wall," Venestra said.

"Understood, do you have a time table in which you want to deal with that problem?" Leira asked.

"We will let things proceed for now," Venestra said she vanished. Once she was gone, Leira detected some sort of mental presence scanning the area. She immediately lowered her energy level to nothing and ceased to even breathe for a moment. The presence lifted past her after a few seconds and moved on once it lost track of her. Leira opened up her senses to trace the presence back to its owner. She grinned slightly as she gazed into the distant skies.

"Nice try, Namek. Your time will come soon enough," Leira whispered. She began to walk away before she eyed the mask that Jason had been wearing. She squatted down and picked it up to gain a closer look. It didn't glow like the grave had been, but she sensed a very tiny stream of energy coming from the grave, linking with the mask. It was so faint that she had to be holding the mask to even sense it. _Interesting creature, this may not have completely been his fault after all. Either way, I will let him deal with it. _She dropped the mask and took one last look at the grave before vanishing into the darkness.

**Interlude 4.2: New Terror**

Kia found herself smiling as she was wheeled into the operating room for plastic surgery. She had wanted to get a nose job done for so long, but she could never afford it. Now she was getting the full package deal with not only a nose job, but also a slight tummy tuck and some other trim jobs along some areas she deemed too big or too small. Finally her dreams to be even more beautiful were going to be realized. She kept her thick grin on as the nurses guided her to the table and plugged in many monitoring devices. As the gas mask went on, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She suddenly shook herself awake as the lights seemed to go out. She looked around in panic as the red emergency lights of the hospital were on and the rest of the power was out. She saw no one nearby, but did notice a long bandaged object directly in front of her face. When she focused on it and touched it with her hand, she realized that it was part of her face. She gasped and shook nervously as she unraveled the bandage. With the wrappings gone, she screamed as gazed at the size of her nose, protruding nearly four inches off her face. She frantically looked around for a mirror, finding one attached to the wall and running to it. She continued to look at her nose in horror, but then gazed down at the rest of her. First thing she saw next was that one of her breasts was huge, and the other was as flat as an ironing board. She moaned a bit as she looked down further, seeing her once beautiful stomach was deformed and twisted a bit with bloody stitches covering it. She sank to her knees and sobbed a bit, wondering what the doctors had done to her. She heard a battering of footsteps slowly approaching and saw a growing shadow out in the hallway. She filled up with fear as she heard a gruff voice chuckle a bit as it entered the room. An average sized man entered, wearing a white lab coat over what appeared to be a red striped sweater. He wore a black hat to match his dark pants, but that's not was disturbed Kia the most. His entire face and head looked to be severely burned and scarred, to the point where he didn't even look human anymore. She gasped slightly and stood up against the wall as he grinned at her with teeth that a dentist wouldn't clean.

"Oh, what's wrong my dear?" he said softly.

"Doctor? What did they to me? They must have gotten the surgery order wrong!" Kia pointed out.

"Yes, that's exactly why I'm here, to clean up the mess!" he chuckled as he walked closer. Kia saw his gloved hand come out of his pocket and backed up even more, seeing a sharp blade attached to each finger.

"Why so nervous sweet cheeks?" he chuckled again.

"What are those for?" she asked as she stepped back and prepared to run.

"Just my tools. They tend to leave things a bit, messy! Bwhahahaha!" he cackled. Kia seemed to know that her life was in danger now from this false doctor and made a break for the door. The man made a slight motion of his hand and the door slammed in Kia's face, sending her crashing to the floor. When she got up and tried to hold her nose, it fell off and blood squirted everywhere, making her panic quite a bit more. She grabbed the discarded bandages and held them to her missing nose while keeping an eye on the demonic looking man.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked between breaths.

"I think one of your packages are leaking!" he said, pointing a bladed finger towards her chest. He motioned forward and an instantly stabbed through her enlarged breast before ripping out its contents. She cried out in pain and sunk to the floor while he gazed at the silicon implant stuck to one of his blades.

"You're lucky I'm taking care of you now, cancer is a bitch! Bwhahahaha!" he cackled again. Kia backed into a corner and wheezed a bit, as her wounds were beginning to take their toll.

"Oh, what's wrong? Are you finally realizing you just another ugly little whore? They say beauty is only skin deep, let's find out what's underneath all this dark meat!" the man said as he knelt down and stabbed into her arms with his blades. She screamed continuously as he proceeded to cut off her skin.

**Next time on DBV: A new string of murders at the camp has Jason's stench written all over it, until Verto discovers that they are not his doing at all. The new terror is another notorious murderer that the police already know about, and have their own way of stopping it. But the worst news is still to come when Verto ventures into his own dreams to combat him…**

**WDG: Fight in his sleep, eh? Better hope it's one of them dreams you can control. If Fred controls it, it could end up nasty. ... Oh, and I do hope they don't forget ol' Jason.**

**VB: So how do you like your villains? Diced or sautéed? **

**WDG: Well-done with a slight amount of pepper and plenty of salt.**

**VB: Pass the Ketchup.**


	6. Mastermind

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 5: Mastermind**

I awoke to an eerie silence around dawn. The boys were still asleep as were most of the other campers and counselors, but there was a very strange silence that covered the grounds. I threw on a fresh green outfit and headed outside, taking a deep breath of mist from the morning fog. The sunlight in the east was almost a bloody red color as it began to emerge over the horizon, something didn't feel right about it either. I scanned around, sensing Lenz nearby as she walked the grounds. She felt confused and erratic, as if she were looking for something.

"Hey Mitch, where are you?" she called out. _He must have run away from the legs of steel once they started up._ "Hey little bro, have you seen that cute boy Mitch?" she asked as I walked up.

"No, what happened? Wait, let me guess. You two just started to get busy and he found out you're not exactly fresh?" I joked as she scowled.

"Cut that out, this is serious. I haven't seen him for several hours. Ever since I spotted him chase after a strange girl with red hair I haven't seen him!" she said.

I cocked an eyebrow at this, "Strange red head you say, where did they go?" I asked.

"Into the woods late last night, haven't seen either one since then, and I haven't been able to sense anything! I would have gone after them, but then it wouldn't be easy to watch over the whole camp while you were sawing logs!" she frowned.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure you didn't miss out on any fun," I chuckled.

"That's not funny!" she yelled back.

"Uh oh, someone's grumpy today. Let me guess, you broke a limb with barely a touch and he freaked out?" I sneered at her.

"No," Lenz mumbled as she suddenly looked like she would burst into tears at any point.

"Then what is it?" I asked carefully.

"He said she was prettier than me! Wahhh!" Lenz cried and sunk to the ground. _Ugh, you've got to be kidding me._

"That's what you're pouting about? Well not to worry, I'm sure someone will come along that will say otherwise," I said, though only to get her out of her mopey mood.

"You really think so? Oh I can't wait! Thanks little bro!" she said, doing her own celebration by jumping up and attempting to embrace me. I shoved her off slightly, there were other things she needed to answer.

"Any sign of Jason Voorhees?" I asked directly.

"Nope, haven't seen or sensed big and ugly, but I did detect something briefly deep in the woods. It was gone before I could lock onto it though, and it's been quiet ever since," she explained.

"Alright, well I imagine you need to get some sleep. As soon as some of the adults are up and the boys wake up, I'll search the woods a little deeper," I said.

"Good, I was getting a little, oh, sleepy. You mind if I use your bed? Thanks!" Lenz yawned as she staggered towards our cabin, not really bothering to wait for my answer. I snorted slightly and sat cross-legged on the ground while I meditated. My concentration was cut short within a few minutes when the grieving Gibb joined the waking world. She walked slowly towards the picnic tables near me and dropped what was likely a six-pack of beer onto the table as she sat down.

"That looks so dull. Don't you ever have any fun?" she asked as she popped one open.

"Don't you ever stay sober?" I asked as I cast one eye open at her.

"Whatever, hey Kia, wake up!" she called out as she walked over and pounded on the door of Cabin A. I shifted back to my concentration, until I realized there was only one faint life reading coming from Cabin A, several shy of what there was supposed to be. The last one was fluctuating quite a bit, the way one does right before it vanishes upon death. I stood up in slight caution and walked steadily for the door just as Gibb forced it open. Gibb stood there, frozen in sudden shock as I walked up and took a glance. The walls were covered in dripping blood, and there were several dead bodies strung about. My eyes darted to the first bed I saw, and there lay Kia, or what was left of her. From what I could tell, her nose had been chopped off, her chest ripped apart, and the flesh had been sliced right off her arms and head to the point where the bones were completely exposed. One of the smaller girls that bunked above her bed was hanging off the post of the bunk bed, but the post had somehow been jammed through her lower jaw and out of the top of her head. Another two girls were literally chopped in half, with their upper halves hanging from the ceiling by their long hair. The last girl in the Cabin was the feint life energy I had sensed. Her chest was sliced up and she was crying as her legs and body twitched with pain. What I found amazing was that I sensed no other force acting upon her, and she looked to be dreaming.

"Hey, wake up!" I called out as I rushed to her side. I heard her groan just as a large rush of blood gushed out from between the thighs, and her eyes opened wide as she gasped and fell lifeless. The frozen Gibb had seen enough, and the scream that followed woke everyone up.

* * *

It didn't take long for the police to show up again, but this time a barricade was set up on the road entrance and exit to the camp grounds while they investigated Cabin A. I was flabbergasted to say the least, something had killed Kia and those young girls, and I had no idea who or what it was. Lenz told me directly that no one had come even close to that Cabin the whole night, and I knew it to be true. Yet, there were five dead bodies in there, torn to shreds. Definitely a mystery, and the cops seemed to know the answer. But they wouldn't talk once they heard Jason hadn't been back for business, and when I mentioned that the last girl seemed to die during a bad dream, well that pushed them over the edge. All of the children were rounded up and kept in plain sight around the picnic tables with every cop standing watch nearby. They were all scared out of their minds, understandably, though many of them didn't understand what exactly was going on. I figured that was just for precaution, but the cops were too wound up for it to be just another murder. When some of the slightly tired kids tried to nod off to sleep, the police had them woken up immediately and would not let them enter dreamland. After this happened a few times and buckets of cold water got involved, I had seen enough. I marched right up to the chief as he was barking orders into his radio.

"Look, I don't care about how much money we need to pay them. Just get that shipment of Hypnocil up here on the double, some of these kids are starting to fall asleep. I don't need to remind you what could happen if you don't get here in time!" he barked before climbing out of his squad car and slamming the door.

"What the hell are you guys doing? This doesn't exactly look like fine police work here, you're driving these kids into the ground! And I won't stand for it!" I shouted at him.

"Look young man, we know exactly who did this, and it will be handled our way. I'm not going to step aside even for a professional fighter like you. You can't possibly understand what is going on here!" he said sternly.

"Try me, who did this?" I asked again, crossing my arms and giving him quite a glare.

"We don't say his name in public," the Chief said before he rudely walked off. I growled a bit and contemplated dishing it out on the squad car, but changed my mind when I spotted one of the counselors waving me over from behind a cabin, out of site from the cops. I recognized him to be Mark, the one that was handling the janitorial services. I walked back towards him, seeing the cops were not paying attention. They seemed distracted, and kept looking around as if whatever caused this was going to jump out at them. I sensed nothing unusual in the area, so I doubted that was going to happen.

"Hey, I know who they're after! I know who did this!" Mark whispered as I got close enough to hear him.

"Spill it then, I'll go rip 'em into pieces," I said with a deep scowl.

"You won't be able to, at least not here. You remember that story about Freddy Krueger and the dream demon tale? It's all true, that's who probably caused this. I'm not sure about that big guy, but I'm positive that it was Freddy who killed those girls last night. It's his calling card, mysterious murders and no suspects. They were killed in their dreams!" he explained.

"And just how the hell does that happen?" I asked.

"Not sure exactly, but I know that you have to have heard his name, and you have to be afraid of something. It's our fear that gives him his power!" he said.

"Brilliant, I'm willing to bet that none of these kids ever heard his name until you brought it up, and it sounded like it had enough to do that with that big mother fucker running around! If that's what has happened, smooth move dipshit!" I shouted at him.

"Hey I wasn't sure at first, besides, those cops are just gonna try and make everyone forget about him just like before!" Mark claimed, slightly surprised at my choice of words.

This renewed my suspicions, "What exactly can they do to make everyone forget about something like that, other than kill them all?"

"They tried it before with all of the exposed kids of Springwood. Me and my friend Will, Lori's boyfriend, were part of a group that got thrown in a mental institution they established. They made us take something called Hypnocil, but I'm still not sure what it does. All I know is it deals with suppression of dreams, so Freddy couldn't come back. They also erased all records of his name and his victims and how they died. They treated him like a disease, and he hasn't been back because they made us forget about him for the most part. It's effective, I haven't had a bad dream ever since I started taking it – actually I haven't had a dream since then. I escaped that hellhole about a year ago, and I stole a bunch of Hypnocil on the way out. Only problem is that I'm out, I took the last one a few nights ago," he said.

"So that's what the chief wanted to get up here, a bunch of that shit to give the children, what a fool," I muttered.

"Hey, the stuff works. It does make me a little edgy though," Mark said.

"Yeah I'll bet. Is there a phone around here I can use?" I asked.

"I've got a cell, who do you want to call?" he asked as he fished out his phone.

"The only person who would be able to look into this a little deeper," I said as I snatched it away and quickly dialed the number to Capsule Corporation.

"Hey Mom, can you look up a medication called Hypnocil?" I asked over the phone.

"So it's Mom again when you need something huh?" she said, trying to act irritated.

I rolled my eyes, "So it's a habit, can you look up Hypnocil?" I repeated.

"Sure thing kid, but I haven't heard of that one before. What does this have to do with the rumor that someone has been killed out there?" Bulma asked.

"It may have a lot to do with it, and there's been more than one murder. Don't worry, me and the boys are fine and it wasn't us that did it, but something else has come up and that's why I'm calling," I explained quickly.

"Okay, Hypnocil, here it is! Not even an approved medication yet. Deals with dream suppression? What the hell kind of medicine is that?" she asked loudly.

"Are there any side effects listed?" I asked.

"Yes, can cause psychotic behavior, severe headaches, coma and even death. And it's only fifty five percent effective in all patients tested! Who would make something like this? If people don't dream, their bodies can't rest properly!" she claimed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. It seems the local police force has been dealing it out to kids who have, let's just say some very bad dreams," I said.

"That's crazy, what kind of doctor would come up with something like this?" she asked.

"He probably had a lot of motivation, I'll tell you about it later," I said.

"Be careful!" she called out as I hung up and handed the phone back to Mark.

"So, what did she say?" he asked.

"Let's just say that you don't want to be taking that crap anymore, it may protect you from a dream demon, but I doubt its better in the long run. Now how can one combat this guy?" I asked.

"People have done it in the past, but it never works, he always comes back! Only way I can think of is don't fall asleep, once you do, you're as good as dead!"

"What a wonderful plan of attack, just wait to get slaughtered," I muttered.

"Well its either Hypnocil, or making friends with coffee. There isn't much you can do once you know about him," he said, riddled with guilt now.

"Well I guess the only thing we can do is single out his targets, but I don't like the idea of feeding this Hypno-crap to children, it could permanently damage their minds," I said.

"Freddy can't come back if there's no one who remembers him," Mark pointed out.

"There's something else at work here though, you said it's been a few years since he's done this sort of thing right? Well, why now? And other than you spouting off, what else could he do to get people to remember and fear him again?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, I've told tales about him before and nothing happened," he said, looking confused.

"Well you can't tell me that he just waits for the right time while rotting in hell, it doesn't fucking fit! I mean, what if he…" I paused. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Blake suddenly get up and march towards the woods with a serious look on his face. The cops swarmed up and held him back before restraining him with handcuffs and left him strapped to a picnic table. I glanced over towards the tree line, and saw a large and lumbering form emerging, no doubt the target of Blake's anger.

"Oh god, him again?" Mark asked loudly. All of the cops pulled their guns as Jason stalked towards them, unarmed.

"I'll be right back," I said as I launched into the air and summoned my Psi sword. Jason got to within ten feet of the cops before I sliced through the back of his head and neck. His head split open, leaving what was left of his brain and spinal cord drooping out as he simply fell to the ground, ending the threat quickly. I was about to blast the remains, but then all of Jason vanished completely without a trace, mask included. A moment later, I sensed another faint energy surge from the deep woods, and this time it stuck around long enough for me to get a general location.

"Well at the very least, were safe while we're awake with this kid around," Stubbs pointed out as the cops removed their jaws from the ground.

"That may not be true, I need to check something out in the woods," I said as I walked forward.

"Hey, no one is to leave the grounds! That means you as well kid!" the chief shouted.

"And how are you going to stop me? Throw me in the back of your squad car?" I asked with a twitch of the eyebrow. The chief didn't answer to this as Lenz, Goten and Trunks ran up behind him.

"Hey, can we come with? We're getting bored!" Trunks pleaded.

"No, besides, we may have a bigger problem on our hands. This guy keeps coming back to life and I intend to find out how. I need you three to stay on guard duty, you may see some action yet," I suggested.

"Little bro, you need to find Mitch, he's out there somewhere," Lenz pointed out.

"If he's alive, I'll find him and bring him back, no promises," I said as I took off into the woods on foot.

* * *

After about twenty minutes of thoroughly searching the thick woods, I finally came across the one clearing in the whole forest. There was a small gravestone that had seen better years, but the actual grave was very unsettled. That's where I found Mitch, his head had been completely twisted around, and judging by the bugs, I'd say he had been dead for at least twelve hours. The grave though was glowing green, and the energy I sensed was coming from it. I gazed in, seeing a large and slightly decomposed body stitching itself together.

"What in the hell is going on here?" I brushed off some of the gravestone, reading the blurry words of "Jason Voorhees" embroidered on it. _Well that explains that, but how is he being brought back to life?_ I scanned the energy source a little more thoroughly, and found that it was Chi energy being emitted, but not much of it. An eerie feeling that I was being watched came over me, and I diverted my attention to the surroundings. I didn't see, hear or sense anything abnormal, but I knew something was there when I smelled a slight hint of someone's presence. It wasn't much, and whoever it was had masked their presence in the forest very well, except for the hint of the natural pheromones produced by sweat glands.

"Whoever you are, I suggest you show yourself, I'm in a bad mood as it is," I called out. No response, and the crickets stopped chirping suddenly, adding to the eerie silence. I glanced around, and still saw nothing, but the scent was getting a bit stronger. Suddenly I heard a very low whistling sound heading towards me. I turned and saw a metal object flying at me at a very high speed. I dodged aside and saw that it was a small and sharp dagger flying by me before it got stuck in a tree.

"I'm not someone you want to screw with!" I shouted now. Still I sensed nothing, whoever it was, they could mask their energy very well. My attention was drawn away from this mystery person when the body in the grave started to move. Jason sat up and struggled a bit to get out of the grave, but did so after a few seconds.

"Get out of the way!" a feminine voice shouted from directly behind me. I turned back and saw a red headed girl dressed in black standing there with a sharp glare on her face.

"Out of the way of what?" I asked as Jason lurched forward.

"Just get off the spot your standing on, you'll understand soon enough!" she ordered. I decided to humor myself for now and stepped out of the way. The instant I did, the ground under Jason's heavy feet exploded outwards, sending the huge man into the air. I hadn't sensed anything from it before, so this was a bit of a surprise. The fiery red head then leaped into the air and kicked him back to the ground. She landed and rushed at him through the air as he rose up again. I sensed a sudden charge of energy from her as she tapped him in the chest with a single finger. She continued past him and landed just as his body exploded violently, showering the area with his insides. She got up and walked slowly towards me and I took in her full presence. _So that's the girl Lenz was speaking of, well I see why Mitch might have upset her with his comments, she really is very attractive. Similar figure, only a bit older and taller. Hate to be on the bad end of that scowl though, probably like Chichi on a really bad day. _

"Nice attack," I said, trying to keep the first words somewhat complimentary.

"Yes, of course you would be impressed," she said with her nose in the air.

"Oh you've got a hot accent too," I chuckled at her extremely thick British tone.

"Be silent, I should be doing that to you since it's your fault he is able to come back to life!" she growled.

"And how is that exactly, all I do is keep blowing him up," I grinned slightly.

"Don't be such an ignorant brat, this creature can regenerate even from death. It was your power that accelerated that unique property!" she said.

"What? And how would you know about my power, we've never met!" I shouted back.

"Quiet little monkey, your healing power amplified his regenerative capability! I'm here to make sure the mess is cleaned up properly!" she said as she dropped into a fighting stance. _Ok, this is something I didn't expect from this chick. Apparently looks aren't the only thing in her arsenal. _

"You're making a huge mistake," I warned.

"And you are constantly making reckless errors. You assume and don't think! Do you honestly believe this creature won't come back again? You need to get to the root of the problem instead of dealing with it as needed! It is that problem that keeps bringing him back to life even after you wipe him out!" she barked out. _Man, what is her problem?_

"Well then, would you care to tell me what the root of the problem is?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment and looked away, "I'm afraid I don't have that information!"

"Funny, you seemed like such a know it all a second ago. Should we try again? Let's just take it from the top. What is your name?" I asked.

"My name is irrelevant, but if you must call me something, you may call me Leira," she said as she turned around. I snorted slightly as she vanished into the darkness of the trees and from my senses. I took the blank moment to blast the grave with a small ki blast. When the dirt scattered, I sensed the lingering Chi energy surge again, and managed to see some of Jason's remains regenerating again despite being scattered all over the place.

"Wait just a damn minute! How do I find out who or what is bringing him back to life?" I called out.

"It is not of this world. But I'm sure he will be waiting for you," she replied from the darkened forest. No more sound came from the forest, and I reached out with my senses, detecting little to nothing other than the forest wildlife. I thought I caught a faint echo of laughter in the air, but it was gone just as quickly. _Not of this world? That doesn't really narrow down the list, except for maybe that dream demon thing…Wait a second, it must be this Freddy character that keeps bringing Jason back in order to spread his fear. If he could regenerate that well before and my healing wave actually enhanced it like she said, it probably wouldn't take much more than telepathic contact to wake this big fool up. Looks like I'll be hunting in Dreamland tonight._

"Okay, Freddy, quit hiding like a little bitch and face me tonight! I think you know where!" I shouted aloud.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Lenz asked as I crawled into bed. I declined on telling the boys my plan for now, but I did at least let her know so someone else knew what might happen.

"Well, there is no other reasonable explanation that I can find right now. I figure if this really is some sort of dream demon, I'll beat him on his own turf," I explained.

"But are you sure can you use your powers in a dream state? It's your mind that will be fighting, not your body," she pointed out.

"Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough," I said as I laid back on the pillow.

"Good luck then, and if you do find something, save some for me," she said softly.

"No promises, good night," I said as I closed my eyes and focused on relaxing. It wasn't long before I found myself standing in the middle of a crimson desert during a slight sandstorm.

"Hello, is anyone here?" I called out. Nothing responded, and as I took a few steps forward, I realized that I wasn't alone.

**Interlude 5.1: Hell**

In a darkened sector of the pits of hell, two figures were crowded around a small viewing ball. Only the first could easily be seen from its light, bearing an old hat and a scared face.

"So that little brat wants to be next, fine by me," Freddy laughed aloud when he heard Verto's challenge.

"I suggest caution when dealing with that one directly. Just because you can invade dreams doesn't mean he can't fight back. You may not be able to affect him due to his powers. The other Saiyans might give you a bit of trouble, but you should be able to handle them appropriately," a shadow figure suggested.

"No one can succeed against me if I find what they are afraid of! Their fear gives me my power!" Freddy claimed.

"This boy fears nothing, deal with him quickly but carefully! I want my plans to continue forward!"

"Everyone is afraid of something, its only a matter of time before I dig it out of him," Freddy claimed.

"Just remember, if you run into problems, withdraw and collect your power from the other victims. As long he doesn't destroy that mask, you'll have an ample supply of fear running through them!"

"Just keep that hockey punk off the children, they belong to me!" Freddy laughed.

"Whatever, just do your job and kill off those Saiyans! And do it quickly! After all there can't be much of a revenge if the objective isn't met!" the dark figure laughed.

"Of course, Master!" Freddy bowed before settling down and concentrating. The shadow noted the look of strain on his face before interrupting.

"What is wrong now?"

"I can't get into his mind, its like I'm being blocked out. This has never happened before!" Freddy claimed.

The figure sighed, "What about the other two?"

Freddy paused momentarily, "I can see them clear as day. What is so different about the other one?"

"I told you he was very unique. Very well, concentrate your efforts on young Goten and Trunks. I will draw the other one in!"

"How so?"

"You said once they hear about you, they are affected even if you aren't directing your efforts against them right? That might be all we need. Even if the boy's spiritual powers are blocking out any harm, that doesn't mean you can't still communicate with him. All we need to do now is force him to willingly drop his guard!" the shadow explained.

"You said this kid doesn't fear anything. If that's the case, he's unlikely to let his guard down!" Freddy pointed out, not so sure of himself now.

"Not to worry. If there's anything I've learned about Saiyans, specific ones mind you, is that there's always a way to get them to do what you want them to do. It just so happens that we want him to come charging in and save the day. If there's anything a Saiyan can't resist, it's a fight! To fight you at all, he will have to drop his guard!" the shadow laughed.

"And by doing that, his powers will be useless!" Freddy grinned.

"Perhaps, but it never hurts to try, or does it?" the shadow laughed along with Freddy.

"Of course master, I'll get to work on the other two right away, it shouldn't be too hard to make them feel fear!" Freddy's grin stuck as he turned his attention to the viewing ball. As he did, a bright red M glowed on his forehead.

The shadow stepped closer to the ball, revealing a brown, wrinkled face. "Now, let's see you get through this one brat!" Babidi snickered.

**A/n: Yep, he's the big cheese behind all this. If you can't tell, the next few chapters are going to be… rough.**


	7. Captives

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 6: Captives**

"Wow, thank you Mister Dragon!" Goten called out seeing a brief image of Shenron nearby. He was standing on top of a mountain made completely out of food. He didn't waste a moment and started digging in, starting with a bowl of delicious pasta. As he began to eat it though, he noticed a very peculiar taste to it. He looked down to see it was really green spinach he was eating.

"Bleh, that is nasty! Who was mean and put that there?" Goten asked as he spat it out. He spotted a soft cookie lying next to the bowl and grabbed it, shoving part of it into his mouth a moment later. He munched quickly, but then stopped as his brain identified another strange flavor. He glanced at the half cookie in his hand, and his eyes went wide. The cookie was really a pale looking pancake that was covered in red. This brought back troubled memories in a hurry and he quickly threw it aside and spat out the rest. Goten shook his head slightly as the first two samplings had turned out badly, and quickly looked for something else. He spotted a platter full of small fried chicken wings nearby and rushed over to it. This time though, he picked up one tiny leg and examined it carefully as if to make sure it wouldn't turn into something else. Once satisfied that it wouldn't become something else, he stuck part of it in his mouth and bit off the edge. This one tasted fine, and made Goten forget all about what had happened a moment ago. That is until he held up the other part of the leg in his hand. Instead of a piece of cooked meat, he held a bleeding human finger. Goten panicked and threw it down as he glanced at the platter. It was full of fingers that looked like they had all been cut off of someone's hand recently. Goten's eyes welled up slightly as the ground started vibrate a bit like something was stomping towards him. Goten heard laughter behind him and turned around slowly before gasping in surprise and taking off running.

* * *

Trunks glanced around as he entered the dark alley. He had been walking along the street for quite awhile now, not really sure how he got there, but then he spotted what looked to be the masked killer Jason lumbering about. With no Verto around to spoil the fun, he felt free to investigate this for himself. He slowly crept up as Jason ducked into the alley, but as he followed he found nothing there. There were no doors and the alleyway was a dead end. Trunks scanned around with his eyes and ears, picking up little to nothing for a minute or so as he prepped himself for battle. Just as he was about to give up, he heard something land behind him. He spun, giving this dark and cloaked figure the patented death glare.

"And just who the hell are you?" Trunks asked. The figure didn't respond, but did leap forward with some sort of blade sticking out of his hand. Trunks dodged aside as the figure tripped forward before stopping and turning back around. Then he began to laugh. Trunks wasn't quite sure what to make out of this seemingly crazy man, but he knew it to be evil to the core.

"Let's go, I'm not afraid of you!" Trunks declared as he sunk into a fighting stance.

"Well, we will just have to do something about that," the figure finally spoke in a gruff voice as he removed his cloak. Trunks gasped slightly as he saw this man's face, severely burned and scarred.

"The name is Freddy. Are you afraid of the dark? You little shit!" Freddy asked as he lifted his claws.

"Ha, I'm the prince of Saiyans; you can't scare me with your butter knives and ugly face!" Trunks dared.

"Everyone has fear, I wonder what you are afraid of," Freddy said as he jumped forward again. Trunks jumped backwards before rushing Freddy and kicking him straight in the chest, sending him into the pavement.

"What was that you were saying? I don't think you can deliver on your promise!" Trunks smirked. Freddy chuckled slightly as he picked himself up.

"It may take awhile, but you will be crying like a little girl when I'm through with you!" Trunks snarled at this and charged up his hands, firing multiple ki blasts at Freddy. Freddy barely dodged aside and watched them go by and explode, laughing slightly as they did. Trunks was surprised to say the least, as he could not sense any sort of power from Freddy at all. That didn't stop him from trying harder though.

"Sorry, I guess I didn't realize that I was facing a real fighter. If I were you, I'd start running right about now!" Trunks grinned as his golden aura emerged.

"Please, do tell!" Freddy fired back. He was blinded by the sudden explosion of golden light coming from Trunks. Once it faded, Freddy gasped slightly at the Super Saiyan standing before him.

"If you wanted to be blonde, I could have made it easier on you!" Freddy laughed as he lifted his clawed hand. Trunks heard something above him and saw what appeared to be gallons of blue water dropping on him from the air. When it hit though, he recognized the smell of it to be bleach, and spat it out as it ran off the street.

"That's better; you should at least be wearing girly clothes if you're going to look like one!" Freddy grinned. Trunks glanced down to see he was wearing a pink shirt and yellow skirt just as Freddy laughed even louder. Trunks seemed to pout for a moment before Saiyan pride kicked in and Freddy's eyes lit up like a deer in the headlights.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that!" Trunks shouted in anger as he charged in.

* * *

I stood motionless in the sandstorm, waiting. It seemed like I had been waiting for a very long time, and nothing but wind and dust were present. I knew I couldn't have been alone though, I felt a presence. It was so faint and small that I couldn't pinpoint it, but it was there. _Man this is boring, how long am I going to have to wait for this guy to show himself, and why here?_ My question on waiting time wasn't answered anytime soon, and so I kept walking around, searching for anything and everything that didn't match the dead environment. After what seemed like hours of nothing, I finally lost it.

"Hey Freddy, or whatever your damn name is, come out!" I called out. No one answered, and the sand storm intensity remained the same.

"Come on, don't tell me you're scared of me? I thought I was supposed to be scared of you!" I yelled again. Again no answer, and my patience ran out.

"Fine, if you're going to hide in other people's dreams like a chicken shit, I'm going back to reality!" I shouted as I turned on my heel to go back the way I came. As I turned, I realized that I wasn't sure how to leave. A few moments later, I heard the sound of a throat clearing, but the short person I saw when I turned around wasn't who I was expecting.

"Ahem, I'm afraid Freddy is a bit preoccupied right now and can't assist you. Can I help you with something, you little rat!" Babidi said, the same wicked grin on his face that I had grown accustomed to.

"And just what the fuck do you want?" I growled.

"Why so angry little Saiyan? I'm only here to serve, hahahahaha!" he laughed.

"Why don't you serve the end of this sword instead? This dead place could use a little more red in the scenery!" I said as I lit up the landscape with my blue Psi sword. I glanced down at the blue sword for a very brief moment, but answered my own question about my power working in the dream world.

"Ha, good luck rodent!" Babidi chuckled. I glared at him sharply before rushing towards him and slicing right through his ugly head. My sword went right through as I passed by, but when I turned back he was still standing there, unscathed.

"I'm not really here, so it will be very difficult for you to hurt me! I am communicating telepathically," he declared without turning around. I walked up and swung my leg right through his body, seeing in fact that his figure seemed to phase in and out much like a hologram.

"I'm afraid you will just have to listen to what I have to say, too bad!" he cackled.

"I have better things to do then trade insults with a witless maggot like you," I said as I walked off.

"Wait, I have information for you!" he called out.

That made me stop for a split second, "And just what would that be?"

"Just that you and all your friends are going to die!" he laughed crazily.

"Been there, done that," I growled.

"Not like this you haven't. Oh it's going to be absolutely delightful to watch the others suffer in their own minds!" I paused a bit when he said this, collecting my own thoughts. _He's in league with Freddy, and I'll bet he has something to do with Jason's continuous rising from the grave._

"Why isn't he coming after me then if you're so eager for revenge?" I asked simply.

"Let's just say your power protects your mind from his influence, so I'm afraid you will just have to watch your friends die!" Babidi cackled with one of the sickest grins I had ever seen from him. I stared at the ground for a moment while I thought things over. _There must be a way to fight this guy, and if my power protects me from him, I'll just have to figure out another way. I know he's baiting me, but I may not have a choice. _

"Why so quiet? I was hoping to hear more of your disgusting mouth again before you keel over!" Babidi said, still laughing.

"Suddenly I feel like I must warn you of something, worm," I said sternly.

"And what would that be?" he asked.

"Don't forget, I know exactly where you live. If I die to one of your minions again, this time I'm going to be a little pissed," I growled as I walked off.

* * *

I awoke suddenly in a cold sweat, scaring Lenz half to death as she had been leaning over me with slight concern written all over her face.

"Well, what happened?" she asked.

"I didn't see Freddy at all, but I did run into a certain annoying wizard who's in cahoots with him," I said briefly.

"Something happened to Trunks and Goten; I haven't been able to wake them up. And they've been twitching like crazy!" she pointed out. I quickly glanced over to see exactly that, and both of them had a few minor cuts and scrapes making themselves known along the sides of their heads and arms.

"Freddy must be fighting them in their dreams, or something of that nature. I'm gonna try and get that freak's attention," I said.

"Okay, but please be careful," Lenz pleaded.

"How long was I out anyway?" I asked, feeling that I didn't get much sleep.

"Only a few hours," she replied. Just as I dropped back into bed, I heard a scream outside followed by gunshots. It didn't take long to pinpoint what was going on when I opened the door. I spotted several dead cops lying around their own cars. Children were also running around, but mostly towards the dock as the rest of the police were converging on the driveway area. I spotted Mr. Cochteau picking up a pipe of some kind and heading towards the other side of Cabin A, where the gunshots were coming from. I ran quickly over there just in time to see Officer Stubbs get cleaved in half by a large blade belonging to one Jason Voorhees. _Well look who's back. He won't be staying long. _Cochteau came up behind him and hit him hard over the head with the pipe. Jason shrugged it off and bashed him in the face, putting him on his ass as he held his nose by reaction. Jason's arm arched back, and I rushed in and tackled him from behind. Once on the ground, I punched him hard in the back, busting through the skin and several bones and tissues with the first blow. Jason was grounded for the moment as I likely clipped something vital while the blood spurted out. I wasted no time and fired a quick blast at his head just as he turned, blasting it clean off. The mask flew off in the blast, making me again wonder how the hell it managed to get back on his head so much. _No, don't worry about stupid things right now. Dream freak is my top priority. _I wiped some of the blood off as the body vanished a moment later, and helped Cochteau to his feet.

"Thanks kid, man that monster just doesn't stop coming!" he said. The other cops were checking on their fallen comrades, led by the Chief as he surveyed the situation. Behind him, I spotted one of the furthest cabins on fire. I sprinted over there just as everyone wondered where I went, meeting Lenz there once she realized where I was going. Looking through the window, we spotted Mark in a panicked state, flopping around the room like a puppet on a string. His back was on fire and we smelled the burning flesh as he tried to put it out on the wall, setting it and the rest of the wood cabin a blaze. His face suddenly ripped open and he turned and slumped against the wall. His clothes burned off enough to spot something written, or in this case, burned into his back. I narrowed my eyes slightly to attempt to read it, and saw the message clearly once the flames died out a bit.

It was a clear-cut challenge, "_I have your friends, come do something about it!_" Lenz gasped slightly as Mark then burned alive once the message was passed, and I knew what I had to do next.

* * *

"His attacks have never been this brutal before!" the chief claimed as I explained what I thought had been happening.

"Maybe you need to realize that he has a bit of help!" I said.

"Well at least the Hypnocil arrived. Start passing these out," he ordered his deputies as he handed them a large bag. Before they could move out though, I snatched the bag from their hands.

"What are you doing son, these kids need that!" he claimed.

"They don't need to be driven insane!" I said as I tossed the bag into the air. I blasted it into smoke a moment later, which pissed off the chief.

"Are you trying to get us all killed?" he barked.

"Shut up or you're next," I growled back. He managed to hold his tongue for the next few seconds before I continued.

"Now maybe you guys should make yourselves useful by getting these kids out of here and back home where they belong. I will go into the dream world and deal with Freddy myself. And she will make sure Jason doesn't get involved while I'm in there, you got that?" I asked as I pointed towards Lenz. The chief wasn't sure how to respond when I laid down the best plan I could think of, but agreed with evacuating the other children. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Blake picking up Cochteau's pipe and running towards the woods.

"Hey son, wait a minute!" the cops shouted after him.

"Forget him, if he wants to get killed that bad, that's his problem! Get those kids out of here!" I yelled, getting them to turn around after a moment. I noticed that Gibb and Lori were the only other counselors left, and after taking a quick head count, there were less than half of the children left compared to when we had first arrived. And there was an impressive amount of body bags lying around, which was sickening to see. _He's been busy while I was out._ I glanced at Lenz wearily, but her eyes looked as half open as mine.

"Did you fall asleep during all this?" I asked.

"Well, yes! You didn't mention that big bad and ugly would come back so soon after being vaporized. I only woke up when I heard you talking in your sleep. I thought you were cussing me out for a second there!" she claimed. I sighed and let it go, she did sleep like a rock, wasn't her fault.

"What do you plan to do?" Lenz whispered.

"I plan to go under as far as I can with meditation. Maybe I can punch through that way. I'm not sure where I was before, but there was no Freddy. I'm still kind of confused as to why that happened," I said as I sat on the ground.

"Well, maybe you need to suppress your power or something. He probably got scared and ran from it," she suggested.

I froze slightly when I heard that, "That's it!"

"Really?" Lenz asked, surprised that she had the answer.

"Not exactly, my Psi energy comes from the mind and spirit. He may not have been able to invade my thoughts because I can control it. Thus I would know if my mind was being influenced at all. If this guy runs off of fear generated by his victims, he would have to be at least partially telepathic in order to figure out just what the hell to do against someone who fights back. All I need to do is suppress my Psi energy a bit to allow him access. I ran into that stupid wizard when I tried a little while ago and he clearly said that my power protected me from Freddy's ability. It obviously wasn't normal ki he was talking about, otherwise he wouldn't be able to touch the boys," I said.

"I still don't quite get it," she said, confused.

"I'll explain it another day, right now I'm gonna go take care of the boogeyman, wish me luck!" I waved a bit as I dropped to the ground and calmed my mind slowly, dropping my energy level to near zero. As I dropped down to a level of near unconsciousness, I felt heavy due to the lack of true sleep earlier, and soon I didn't have to concentrate on sleep at all as blackness took hold.

* * *

Trunks gasped for breath as he sat on one knee, surrounded by his handiwork of blast craters. Freddy stood nearby with a thick grin on his face while the young Saiyan struggled.

"I won't be beaten by you!" Trunks shouted as he charged at him again. Freddy's smile grew bigger as he deflected Trunks' blows easily before waving his hand, sending Trunks flying into a building before it came crashing down on him. The huge dust cloud rolled out and covered the area for a few moments, followed by another when a large golden surge erupted from the rubble. Trunks flew out and hovered about one hundred feet away from Freddy, enraged.

His hands flickered blue for a moment before he clasped them together, "Buster Cannon!" The large beam tore through the air and hit Freddy's position right on the mark. The explosion leveled the area, and Freddy was gone from sight. Trunks dropped to the ground to catch his breath, not seeing Freddy directly behind him, atop one of the lucky buildings.

"This runt is hard to scare. I thought the pink clothes or the fear of being beaten would do it for sure. I guess we should dig into some memories," he whispered. Trunks sighed once he saw that Freddy was gone, feeling confident that he was actually gone. He stood up and grunted slightly, and turned right into a large pink fist. The impact sent Trunks sprawling, but the shock of who had delivered it chilled him slightly. Before him was Majin Buu, in the leaner form that he and Goten had fought against as Gotenks.

"But, we beat you!" Trunks declared as his jaw quivered a bit. Buu didn't answer and flew towards him quickly. Trunks powered up again, only to be floored by the monster's punches and kicks. Freddy laughed loudly when he sensed the amount of fear coming off of Trunks within a few seconds, and let things continue. He glanced away to view his other project, who was still running away from his other illusion.

"Let's up the ante and kill two brats with one Buu," he grinned. The ground shook violently several times as Freddy brought the other victim into the area. Trunks got up after another bruising barrage and spotted Goten running through the area, with what looked to be a gigantic frying pan trailing him.

"Goten?" he asked. Goten waved at him and ran his way, ignoring Buu's presence for the moment. The giant skillet continued to give chase until Trunks stood in its path, with a blast ready to go, "Kamehameha!" A moment later the skillet was scattered all over the place. Freddy chuckled slightly as it was just a cheap illusion, and allowed it to vanish as he focused on using Buu instead.

"Trunks, why are you wearing pink clothes?" Goten asked innocently.

"Forget that, we need to fuse!" Trunks called to his friend.

"Why? You already blasted it! Oh," Goten shook slightly when he finally saw Buu standing there. Both kids powered up to Super Saiyan and stood in the first pose, but didn't move right away.

"Hey Trunks, where is your power level, I can't sense it?" Goten asked as he turned his head.

Trunks looked just as confused, "I don't know, I could ask you the same question!"

"How are we supposed to make it the same if we can't feel it?" Goten asked.

Trunks wasn't sure how to answer as he faced the same dilemma, "Let's try it anyway!"

"Okay! Fu…" Goten began just as Trunks did. They moved together as one and performed the technique to perfection like many times before. When the bright flash faded though, the two boys stood motionless, frozen in their final poses.

"What happened?" Trunks asked first.

"Why didn't it work Trunks?" Goten asked.

"I don't know!" he shouted back in frustration.

Buu laughed as he stomped forward, "Did your little fusion not work? Well too bad!" Goten and Trunks lowered into shaky fighter stances as they realized what was about to happen.

* * *

I found myself sitting on a bench along a darkened, quiet street while a few lamps flickered a bit. I immediately scanned around for any sign of activity. I didn't sense anything, but I did hear a lot of commotion about a mile away. I lifted into the air and flew in that direction. I found several buildings had been cleared out with a decent amount dust still rising from the area. I dropped to the ground cautiously and walked into the scene on foot, carefully scanning every nook and cranny until I had it memorized. The first thing I saw was two small Super Saiyans getting thrown around by what looked to be Majin Buu, in the evil form that he took before he started absorbing everyone. I checked the building tops and spotted a darkened figure standing atop the furthest one. The first major thing I sensed though was that despite being Super Saiyans, neither boy was giving off any ki energy at all. I sensed a small amount of Psi within them, but only the normal amount they would have. I didn't sense anything from Buu, but I did detect some energy from the dark figure, which I assumed must be Freddy.

Goten and Trunks looked like they had been through hell, and most of it had likely been through this fake Buu. Trunks was also wearing a pink colored outfit that had been torn to shreds. I tried to summon my own ki and failed as I held up one hand. The boys didn't look like they were having a problem for the time being, but something about it didn't seem right. That something revealed itself when they tried to combine blasts on Buu a moment later, and their Kamehameha faded suddenly along with their Super forms. I detected a quick surge of energy from Freddy just as this happened, giving me the answer I needed. Trunks tried to send another blast by himself and got no response. _It's all part of his illusion, they were never truly using their power, and he only allowed them to believe it._ I allowed some of my Psi energy to flow a bit and slowly marched towards Buu. Buu was busy laughing loudly at Trunks and Goten, who were trying to figure out why their power was gone. I glanced towards Freddy as I closed on Buu, who finally noticed my presence.

"Hey dickhead, why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?" I called out. The boys turned, stunned that I was there, and Buu only chuckled in reaction. I sensed a small amount of anger from Freddy, likely annoyed with me for spoiling his fun.

"Verto, can you take Buu by yourself?" Trunks asked.

"That isn't Buu; that is just an illusion. That guy on the roof has conjured it all from your memories. You were never really fighting Buu, and you were never using your power, he allowed you to believe that," I whispered low enough for only them to hear.

"That must be why the fusion didn't work then," Trunks said aloud.

"Exactly, he has only manipulated your minds into a fearful state, that's how he gains power," I replied.

"What a wimp!" Trunks said with a grin as his pride suddenly resurfaced. I declined to remind him that the wimp had out foxed him; I needed them strong at the moment.

"Hey Freddy, if you think this pathetic example of force is going to cut it against three Saiyans, then you better quit now!" I declared, enhancing the boys' confidence. Freddy didn't respond, but Buu did, laughing before charging a large blast in his mouth.

"Clear your minds and focus, he isn't really there!" I said as I glared a hole right through Buu. Trunks nodded and stared hard, concentrating. Goten was a little more unsure and looked the part. I snorted slightly and powered up a bit, forming a minimal Psi barrier in front of all three of us just in case I had guessed wrong. The blast exploded off of it, leaving no real dent in the ground or the barrier. Goten sounded relieved with a heavy sigh, he likely knew that any real blast from Buu would have actually done something. I used the energy I had released and sent it all at Buu quickly, watching him vanish as the small Psi bolts hit him.

"Wow, you were right!" Goten noted.

"I usually am. Can you two wake up and get out of here?" I asked.

"How do we do that?" Trunks asked. _Good point, never thought of that._

"So you think you can ruin my fun?" a gruff voice suddenly asked. I turned my head forward again to see Freddy standing less than ten feet away. He was even worse looking than I thought him to be, another example of what made him what he was.

"I know I can scar face," I replied coolly.

"We'll see about that! As soon as I find out what you're afraid of, you'll die in misery!" he declared as he backed up a step.

"Good luck doing that!" I said.

"Oh I will, you'll see!" he said. His clawed hand flipped out and his energy surged again as large pieces of rubble rose and flew towards us. I powered up quickly, careful not to shock Goten or Trunks with my energy. I flew into the air easily enough, but they didn't follow. _Duh, now that they realize that it's all an illusion, they won't be able to use their ki._ I flew down and grabbed them both by the arm. When I lifted up though, they vanished completely. I bashed the debris away easily enough, but looked around as I was unsure of what just happened.

"What the hell did you do this time?" I asked.

Freddy growled in response, "Damnit I lost them! Must be time for breakfast again!" _They woke up? At exactly the same time? No matter how similar those two are, they don't ever wake up at the same time; it's never happened! Okay, scratch that, it has happened at roughly the same time, but there would have to be some sort of difference, even if it were milliseconds. Let's see, they vanished the instant I touched them, so maybe the exposure from my power blocked out Freddy's influence and allowed them to wake up. If that's the case though, how come I'm still here? Maybe it only works that way on someone else._

"It doesn't matter what happened freak! The point is they are gone and now it's down to just you and me!" I said as I rushed towards him.

**A/N's:**

**WDG: … Actually, I wouldn't have been surprised if they _were_ woken up by the mentioning of food. But I guess this works. Well now, if Freddy gets his power (and kicks) from the fear of his victims, it looks like he's fairly powerless right now, neh? I guess there's a reason he targets kids (besides pedophilia). They can't figure out its all an illusion. Looks like he messed with the wrong 'kid' this time! Whoops?**

**VB: Heh, well I guess we'll see what happens then. That is a fairly good assessment, but you have to wonder if he will be able to fool Verto as easily as Goten and Trunks if this goes longer than one round?**

**Again, no preview this time.**


	8. Freddy's Nightmare

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 7: Freddy's Nightmare**

I smacked Freddy in the face with a hard right hand, sending him into the ground. He got up slowly and held his face in surprise. I noticed a small trickle of blood coming from his charred face; the blow had hurt him.

"Impossible!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, what about this one?" I asked. I charged in and punched him multiple times in the chest and stomach. Each hit left major damage behind as I heard a rib or three snap suddenly. Freddy coughed heavily as he spat blood onto the ground once I backed off. He looked pathetic, unable to muster anything on his own turf.

"You really are not worth the effort," I said.

"Shut up, you little shit!" he fired back. That response got him a small Psi blast to the arm, and it blew completely off.

"Argh! Not my arm!" he cried out.

"Say goodbye to your other one!" I declared as I blew the other one up with a slightly stronger blast. I wasn't anywhere near half power and I was still easily outclassing him.

"Tell Babidi that he needs to come up with a better plan. Murdering a bunch of humans with a weakling like you sure didn't work!" I suggested as I formed my Psi sword.

"No, you can't!" Freddy pleaded.

"I can, and I will, goodbye!" I said, slashing right through his head and body, cutting him in half. His painful scream filled the lands even though his throat had been cut in half, and an eruption of blackness from his body expanded outwards until it filled everything. I sighed and powered down as this happened, and soon what felt like sleep took over.

* * *

I awoke with a slight jolt, seeing a smiling girl's face with lavender hair surrounded by blue skies. Her eyes seemed to sparkle even more so than usual.

"Hey, you're finally awake. Took you long enough!" Lenz said, sounding a bit relieved.

"Did you beat him?" another voice asked, belonging to Trunks.

"Yeah I think so," I replied as I sat up. I glanced around and saw many of the children playing around the grounds, and saw no real sign of disaster. _I thought I told those damn cops to send them home._

"How long was I out?" I asked as a sudden headache hit me for a moment.

"All night and nearly half the day, these two just woke up too. Just in time for a beautiful day now that the freaks are gone!" Lenz declared.

"Did Jason show up again or has he been quiet?" I asked.

"Not a peep from that big dude, I can only guess that since you got the other one that he's gone now too," Lenz said. She sounded a bit clueless in that regard, not surprising. I stood up slowly as the boys ran off towards the lake, noting that is was a very nice day considering what had happened. _Maybe its one of those post battle things with fate; it was like this after Buu as well._

"So what do you want to do today?" Lenz asked.

"I just got done fighting a dream demon. Not much else is on my mind right now," I replied.

"Then how does a nice calm walk around the lake to settle your nerves sound?" she asked.

"Works for me," I said.

I walked alongside Lenz and circled the lake several times before I noticed something strange. There were many more children present, as if Cochteau had restocked so to speak. I shook it off though; I hadn't taken much of a headcount before things went down the way they did. The lake was sparkling clear today, even more so than I had thought. _Then again, sunny days do that sometimes._ Lenz was smiling about something, but I wasn't sure what exactly until she giggled a bit. I rolled my eyes slightly when she stopped to suggest whatever she was planning. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"Wanna go for a dip?" she asked. I took note that we were on the far side of the water, so likely no one would even see us out there.

"If you are about to suggest what I think you will, then go get a bathing suit on," I replied, knowing from training her that she preferred to swim in her birthday suit.

"Oh no one is going to see us!"

"Look, I know where this is going since Videl spilled the beans about my past. She tortured me like this too a few times," I said simply.

"Oh, it won't be torture by any means," she said, swaying towards me a bit.

"And I understand the whole affection thing you have in your blood, but that's just not my style okay? You're my student and its not right," I said, knowing exactly what road she was going down.

"Oh shut up, most men wouldn't complain, and you'd be getting a free peek. It's not like we're going to do anything anyway!" she pouted slightly.

I grunted slightly again, "Fine, I'll at least turn around so you can get in first!" I gave in and turned around with my eyes closed. A hand grabbed my shoulder and back suddenly and I was thrown into the water. I swam to the surface quickly, watching as Lenz laughed loudly, her prank successful.

"Okay, you had your fun, my turn!" I said as I thrust my arm forward suddenly. The tidal wave left a dripping and stunned Lenz once the water drained away, but it faded quickly, along with her clothing as she jumped in. Surprisingly, she actually did have a bathing suit on. Not that it hid much of her anatomy. I tossed my boots and shirt aside and swam slowly beside her as we ventured out into the deeper water.

"Tell me something kid, you wanna go diving?" she asked suddenly when we came to a stop and treaded water.

"Sure, but there isn't any sort of cliff around here to jump off of, and that's the only way it would be any fun for us," I said.

"I didn't mean into water!" she said with a very large grin. That statement shot my questioning eyebrow into the air until I figured out what it meant.

"No, you aren't going to persuade me into a "Verto-Experiment" no matter how hard you try," I replied as I turned around.

"Oh but I want to! I know you want to! You can't deny it!" she pleaded as she wrapped her arms around me and held me close, her chest pushing into my back suggestively. _Man, it might be a good thing that I'm not older, that might have done it right there._ I felt hot breath go over my ear just as a pair of teeth found it.

"I said no and I mean it! Now stop!" I said, forcing myself away. I heard slight whimpering a moment later, but I refused to face her, as it was probably part of her plan. _Okay this is going a little too far; I know she's usually frisky, but this is getting out of hand even for her. _"Why are you acting this way?" I asked in an irritated tone as I turned around.

"I just want to be with you!" she whined.

"You are with me; that's solved. You don't need to behave this way to get my attention! I don't mind if you want to eat together, train or just hang out, but you don't need to go to this length for my attention, teacher or not," I explained in a calmer tone.

"I only want to protect you!" she said with a desperate look in her eye.

"Protect me? I think that's my job right now, not yours. I don't need it and you should know that by now," I replied.

"Oh, sorry," she said as she swam away. I thought about telling her off in a slightly more scornful way that involved a lecture about how to protect someone, but it appeared that she got the point. I sighed slightly, glancing up and noticing that the sky was starting to darken and turn orange; a clear sign of the day coming to a close. I got out of the water and turned back towards the campgrounds. I only took one step and everything flashed bright white and I found myself in a burned landscape covered in fire and blood. _What the hell? _

"Help!" Someone shouted as I took another step and stopped in shock. A pair of hands latched onto my arm and pulled me back.

"No, don't go; stay with me!" Lenz said, dripping wet from the lake, which was now the color of blood. Behind her I saw a stretch of land that remained the same, nothing had changed, and a line between the two environments cut right through the lake as well.

"I have to go Lenz; you know that," I said as I shrugged her off.

"No, I don't want to lose you!" she cried as the water works got going. I stared at her pearl-like blue eyes, seeing that she was being sincere, yet I had never seen her act quite this way. Something wasn't right; Lenz had never been quite this affectionate, and she had usually been very bold in what she did, not timid unless she was extremely frightened. I turned around and stomped into the hell zone before me, I felt the answer to this was in there.

"No!" she cried out again, to no avail.

* * *

I saw little to no movement besides several small and large fires raging. The skies were filled with ash clouds and the occasional burning meteor flew by, making this place look like Armageddon had come down. I finally spotted one of the tiny campers being chased by something that was flying. When I took a step closer, I saw this something was actually alien in nature, and had Saiyan like armor on. _A Frieza goon? Well whoever he is, he's dead!_ I charged in and caught up to the minion just as he shot his blaster at the child. I tried to catch up, but the blast just moved to fast. It struck right through and blew through the kid's chest, killing him instantly. I growled and punched the face of the alien as hard as I could, sending his head flying. I snarled loudly as I was unable to save the child, but soon something else caught my attention. The sound of air being displaced drew my angry glare upwards, where I saw a distant figure blasting the grounds below him and laughing about it. I charged up and intercepted this evildoer, finding it to be Recoome of the Ginyu Force. He barely had time to stop before I knocked him out of the air and sent a string of ki blasts at him. His ashes floated to the ground a moment later as I put two and two together. _Okay, this is obviously some sort of invasion. The question is; how did they get here, and can I send them back to hell and fix everything?_ I sensed a powerful presence nearby and flew towards it quickly, finding Frieza himself standing with Cell along the side of the blood filled lake.

"Oh, look who it is!" Frieza pointed out with a grin on his face as I landed.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?" I asked.

"Just your death boy!" he shouted as he pointed his finger at me, firing his patented death beam. I dodged aside quickly and drove my knee into his face, thus driving him into the dirt. I immediately glared at Cell, knowing what he tended to do in these situations. His confident grin remained, though he didn't move.

"Well, you care to have a go of it too?" I asked with a threatening glare.

"I think he's the one you should worry about!" Cell said, pointing upwards. I turned and spotted a black figure in the sky above, which had darkened as well. At first I thought it was the monster Kaa, but I didn't see any claws, nor was his skin green. The figure lowered and I could barely make out black spiky hair around his head. All of a sudden deep red eyes opened up and he began to laugh slightly. The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"I believe we will step out of this, it looks like you and the boy have some unresolved issues!" Cell said as he dragged Frieza away. As soon as I turned back to the mystery person, I was floored by his large fist as it met my stomach. I bent over in sudden pain, not expecting it.

"You caused me harm, and I do not like that!" he bellowed. His voice was even deeper than I expected, and I glanced up to see one of my worst nightmares reborn. The blackened and hard scales covered him head to toe, but it was his sickening grin and evil eyes that gave it away. What I saw was the Overmind, fused with Broly's body.

"You, but that's impossible; I destroyed you!" I claimed as he stepped closer.

"And now I'm back for my revenge! I believe you call it a recurring theme! You should have stayed with that little tramp; then you wouldn't have had to face me again! I guess I'll have to pay her a visit after I'm done with you!" Zerg-Broly said.

"Leave her out of this!" I shouted back.

"She's already brought herself in! See for yourself!" he said, pointing to the skies. There I spotted Lenz flying through the air, decked out in Saiyan battle armor similar to what Vegeta usually wore. Her lavender hair was also wrapped in a pony tail.

"No, get out of here," I whispered. Broly lifted into the air and blasted off towards her. "NO!!" I shouted as I prepared to chase after him. A pair of arms snatched me down, belonging to Cell and Frieza.

"Watch as she dies runt!" Frieza snickered. I tried to overpower their grip, but was unable to. Lenz didn't even see Broly coming until it was too late. He punched her once in the ribs and almost knocked her out before he threw her towards the ground.

"Stop it!" I shouted, trying to get out of the villains' grip. I tugged on my ki to come out so I could overpower them, but nothing happened. _What the hell is going on? Why aren't my powers working? They were just a second ago. _I watched helplessly as Broly's foot landed harshly on her stomach, sending blood and spit into the air.

"Argh, get off of me!" I shouted as I thrashed around, finally getting loose. I ran full sprint at Broly and punched him hard across the face. Nothing happened, absolutely nothing, and he returned the favor in a flash, throwing me aside, next to Lenz.

"Time to die along with your tramp!" Broly declared as a large green blast formed in his hand.

"Get off of him freak!" another gruff voice shouted. To my surprise, Vegeta flew in and bashed Broly across the face, knocking him away. He grunted slightly and glared down at me, his green Super Saiyan eyes piercing into mine.

"Get a hold of yourself boy, you can't just give up now!" he growled. Then he blasted off into the sky just as Broly joined him, and a brief brawl broke out before he bashed Vegeta into the ground. I tried to summon my power again, and still got nothing. _Come on, what's wrong with me? _

"Hey, little bro?" Lenz barely whispered.

"What is it?" I asked as I looked into her eyes again.

"Do I, do I look good in this?" she asked as she coughed hard.

"Yes, of course," I replied with tears forming in my eyes.

"Glad to hear it, oh," she gasped as her head fell to the side, lifeless.

"No! Don't leave me! Don't leave me!" I whispered and then screamed. No response came from Lenz as I shook her slightly. I pouted a bit just by reaction, I wasn't ready for this. I didn't understand any of this and now people were dying because of it. I stood up slowly and marched towards Zerg-Broly, Frieza and Cell, whom were all standing by, grinning. I suddenly didn't care if I had no power to fight them with; I was still going to try. Just as I started towards them, Vegeta sprang up and charged in. Broly met him with a large green blast, and the only thing left of Vegeta afterwards was red mist with a few golden hairs that dropped to the ground in front of me.

"No," I whispered as my eyes overfilled with salt water. I tried to summon my power again, finding it was still missing.

"Why, why why why?!" I shouted as I dropped to my knees and struck the dirt.

"I told you I would find out what you're afraid of!" Broly said. I snapped upwards as I glared at him, his words said it all for me. _This isn't real. _I got up once I realized what was going on and looked back at where Lenz had been. Her body was swimming in a pool of blood, but for a brief moment, she seemed to fade away. _This is just another illusion. He tricked me into thinking I had beaten him._

"What happened brat, did you finally snap and lose your mind too?" Frieza asked.

"Actually, I think I just got it back," I replied. I refocused my thoughts and found my Psi energy easily. "Now let's try this again," I said as Broly flew towards me. Using minimal power, I knocked him aside and into the red lake. _Yep, no way I could have done that for real._

"What the hell, how did you do that?" he shouted back.

"Argh, get out of my head right now, Freddy!" I shouted.

Frieza and Cell looked at each other and laughed, "Who are you talking about, boy? You really have lost it!" I powered up a large blast and turned both villains into dust a moment later, ending their laughter before I turned towards Broly.

"Fine then," he said before he promptly vanished.

"And here I thought that would do it for sure. It nearly did, I guess I'll have to dig a little deeper next time. I didn't realize your mind was so resistant to telepathic interference," a voice said behind me. I turned to see Freddy, who looked pleased and disappointed at the same time, if that's possible.

"Then those visions of Lenz and Vegeta was my own mind fighting back wasn't it, trying to keep me safe?" I asked, holding back for a moment.

"It seems so, I was unable to actively affect what happened until you crossed over here, and it still interfered despite being under my control. You are without a doubt the toughest mind I've ever tried to crack; it usually takes no effort. You should feel proud!" he claimed, clapping his hands a bit.

"Save your congratulations, you won't fool me again! Now get out!" I growled.

"Oh you think it's that easy. You're in my domain and what I say goes! It may be your mind, but it's my battlefield. Let's see how far this delightful game takes us!" he laughed slightly.

"I said, GET OUT!" I shouted as I powered up in anger. Lightning struck around the grounds in the form of my Psi energy as I took it up to full.

"Now now, what good does a little explosion do here? Nothing, just like before!" he claimed. He suddenly looked nervous for some reason, and the ground below my feet began to vanish into blackness. I expanded my energy field just slightly and the same happened there as well. _And there's my ticket out of here!_

"Don't be so rash boy, you never know what could happen if you try to leave this place without my permission!" Freddy said nervously.

"Shut up! You don't control me!" I shouted again. I sent my Psi energy outwards in all directions, watching as the scenery faded to black. Freddy snarled a bit and suddenly vanished just as the energy reached him. I stopped charging it and searched for any signs of him, but found none. I suddenly felt feint, until something touched my arm.

* * *

"Verto, wake up!" a voice said. I opened my eyes as I suddenly realized what was going on and sat up quickly, scaring the crap out of Lenz, Trunks and Goten in the process. _Am I really awake, or is this just another illusion?_

"What happened to you in there?" Trunks asked first. I attempted to scan around for any and all energy signatures, and found them quickly and normally, aside from some heightened levels next to me due to stress.

I sighed slightly, " You don't want to know."

"Your face is bruised," Lenz pointed as she touched my cheek. I winced as a painful spurt came from it, exactly where the fake Broly had punched me. I looked Trunks and Goten over, seeing they were just as battered as they were in the dream, except for their clothes.

"You powered up suddenly with that energy that we can't sense, and then you woke up. Before that you were out like a light and except for the occasional twitch you were quiet," Lenz explained.

"Well I got you two out; that's what's important right now. I don't think he's gone though. I think I only kicked him out of my mind with that power surge. What's happened out here since then?" I asked.

"The cops found that kid Blake dead in the woods shortly before that hockey dude showed up again, we took care of him though," Trunks said with pride.

"Anyone else get killed?" I asked.

"No, while you were out a delivery truck showed up and passed out some sort of medicine to everyone. They tried to get me and the boys to take it, but I threatened to disembowel them if they tried to force us," Lenz said with a deep grin.

"What does disembowel mean Trunks?" Goten asked suddenly.

"Uh, ask me again later," Trunks said with a pale face. I stood up and tightened my belt slightly while I surveyed the area. It was the same as when I first when to sleep; police tape and bloody patches in the grass along with a burnt cabin.

"What were you afraid of?" Trunks asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you said that he uses our fear against us, and he sure did. So what was yours?" he asked again.

I hesitated just slightly, "There's only one thing I could be afraid of Trunks, I trust you can figure that out," I replied.

"I've heard it helps if you admit what that is. Go on, tell us," Lenz suggested.

I frowned at her for it, but didn't shout, "I'm afraid of losing someone dear to me. Happy?" Neither of the boys seemed inclined to answer, but that wasn't the case with Lenz.

"Oh, that's so sweet!" she said, sounding delighted.

"And I just got it shoved in my face, imagine how sweet that was," I growled.

"So what now?" Lenz asked.

"It isn't over yet. We're going to find a way to beat him," I whispered.

**A/n: Ya'll likely knew it was a dream pretty quickly, and that's fine by me. Dreams never make much sense once you think about them, too bad we can't actually think about them until they are over, and even then you have to concentrate pretty hard or you'll lose it. You can however, keep dreaming and dreaming if you try hard enough, even after that alarm clock goes off. But once you crawl out of bed, poof, it's gone!**


	9. The Better Killer

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 8: The better killer**

"Have you got them all out of here yet? It's almost sunset!" I shouted at the chief of Springwood's finest. He had finally gotten around to evacuating the other children once he realized that Jason wasn't going to stay down for very long. He was so concerned with Freddy that he barely gave the machete-wielding psycho any credit. Apparently seeing more officers getting slaughtered helped to amend that deficiency.

"Last load is leaving now, the only ones left are you four and the two remaining counselors. Speaking of which, where are they?" the chief asked. I glanced over to see Lori fast asleep, against the side of one of the cabins. The chief grimaced slightly as he jogged over there. _Judging by the way he's moving, I'm guessing she didn't take any of those dream suppressant pills._

"Lori wake up!" he shouted into her ear while shaking her arm. I slowly walked over with the others as Lori suddenly twitched a bit and a small cut opened up on her arm.

"Stand back," I said as I powered a very small amount of Psi into my finger. I touched the top of her forehead and allowed it to enter her brain before stepping back.

"What did you do?" he asked. Lori suddenly screamed and jumped up, freshly awake from the dream world.

"That," I grinned slightly. Lori was very shaken, and by the way her jaw quivered, she wasn't counting on surviving an encounter with Freddy. Then she had a very strange look on her face and looked down at her hand. In it was a bloody and ragged ear, which she dropped in surprise. When it hit the ground, it literally turned into maggots.

"Cool!" Trunks and Goten said at once.

"I pulled that out of my dream! I ripped it right off his head!" Lori exclaimed. _She must have done it right as I woke her with that energy surge. Maybe I can bring him out if I go back and then wake myself again just like last time, only this time I'll need to be touching him in the dream. That might be tough…and disgusting. _Lori still looked disturbed and not relieved at all.

The chief attempted to reassure her, "Hey, you made it out, its all right!"

"No, I saw Gibb in my dream and Freddy was going after her before he saw me. She was stumbling around like she was drunk again!" she said, very frightened.

"Anyone else seen her lately?" I asked straight away. Everyone shook their heads, and I resorted to scanning for her energy signal. Other than everyone in the camping area, I only sensed one signal coming towards us from the woods. _Crap, I probably can't sense her weak life force if she's still asleep and far enough away. _

"Well if she's still asleep I can try to find her in the dream world. But I can't sense her nearby so she's likely already dead. I do sense Jason heading this way though, so be on guard!" I ordered. Trunks and Goten saluted me on the spot and rose into the air and patrolled the area immediately.

"I see you know how to get them motivated in a tense situation little bro." Lenz added as she watched Goten chase after a frog that suddenly jumped out of the water.

"Perhaps. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some hunting to do," I said as I sat down and leaned up against the cabin just as Lori had done.

"Are you sure about going back in there, he knows how to scare you now!" Lenz pointed out.

"And he also knows that I can resist his stupid illusions, don't worry about me. I'm feeling confident," I said as I closed my eyes and lowered my power level.

* * *

I found myself in a darkened boiler room that glowed red, a very quiet one I might add. I sighed and powered up just a bit, just in case Freddy knew I was coming and had a fresh illusion ready to go. Nothing seemed off, until I heard the screaming of a girl nearby. I floated slightly off the ground and searched the place quickly without making a sound, I didn't want things to get out of hand by a mistake. I spotted a startled Gibb running towards a row of lockers on the other end of the boiler room, and Freddy was methodically stalking her. She jumped into one of the lockers when she thought the coast was clear and hid in there for a moment. Freddy suddenly vanished and then reappeared on top of her locker without a sound. After a moment or two, the locker door started to shake just a bit, likely a sign that Gibb was going to poke her head out. _No, don't fall for it, don't come out!_ She wasn't telepathic by any means, and came out anyway, shrieking when Freddy dropped in, upside down.

"Oh, don't worry! There's nothing to fear, but fear himself!" Freddy said, clearly referring to himself in an odd way.

"Stay away from me!" Gibb shouted in fear as she jumped back into the locker and slammed the door. Freddy flipped down and ripped the door right off its hinges just as I landed and stepped towards them. Freddy looked distracted enough that he wouldn't notice light footsteps.

"You can't escape me!" he replied.

"Hey scar face!" I shouted suddenly, stopping his advance in a hurry. He turned in surprise and then slight anger.

"You, how did you get in here?" he growled.

"You tell me, it's your domain after all!" I grinned slightly as I formed my Psi sword and waved it in the air a bit. Freddy took a half step back as I stomped towards him.

"So, you still think you can beat me in here? It's my game and I make the rules!" he boasted as he turned his back to me.

"Your rules are effective, but they can't stop a good rule breaker like me. Now let her go!" I warned as I got within ten feet of them both. Gibb was in hysterics at this point, half relieved to see someone she knew to be powerful come to her rescue, and the other half very aware that Freddy was only inches away and looking right at her.

"Take another step and she dies too!" he fired back, holding up his claws at her as he glanced at me for a brief second. Gibb saw the unguarded moment and kicked him down low. Apparently even in the dream world that hurts, because Freddy went down quick. Gibb jumped out of the locker and sprinted towards me. She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped in surprise with a very painful look on her face. Her chest suddenly exploded, showering my face with a decent splatter of red while she fell to the ground lifeless.

"Damnit," I glared at Freddy, but received an even more surprised glance in return.

He snarled at the body, "No! She was mine!"

"What? Are you losing it now that you killed another one? Was one more too much for you?" I spat at the ground as I wiped off my face.

"That damned hockey freak took her from me!" he claimed.

"Oh, so now you two are playing 'who's the better killer?' Well at least he isn't afraid to do it with his own two hands. Tell you what, I've got a game, it's called 'let's see who survives the next few minutes longer?' The players are you and Jason!" I growled as I dashed towards him quickly.

"You know, that isn't such a bad idea," he said with a sudden grin. He suddenly vanished as a bright light blinded me and swallowed the entire room.

* * *

I awoke with nice little jolt as Lenz was attempting to wake me up by treating me like a saltshaker. "Okay okay! I'm awake, you can stop now!" I yelled.

"Oh good, thought I lost you there for a minute," she said with a hopeful gleam in her eye.

"Did you get her out?" Lori asked as she kneeled down close.

"Nearly, but I think Jason found her first. I wasn't able to get to her, but it may not have mattered," I said in disgust.

"You think she's dead?" Lori asked this time. I turned an eyebrow up at this question, which saved me the trouble of answering when she figured that out herself.

"So what now, I'm the last one you know!" she pointed out.

"I know that, I'm trying here okay? We need a plan." I said.

"Well I really don't feel like waiting for one of those two scary mother fuckers to appear and kill me!" she shouted in anger and fear.

"It's amazing how irrational these humans get sometimes," Lenz commented.

"Yeah, like you're a model citizen," I muttered.

"Hey!" she yelled back. My thoughts on the matter were interrupted when I heard a shotgun being cocked and then fired nearby.

"Hey big brother, we've got trouble!" Trunks called out as he flew by. I jumped to my feet and into the air to see Jason staggering towards the only remaining cop car. The chief of police himself was busy shooting at him, and missing badly.

"We got him this time! He won't survive another minute with us on the job!" Trunks declared as he rushed in with Goten. Something about his words reminded me of my recent outing with Freddy.

"Hold on Trunks!" I called out as I flew towards Jason as fast as possible.

"What?" he asked as I passed him by. Jason could barely react before I phased out and reappeared behind him, knocking him flat with a knife hand to the head.

"Hey, that was my kill!" Trunks growled as he flew up.

"You can have him later," I said as the chief nudged Jason in the shoulder with his rifle.

"Is he dead?" he asked when Jason didn't move.

"No, but he won't be waking up for awhile," I said as I lowered to the ground.

"What good does it do to just knock him out?" Lenz asked.

"Well you saw how much good killing him did. I have a hunch about this. Freddy didn't seem too happy that Jason killed Gibb before he could. Look at it this way, we can keep an eye on him now," I pointed out. The chief rushed to his car trunk suddenly and nearly ripped a small case out of there. Inside were a few large needles and some sort of pink colored fluid, which he loaded a lot of into one of the syringes.

"Uh oh, he's got a shot! I don't want one!" Goten whined.

"It isn't for you," the chief said as he dropped next to Jason and stuck it in.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Tranquilizer, that should keep him down for a little while. Freddy can take his time with him," the chief said, his voice full of malice. As he said this, Jason started to twitch slightly.

"I hope they just kill each other while they're at it," Lori grumbled.

"Unlikely in the dream world. Jason may not be scared of anything at all, but he isn't going to be able to kill Freddy in his own backyard. What we should do is try to pull Freddy out of the dream world and get him here. Then he's toast," I suggested.

"That isn't a bad idea. That has made him go away in the past. But at some point he will return again just like before," the chief said.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to make sure he doesn't come back now won't we?" I said.

"How will you do that?" he asked.

"I have friends in high places, I'll make sure of it," I replied with a serious tone that seemed to startle the chief.

"Okay, now how are we going to pull him out?" Trunks asked, eager to have a part in the plan.

"A friend of mine did it once several years ago. She managed to wake up at the exact time she had touched Freddy in her dream," the chief pointed out.

"That's an idea, but there are so many things that could go wrong with it. I should go myself since I can wake myself with my power, but the problem is that he will stay away from me. I can wake someone else, but too soon or too late and it won't matter. The timing of it would have to be flawless and that is damn near impossible," I replied.

"What about me, I almost did it before?" Lori asked suddenly.

"You do realize that you could be killed before you pull him out," Lenz said sternly.

"Here just wake me up after fifteen minutes, I'll have him by then! He'll probably toy with me again!" Lori suggested as she revealed a watch and then appeared to set a timer.

"There's no guarantee you can reach dream state in fifteen minutes. And as you can see, Freddy is busy right now," I warned, pointing at Jason's prone form.

"Please let me try, I can do it! I know I might not survive, but I owe him one! If all else fails and I don't get him in fifteen minutes, just wake me and I'll try again!" she begged now.

"Just a minute ago you didn't seem so eager," Lenz muttered.

"Let her try. It's Freddy's fault to begin with. He killed her mother several years ago, let him get what's coming to him. We can give her a small amount of this and it should knock her right out," the chief said, holding up another syringe. That little tidbit of information apparently wasn't public knowledge, because Lori freaked out.

"It was Freddy? Not Will? You knew it was him, and you sent Will go up to that hell house anyway? You knew and you still blamed him?!" Lori shouted, as the chief had clearly struck a nerve.

"It was for your own good!" the chief yelled back.

"Drop it!" I growled, silencing the two of them instantly, "I don't care what you two have against each other right now, you can figure that mess out later. If you're going to do this I suggest you get going now," I ordered as the chief brought the shot of tranquilizer over. Lori grumbled a bit but complied and laid down flat. Within about ten seconds she was out cold.

* * *

The minutes ticked by slowly while Lori remained completely still and Jason seemed ready to wake up from his own nightmare at any second.

"So who do you think wins?" Trunks suddenly asked. I glanced at him in question, while Goten did the same.

"What do you mean Trunks?" he asked his friend.

"I mean between those two creeps," he replied.

"Are they going to fight each other out here?" Goten asked.

"Well of course dummy! They're fighting in there now, but I bet that Freddy jerk can't take the big one without his tricks! Once he's out here he's as good as dead! Then we can take the big one out, it'll be just like when we squashed all those Zerg!" Trunks declared in confidence.

I snorted, "Was this before or after I had to save you two from that swarm?" Trunks kept his reply to a mild grumble while Goten rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"So who do you think will win little bro?" Lenz asked this time.

"It's irrelevant, I'm killing both of them once Freddy's out here," I said with a deep scowl.

"Oh come on, that match up would be at least entertaining!" she grinned.

"I'll humor you with something else later. Those two are going to hell first," I growled.

"What's wrong with a little gore fest? It's not like they can beat any of us anyway, right little bro?" she asked in a sweet tone, clearly trying to butter me up to the idea. Needless to say, she failed.

"Knock it off, I'm not letting either of them escape what's coming to them. I've had my fair share of blood from both of them as it is. Far too many people have died while we were around to prevent it, and I'm really fucking sick of it!" I shouted angrily. I grunted a bit and turned away, _Okay, calm down. No need to blow up the whole damn camp before Freddy arrives. I'll give him the business end of my sword in time._ Unfortunately, Lenz wasn't quite done.

"Okay little bro, no need to scream at me like a psycho," she said, exasperated.

"I told you to stop calling me that. I'm not your damn brother and neither is Trunks no matter how similar we look! We are all Saiyans, nothing more! So keep your stupid pet names to yourself!" I snarled, startling pretty much everyone that was awake.

"Hey, take it easy," Trunks whispered from my left as I glared at Lenz. Goten was just as surprised, but chose to remain silent.

"Lighten up, runt! I'm just trying to ease the tension! It's not my fault that you are such a stubborn little asshole!" she shouted back with the small hint of a tear coming out of her left eye. It wasn't much and she probably had a point, but it was enough to drop whatever restraint my mouth currently had.

"And a good job of that you're doing, bitch! I'm sure a whore like you is quite talented at easing the tension!" I regretted what I said pretty quickly, but once the words are out there isn't too much one can do. The look on her face fell apart as the more prominent gasp of sadness filled the air shortly before she ran off towards the dock, crying her eyes out. That hadn't been the reaction I was expecting from her, but as she often admitted, she was very emotional.

"Was that really necessary?" the chief asked.

"That was low even for you! Even dad…well I've heard worse from him, but I've never seen you go that far," Trunks pointed out.

"Trunks, when you're older, I'll show you just how low one can go when it comes to insults. That was pretty mild," I grumbled.

"You called her a whore. Mom beat my head in when I asked what that meant," Trunks pointed out.

"So, what does it mean?" Goten asked.

"Fine, to make it up to her, I'll let her beat the shit out of me later! This isn't the time to be practicing how to be politically correct!" I said sternly, silencing him. Shortly afterwards I spotted Jason beginning to stir just as Lori stopwatch started to beep.

"Great, horrible timing as usual!" I groaned as I rushed over and kicked Jason lightly, sending him rolling sideways away from her and into the bank of the lake. Once Jason splashed in, he immediately got up and scrambled out, staring at the water and shaking slightly.

"He's afraid of water, are you kidding me?" Trunks asked as he started to laugh.

I rolled my eyes slightly, "I guess the nutcases have to have something strange like that hidden away, I'll wake Lori now!" I quickly jogged over just as a large cut opened up on the underside of her wrist.

"Damnit, come on, wake up!" I said just as I transferred a tiny amount of energy just like before. Her arm suddenly came to life and reached across and balled up into a fist. She gasped suddenly as she woke up, and above her a scarred face appeared along with a body wearing a red and black sweater, which was being held by her bleeding hand.

"Now you die, you little bitch!" he shouted.

"I don't think so," I said. Freddy glanced up in surprise just as I gave him a kick to his ugly face, sending him flying until he landed near Jason's feet.

"Oh no!" Freddy gasped when he realized where he was.

* * *

"Go Jason, tear him up!" Trunks called from the picnic tables. Jason grabbed Freddy by the sweater and threw him in that direction. Trunks and Goten jumped into the air and watched as Freddy fell through one table hard. I scanned Freddy's energy sharply just in case I had missed something with our plan, and detected only a small ki signal, signifying his life force. The Psi signal was also at a normal human level. _No more telepathic powers for you creep! _Jason stalked up and picked up his machete, which happened to be lying there. He swung down with Freddy's head in his sights. Freddy's stunned body woke up long enough for him to realize this and rolled away from it. The blade got stuck in the table debris, and with the added weight on it, Jason wasn't quite able to swing it full force when Freddy launched at him. Freddy struck him in the side with his claws and then swung them back and forth, cutting up Jason's midsection. Jason ignored the pain for a moment and missed on a wild backhand when Freddy jumped backwards. He didn't avoid the table though when Jason hit him directly with it, splintering the wood and freeing up the machete. Freddy flew backwards from the force of the blow as the two boys cheered. I grunted at this cheap entertainment they were getting from it.

"You have to admit, it is a bit amusing to see Freddy getting knocked around by his own puppet," the chief said as he bandaged up Lori's wrist.

"Someone I know would probably agree as he gets a kick out of watching humans go at it. You two get in the car and get out of here. I'm going to blow them away!" I warned as I rose into the air. The chief nodded and helped the relieved girl into the vehicle as Jason stomped a warpath towards Freddy. Freddy backed up in slight fear until he regained his footing, then he jumped at Jason just as the huge man charged in. He avoided the swing from the machete and stabbed Jason in the upper shoulder and neck area this time, trying to slow the big man down. Jason shrugged him off for a moment, but the new wounds took their toll and left him dazed as blood squirted out. Freddy stepped around and started punching Jason in the chin several times as the big man dropped to his knees.

"C'mon Jason, mess him up!" Trunks and Goten shouted together.

"Ugh," I shook my head and started powering up a fitting ki blast for them both, one handed. Just as my blast started to drown the area in green light, Freddy stabbed two of his claws into Jason's eyes, gouging them both. Jason flopped around in pain as Freddy pulled his claws out, but regained his composure for a moment and dug the machete right into Freddy's side. It probably could have sliced him clean in half if he had enough power behind it, but due to injuries he couldn't muster the strength. With blood shooting out of both of them and forming a pool in the grass, I had seen enough.

"Hey Freddy! Get a taste of this one you sick mother fucker!" I shouted just as I finished my one-handed blast.

"Aw, just when it was getting good!" Trunks whined.

"Final Shine!" I shouted, unleashing Freddy and Jason's doom. Freddy shouted in terror as the blast engulfed him, while Jason swung his blade, continuing the battle to its bitter end. After a few moments it didn't matter and nothing but bright green could be seen. Once the smoke cleared, I could see a large and deep crater surrounded by the blown down tree line. Jason's mask lay at the center, slightly cracked but there was nothing left of either of them and both ki signals were long gone. _What is with that mask? It has survived every encounter, don't tell me that's how he keeps coming back? Can't take a chance!_ I summoned my Psi sword as I flew towards the ground, stabbing into the mask as I landed on my knee. I sensed the odd energy from the grave building up through the mask before it rose into the air, shaking. White light sprayed out from the cracks in the mask before spreading through and exploding, destroying the mask for good.

* * *

"Man, you finish battles way too quickly!" Trunks whined again as I walked up.

"Get used to it, we aren't here for a parade. And I don't exactly see a tournament crowd around here or anything," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I was really hoping they would kill each other! Dad and I never get to see a fight go down to the end on TV! They just bleed a bit and then they stop the match! It's like he says, the last one standing or living should be the winner, not the first bleeder or whatever those rules are! Dad said that tournaments back on planet Vegita always go down to whoever lives at the end!" Trunks boasted.

"Really? Wow!" Goten said in an excited tone.

"Well maybe you can beg Popo to use that pendulum room up at the lookout and see that for yourself someday. Those two were not gladiators by any means, just mindless and heartless killers with little to no honor or pride. They probably didn't even deserve that quick death I just gave them, but too bad. Let's grab our stuff and get out of here!" I said, pointing to the cabin. _Still one thing left to do, but it can wait till morning. Still not sure I should even attempt it though. _

Trunks and Goten sighed a bit and trotted off to retrieve everything while I walked towards the dock slowly, where Lenz was standing, staring up at the skies. _Guess I better get this apology out of the way before she hates me for life. I suppose the "little bro" nickname isn't as bad as it sounds, she's probably just trying to be friendly, though she has an overly friendly attitude at times. I guess that would sound better than teacher or master to others who don't know the situation._ _Trunks was right, I did go over the line. It's Bad enough that I've been pretty negative to her ever since we met, even when I only meant to help._

As I approached, I sensed her tense up a little more, but she remained still and settled for only clenching her fists. I could still hear the occasional sniffle coming from her nose, but it was being suppressed. As sad as she was, most of her energy was generating pure anger. Nothing was said for a few minutes as I allowed her to try to calm down before I spoke.

"Look, I didn't mean what I said earlier. The nickname really doesn't bother me that much. I'm still not completely used to Trunks calling me that, and hell I've never even had a sister before," I chuckled slightly. Lenz sighed for a moment, but then seemed to hold her breath.

"Hey, I'm just saying I'm really sorry for what I said. My emotions haven't been the same since I got these powers and sometimes the littlest thing can set me off. I've been negative to you ever since we met and I shouldn't have been that way to someone so nice. I didn't mean to direct my anger over those two killers towards you. I'm very sorry for calling you that," I admitted. Lenz didn't budge or answer for the moment, but I could literally hear her heart start beating very fast as her tail unraveled itself.

"Hey, little bro. As much as I appreciate the gesture, could you drop the sentimental crap and do me a favor?" she growled with an eerie tone. I noticed a vicious shift in her ki signal and it began to rise rather quickly. _Well there's an expected reaction, albeit a bit late. But that seems a little too volatile for her. _

I looked at her with a confused smile, "What's that? You wanna hit me? Go right ahead, I deserve it! Free shot as hard as you can!"

"I really don't want to kill you, so could you blow that up before I do?" she asked as she began to shudder slightly, pointing to the skies. Just past her finger, in the blackened and starry skies, was the full moon. _Uh oh._

**A/n: Surprise! Next time on DB…Wait a second. I think you know what will likely be going on next time, there's no point in a preview…**

**Okay, maybe you don't. You didn't see this twist coming anyway, and don't even try to say you did. I'll leave one only because of that.**

**Next time on DBV: Lenz goes on a rampage in her first ever ape transformation, and its up to Goten, Trunks and Verto to stop her. When things don't go so well, Verto is faced with the difficult decision of possibly ending her life. What's that? "Just cut the tail!" Right? Ha, like it's ever that easy! **

**WDG**: **Woohoo! I get special comment space now:D But wait, what's with this 'possibly ending her life' thing? Just cut the… oh right. Well, how about 'just blow up the moon' instead, then:P**

**Anonymous reader: (It felt very Freddy Vs Jason, but it worked so no complaints. The most interesting parts I would say was Verto's unusual lash outs, never thought I'd see him act like that against someone he cared for.)**


	10. Ape Rampage

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 9: Ape Rampage**

It didn't take long for the transformation to begin, seeing her clothes rip apart followed by the rapid growth and the coat of purple fur was a good hint of things to come. _Vegeta didn't mention that Dende brought back the moon, but then again, both he and I were away for awhile. _I jumped into the air and loaded up another blast and fired straight at the moon in the sky. I overloaded it with enough energy to blow up the planet, knowing that if Piccolo could do it before with such little power, I could certainly wipe it out now. Imagine my disappointment when the blast appeared to go right through the moon.

"What the hell?" I asked aloud. Apparently this wasn't a good move either, because a large lavender colored Saiyan head appeared and completely engulfed my view of the moon while she snarled. Her loud roar and rush of hot breath popped my ears and sent me flying backwards just a bit.

"Damnit! Sorry Lenz, I know we promised you could keep your tail, but it looks like I have to take that back now!" I said. Lenz roared in response and swung her huge fist at me. I powered up quickly and dodged aside, diving down towards her large rear end. Her tail seemed to have a mind of its own and appeared to sense what was coming when I created my sword. It lashed at me just as I swung towards it, and I only grazed the tip while the force behind the tail pushed me away. Before I could go far though, she swung around and nailed me, leaving searing pain all over my body before I hit the water, losing my sword in the process.

_Geez, guess I trained her a little too well. Time to take this up a notch!_ I unleashed my energy and took it up to full power without going to Super Mystic, as I didn't feel it was necessary. Just as the water around me started to boil and evaporate, I sensed Trunks and Goten powering up nearby. _Crap, if they fuse, this is going to go south in a hurry._ I shot out of the water just as the boys were lining up, obviously sensing that Lenz in this state would be too difficult to topple. I quickly got a feel for her ki level now that she was in the ape form, feeling lucky that she hadn't gone Super Saiyan during it. It was much higher than me or the boys currently, and if I had to fight her effectively, I had to go all out.

"Trunks, Goten, don't fuse! Just try to cut off her tail and she'll return to normal! I'll keep her distracted!" I called down, attracting her attention. Both boys nodded and turned Super Saiyan just as Lenz launched into the air. I spotted a blast forming in her throat and flew backwards cautiously, waiting for it to fire before I dodged it. Goten and Trunks came flying up quickly with ki blasts ready to go. Lenz suddenly phased out quickly and I lost track of her, something that shouldn't happen when fighting someone so big at the moment. Goten and Trunks stopped and panicked just as I heard the air behind me fluctuate. I spun and saw nothing but purple fur for what seemed like miles. A brown fist came down hard just as I dove towards the ground, barely missing my head. A firestorm of ki blasts came pouring in once I was out of the way, courtesy of the boys. I stopped and rose quietly while reforming the Psi sword. The ki blasts were doing little to nothing to the giant ape, but they were providing a nice distraction for me to slip upwards unnoticed. She roared loudly just as I got within fifty feet or so, and I chose that moment to rush in. With a mighty battle cry, I dove in and sliced through her tail clean. I sighed with relief as she growled with pain and the huge tail dropped into the lake with a thunderous splash.

"Sorry about that, but it had to be done, I'm sure you'll understand," I said as I turned off my sword. When I turned towards Lenz though, I couldn't detect anything happening, other than a very angry type of ki building up suddenly in her fists. _What the hell? Her power isn't dropping, and why isn't she reverting to normal?_ Before I could find the answer, one of those fists came down hard and fast, striking my skull with all its force. Dazed and confused, I floated to the ground, unaware of anything around me. I wasn't sure what else happened before I finally blacked out, but I'm sure I was thrown into the trees afterwards.

* * *

_Get Psycho,  
I wanna get psycho,  
Get Psycho,  
I wanna, wanna, wanna, wanna…_

"Huh?" Goten and Trunks gasped at the same time when they saw the tail fall off. They were expecting to have to cover their eyes for having to see Lenz without clothes on, but the huge ape didn't show any signs of changing back to normal.

"Isn't she supposed to turn back now Trunks?" Goten asked. Trunks nodded his head nervously as Verto was clubbed hard over the head and spiraled towards the ground. Lenz dove down and intercepted the body quickly, but threw him aside when he didn't even react due to being knocked out. Verto's limp body flew into the forest and crashed through some trees at a very high rate of speed. Lenz seemed satisfied for the moment before she glanced down at the two Super Saiyan boys.

"Uh oh," Trunks gasped.

"I think we should fuse now," Goten suggested.

"Yeah, good idea!" Trunks said as they lined up. Lenz roared and came down much too fast just as they started the dance.

"Scatter!" Trunks shouted. Both boys were able to avoid the impact from the huge ape crashing into the ground, but were now separated from each other.

"Hey, mean lady!" Goten waved at Lenz from the ground. She stood up and looked down with a very evil look in her eye. Goten gulped slightly, but saw Trunks motioning for him to dash between her legs. He hesitated on this until he saw a large hand reaching for him. Goten ran full sprint towards Trunks, trying to avoid what would certainly crush him. He looked back a little too long and crashed into her ankle when he veered off course.

"Ow," he groaned as he fell off and landed next to her foot. Lenz lifted her foot and lined up with Goten's stunned form, intent on smashing him into dust.

_I wanna get psycho,  
Run you little bitch!  
I want your power glowing, juicy flowing, red hot  
Meaning of Life  
It's not enough to have a little taste,  
I want the whole damn thing  
Now can you DIG IT?_

"Leave him alone!" Trunks shouted from behind. Lenz barely noticed his shouting, but did notice the large blast that knocked her down and halfway into the lake.

"Goten, are you alright?" Trunks asked as he rushed to his friend's side.

"Mommy, I think that big blue star is the best one!" Goten said, having no idea where he was at the moment.

"Snap out of it Goten!" Trunks shouted as he shook him hard.

"Daddy, I don't wanna be an airplane today. I just wanna stay home and eat cookies with you!" he muttered in a sluggish sounding voice.

"Hey Goten, dinner time!" Trunks yelled in his ear. Goten hopped right up and searched for the promised meal, only to be met with disappointment.

"Come on, let's fuse before she gets up again!" Trunks suggested as Lenz began to gather herself. Goten nodded and jumped to his side as they aligned their power levels.

"Fu-sion! HA!" Lenz turned as the bright gold light emerged behind her, and growled at the fused boy who emerged as a Super Saiyan.

_Need to get Psycho,  
Wanna hear you say it  
Say you want it, Need it  
Don't wanna wait until we finish the show  
It's not enough, you hunger for more  
You're one twisted little fuck  
and now you wanna get psycho with me._

"You're a naughty girl! I'm here to teach you a lesson!" Gotenks declared with his finger pointed straight up in the air.

Lenz roared and charged at Gotenks, who leaped into the air as she missed.

"Nah, Nah, missed me! For a girl you sure are slow!" he shouted down. Lenz flew into the air quickly, surprising Gotenks before bashing him aside and into the lake. Gotenks blinked slightly before holding his bruised cheek, he hadn't expected that kind of hit. He rose out of the water quickly and glared at giant ape, who snarled back at him.

"Looks like you're a little tougher than I thought; let's take it up a notch!" Gotenks called out as he powered up a bit. Lenz didn't react to this and stood ready for whatever Gotenks was going to do.

"Time to feel my wrath! Double Lethal Missile, Fire!" he shouted, firing multiple large ki blasts directly at the shoreline. Lenz opened her huge mouth wide and conjured a very powerful blast in her throat before letting it go. Her blast collided with the spray of ki balls from Gotenks quickly, and then kept right on going as Gotenks grimaced slightly. He dove for the ground and watched it go flying by.

"Hmmm, that one didn't work," he muttered. Gotenks turned and saw another big mouth blast heading his way. He phased out and reappeared in the sky again while the blast blew up on the other side of the lake.

"You really suck at aiming!" he said, taunting her a bit. Several more shots were fired and Gotenks dodged them all pretty easily. Totally confident now, he made the mistake of turning around to watch the fireworks created by her attacks. Within a few seconds, Lenz had leapt into the air and came down hard with a double axe handle. Gotenks struck the bottom of the lake hard, dazed from the attack as the water rushed in around him. _Man, this chick is tough! I know, I'll sneak up on her and hit her with a really big one!_ Gotenks grinned as he thought up a plan. Lenz dropped into the water nearby him and attempted to push large amounts of water out of the way by digging through it like dirt. Gotenks rode one of the tidal waves out and floated in the air directly behind her.

"Stu-pid!" he said as the ape continued to dig through the water in a vain effort to find him. Gotenks dropped back and charged up what he felt would be the deciding blast. The ape noticed the sudden blue light behind her and roared at him.

"You know what they say, no girls allowed! Kamehame-HAAA!" he shouted, shooting her at nearly a point blank range. Gotenks snickered a bit when he thought he heard the beast roar in pain, but when the light cleared and she was still standing, he panicked. Not only was she still standing, but only her palm was smoking as she held it out, likely stopping the blast right then and there.

"Uh oh," he groaned as he flew away in panic. Lenz fired another mouth blast very quickly, hitting a stunned Gotenks dead on. He fell into one of the cabins, wiping it out. Lenz stomped out of the water and stood over it patiently. Gotenks shot out of the debris only to be smacked aside by her fist, sending him skidding into the forest. He got up slowly as Lenz continued to roar around the campsite.

"Man, she packs a punch. Time to get serious then!" he said with undying confidence. Lenz glanced over as Gotenks blew the rest of the trees down with his power, but barely flinched upon seeing the third level Super Saiyan.

"Yeah! Bet you've never seen a Super Saiyan Three before! If you want to run, now is the time, for I am the ultimate god of death!" he proclaimed, pointing at Lenz. She responded by firing another mouth blast straight at him. Gotenks smirked and hit the blast dead on with his two hands, batting it backwards. The blast overtook the surprised ape in no time, knocking her to the ground and smashing whatever had been there.

"Hahahaha, OW!" Gotenks chuckled before noticing how much his hands hurt from touching her blast. Lenz shook herself off and stood up again, roaring like usual.

_Give in, Give in, Decide.  
Give in, Give in, Decide.  
Give in._

"Let's see you stop this one! Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack!" he shouted, summoning three of his longhaired ghosts.

"Hey boss, what's up?" Ghost 1 asked.

"Ready to serve my lord!" Ghost 2 said.

"Are you guys as hungry as I am?" Ghost 3 asked as he held his midsection. Gotenks growled a bit at this but let it slide, he was feeling a bit hungry himself.

"That big ape is your target, mess her up!" Gotenks pointed out as Lenz was digging around the ground for something.

"That big monkey? No problem!" Ghost 1 declared.

"She won't even be able to have shit fights at the zoo after were done!" Ghost 2 added.

"Wow, she's so cute!" Ghost 3 said with a dreamy look in his eye. Gotenks and the other two ghosts glanced at him like he was crazy, only to see that he was looking out into the woods for a moment. Down near Verto's body, was a red headed girl dressed in black.

"What the, who's that?" Ghost 2 asked.

"Want us to mess her up too boss?" Ghost 1 asked.

"Argh, forget about her; go get the big one!" Gotenks shouted angrily.

"Roger that!" Ghosts 1 and 2 saluted before taking off. Ghost 3 stared at the red headed girl with hearts dancing above his head, but stopped short once he heard Gotenks clearing his throat.

"Oh right, here I go!" he shouted and took off after his counterparts. Meanwhile, Lenz had ripped into the ground and picked up a rather large chunk of land and was holding it above her head.

"Time to die you big bitch!" Ghost 1 called out as he drove in with Ghost 2 right behind him. Lenz tossed the large piece of landscape right at him, making contact and causing an early explosion. The dirt and rock that rushed outwards struck Ghost 2 in the process, causing him to blow up as well. Ghost 3 skidded to a stop before he hit the dirt cloud, while Gotenks smacked his head in frustration. Ghost 3 looked back at his master, who quickly lost his patience.

"Well, go get her as soon as the air clears up!" he shouted, aggravated. Ghost 3 nodded, but when the dust moved on, he could see the large ape charging a large red blast behind her.

"Oh crap! Please visit me in heaven pretty lady!" Ghost 3 called out as he tied a cloth around his two eyes. With a very loud roar, Lenz fired the blast, which tore through the ghost like paper, and headed straight for Gotenks. Gotenks sank down into stance and fired back with a quick golden beam. Gotenks struggled a bit to push against her power, but managed to push her red beam backwards about halfway, near where the final ghost had gone down. For several seconds, it was a stalemate. Then the great ape growled and summoned much more power than before to bear down on Gotenks. He grimaced as his own beam was being pushed back into his face. He shut off his power feed and dove towards the ground, narrowly missing the red beam as it cruised by, instantly scorching the tree tops before rushing into space. Gotenks landed and caught his breath before feeling his power falling apart.

"Crap, back to normal," he groaned as he purposefully dropped out of Super Saiyan completely.

"Only a few minutes left," he muttered as he slid into a fighting stance.

* * *

_I wanna get psycho,  
Scratch my itch,  
Give me your power glowin', Juicy flowin', Red Hot  
Meaning of Life  
It's not enough to have a little piece  
I want the whole damn thing  
Now can you DIG IT?_

_Oh man, what a headache!_ I thought as I sat up. Just as I did, I spotted the transformed Lenz having a beam battle with what looked to be Gotenks as his maximum level. I got up slowly before powering up just a bit to chase after her. A hand clamped down on my shoulder the instant I took a step, and it meant to hold me back. I glanced to my left to see the pretty red head named Leira.

"Now isn't a good time," I said as I gently shoved her hand off.

"It may not be a good time, but you will still listen to my words you impatient little fool! You must destroy that creature immediately!" she growled.

I stared at her blankly, "No I need to try and get her under control and get her to turn back to normal!"

"Don't be so ignorant, you already tried that!" she said sharply. _Oh, right._

"Then why the hell is she still transformed? Once her tail is cut she should be back to normal and probably out cold," I said, staring in wonder.

"Argh, you are so incompetent! You obviously don't understand her breed of Saiyan!" she shouted in my ear. I frowned as I glared at Leira from barely six inches away. _She obviously knows more about us than I thought at first. _

"All right then lady, just who the hell are you and how do you know so much about us?" I asked straight away. It wasn't the best time to dig for information, but it needed to be done. Running into her before was complete surprise and she had vanished before I had a chance to ask, this time she didn't appear to be in a hurry to leave.

"That is not your concern right now, that is!" she said, pointing at the huge furry ape.

"Fine, back to the point. What about the Rotians? They are highly emotional and weaker overall. What's to understand?" I asked.

"The facts that you are missing comes from the notion that you believe all half Saiyans are similar. This is not true. While Rotarian half-breeds are similar to human ones in terms of appearance and emotions, their transformations are much different. Once they transform, they remain in their ape form until they are killed, they cannot return to their humanoid forms even if their tails are severed. The only way to solve this problem is through death!" Leira explained. I stared at her wide-eyed and shook in place slightly.

"No, that can't be right. Surely there's a way. I know, once the moon is gone she'll revert. It's the reflected light rays from moonlight that trigger it after all!" I argued.

"As you noticed earlier, that wasn't actually the moon, it was a projection!" she pointed out.

"Then help me find whatever is triggering it and shut it off, I refuse to believe the only way is through death!" I said.

"By the time you find it, your friends will be dead!" she said coldly.

"Shut up! I'm not going to kill her!" I growled.

"You have to, she will only cause death. That's all those brutes can do is cause death and destruction!" she whispered in my ear. That comment made my blood boil.

"Watch it bitch, those brutes you speak of are my friends! And just in case you already forgot, I am also a Saiyan!" I warned. Leira seemed to take note of my sudden change of tone, but didn't do much other than watch as Lenz won the beam battle and was stomping towards Goten and Trunks.

"Well, if you say so. What will you do then?" she asked.

"I'll take care of the problem without needlessly killing my student, that's what!"

"You'll just be throwing your life away by just trying to knock her out you know!" she said as I had barely taken two steps. I stopped cold, she already knew my plan and I had barely thought it over. I turned back at stared at her hard, trying to sense any sort of energy within her, but I got nearly nothing in return.

"You should probably get going with your failed plan so I can finish the job. I'm obviously going to be scraping your corpse up off the ground, assuming there's anything left!" she sneered. I lifted an eyebrow while she only smirked slightly, nodding towards the battle.

"We will see about that one bitch! And if you are still here when I get done, you will answer my questions truthfully and to the letter!" I growled.

"Name calling won't get you anywhere you pathetic monkey!" she said in full confidence. I snorted slightly before powering up fully with both ki and Psi.

Leira seemed un-phased by this, "Oh please. If that's all you have, you might as well just let her crush you now and get it over with!"

"That's half of it," I said with a bright smirk as I began to force the energies together, linking them. The area brightened as my aura glowed, and Leira's eyes went from bored to narrow in a heartbeat. I screamed loudly as my Super Mystic form took hold, making my muscles burn for a moment before settling down and accepting the change. Once it was done, I turned towards Lenz, who had just thrown Gotenks into one of the remaining cabins. Upon impact I felt the boys finally split apart, and the huge ape grinned.

"This is unexpected; your power is much greater than the reports have shown, interesting. It does explain a few things however, like how you beat the Overmind for one," Leira commented. _Just who the hell is this chick? Bah, not now. _

"Admire it later," I said as I took off into the air.

_Need to get psycho  
Wanna hear you scream  
Tell me to take you, scare you, fuck you.  
After we finish the show  
It's not enough, You listening Whore?  
You're one twisted little fuck  
And now you wanna get psycho with me._

Lenz slowly trudged towards the motionless Goten and Trunks, ready to pound them into dust when I approached quickly. I finally got a real feel for her power in this state, and as I thought before, it was a damn good thing she hadn't been a Super Saiyan when this happened. I was also slightly surprised that she hadn't transformed into the golden ape form yet like the infested Saiyans had, but she likely wasn't in control of herself either. Her power was close to mine, and overall just a bit lower. And since I wasn't trying to kill her, this was going to be a tough fight. She didn't sense my arrival at first, until I planted my foot in the side of her head. The ape was sent tumbling over the boys before landing on her hands and knees. Her red eyes glared at me evilly as she growled.

"Stop it Lenz!" I shouted at her. She responded with a large ki blast from her throat. I quickly sent out a small Chi wave and formed half of my energy shield. The blast exploded off of it and flowed harmlessly away. Lenz snarled at the result and blasted off into the air, heading straight for me. I backed off just as quickly, guiding her away from the boys. _Okay, in physical strength terms, I am no match right now. I'll have to wear her down from a distance before I get in close!_ I thought as I turned slightly and flew away even faster while watching her at the same time. She followed ruthlessly like a moth to a lamp. Once I was almost a mile away from the camp, I suddenly stopped and fired off several small chi blasts. She attempted to stop, but was unable to avoid them and took all of them in the torso as she came to a grinding halt. I glided through the air and moved to her left, attempting to take her by surprise. It was still amazing for me to see a transformed Saiyan without a tail; I didn't think it was possible. _Not that I didn't have a strange transformation myself back then when I still had a tail, or now for that matter. Bah, no time to dwell on this; I need to wear her down quickly!_ Lenz roared when she saw I wasn't in my original position, and looked right before she looked left, her mistake.

"Super Galic Gun!" I shouted, firing straight at her just as she turned around. Once I fired the beam I pulled back on some of its power so I didn't vaporize her. The green beam hit the huge target dead center and exploded nicely, sending the sprawling ape head first into the surrounding forests. After a very rough landing, Lenz settled on her stomach and stopped moving, other than a very raspy breath. Her large body was bleeding all over the place, which turned some of her fur red. I dove down and hovered over her rear, examining the tail I had cut earlier. I hadn't missed any of it to be sure, only about two to three feet remained rooted into her spine, which couldn't be considered an inch for her. I frowned slightly and sighed, I hadn't wanted to attack her that hard, but at least she was out. I floated towards her head, which lay halfway into the dirt, surrounded by the shrubs and trees she had crushed on the way down.

_Give in, Give in, Decide.  
Give in, Give in, Decide.  
Give in._

"Now how do I get you back to normal?" I asked, though didn't expect an answer.

"I told you that you had to kill her, there is no going back!" a feminine voice said behind me. I growled a bit and spun to see Leira standing on a fallen tree trunk with her arms crossed.

"Fuck off, she's out! I did what was necessary; I already told you that I wouldn't kill her. It's not her fault that she can't control herself in this state," I stated.

"Maybe you should have included that in her training then! But I suppose that was a smart move not to, we don't need her to be using her small mind while on a rampage now do we?" she asked.

"Shove it! I didn't even know she would transform and I didn't want to test it anyway! It was no use to train her in something I haven't experienced!" I reasoned.

"Surely you've turned into one of those disgusting things a time or two, with the Saiyan prince training you and all," she said knowingly.

"It wasn't exactly like this, now how did you know that I trained her anyway? We were dead at the time! And while we're at it you should tell me how you know about that as well!" I growled.

Leira frowned at this, "You said yourself that she was your student, so it was obvious. Frankly I don't know how a runt like you would be training an older warrior, but why someone like you came to be is still a mystery to me as it is!"

"If you don't like it, then leave, I'm busy anyway!" I shouted loudly.

"Unfortunately I cannot just yet, but believe me I would like to, the stench of you monkeys is overwhelming," Leira groaned as she held her nose.

"Hmph, what's stopping you? It sure isn't effort," I muttered.

"I told you, I am going to make sure the job is done. The job is to make sure that thing doesn't survive the night!" she said, pointing towards the mountain behind me.

"She's out cold you dumb bitch. I nailed her with my strongest attack. Now get out of here before one of your threats gives me the wrong idea!" I said as I lifted a charged up palm and aimed towards her.

"No need, while you have wasted your time, the objective has woken up again!"

"Huh?" I asked as I turned around. Directly behind me I saw two large purple legs and a low rumbling sound filled the air.

"Crap!" I said as I leapt into the air. Lenz was more than ready and swung both of her palms towards me as I rose into the air. I saw it coming quick enough and held out both arms wide, forming my energy shield to block against her huge hands. I instantly felt it collapsing in on itself as her pure physical strength put a strain on it. I pushed back with my full power, separating her hands once more.

_I can feel your blood,  
Pumpin' through my veins,  
Spillin' on my soul,  
and now the hunger is getting bigger.  
_

"Lenz, wake up! It's me!" I shouted at her. No response came from the beast, except added pressure from her attack. I felt my energy draining fast and she showed no signs of tiring. _Damnit, I need to get out of this position; she'll crush me if I don't!_ I focused hard and turned some of my outgoing energy into a quick burst of Chi lightning, striking her hands immediately. Lenz howled in pain and backed off, giving me the chance to take off into the air and get away. She was following again within seconds; apparently I hadn't damaged her enough to keep her down just yet. I sensed her speeding up to try to catch me and I increased my own flight just to keep pace. I saw we were coming up on the campsite again quickly, and formulated a plan. _Okay, I can't stop for a blast, powering up for it might slow me down enough for her to catch me before I can fire off a big one. But if I'm quick enough, I can hit with a hard physical strike before she's ready. After that Galic Gun she should be worn down enough. _I slowed a bit as I concentrated a great deal of power into my fist and turned around so I was gliding backwards. Lenz caught up quickly, her mouth drooling for more action, and I intended to give it to her. Once I felt I had enough power to not completely wipe her out, I stopped and dashed towards her just as she came to a roaring stop, completely open for it.

"Super Galic Fist!" I shouted as I sailed in and made direct contact with her torso. The force of the attack blew all the air out of her large lungs and she stumbled backwards but still managed to hold position in the air. _Damnit, she felt that but I still held back too much to knock her out. It would be so much easier if she were a true villain. Oh well, can't have 'em all my way!_ I charged up both hands and flew in hard, hammering her midsection hard with multiple green glowing punches. She reeled from each blow and I was doused by a large splatter of blood that erupted from her throat. _Ugh, internal injuries now. Maybe I should aim somewhere else._ I vaulted upwards and slammed her chin with a hard uppercut that sent a large amount of spit into the air as she slowly hovered, apparently stunned from the blow. I shifted sideways and grabbed on to one of her fingers and pulled with all my might. She slowly turned over as I tried to throw her into the ground. Suddenly, her fingers all curled up and squeezed me into her fist hard. I instantly filled up with a lot of pain all over except for my head, which was fortunately poking out. I stared up at the enraged monster in slight dread as she lowered herself to the ground with me in her grasp. _Maybe it's time for the diplomatic tactic again._

"Hey Lenz, you wouldn't hurt your dear little bro right?" I asked with a slight smile. I was treated to a painful response when her fist tightened up again and all my joints started to pop. I groaned loudly, fueling the ape's carnage as she squeezed even harder. I froze when I heard a loud snap from my rib cage, followed by another and another. I screamed loudly in pain before coughing lightly and spitting up a great deal of blood onto her thumb. The ape didn't stop there and opened her fist just enough for one of my arms to hang out before she cinched up again. I stared at the cold red eyes as I felt the other hand being utilized. I felt two very large fingers take a hold of my arm around the elbow, before bending it in a very bad direction. I groaned as the pain in my ribs seemed to vanish for a moment and filled my whole arm until it finally couldn't take anymore and snapped, twice.

_Come a little closer now, pretentious whore  
and pull my trigger,  
Free the violence that is building in me  
I see no end of the ride, murder, suicide, is how I've been feeling lately_

"OW!" I screamed. Lenz grinned sharply and suddenly let go and I fell to the ground. I managed to land in a crouched position as I emptied my throat again. I winced when I tried to take another breath and I noticed how short of air I suddenly became before I succumbed to a fatigue filled pant. I glanced at my left arm, feeling the upper part was certainly broken, but the lower half dangled like it was barely holding on. And it was also bent in a very awkward direction at the elbow. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before forcing it back into place, nearly breaking my teeth by trying not to scream again when the next wave of pain came. _Damnit, this isn't working. Possibly busted ribs, a busted arm and dislocated elbow. Talk about one bad move costing me a battle. _

"Come on Lenz, you don't want to, ugh, do this!" I said in between short breaths. The way her foot shifted forward a moment later, I doubted that statement got through to her. A loud screeching sound got my attention a moment later as I turned and held my ribs protectively. I spotted a police car rushing to the scene, only to come to a big time halt when the driver spotted the huge ape. I scanned the car and found that it had to have been Lori and the moronic police chief coming back after the battle was over. When he stopped and tried to hit reverse too quickly, I heard a loud crack and the car ceased to move as a great deal of fluid spilled out from underneath. _Smooth move dumbass, you not only brought yourself and the girl back into the line of fire at the worst possible time, but then you killed your only means of escape. _It wasn't worth trying to see if Lenz hadn't seen them, she was already in the air.

"No Lenz, stop!" I shouted as I took off after her. Just as I intercepted her, her fist found my body again and I was in the dirt before I knew it. I got up right away just in time to see Lori jump from the car as Lenz grabbed it, police chief and all. Lori ran away as fast as she could, but the chief was staring death in the face as Lenz examined the car. I blasted off towards Lenz to attempt to save him, but before I was even halfway there she was already crushing the car between her huge hands. _Damnit!_ I arrived just as she threw the car aside like a crushed soda can and then set her sights on the fleeing human.

"I said stop!" I shouted as I punched her hard across the jaw with my good arm. She barely turned her head in response before looking back at me with a very angry expression. _Uh oh._ I quickly rescanned her power level and noticed that it hadn't gone down a whole lot since I had put her down earlier. I couldn't say the same for me; her crushing grip had left more than a little pain. She turned back towards the screaming teenager, who was making much more noise than she should have been. Before I could draw her off though, I was hit by a backhand and sent reeling and bouncing along the ground. I sat up painfully and saw her bearing down on Lori like a lion to its prey. I blasted off just as she snatched Lori off the ground.

"Stop, you don't want to do this!" I cried out. Lori completely curled up and vanished under her fingers with only an arm hanging out between them. A loud crunch filled the air the air suddenly and my short breath held in shock before a stream of blood flowed from her fist, and Lori's arm fell out without the body. Lenz swung her arm to the side and I saw what was left get flung into the trees, no life coming from her at all. I felt my power churning and let it all out while rushing in with a loud cry of anger. I got past her defenses easily and pounded her midsection with my punches and kicks again without holding back. The sudden burst stunned her for a moment until she jumped backwards and recovered. I huffed and puffed as I spat my own blood out while she gathered herself for another round. Without thinking, I had used my bad arm during the attack, and now it wasn't even responding to a basic finger curl. _Shit, what next? _When she looked back up at me, I could tell she wasn't even close to done without feeling her power level. A sudden large fist made contact and I felt myself flying backwards before falling to the ground. My power dropped just as fast and my energy separated instantly once I landed. The amount of pain searing through me increased a great deal once my transformation ended, as my power was no longer soothing it. _Oh man, that's broken ribs for sure,_ I thought as I struggled to breathe. Lenz took her time in stomping towards me as I struggled to even sit up. _Okay, new plan. Try to survive the next five minutes, work on the rest later_, I thought as I gasped for air.

Come a little closer now pretentious whore,  
I'm reeling with the feeling that I can't ignore.  
Come a little closer now pretentious whore,  
I'm reeling with the feeling that I can't ignore.

Come a little closer now pretentious whore,  
I'm reeling with the feeling that I can't ignore,  
and the need to get Psycho is not a question to me

"Well I did warn you didn't I?" a familiar voice asked from several feet away. I turned to see Leira standing there with a deep frown.

"Now you've really screwed up. Not only did you not kill that creature when you had the chance by holding back, but now thanks to you she has taken human life. This I cannot allow," she said with utter contempt dripping from her voice.

"Shut up! She doesn't know what she's doing! If I could somehow break through to her I'm sure she would stop!" I shouted back.

"A lot of good that has done, and now you're injured too badly to even attempt standing up to her. Well, at least you two can discuss this failure in the afterlife," Leira said as she stepped back.

"What the hell, what do you mean by that?" I asked.

"I am not allowed to interfere with your business until you are passed out or dead. Since you're probably not smart enough to simply keel over, she is going to kill you and then I will kill her!" Leira said as a white aura suddenly surrounded her. At first I didn't feel anything from Leira's power signal, but after a few moments it flooded my senses and I knew instantly that she wasn't kidding. I sensed a very concentrated Chi power lying within this mysterious girl. I couldn't quite measure it, and I really didn't want to either. _Shit, I need to stop Lenz to save both our asses before this bitch decides to back up her words._

"For what it's worth, I apologize, but this is a lesson you apparently have to learn the hard way. This is what happens when you refuse to take down raging beasts that have no control over their instincts or _emotions_!" Leira said sharply. I took note of her sudden change of tone when she finished her raving. _Wait a second; Lenz is nothing but a big ball of anger and rage right now! I don't have to kill her!_ I quickly charged up a Psi ball in my right hand just as Lenz stepped over me, preparing to end my suffering.

"You might as well just let her end things now; your power has no more use now!" Leira said.

I grinned at this inept reasoning, "That's what you think, Feedback!" I shouted, shooting Lenz right in the foot. Bright white lightning erupted all over the huge ape as she fell backwards and shook the lands.

"What the?" Leira asked. Lenz went into a seizure as she thrashed around, fracturing the ground in many spots trying to shake the pain.

"You counted me out too soon, that's what," I said as I got to my feet slowly. Lenz thrashed around for another ten seconds or so before slowing down and running out of power. Then her fur turned bright white with the feedback energy and I literally saw strings of energy lifting off of her and vanishing into the air. At the same time, she began to shrink in size. This continued for several seconds until my feedback ball lifted completely out of her and vanished. A naked Lenz lay on the ground, back to normal size and very battered.

"Well I'll be. You aren't completely worthless after all," Leira chuckled as I limped over to check on Lenz. _My feedback technique must have reversed the transformation by repelling the energy from that fake moon. Now that her tail is gone she can't transform. _Other than a lot of bruises, she seemed like she would be fine; her ape form stood up to my attacks pretty well. Her sliced tail was all but gone; its remnants had left barely a bump of skin at the end of her spine.

"Whew, you're a little more trouble than you're worth," I said as I knelt down and sighed. Leira walked straight towards us, her power flaring a bit. I stared at her in question.

"Move aside young one, I need to tie up these loose ends," she said.

"Stop it! She's harmless now!" I shouted as I stood back up.

"Once a killer, always a killer! That's a lesson you should have learned a long time ago, brat!" Leira growled as she drew a dagger from her back.

"I won't let you! You'll have to kill me to get to her!" I growled as I powered up with everything I had left. I groaned a bit and instantly knew that I wasn't going to be fighting anyone of her potential caliber for long.

"If that is your destiny, then I shall help you meet it!"

"And I shall help you in meeting yours!" a gruff voice said from the air. Leira and I both looked up to see Vegeta hovering the air with the death glare of a Super Saiyan bearing down on her. Judging by the way his arm was cocked, he had a big bang surprise aimed at her head.

"Argh, the Saiyan prince himself," Leira whispered a little too loudly.

"So you know of me, woman! Then you should know that I also keep my word. If you want to keep your head, step away before I blow it off!" Vegeta growled. I heard two feet land behind me and instantly sensed another powerful presence next to me.

"You okay kid?" Piccolo asked as he checked Lenz over.

"I've been better," I said slowly as I watched the confrontation before me. Leira frowned deeply at this latest development.

"Very well, the girl may live since she is no longer a threat, but be warned boy! I will not tolerate your indecisions in the future!" she shouted as she sprinted towards the forest.

"Oh no you don't!" Vegeta said as he took off in pursuit. She stopped as soon as he gave chase and then she suddenly vanished into thin air. Her energy signal was gone just as quickly, and Vegeta came to a grinding halt as he looked around for her.

"Damnit!" he shouted.

"We sensed your battle once you powered up, but we didn't realize it was really the girl. How did she transform?" Piccolo asked. I glanced towards the distance, barely seeing the moon projection on the horizon now.

"So, it seems Viro may not have been the only one to come here on the behalf of Frost," Vegeta grumbled.

"Indeed, I'll take care of these four if you want to look into who's visiting us at this late hour," Piccolo said.

"Gladly," Vegeta snarled as he blasted off towards the source of the moon.

"Where are the boys?" Piccolo asked.

"In the rubble somewhere, just announce that its dinner time and they'll probably come running," I suggested. There were instantly two battered boys standing and searching for food before realizing they were in the presence of a girl.

"Ah, get it away!" Trunks whined as he covered his eyes. Piccolo rolled his eyes in tune with mine and held his hand over her skin. His energy surged forth and materialized a light blue version of his clothes over Lenz.

"Whew, I thought I was damaged for life," Trunks said as he wiped his forehead.

"I don't think you'll mind in a few years kid. I have three Senzu beans so eat up!" Piccolo said as he handed one to each of us. The boys gobbled theirs down in a hurry and perked right up as I stared at mine for a moment.

"What about her? I roughed her up pretty good," I said.

"I can take her to see Dende, or you can use your own power if you really wish to. I would suggest you refrain from that though as he is more of an accomplished healer," Piccolo suggested. I stared at the bean for a few seconds more and then tossed it back at him.

"Give that to her, I'm fine," I said as I walked away.

"You are not fine boy; I can sense that you have internal injuries worse than hers. You can barely breathe as it is and your arm is very poor shape," Piccolo pointed out.

"I said I'm fine," I growled.

"Toughing it out isn't going to make things better," he grunted.

"_I have my own reasons Piccolo, please respect them! I'll fly to Dende myself!_" I thought at him directly.

Piccolo sighed slightly, "As you wish, you're in for a rough ride kid!" I turned away and stared at the stars as I relived the past hour in my mind, _I don't deserve a quick relief for allowing all that to happen._

* * *

"_Meaning of Life" by Disturbed_

* * *

"Yes, I am sure that I have located Earth, Lord Frost! It seems your plan to use a moon projector was also a success! The Rotian girl transformed immediately! No doubt she is killing off some of her friends as we speak!" a purple colored alien snickering into his scouter.

"Very good Lieutenant!" the voice of Frost said from the scouter.

"If I may ask, how did you know she would be alive again my lord?" his minion asked.

"Just a hunch, I trust there is little to no sign of Viro?" Frost asked.

"No my lord, he never responded on any of the audio frequencies you gave me," the alien said.

"He was disposable anyway. For your next mission, attempt to scout the rest of the planet and send me the scans immediately. I want to know our target's terrain before I arrive there myself!" Frost ordered.

"It will be done my lord! I'll have this mud ball's schematics by the next sunrise!"

"That's what I like to hear, stand by long enough for me to trace your signal," Frost said.

"It is always a pleasure to serve such a wise and power…ful…lord, argh!" the alien grunted as he suddenly lost his breath.

"Lieutenant, is something stuck in your throat?" Frost asked with an amused tone.

"No, his throat is no longer there," a gruff voice answered as he tossed the alien's head aside and held up the scouter.

"Vegeta!" Frost growled.

"Your kind will never conquer us again!" Vegeta growled as he blew up the pod and the alien all in one big blast. He crushed the scouter in his hand a moment later and stared at the sky as the fake moon vanished. _Damn, I should have killed him when I had the chance._ He spat on the debris and took off into the air a moment later. The disabled scouter managed to crackle to life for a brief few seconds to deliver a final message.

"Thank you for confirming your status, prince of monkeys! I will come for you in due time!" Frost laughed as the scouter finally shut down.

**Power levels:**

**Verto: 310,500,000; Super Mystic: 621,000,000; weakened normal form: 47,000,000**

**Lenz: 55,000,000; Transformed (Great Ape): 550,000,000**

**Super Saiyan Goten: 102,000,000**

**Super Saiyan Trunks: 105,000,000**

**Gotenks: 278,000,000; Super Saiyan: 405,000,000; Super Saiyan 3: 455,000,000**

**A/n: Wow what a chapter, been awhile since I wrote one that long, I need to rest now, sheesh! Ah hell, what am I talking about? This saga is full of long ass chapters. More to come.**

**WDG:No kidding. By my count, that's over 8000 words in just one chapter. Just how long is this thing going to be? Oh well. That was different. Not changing back when the tail is cut is a new one, but then, it's just as odd that she did change back when hit by Feedback. Since when did it actually get rid of negative emotions such as rage, anger and bloodlust? Or for that matter, the energy of fake moons? (do projections even have energy? O.o)**

**VB**:**I'll let someone else determine the projection bit, but it must have worked before, after all Gohan went ape with one. Feedback doesn't get rid of negative emotions, it repels/redirects the energy associated with them, effectively turning it back on whoever was hit with it. This would pretty much render them harmless from that standpoint until the effect is gone or removed through various means.**

**Oh and 8k words in a chapter, well stop whining! Expect many chapters to be that or longer!**

**Next time on DBV**: **Verto punishes himself a bit after allowing so many people to be killed by the two villains. After healing and resting for a few days, he struggles with the potential decision of taking his actions one step further. It only takes one news report on the television to ultimately make up his mind, and his decision will shape the events to come.**


	11. Searching, Inside and Out

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 10: Searching, Inside and Out.**

I stood on the ruined campground as Vegeta came back, watching the explosion from afar as I held my bad arm protectively.

"I take it that was a minion of Frost's?" I asked as he landed. Vegeta snorted slightly, all but confirming it for me. "If he's going to be such a pain in the ass, why didn't you take him out when you had the chance? You've had the opportunity twice now? Haven't you always said to go for the throat when you see the opening?" I dared to ask.

"Someone like Frost much be approached carefully boy. After letting that Viro freak slip past unnoticed, I don't intend to drop my guard again. That means we must not attack blindly. We've been lucky twice in a row when dealing with him directly, I highly doubt that'll happen again. We have training to do boy, so hurry up and eat that damn bean!" he grunted as he crossed his arms.

"Not tonight. And I don't have a bean," I said as I stared up at his scowl.

"And why not?" he asked smugly.

"Because he decided that she needed it more. I'll never understand decisions such as that based on stress or guilt. It seems more based on stupidity," Piccolo said from behind. Vegeta's glare deepened for a moment as I stared back at him with a slightly lesser intensity.

"Fine, do as you wish," Vegeta growled as he walked by me. I sighed slightly as Trunks and Goten attempted to tell him how great their short battle was.

"So, if I may ask, why have you chosen this road?" Piccolo whispered.

"I'm sure there is a lot of things you can detect from the lookout. Figure it out," I replied as I stared angrily at the ground.

"Look, their deaths were not your fault. You can't know how things would have turned out whether you tried harder to prevent them or not. It is the cruel part of destiny's path that doesn't tell you what could have happened. No one expects you to know every possible outcome and to be able to deal with them all. You can't look down on yourself for trying," Piccolo said as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I took a deep breath, he had a point after all, "Thanks."

"Now, we should get you up to the lookout. I doubt you really want to spend the night like this," Piccolo suggested. That thought was put on hold as Lenz suddenly woke up, refreshed from the Senzu.

"Whoa, what happened? And what are these clothes?" she asked.

"You turned into a really big and smelly and hairy ape!" Goten pointed and laughed. Lenz ignored the comment for the moment until she tried to stand up, tumbling to the ground as she lost balance.

"Huh, what happened to my tail? It's gone!"

"Haha, not so special now are ya?" Trunks laughed. Lenz has tears forming in her eyes within seconds, as she seemed to catch up with current events while the boys continued to laugh at her.

"Be silent you brats! You should never dishonor a Saiyan who meets misfortune in battle and loses their tail!" Vegeta growled. Trunks flinched slightly as this while Goten looked at the ground.

"Well it's still pretty pathetic, even for a girl!" Trunks muttered.

"Oh really, is that the case? Well then boys, would you care to tell us how to properly lose a tail? At least she had a chance to use it, yours were removed at birth! Who's pathetic now?" Vegeta fired back. Trunks groaned slightly and remained silent, thus ceding the argument to his father as Goten remained silent on the matter.

"Did I do all this?" Lenz asked as she glanced around.

"Mostly," I said. She locked eyes with my dangling arm and reality seemed to click for her as she took a very shaky breath.

"And that?" she asked nervously.

"Let's just say your training paid off well, but its nothing that can't be fixed," I said with a warm smile. She rushed over in a heartbeat and threw her arms around my midsection, crying a bit as she held me close. _She sure did get over that balance problem quick,_ I thought with a slight frown.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't even aware of it!" she cried out.

"I doubt that many big apes are ever aware of it. Just watch the salt water, I have open wounds here," I said as a few tears dripped down.

"My training must not have been that good, other than that arm you look fine! Must take a damn army to put you down you tough little runt!" she claimed as she suddenly hugged me hard enough to add another loud snap to the situation.

"Argh! Fuck that hurts!" I screamed aloud before she backed off in panic. I bent over and coughed up a decent amount of blood as I caught my short breath, the pain from a simple embrace was unbearable. Lenz no longer seemed happy about the battle's outcome and turned away in shame while the boys laughed at my dismay.

"Haha, he ain't so tough! One little touch and he's down!" Trunks laughed.

"I, ugh, survived. You got knocked out while fused," I pointed out as I struggled to get up.

"Yeah, but you cheated! I can beat you by myself now!" he boasted.

"You care to back up that claim?" I asked as I glared at him.

"Yeah, bring it on! I'll be fair and beat you with one arm!" he joked as he pretended that the other one was broken like mine.

"I guess you won't mind being unable to move the rest of the night then," I said with a slight grin as I allowed my right hand to flash white for just a moment.

"Uh, I just remembered, me and Goten have, uh, stuff, to do," Trunks stuttered as he backed off and blasted off into the sky. I chuckled slightly at this while the boys flew away quickly, but stopped when Lenz walked back up.

"Um, how did you make me turn back to normal anyway?" she asked carefully. _So she knows about that as well._

"It isn't that hard girl. All he had to do was cut your tail, or eliminate that projection of the moon!" Vegeta grunted.

Piccolo eyed her suspiciously, "I take it you've never even seen a full moon before?"

She nodded slowly, "There is no moon on Rotaria, that's why Frost put my ancestors there! Some of them knew how to create one though!"

"But what does that have to do with getting her to turn back? And why, boy, did you let the battle drag on until you had to cut it? You should have just knocked her out, so why didn't you?" Vegeta asked.

"The first thing I did was try to blow up that projected moon, and then I did cut her tail. It didn't work, and her tail can be found in the water if you don't believe me," I pointed towards the lake.

"What? That's nonsense! A Saiyan cannot remain in the primal state without a tail!" Vegeta claimed.

"Apparently that doesn't apply to all hybrids," I said.

"What's that boy?" he growled.

"That girl you chased off told me about it. She specifically said that Rotarian and Saiyan genes don't connect quite like humans do. When they transform, they stay that way until death despite the moon's phase or lack of a tail. In other words, they supposedly can't revert back to normal," I explained.

"Yes, that's right. He would have had to kill me. So my question is, how did you reverse the transformation?" Lenz asked sternly.

"His feedback technique, of course!" Vegeta said once he figured it out.

"That's that white one I've seen you use, what does that do again?" she asked.

"It turns one's energy against them, assuming they are evil and have bad intentions. I guess it can reverse transformations caused by constant flows of energy such as moonlight as well. Since you were just a big hairy ball of anger and rage, it worked quite well," I said with a smirk.

"Oh you, I'll get you for that," she warned.

"You already did," I groaned.

"Now that we have that figured out, who was that woman with the red hair?" Piccolo asked.

"I still don't know, but I intend to find out next time I see her," I said.

"I hope there is next time, I swear I'm gonna get her!" Lenz growled.

"Fine, let's get you up to the lookout!" Piccolo said as we nodded and departed.

* * *

Despite lagging behind badly from Piccolo and Lenz, I managed to fly most of the way unaided, until we started going up. Lenz nagged me to death about it, especially after Vegeta took off for home.

"I said I can make it! It's right there!" I shouted angrily as we came up on Korin's tower.

"The way you're barely staying in the air, I doubt it," Lenz pointed out. I growled and flew to the top as quickly as possible, being overtaken by her in very little time. Once I passed Korin's place, my energy fell apart. _Damn, I am really weak, I don't think I can make it._ I landed on the tower top and held on to the slick platform, panting as soon as I stopped using my energy. Lenz drifted back down with an angry frown on her face while Piccolo just kept on going.

"God you're pathetic. No one is going to see you at this time of night anyway, so drop the pride act and let me help you until your better! It's my fault your like this anyway!" she suggested.

"No, it's my fault for making a critical mistake, several of them. Hey Korin! You got any more beans down there?" I shouted.

A grumpy and sleepy voice answered a few seconds later, "What? You need more beans? Well too bad, I'm out! Now go away!" _Crap._

"Well?" Lenz asked with her hands on her hips.

"Argh, I think I'll just sleep here then," I said as I slumped down.

"If you don't knock it off right now, I'll break your other arm!" she growled.

"Fine, but don't drop me," I conceded.

"Lucky for you that I like you too much for that. Too bad your in such shitty shape, I could literally squeeze you to death for being so cute and pathetic!" Lenz said as she dropped down and grabbed my waist before taking off again.

"Now don't look down little bro, wouldn't want you to be scared, it is a long way after all! I'm gonna speed up now, so try not to throw up or anything!" she chuckled.

"Please, I've flown much faster than you can dream," I said arrogantly.

"Oh, in that case, let's go even faster!" Lenz said as she suddenly pulled me up and firmly held on with both arms while switching to Super Saiyan and blasting off. My eyes widened when I realized she had smashed my face into her chest. Not that it wasn't invigorating, but it wasn't exactly on my anticipated activities list. It certainly gave my heart another short workout. Surprising, since I should have known it was coming with her around. I could tell that we reached the lookout very quickly, but that didn't stop my face from turning red and staying that way after we finally landed.

"Don't complain, most men would have loved to be where you were a moment ago," Lenz said with pride.

"So how many have been?" I grinned as she promptly fell down in surprise.

"Oh! That's the last free ride I'm ever giving you!" she snarled as she shook her fist at me. _Do I dare let another one fly before she makes good on her violent promises? Yeah, what the hell._

I turned around for a brief second, "Not to worry. You'll probably make plenty of money with just the flight! I can't imagine how rich you'll get overall!"

"Argh! Damn runt!" Lenz groaned as she spun around and directed her glare at the empty skies. I chuckled for a few seconds, it felt liberating to have a laugh for once. I shook it off though and walked slowly towards Dende, holding my arm quite gingerly as it didn't feel like swinging around.

"Hey Dende, think I can borrow your power for a second?" I asked as he ran up.

"For you, anything!" he said as I sat down. He quickly covered my arm and ribs with his healing wave before checking everywhere else and finishing up. The pain eased and I instantly felt better and took a much easier breath.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much," I said as I stood up and flexed my arm a bit to test it. Dende held a bright smile, but it faded as I suddenly glared off into the distance. There was something on my mind that had to be taken care of, and I had a pretty good feeling that I would have to resort to some drastic measures to do it. No amount of laughter was going to cure it either.

"What's wrong?"

"I take it you monitored most of what was happening?" I asked.

"Yes, of course," he said, still unsure.

"Then I'll keep it simple. Will Freddy be sent to hell like all the other villains have been?" I asked, trying to keep my anger from spilling over.

Dende took a step back before he answered, "Well of course he will be, that's where they go! I can only imagine that it wouldn't be the first time with him, or that big guy," he explained. I noticed Piccolo staring at me hard as this subject was brought up, he likely had an inkling of what was going through my head at the moment, but he clearly didn't have all of it.

"I don't suppose you can teleport me to the check in station real fast can you?" I asked.

That promptly sent Piccolo into a fit, "Don't even think about it Verto, that is forbidden! If you take even one step in the afterlife realm, argh! King Yemma and the Kais have very strict rules about the afterlife and living worlds that can only be bent for special situations. If you go there and try to destroy him, I cannot tell you what the consequences would be, but they would be severe!"

"So, what's to stop him from invading our dreams again?" I asked simply.

Piccolo turned away before answering, "That is no longer our concern!" I glared at him hard, _In other words, nothing._

"Look, we can deal with that problem if it comes up again. Promise me you will not try to talk Goku or Gohan into taking you there!" Piccolo said as his fist shook lightly. It was clear to me that he wasn't too keen on the situation either, but his loyalty to the Kais kept him from thinking too far out of the realm of possibility.

"That isn't fair," I growled.

"I know, but there is nothing we can do except hope for the best. It is out of our hands now," he said softly.

"Fine, I won't try to convince either one of them, for now," I said as I walked towards the edge of the lookout where Lenz was waiting.

"Hey, what's wrong? Aren't you feeling better? Did the ugly green guy threaten you?" she asked when she saw the angry expression on my face. I glanced up into her blue eyes for a moment, snorting slightly at her inability to pay attention.

"Let's go home," I replied coldly.

* * *

"Come on, will you tell me what is wrong with you?" Lenz practically shouted in my ear as we flew towards West City.

"I told you I'm fine," I replied.

"You haven't said a word to me since we left. Look I'm really sorry about hurting you so bad! I told you before that I couldn't control myself!" she said, exasperated.

"It's not that," I whispered.

"Is it the nickname thing? I'll stop calling you runt, or little bro if you want, but you really do look just like he did," she pointed out.

"It's not that either Lenz. I really don't mind that because just between you and me, you are kind of like a sister. That doesn't mean though that I want you to be extra affectionate. I'm not that way right now despite the jokes, nor was I brought up that way. I mean at least save it until I'm older. Call me what you want though, right now I don't care about that because it really isn't important," I said as I finally spotted the lightened skylight.

"A man that complains, amazing. Well if it isn't that, what is it? Don't keep me in the dark if you really think of me as more than just your student!" she said with a slightly raised voice that scared a nearby flock of birds away. I sighed slightly, drawing a sharper glare while I hesitated. _Well, on one hand she was a little bit involved so she has a right to know. On the other hand, I don't want to worry her and make things worse between the two of us. And there's always that chance that she mentions it to someone else, namely Vegeta. I guess I'll give it a few days before I make that decision, I need to let my Psi energy recover anyway. Dende's healing job wasn't that effective._

"I'm sorry, but not right now, it wouldn't help anyone. Hopefully things go just fine over the next few days and this will never come up again. If things go like I think they could, it's going to be a stressful couple of days. If I'm in one of those bad moods, stay away," I said as we arrived. Lenz seemed frustrated that I wouldn't tell her anything, but for now she was going to have to accept it.

"You're always in a bad mood nowadays," she pointed out.

"It's in subtle levels of what I would deem a bad mood. If I'm not saying anything and pretty much not doing anything except glaring a hole in the wall, that's when you know," I explained.

"Well, you're like that a lot too," she said. _Maybe she just needs a point of reference. _

"You remember what I did to Frieza after you fought him?"

Lenz perked up slightly, "Yeah, what does he have to do with it?"

"That's what I mean," I replied as she cringed.

* * *

I kept to myself primarily for the next few days, carefully choosing when to sleep and when to train. Vegeta's normal crankiness certainly didn't improve with this, as he had wanted to go up to the time chamber with Lenz and I for a heavy sparring session. I suppose deep down I kind of wanted to go, and I knew that Lenz definitely wanted to see me and him go at it, but I had to turn him down both days. I stuck to my room and rarely even came out for food, which surprised pretty much everyone. I kept myself to nothing but meditation for most of that time, occasionally powering down and going to sleep just to see what my dreams would be like. No dream demons showed up to spoil the party, but my dreams weren't exactly fun either. Most of them involved some ruthless killing by either myself or a few others who will remain nameless. While I knew that most of them resided in Hell, it didn't mean much when I tried to sleep. Lenz tried to bring me food a few times when I refused to come out. Eventually I did let her in, but I remained quiet until she left saddened. She kept apologizing to me over the incident, but in reality nothing could keep my mind off of Freddy and all the people he and Jason had killed. Towards the end of the third morning, Vegeta finally blew up and stormed into my room.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" he shouted as he pulled me up by the shirt to look me in the eye. I only looked away and remained quiet while he quite literally threatened to paint the house with my insides.

"I don't know what happened and I don't care! But I will not allow you to remain in this room for one second longer! Get your ass to the gravity room before I decide to vaporize you!" he shouted and threw me down as he stomped out, slamming and breaking the door. _Fine, I guess I could use a rough workout to help get this out of my system. Maybe it'll help me decide what to do about this, if anything._ I put on my green pants with a light blue sleeveless shirt and walked slowly towards the chamber, sensing Vegeta's angry ki easily. I passed by the new living room where a certain blue haired mother was watching the news pretty intently.

"Hey kido, about time you came out of there. Check this out, more people are dying over where you guys were! Maybe you better look into it again!" Bulma said as she pointed at the TV.

"Turn it up," I said as I stepped into the room.

"_Once again, more bodies have been discovered around the town of Springwood. The identity of this rampaging killer is still unknown at this time and local law enforcement officials are not answering any questions. The attacks seem to be focused on young adults and children primarily. This coming just days after police officials evacuated a nearby resort area after a multiple homicide. We hope to get word…_" I stopped listening about midway through the report, mostly because the TV blew up due to my hard and concentrated glare. _That's it, decision made. I'm gonna fuckin do it!_ I thought as a solid stream of lightning flowed from the TV before vanishing.

"Hey, calm down! No need to wreck this house already with your bad mood swings, you just got home a few days ago!" Bulma yelled into my ear.

"Sorry, take it out of my allowance," I said and as promptly left the room, lightning spiraling around my hands.

"But you don't have one," she reminded as I walked off towards the gravity room.

"Well look who finally came out," Lenz said as I walked up to the heavy metal door. I gave her a hard stare, but declined to answer as I opened the door. "Ready to tell me what's wrong?" she asked.

"Maybe," I said as entered.

"So boy, ready to at least give it a go and get out of this pathetic emotional state you're in? I don't care what happened at that ridiculous playground, there is no reason for a Saiyan like you to be moping around like a baby!" Vegeta barked, trying to get under my skin.

"Somehow, I don't think that's it," Lenz commented.

"Shut up girl, this kid just needs a good brawl to open his eyes a little more!" Vegeta grinned as he sunk into a stance.

"I doubt that Vegeta," I said.

"And why not boy, are you afraid of getting whipped like a slave?" he dared to ask. Lenz glared at him slightly but made no effort to speak up to that unnerving comment.

"My only fear is that I'll kill you by mistake, and I don't want to do that," I replied.

"Oh please boy. I'm not your enemy, but I can certainly take a beating if it comes to that! Now what the hell is wrong with you? If you don't give me a good answer and quickly, I will beat you senseless!" Vegeta growled. I sighed slightly, I hadn't wanted to pull either of them into this, but the fact was that I might need someone on my side to help me bear the consequences of my actions.

"Spit it out!" Vegeta snarled again, sending a small ki blast by my ear.

"Come on, just tell us!" Lenz said, quite a bit gentler.

"I'm about to step over a line, and I'm not sure what is going to happen when I do. All I know is that it is necessary, otherwise I'm probably going to go insane over it," I began.

"A decision? You're moping around because of a choice of do or do not? And here I was just beginning to think you were one of the greatest Saiyans who ever lived. If something isn't right, fix it yourself, don't come to me with those kinds of problems," Vegeta grumbled.

"Well that's just it, because if I do fix what is wrong, those in charge are probably not going to be very happy and they might punish me for it. The thing is, they probably know what I want to do is the right thing. Because of rules and regulations, or just plain ignorance, they won't fix it themselves!"

"As I said before, I don't know what your problem is, and I don't care. But you are strong enough that it doesn't matter what rules are in place. If something needs done and others won't or can't do it themselves, there is little to nothing they can do about it if you should decide to take care of the problem. And if the backlash from it is a problem, you have my support as long as it doesn't conflict with my interests," Vegeta grumbled as he turned around.

"Mine too!" Lenz nodded.

"Thanks, let's do it," I said.

* * *

For the next few hours, the three of us went at it in a free for all of power punches and low-level ki attacks. Vegeta tried to entice me into a bigger match, but I wouldn't bring my Psi energy out for anything. For that, I took a lot of physical punishment and used up a lot more ki just defending myself from their attacks. Lenz even got a few hits in, and was so surprised that she forgot to keep her guard up before Vegeta struck from behind. Vegeta continually looked frustrated but said nothing, as he probably figured that I just needed to clear my head.

"Come on little bro, I know you're better than this!" Lenz claimed.

"I know, I'm just not with it all today. Holding back isn't exactly my strong suit, but sometimes you just need a brainless brawl to figure things out!" I replied coolly.

"Why are you holding back boy? You can't tell me that your adopting my son's strategy of a larger surprise attack when everyone's worn out, I thought you knew better than that!" Vegeta asked.

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, I have things to do and I need to focus on that, not how far I press you in a light match! I'll beat your ass another day!" I said bitterly. Vegeta lifted his eyebrow at my sudden outburst, but said nothing. I grimaced and took a deep breath; after all, he wasn't who I wanted to punch now.

"Come back when you can actually focus on an opponent, you obviously can't right now! Get your precious business done!" he growled.

"I guess I'll go take care of things now then. Hopefully I'll see you when I get back," I said as I headed for the door.

"So, what's the problem again? I'll come help you with whatever it is," Lenz smiled sweetly, blocking my way.

"For your own good, no. It's probably going to be ugly and you may not like what you see," I replied as calmly as I could.

"Forget it girl. The brat doesn't need his diaper changed, you will stay here and train!"

"Awww," she whined as I passed by her and shut the door. _Well, that does it, now to find a way there. Now who else does the gang know that could get me there somewhat undetected? Oh, I know!_ I slowly walked up as I heard Bulma's robots cleaning up the shattered television, with a brand new one standing by.

"Hey, you missed a shard! You don't want me stepping on that! Damn, kid, you sure can leave an awful mess! I almost cut myself on the glass!" Bulma complained as I walked in on the scene.

"Sorry about that. Can you do me a favor, Mom?" I asked.

"Oh this should be good. It's an awfully bad time to be asking for food or money, don't you think? Oh well, fine, what is it?" she asked, glaring at me.

I smiled slightly, "It's neither. I lost something and can't find it, and believe me I'm pretty sure I won't find it easily. Can you tell me the way to Baba's palace?" The look of surprise on her face melted away all those angry thoughts in a heartbeat.

"Baba's? Yeah I guess, but why in the world would you want her help? You haven't even spoken a word to her yet!" Bulma pointed out.

I stared at her hard as my smile faded, "Like I said, I lost something, and I need to find it!"

**A/n: Ya'll can probably see what is coming up very soon, and if you can't, go back and reread it until you do! Expect some extra colorful language in the next one. I'm not going to leave a preview, but you'll do well to remember when Dabura asked Verto if he had learned an attack that he was hesitant about _ever_ using? I think I've said enough. **

**No proofreader this time for multiple reasons, number two being that I wasn't home all that much. And I will have a poll up for you ffn readers.**

**To WDG: I hope you and your family can get through this rough stretch.**


	12. Burn

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 11: Burn**

I glanced around the desert as I flew along its borders, looking for Baba's place. I really had no idea where I was going; just to an oasis in the middle of the southern desert was all Bulma could really tell me. My assumption was that she hadn't been here much, but she did seem to know that the only thing that would be there is the oasis and a palace. I traced the entire area around before cutting back in towards the middle. I finally spotted a few buildings along with a cluster of ponds precisely in the middle of the arid landscape. As I approached, I spotted a long line of random people waiting outside. A few of them looked like rich businessmen, and a few others looked like they wanted to climb in the ring at a tournament. All of them wanted to see Baba though, I could tell that from the start. Everyone turned when I landed next to them, somewhat surprised that a kid would suddenly drop out of the skies next to them. No one said anything though, and I crossed my arms and waited as patiently as possible. After a few minutes I heard some pain filled screams coming from inside the compound before I sensed some people coming out.

"Have fun you three! Who's next?" a light and feminine voice shouted just as three fighters came out and hobbled away. They looked like someone had beaten the tar out of them, but not enough to need a stretcher.

"I said who's next!" the voice shouted again, and this time, well something came out. It sounded like a little girl, but what I saw was some sort of pink…creature wearing a yellow hat. I didn't want to call it a ghost as I couldn't see through her or anything, but it wasn't what I could legitimately call a life form either. At least not one that registered on a list of living and breathing animals. The ghost turned and glanced at me briefly, and suddenly panicked.

"Okay, that's a wrap for today everyone! I'm afraid the mistress isn't taking any more customers today! Come back tomorrow!" The crowd grumbled as they walked away slowly, a few of them unleashed some capsule cars and drove off into the distance.

"Come on in," she said, motioning for me to follow her. She took me inside the first building, and I spotted the hovering figure waiting in the very first room with her back turned.

"Hello there stranger, I am the illustrious fortuneteller Baba! You can either pay me Ten million Zeni or beat all of my fighters and I will tell you what you wish to hear. I don't care if it's your future, cause of death, future spouse or a missing remote control. Though if you are here to find a missing remote, you really are wasting my time as you are likely dumb enough to lose it again!" she said, sounding like it was a memorized speech.

"Um, mistress, that boy you mentioned is here," she whispered. A steaming cup of tea smashed to the ground a moment later and Baba shook notably.

"Fine, you may go," Baba said as the ghost bowed and departed.

"I take it you knew that I was coming?" I asked in a raised voice.

"Shhh, not so loud! You never know who might be listening!" Baba said with a finger to her aged mouth as she turned around.

"And you likely know what I plan to do, or you at least have an idea as to why," I said, not lowering my voice.

"Dear boy, I wouldn't be a very good fortuneteller if I didn't already know. I noticed this one a few days ago after you came back to Earth. I haven't told anyone about it yet, but I do not feel comfortable with this!" she shrieked suddenly.

"Calm down old lady, so can you do it or not?" I asked.

"Of course I can do it, otherwise the potential fallout from this would be a moot point!" she yelled back.

"Well, let's get going then!" I said.

"Hold on boy, one does not simply march in there and start blowing things up! I must make you understand that you must be as brief as possible and to keep your power as low as possible! If we are discovered, well I won't take responsibility for you despite being a minor!" she warned.

"Fine, it's all on me. Now take me to the afterlife!"

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" I asked as the ghost was working.

"Yes, because this simple disguise will greatly decrease your chances of being found out! The ogres on both sides of Snake Way should ignore you for the most part as long as you don't fly around recklessly, and keep away from important areas!" Baba added. The ghost was busily painting a halo on an invisible helmet that Baba dug out of her stash of items.

"There's no way that it will work anyway, it'll probably fall off when I'm flying through Hell. And probably get destroyed if I get into a fight along the way! I can go invisible once we are there, so just wait at the exit and we'll be just fine!"

"Young fools," Baba said, shaking her head, "This is only to protect both our interests. Those in charge of the afterlife are going to notice something wrong rather quickly even if you are flawless in avoiding detection. I am simply trying to avoid discovery!"

"I told you, I don't care about that. I'm not going to wear that damn thing!" I shouted, scaring the ghost.

Baba kept her resolve, "Yes you will, otherwise I will not take you there!"

"Fine!" _Damn old bitch._

"Okay, let's give it a try!" the ghost said happily as she slipped the invisible helmet over my hair and head. She held up a mirror, and the only thing that looked right on was the halo. My hair was flattened and looked horrible. _Now I know what Gohan felt like when he got the bull cut._

"Oh relax; it's only for a little while anyway!" Baba said, chuckling. _You are damn right about that; it's coming off as soon as I'm away from you! _

"Whatever, can we just get going?" I said with a deep scowl.

"Sure, just grab a hold of my crystal ball, otherwise you won't be able to pass through the void! And don't fall off, that isn't a place you want to be stuck in, believe me!" Baba said as she lifted off. I held onto the ball firmly, but not enough to break it, and off we went into the sky. Once we were past the clouds, Baba muttered some sort of enchantment and a black hole suddenly opened up.

"In we go!" she said, as the hole seemed to expand and swallow us. As Baba flew forward, the space we were in started to change colors and I could see streams of multicolored light going all around us. I even saw what looked to be a planet or two go by quickly before another hole opened up and revealed a familiar red sky with yellow clouds, and a castle in the distance.

"Wow, what was that place?" I asked as I let go of the ball and flew on my own power.

"That was the space between the physical realm and the afterlife realm. Normally spirits pass right through instantly once their dying bodies release them. Since we did not die, we had to go slower," she explained.

"I don't suppose you could tell me about the planets I saw in there could you?" I asked.

"Even I have no idea where they go, I haven't dared to venture there," she said with a shrug.

"Well, thanks Baba. I'll go alone from here. Just wait here for me to get back, unless of course you hear from some authorities about my capture," I said with a smirk.

"I'll just watch for the explosions," she laughed.

"Is that seriously going to happen?" I asked.

"I have no idea; I don't plan on looking in on it. But it might be amusing to watch King Yemma's face turn red more than once. Go give that creep hell kid!" she said with a slight wave.

I nodded slightly and dove towards the clouds, passing into Hell very quickly. _Well, this is it. Still, I can't believe that I'm actually going to use that attack. I guess its just fate that Dabura should have me learn it. Then again I might have discovered it on my own despite all of Old Kai's warnings. Oh well, game time._

* * *

Once into hell, I quickly flew across the lands of the dead, searching for my target. I thought about trying to sense his location with my spiritual vision ability, but there were so many dead souls around that it would prove difficult. I scanned for pure Psi emissions instead, and after about an hour of searching, I finally found a slightly higher and fluctuating one amidst a cluster of high ki levels. As I flew towards it, I took note of a lot of ogres glancing up as I blazed by. To my surprise though, they didn't really react and went about their business. _Okay, Old Hag: One, Verto: Zero. Guess I'll keep the retarded disguise on for a few more moments. _As I approached the cluster of power signals, it didn't take me long to figure out who everyone else was, and it definitely didn't take long for several of them to run when they saw me coming. Only one of them seemed to be in a good mood when I landed, and not surprisingly, he was green.

"Well look who dropped in! Dead again so soon? Too bad!" Cell said with a hearty laugh.

"Looks like a really bad haircut followed him. Typical with you monkeys!" Frieza piped in nearby with a very big frown on his face. His midsection was sporting a large bandage, as was his tail; apparently he hadn't quite healed from our last encounter.

"Whoever said I was dead?" I asked as I powered up quickly. The painted helmet shattered and my hair flowed freely once again as I pushed up to maximum power in normal form. My brawl with Vegeta and Lenz earlier had cut my ki level to less than half of normal. That was fine however, because I didn't need it for what I was going to do.

"I see, though you don't look so well today. Feeling a bit under the weather, or are you just weak?" Cell asked, likely sensing part of my current power level. As for rather I actually looked sick or not, maybe, but I definitely didn't feel that way.

"Trust me Cell, what you can't sense can definitely hurt you today," I warned.

"In that case, you should find who you are looking for just over that rise. Don't mind if we tag along do you? I wouldn't mind seeing just what you are going to do to him! If it's anything like what you did to poor Frieza, then this should be a good show!" Cell laughed as he walked towards me.

"Fine, but stay out of my way. I'm in a bad enough mood as it is!" I warned.

"I wouldn't think of it," Cell grinned.

"It's not you I was warning. He'll lose more than his tail if he screws with me this time," I growled at Frieza, who stepped back cautiously.

"You have my word that neither of us will impede your path," Cell said as he nodded to Frieza.

"I'll hold you to that," I said as I walked over the hill slowly, sniffing out my prey. I spotted Babidi almost right away, though the short imp was hard to miss. Next to him though was where the Psi emissions were coming from, and Freddy was currently laughing his sick head off. Any attempts at remaining calm instantly vanished when I laid eyes on him. In all honesty, I didn't want to use the attack that Dabura had me learn privately, but I knew it was necessary now. If it were a simple job of kicking the Freddy's teeth in, I wouldn't have even bothered coming. The laws of the afterlife weren't going to prevail though, not with Babidi or Freddy around.

"I hope you are ready to torture the Saiyan some more. By my calculations, he should be going insane right about now. Just a little more and that precious little mind of his is going to shatter. And then, oh it will be gorgeous! All of that destruction, I just can't wait to make him my slave!" Babidi cackled.

"So that's what the imp has been scheming over lately. That is certainly an interesting turn of events. I didn't realize he was planning on trying to turn you into his messenger of death," Cell noted.

"He would have failed," I said as I moved towards the pair.

"Perhaps," Cell chuckled.

"Hey Freddy! Get your pathetic ass over here! It's time to face the fucking music!" I roared, scaring both of them.

"How did you get here you brat? You aren't dead!" Babidi pointed out.

"Master, please protect me!" Freddy begged suddenly, cowering behind Babidi.

"I suggest you get out of the way wizard; this bastard is mine!" I warned. Babidi did step out of the way, a look of both curiosity and concern displayed on his face. Freddy visibly shook as I slowly stalked towards him, as the look on my face was probably enough to make him want to commit suicide. It didn't matter; he wasn't going to get that kind of chance. He turned around to run in the other direction, only to stop when I suddenly phased out and appeared in front of him.

"Please no!" he pleaded.

"Save it for someone who cares about your worthless rotting carcass," I growled. Freddy got down on his knees for a moment, before I stepped up and punched him hard in the shoulder. I heard a distinct pop as he went flying backwards, and his arm ceased to move afterwards. He attempted to flee again while dragging his dead arm, but stopped and fell backward when I appeared in his path again.

"I'm sure you enjoyed making your victims run for their lives even though they had no real chance of escape. Well picture that right now, because payback is a bitch!" I snarled at him. Freddy got to his feet and backed up a step just as I rushed at him and drove into his left leg, breaking several bones in the process. Freddy collapsed in pain as he held his injured leg protectively. When he looked up again, I had one finger pointed at his chest and a potent ki blast ready to fire.

"No, please!" he begged again. I snorted slightly and aimed a little further down before firing, sending the small ki beam right through his stomach and clean through his back, just inches below his ribcage. He cried out in pain and gasped as he lost his breath suddenly. When he bent over again, I walked up and grabbed hold of his good arm and pulled hard. It easily ripped out of the shoulder and he suddenly forgot about his stomach wound as blood spurted out from his newest injury. He didn't have much time to mourn the loss of his arm before I used it to smash his face in. He fell backwards several feet before struggling to get to a sitting position.

"What have you done to me?!" he asked.

"I've robbed you of the use of your body, just like you did all those people by killing them in their dreams! You never even gave them a real chance to run, and neither will I! If you think I'm satisfied with that, think again. I know you will be able to recover here in Hell, but it's not going to be that way. Care to guess what I'm going to take next?" I asked.

"You won't be able to kill me boy! I'm already dead!" he grinned weakly. The grin vanished when I charged up one hand with all Psi energy. Freddy's lower lip quivered in fear as he stared at the attack brewing in my palm.

"You can either stand there or try to run, but it doesn't matter. You're still gonna get the shit end of this attack and I promise that you will not enjoy it!" I scowled. Freddy managed to get to his feet and limped away as fast as he could in the opposite direction, but it was fruitless since he was so slow. I snarled as I let out some very angry emotions, thoughts of death and mutilation came to mind when I thought of one Freddy Krueger. _But he went too far when he screwed with my mind and killed all those people. Now he's going to pay for it!_ I heard a slight whoosh behind me and detected Kibito-Kai teleporting in. His presence instantly calmed me for the moment, and I lost the focus I needed to create the attack. I turned and glared at his floating form, staring him down.

"No Verto! Don't do it!" he shouted.

"Don't even think about stopping me. It's too late for him Kai; he had this one coming!" I growled. The mere thought of someone as benevolent as him trying to protect Freddy was sickening.

"I know he's guilty, but if you do this, you will be throwing away your life both on Earth and afterwards! I cannot tell you what this will do to your standing, but you will likely be branded an outlaw for this! You will be fortunate to keep your body even if you were sent here afterwards!" Kibito pleaded with me.

"I don't give a shit about what happens to me, that son of a bitch deserves his fate!" I shouted as I kept the power flowing into my right hand, the whole area darkened in the light of my attack, which was rippling with lightning. I barely noticed that my building energy had now turned red, but I had been expecting that. Kibito only continued to fuel it through his own words, as well as distract me.

"Listen to me Verto! There are higher forces at work here, higher than you could ever understand! What you are about to do will provoke them, and your destiny could only be filled with darkness and pain if that happens!" Something inside me heard his words, and whatever tedious control it had over my emotions snapped. I turned to Kibito and grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him close so I could scream in his face.

"I'll tell you whose destiny will be filled with darkness and pain, yours! If you stop me from doing this, I can't describe how I will tear you down into little pieces of purple shit! I don't care if I have to chase your ass down for all time either, I will do it! This mother fucker has mercilessly killed countless numbers of people unchecked for god knows how long after death. Do you think that's fair? You think they deserved that? And the worst part is he gets to hide out here and do it over and over again, while you and everyone else sit back and let it happen! Whatever happened to the non-interference crap with the mortal realm, huh? Seems like he's doing it as much as he fucking wants to!" I growled at the Kai and threw him off, who seemed hesitant to answer once I let him go. It felt very good to get that out of my system, and at the moment, I didn't care whom I was talking to, I felt free. It felt so good that my blast seemed to slip away for a brief moment before I powered it back up, letting Hell have some of its red shading for a few moments.

"You shouldn't let revenge dictate your actions," he scolded in a slightly calmer tone.

"This isn't revenge; it's justice. For all the lives he took, he deserves it," I said in a low voice.

"That may be, but you don't know the circumstances! And you don't know what this action may cause in the future!"

"Apparently not, give me a good fucking reason why I shouldn't do this. Dodging the question is not an acceptable answer," I said, allowing my blast to shrink just a bit.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. But destroying a soul completely will condemn you forever. No matter how much good you do from now on, it will follow you to the grave and beyond! Darkness is bound to fill your destiny forever! I implore you, please come with me and we can forget about this whole mess!" Kibito said, holding out a hand. I thought it over for about half a second, and reenergized my blast.

"Wrong answer," I said as I rose into the air and locked onto Freddy, who hadn't even made it a tenth of a mile away yet.

"No, stop! I won't let you ruin your life!" Kibito shouted, as he pulled down hard on my arm right before I was going to fire it. I barely held onto the energy and nearly blasted him for it.

"Get off of me! I'm seeing this through! I don't care what kind of shit comes down on me for it!" I shouted as I struggled to get free. When he didn't let go, I brought up my other arm with another reddened blast aimed right at his face. He froze in surprise, but did not let me go. I increased the amount of power I held, ready to unload on him for everything that I blamed him for, and that was quite a list. It always seemed like he and Old Kai were trying to keep me at arms length, like I was their pet on a leash, born to clean up their mess. I didn't want that; I wanted to be left alone. I wanted to be free. _One shot is all it could take. One shot and I'll never have to face him again, no more of his shit! _Kibito's eyes widened as the crimson light reflected off of his face.

"_Refocus your anger. The Kai is not your target!_" a clearly feminine voice said. I glanced up at the sky and then at Kibito, who apparently didn't hear it. His face said it all, he was afraid of me. I blinked once by reaction and dropped the urge to let Kibito have it. I also didn't sense anything new around me, but the voice was right, I was losing sight of my objective, which was limping away. All of a sudden I heard the sound of a jaw being smashed and I was loose. I turned to see Cell with his fist outstretched and Kibito bouncing off the dirt several feet away.

"I don't necessarily owe you anything kid; I was just tired of hearing him talk! Get on with it; I want to see if you really have the balls to defy the gods!" Cell said as he pointed towards Freddy. I snorted slightly at this and lifted up further so I could get a clear shot, bringing both arms together much like the Final Flash. I refocused my angry emotions into the blast to finish it for maximum results. As I expected, my blast changed in color several times until it remained red with a slightly orange tint at its bright core. It spun quickly around at it strengthened and flowed with occasional lightning plus a feint fiery outline. Freddy was struggling to keep his feet and stumbled into the dirt before he started crawling as fast as he could with his bad arm.

"This is for killing all those people, for torturing my friends and for sticking your nose where it doesn't belong! You've killed for the last time and now you are getting it all back at once you sick son of a bitch!" I shouted at him as larger streams of red lightning erupted from my blast, which probably had enough negative force behind it to neutralize a spirit bomb that was ten times more powerful. Freddy stopped when he saw his shadow vanish from the reddened ground and stared back in horror.

"SOUL BLAZER!" I bellowed, firing the red pulsing lightning ball. The attack cut across the landscape, leaving a trail of lightning behind it. It ripped right into Freddy's body and erupted from there. Over the roar of the blast wave, I could hear him screaming and cursing as his body erupted into red and slightly black flames with lightning pulsing outwards for several feet. Everyone shielded their eyes against the vivid red light, except me. I had to see my new attack do its dirty work. The energy waves formed into one around Freddy and then it collapsed in on itself before exploding, throwing up a large amount of wind. The normal lighting of Hell returned a moment later, and Freddy was down on the ground in a prone state, unmoving. Most of his center mass had been obliterated, while the rest of his body had turned to an ashy gray color. No kind of energy came from him at all, and I didn't expect any either. I noticed a bit of my red Psi energy emerging from him in a form of minor lightning and a bit of blackened smoke, before it floated harmlessly into the clouds and vanished.

"Judging by his lack of strength, I would have thought all of him would be gone after an attack like that. What happened?" Cell asked from behind me.

"I didn't miss, if that's what you mean. My target wasn't the body, it was just in the way," I said.

"Where's his soul?" Frieza piped in.

"Gone," I said.

"What?!" Cell yelled in surprise.

"Burned," I replied.

"His attack didn't destroy his body like a normal one might have, but it is now just a broken shell. What he killed was his mind and spirit. Normally you would see a more delayed reaction with his soul rising out of him, burning and evaporating into nothing as it disconnected itself from the body. The power behind that blast was likely more than was needed and hit the core of his soul directly. Thus it did the job much faster," Kibito Kai explained, apparently recovered from Cell's hit. I nodded slightly as Frieza and Cell stared blankly at the motionless corpse.

I kept my eye on it as well as I spoke to Kibito, "So, you spied on me during Dabura's training after all?"

"That would have been difficult. We saw this by premonition," Kibito said softly, drawing my angry gaze.

"Just out of curiosity, what happens next?" Frieza asked.

"This," I replied as I shifted slightly while glaring at Kibito. I fired a quick but powerful golden ki blast, meant to wipe the rest of Freddy's ruined body out. When it cleared, there was nothing left of him, not even a spirit vapor or a halo. When it cleared, Freddy Krueger no longer existed.

I sighed slightly as I let the severity of the situation go through my head over and over. _Man, I never thought I would actually have to do that. They got the sacred power thing right; guess now I'm probably going to lose it._ I shook it off and landed, glancing over at the shocked expressions on everyone present. Cell was amazed and Frieza's jaw was on the ground. King Kold looked ready to faint and Kibito was staring off towards the ground. Babidi, of all people, was laughing.

"And what is so funny?" I asked.

"Just that you have proven that you do have an inner evil and that you will make an excellent crony! Looks like you completely fooled the Kai. I simply can't wait to make you my slave!" he boasted.

"Is that your way of saying you want to be next?" I asked as glared at him darkly.

"Oh no, you will be mine!" he said as he raised his hands and pointed them both in my direction. I growled slightly and allowed my Psi energy to flare again, and less than a second later all the hairs on his head were cleaved in half by my sudden lightning burst, and his cape was on fire.

"What the?" he gasped as he fanned off his hot head.

"Wanna try for seconds Babidi? I don't think I'll miss twice with the mood I'm in. If you want, you can have a taste of what your crony just received. I promise I'll go slow this time so you can enjoy all of the agony you will feel," I replied as the wizard backed off.

Cell started laughing now, "I can't believe the kid actually did all that!"

"Despite what he has done to me in the past, I have new respect for that brat! I'd even hire him as a soldier if we were still alive," Frieza said with a bright grin.

"Tell me boy, why didn't you use that attack on that monster he let out a few months ago?" Cell asked. I ignored Cell as Kibito sighed and walked towards me with a determined frown on his face.

"Come on, I have to take you home right now," he said, holding out a hand.

"Now that is rude, I only wanted to inquire about his power. It is obviously far greater than yours or ours! You will not tell this kid what to do no matter who you are, now back off!" Cell declared as he charged in. Kibito glared at him as his power flared, and with a wave of his hand he sent Cell flying backwards, right into Frieza and knocking them both down.

"Don't make this any more difficult than it already is Verto, you've done enough today," he said sternly.

"I still have one more to go and you know it," I answered as I put on my best death glare.

"That won't be necessary; I will see to it that Jason Voorhees stays in Hell where he belongs. Without Babidi's interference, nor his enchanted mask, he won't be able to return to life again. He may have also been a cold-blooded murderer, but for the most part he was just insane and acted upon his instincts with mindless violence. He didn't truly have any special powers to use on his victims. Now let's go!" Kibito ordered in a much stricter tone than I had heard from him before.

"Fine, put the handcuffs on," I said, holding out my hands. The only reason I was compliant though was because I knew he could make it difficult to find Jason and put him out of his misery for good. If the Kai was going to supposedly keep an eye on him, I didn't need to.

"Well, we won't be doing that just yet," he replied as he grabbed a hold of my shoulder and teleported away.

* * *

"All right Kai, just what did the boy do that was so wrong?" Vegeta growled once heard the nitty-gritty on what had been going on. Once Kibito had teleported me home, he had pulled Bulma and Vegeta away from their usual activities. Lenz and Trunks were also present, but only because they happened to be in the room when we suddenly appeared.

"Long story short, he broke into the afterlife, went down into hell and completely destroyed someone's soul. That villain, despite how terrible he was, no longer exists. This is a serious crime that he may have to answer for," Kibito said as he glared at me, crossing his arms.

Vegeta began to laugh at this, "Hahahahaha, so let me get this straight. He somehow got past everyone's senses and detection methods, and then wiped out an enemy that as I understand has been killing humans in their sleep ever since he died so many years ago. Hell I can't blame the boy for that; I would have done it too! Where was your non-interference crap about the dead and the living? I'd say the boy did you a favor!" Vegeta grunted.

"That's what I did, a fucking public service," I grumbled.

"Be that as it may, destroying a soul completely is a forbidden act for anyone. His good deeds in the past might alleviate some of his punishment, but I don't expect this one to go completely unanswered. Even though he is a minor under your care, neither of you will be brought down. This is all on Verto," Kibito explained.

"So, when do we find out what his punishment is?" Bulma asked.

"I do not know, but a lot of it may pertain on everything that has happened to him lately. And a lot of it will depend on what happens from here on," Kibito said with a warning glance in my direction.

"Well son, what do you have to say for yourself?" Bulma asked with a slightly irritated glare.

"If you're concerned that I'll bust in there again and wipe out all the villains, don't be. With the exception of Babidi, none of them seemed to be doing anything that would affect things here. As far as Freddy goes, that piece of shit deserved every bit of what I gave him! Even if it leads to some horrible punishment in the future, I'd do it again if I had to!" I said with pure defiance.

"I thought as much. For now, know that you will be monitored very closely from now on. Anything you say or do will be documented and will likely have some sort of impact on your judgment. And I have to ask that you not leave this place without supervision for a minimum of one week. Consider yourself on house arrest," he said as he turned to leave.

"You mean he can't leave the house at all?" Bulma asked in surprise.

"That's not exactly what I said. Someone, preferably an adult, must be with him. I will place a magical barrier around the complex that will alert me if he should leave the premises, supervised or not. Nothing will happen if you should leave here unless we deem it necessary, but we will be watching you. The barrier will dissipate exactly one week from now," Kibito explained.

"I don't need a fucking leash!" I growled.

"Verto, watch your language!" Bulma scolded.

"I'm sorry about this, but for now this is the best thing for you. Those in charge would have wanted much worse, and that includes life termination," Kibito warned.

"Ha! I'd like to see one you Kais come down and try to do that!" Vegeta boasted, eager for a fight.

"No, you wouldn't," Kibito Kai said as he suddenly teleported away. My eyes narrowed slightly as I noticed something that Kibito had left out. _Those in charge, well that narrows down the list slightly, he couldn't have meant himself or the other Kais. Vegeta must not have caught that one. Kibito wasn't very open with me to begin with, but he clearly withheld more information this time_. _And a judgment, unless he knows that I'm going to die again soon, that must mean something else. _

"Well, this is a real fine mess you've gotten yourself into," Bulma said, clearly disappointed.

"Doesn't seem fair to me," Trunks said after staying quiet for most of the time.

"It isn't fair at all!" Lenz screeched.

"Calm down girl, he isn't completely forbidden to leave," Vegeta pointed out.

"But how is it fair to punish someone for doing the right thing?" she asked as her voice cracked a bit.

"Yeah dad, that creep attacked me and Goten in our dreams too! If Verto hadn't of stepped in and helped us out, we could have died too!" Trunks said.

"Well, the situation certainly has its good and bad points of view. What I don't understand is how they could allow someone with this ability to keep killing humans from the afterlife and then come down on Verto for fixing the problem. That doesn't make sense!" Bulma said in slight anger.

"That's what I keep wondering. He seemed too eager to get me out of there before I killed that bastard. It was like he was completely ignoring Freddy's track record," I replied.

"Humph, pathetic," Vegeta grunted as he walked off.

"Well, I assume your probably going to be training a lot for awhile, I guess you could help me with upgrading the new gravity chamber," Bulma suggested.

"What kind of upgrade?" I asked, somewhat curious.

"The hologram programs of course, I'm ready to test them!" she boasted, sounding quite proud of herself.

"We get to fight holograms now instead of each other? Awesome!" Trunks said, sounding amazed.

"Tired of getting the crap kicked out of you I take it?" I asked.

"Nah, I just kept getting bored against you and dad!" he lied.

"Whatever. Anything else that we can do for the week without it turning into a crisis?" I asked.

"Is that a trick question?" Lenz asked in a low voice with a slight grin on her face.

"Ugh, count me out!" Trunks gagged as he ran for his room.

"Let me rephrase that; is there anything that doesn't involve a bedroom and those who are clearly underage?" I asked as I gave her a warning glance.

She only smiled back, "Whoever said we had use a bedroom? And you're only handicapped until you learn a few things. I can help with that you know!"

"I know enough!"

"I don't know, you seem too shy to know much of the important stuff," Lenz cooed a bit.

"Was there something about waiting till I'm older that you missed?" I asked.

"You're a few days older! What? You never said how much older!" Lenz pointed out as I shook my head.

Bulma chuckled slightly at this, "I don't care what you two do under this roof, just try to keep it down! But I suppose it is never too early to learn new tricks now is it son? You didn't exactly have a lot of time to play with Fasha, now did you? How long ago was that anyway? It's got to have been over a year at least!"

"Longer," I grumbled.

"No wonder he's so uptight all the time, I guess I've got work to do!" Lenz said happily.

"Ugh," I groaned.

"I was only kidding Lenz; it's just fun to watch him squirm. And other than the hologram testing I don't have any immediate plans. But you know me and my science projects. That could change at any time. Good night!" Bulma said, as she seemed to have a skip in her step. I shook my head slightly, being cooped up in the house for any amount of time didn't sound like something I would enjoy no matter what was going on. Nor did it sound likely that I would even obey that so called ruling.

"Wow, what a day! Huh, runt?" Lenz asked as she draped an arm over my shoulders.

"One that I'd like to forget with some sleep now," I said as I stood up.

"If you have another nightmare tonight, you can come stay with me!" Lenz offered.

"The key word in that sentence was sleep. If it involves being in the same room as you, I'll never get any rest!"

"That's not true! I'd let you sleep, occasionally," she laughed.

"Whatever, I'm going to bed!" I said as I trudged off towards my room.

"Oh come on, just one full-body massage to help you relax! I promise there will be a happy ending!" Lenz called out, though she didn't pursue it.

When I passed the main lobby, I could sense a very low-level energy field surrounding the whole compound, starting somewhere near the streets. _That's the Supreme Kai for you, always on top of the things he says._ Just as I shrugged it off and was about to go upstairs, I sensed a familiar spark of energy outside the barrier. It felt the same as the energy I felt from the girl named Leira just before she vanished, thus I quickly opened the door and looked out. Across the street, I spotted the leather clad red head. She seemed frustrated about something judging by the way she was glaring back at me. Her glare softened slightly at she stood still. My right hand suddenly erupted in pain, a burning pain. It wasn't bad, but it streaked through over and over in pulses almost in tune with my heartbeat. I examined it for damage and saw barely noticeable red scars coming to the surface of my skin. They became bright with the color of blood for several seconds before receding and entrenching themselves around my palm like I had been cut badly there months ago. The pain slowly faded as I glanced up at Leira, who stood unmoving. _I wonder if she is behind this? _She tilted her head slightly, as if perplexed by my reaction. A thought came to my head as I waited for some sort of action by Leira, but it wasn't because of her. My hand burned a lot like the blast I had used to wipe out Krueger. A wave of guilt and slight despair washed over me and to be honest I had no idea where it was coming from. I held slight regret that I had resorted to that measure to solve the issue, but I felt that it needed to be done since that vicious beast was still able to orchestrate his madness from the afterlife. _Why do I feel this way? He deserved it._ Leira straightened up and stared back, almost piercing my eyes with her gaze.

It softened after a moment, "_What you are feeling is a result of the energy field erected around this dwelling. It hones in on your unique energy signature and floods it with emotional turmoil meant to bring about grief and guilt at regular intervals. It may also make you feel brief intervals of pain from your hands. It is designed to punish you for your actions,_" her voice said through my head.

My eyes widened just slightly, "_You're telepathic too?_"

"_Try not to be surprised young one. There is much you have to learn about both yourself and me. I suggest you focus on the former!"_ she replied with a stiff tone.

"_Don't leave me in the dark; I can't stand that. Why are you here?"_ She didn't answer that, though I wasn't surprised by any means. After a few minutes of silence, rain started to fall along with the occasional round of lightning and thunder.

"_You will have to maintain focus in order to control your emotions while you stay here. Do not let grief overcome you!_" she said as I nodded. We watched each other's lack of movement for a little while longer before she promptly vanished again, leaving no trace behind.

**Interlude: Supreme Kai**

"I take it things went as expected," Old Kai asked as Kibito suddenly appeared with a grim look on his face.

"Yes sir," he replied.

"I did tell you, didn't I?" Old Kai asked as he sipped his tea.

"It's not fair, you know that! It's too soon for this!" Kibito said with a raised voice.

"You saw the visions as I did, and you saw the reports. And we were visited, so you knew this was coming. Now that it has begun, you should not be surprised at any of this. You've played your part well enough; just keep at it! You know what the rules are in this ordeal, and they must be followed to the letter!"

"It's not fair to Verto; he wasn't even given a choice in the matter! It just hit him right in the face and he wasn't given time to go over his options!" Kibito argued.

"It may not be fair, but it's the way of things rather this happened or not. Besides, what did you honestly expect him to do? Sit back and watch while his friends were killed? When things hit someone like Verto in the face, they don't go unanswered!" Old Kai proclaimed.

"But forcing him into that situation was wrong from the start, and allowing all those innocents to die is even worse!" Kibito shouted.

"Calm down young Kai, you don't understand the politics when dealing with the Elders. You have to do things their way, no matter how wrong it may seem to us. It is certainly better than the alternative!" Old Kai pointed out.

Kibito sighed, "I suppose so, when you put it that way. I still can't believe it had to start like this!"

"What are you saying young Kai?" Old Kai asked.

"Even as I was trying to talk him out of it and he wasn't listening. Even as he held that lethal blast in his hand and even as he fired it, I still never thought he'd do it," Kibito explained.

"You are truly naïve to believe that. He is not Goku after all. While he isn't as brash as Vegeta, he won't hesitate either, and that is what makes him so effective. I have to admit, I was a little unsure about putting him through this, hell I still am. But it may prove worthwhile in the future," Old Kai replied.

"How can you say that? Aren't you worried that this trial will tear him apart from the inside? He almost became an agent of evil right before my eyes. I mean what if Babidi were to turn him into a slave and negate all of our work?" Kibito asked in a panicked tone.

"Oh I am worried, but not for the same reasons. I seriously doubt Babidi could do anything to that kid now. I also doubt that this ordeal will drive him to insanity. On the other hand, you've seen that boy's mind. As knowledgeable as he is, he still takes gut reactions to certain situations without thinking them out. He will do what he feels he needs to do at any given time. And he is smart enough to know when something is wrong. As tough as the near future might be on him, and as hard as the decisions he is forced into may be, I don't think that could be his undoing. So you should be content that he is being tested now. Still, I'm concerned about the future from now on; it's still very cloudy," Old Kai explained as his expression clearly read extreme stress.

"Well, if it isn't that, what could worry you so much elder?" Kibito asked.

"What I am worried about is when he figures all of this out and what sort of reaction he will have. Now I believe you have a report to help deliver, so get on with it," Old Kai said as Kibito walked away. Briefly, he turned back to his elder, wondering if he indeed saw everything that happened. _Someone interfered. Verto was ready to follow an evil path and blast me instead. It couldn't have been Cell that redirected his wrath; it had to have been someone I didn't sense there. There's no way he could have refocused that quickly. Perhaps that was part of the test as well._ _Still, I feel bad about erecting that energy field around the Capsule compound; Verto should not have to suffer for doing the right thing. _Kibito pondered over this before shaking his head and vanishing into thin air.

**A/Ns:**

WDG: Pivotal indeed. The role of the Kais actually seems to be important here. I always wondered why they even existed in the series, as all they seemed to do was screw up and be weak bystanders. They didn't even know a whole lot. And they were supposed to be gods, too…

VB: The Kais, just weak bystanders? I couldn't imagine that could ever be the case. But they do have a slightly bigger role than you or anyone else will realize. We'll get to that, there's still a long way to go. This was more or less the opening act.

**Next time on DBV: Bulma and Verto test the new holograms shortly before Gohan requests some private training with Verto on further use of Psi energy. While all of that is going on, Capsule Corp's satellites pick up on something going on in the frozen wastelands near the South Pole. What could it be?**


	13. Training Methods

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 12: Training methods**

"Alright hun, let's test this program. I've been working almost non-stop on it after all!" Bulma said. I was standing in the control room for the new and improved gravity room that had been built separate from the new Capsule Corp. Only a long hallway connected it to the house, and it was much larger and specially reinforced. According to just about everyone, Vegeta had been dying to test everything for himself, and Bulma had pulled the plug on the whole thing until he agreed to leave it alone for the time being. It was probably about half as big around as the capsule corp. building, clearly designed for larger sparring and training bouts. Only a small control room stood off to the side, and it controlled all of the enhanced gravity and the hologram settings. It was also a safe place for people to watch from if needs be.

"First thing we do is enter your name and all the important stuff. This also adjusts the program to your settings. You wouldn't want some weakling like me to walk in and start on a high level program without realizing it. They are pretty ruthless," Bulma explained as she punched up some basic information onto the screen.

"Surely you have some commands for the program to stop, otherwise it wouldn't be very safe," I suggested.

"Oh of course, everything is set on voice command. Stop, begin, pause and proceed are the key words you need to remember while inside the chamber. The programs will not change their current status until one of those words is spoken," she said.

"Good, how many different programs are there?" I asked.

"Only six, but they have can have various settings that really affect the way they fight. There are five key settings that have to be inputted: Difficulty level, agility level, intelligence level and ability level. Difficulty determines how strong they are and how long they can last. Agility is obvious; it's their quickness, speed and accuracy. Intelligence determines how smart they are and accordingly how well they adapt to a fighting style as well as adjusting their own strategies to combat you. Ability levels install various abilities into each fighter with fighting styles, energy blasts and techniques. None of the fighting programs are exactly the same though," she explained.

"I thought you said there were five settings?" I asked.

"Gravity level, silly. If the program is set to the highest level and you are still beating them easily, try turning up the gravity and see if you can keep up. Remember, none of them are affected by the gravity plating!" she warned.

"Well you said there was a lot of variety depending on those settings, what are the highest and lowest settings?" I asked.

"Wow, you are keeping up after all. Well I have different settings installed on each fighter with a default level and established minimum and maximum levels unique to each program. Before you ask why there is a cap on it, the programs were too unstable on other settings rather they were too high or too low. They will work best under the established parameters. Not to worry though, I've managed to create some pretty tough fighters, and like I said, you can simply turn up the gravity if it's too easy! Here I'll show you," she explained.

"Before we start, I am kind of curious how you managed to get all this going in a short time. I know I was away for a while, but way you acted like the project was going to take years to do. Plus you had to get the whole compound rebuilt while you had a baby on the way," I pointed out.

"Oh that, well when the Protoss left Earth in such a hurry, they left behind a lot of technology. With it I was able to make these hologram emitters and with Eighteen's help, carefully install each fighter's movement, adaptation and other goodies. The power system here is also based on their pylon clusters, though I was only able to get a hold of a few crystals. I was also able to make a much stronger Saiyan proof alloy that makes up the entire room. I haven't tested how much it can take, but it stood up to Gotenks pretty well," she continued. _So that's how she did it, figures. Oh well, I won't call her out for cheating or anything if she managed to get it all first. Hell she was already trading some technology with them as it was, I should probably hope that no one else discovered their crap left out to rust. _

"Okay, let's do this," I said as I walked into the chamber.

"Fighter number one is Brock," she announced as she typed something in. Instantly a large muscled man dressed in brown appeared with boxing gloves on.

"The most basic fighter of the group. He's mostly just a big dumb brute who talks a lot and prefers pure strength verses speed and technique. Only at the highest ability levels can he even use energy blasts, but even then he can't fly. He can be tough to bring down for any beginner, but overall isn't much of a problem. Great for starters," she explained as I looked over the hologram. He did indeed look very stupid; I doubted that Mr. Satan could lose to this guy even if he was still wearing a diaper.

"Next up, Amine!" Bulma announced as Brock vanished and a thin and tomboyish girl appeared in his place.

"Ooo, a girl this time," I said sarcastically.

"Amine is another basic fighter, only this one relies on speed and strategy rather than pure strength. Basically the same as Brock, but is a little bit smarter and obviously much better looking. She can pack a decent punch at a high level and due to her speed can be hard to track for a novice, but once you score solid hits on her, she will go down quick. She is more likely to use an energy wave than Brock, but they aren't very strong. She also can't fly, but she moves along the ground very well for someone who is normal," Bulma said with a wink. I frowned at the cheap shot, but let it slide.

"I think you know who this is," she said as Amine vanished and suddenly a very familiar figure appeared. But he had no power signal to go with him, thus I knew it wasn't the real thing.

"You know Vegeta isn't going to like this one. But you nailed it; he even has Goku's goofy grin," I said.

"Actually Vegeta requested it; I think it's his way of practicing to beat him like he always claims he will. Could be a good way to get his confidence up, assuming the prince of arrogance ever needs a boost. This guy can fight just as well as Goku. If you want a good and long workout, this is the one to tangle with," she pointed out. The image of Goku vanished and another brown haired girl took his place. This one was much more attractive than the first girl, but also seemed to have a deadly edge to her.

"This is Tamari. She is much harder to catch than the previous fighters and she is also a great deal smarter than all of them. She relies on keeping her distance and using energy attacks until she sees an opening. She isn't as potentially tough as Goku, but she can certainly hang with anyone. I must say, I did a really good job with her image profile, don't you agree?" Bulma asked with one of her fake and innocent smiles.

"She won't look so good when I'm done beating the tar out of her," I said as I grinned slightly.

"Yeah, probably not, here's the next to last one," Bulma said as Tamari vanished and a tall and lean blonde man took her place. He had the look of a warrior on him, and the added effect of a fake blue aura helped to establish that.

"This stud is Bullard. Vegeta wanted me to make someone that could be just as good as Cell in all aspects, and I think I made the answer. He is at the top of all the categories in terms of strength, speed, intelligence and ability. Out of all the basic holo-fighters, he is the hardest one to beat as he adapts to his opponent's moves very quickly," she explained.

"I take it the one you haven't introduced is the lone advanced one," I said, unimpressed by the mountain of electricity in front of me.

"Well, actually Bullard is to be the lone advanced one. The very last one is the toughest one out of all, as he should be," she said with a nervous smile. Bullard vanished, and then another copied warrior came into view.

"Let me guess, to baby sit us while he's out?" I asked with a deep frown. Before me was a perfect copy of Vegeta, right down to the smirk.

"In a matter of speaking, yes. Vegeta requested this one too, but he also wanted to make sure that no one else could turn it on. I only included it in your program so you know about it; I'll be taking it off soon. This one is only meant for the tutorial and guide. He talks just as rudely though, so try not to get too angry. All of the default settings are jacked up on this one, so if you ever have to fight this one, be very careful. This is the only one I haven't tested in a real situation," she warned.

"Want me to give it a crack then?" I asked, cracking my knuckles a bit.

"Sure if you want to, we've got a few minutes," she said. The image of Vegeta suddenly flashed and vanished, before he reappeared and dropped into a stance.

"Ready for the pain weakling?" he asked.

"Nice touch," I said as I matched his stance.

"That isn't the worst of it, but thanks," she grinned. Suddenly another figure popped in, matching Goku's look.

"Whoops, must have pressed the wrong button," she said.

"Nope," I said as I detected the real Goku's energy level.

"Kakarot!" Holo-Vegeta growled. _Oh god, she's got reactions to Goku programmed in._

"Hey Vegeta, mind if I borrow Verto for a little while, Gohan really wants to spar with him today!" Goku announced in an excited voice.

"Silence clown! Prepare to die!" Holo-Vegeta shouted as he charged in.

"Whoa, calm down!" Goku cried out as he dodged the first few punches. A flurry erupted as the fake Vegeta attacked mercilessly with strong punches and kicks while Goku only dodged aside. Even though the hologram had no power level to detect, I could tell that at this point he was no match for the real Goku without extra gravity.

"Man Vegeta, you sure are getting slow!" Goku commented midway through the flurry.

"Be gone you buffoon!" Holo-Vegeta roared as he jumped back and fired off several energy blasts. Goku phased out just as they were about to hit him and reappeared at Vegeta's side, punching him there and grounding him.

"Wow, that's the easiest you've ever gone on me Vegeta! I didn't sense any power from you at all! You haven't gone soft have you?" Goku asked as the door suddenly opened. This time a real power signal appeared, and Goku's confusion tripled.

"Soft?" the real Vegeta growled.

"Whoa! Two Vegeta's? Is one of you an android?" Goku asked innocently.

"Goku, that's a hologram you beat! It wasn't the real thing!" Bulma said, trying not to laugh too hard.

"Oh, I guess that explains why he was so weak!" Goku said without a thought in the world as the holographic version of the prince vanished.

"Weak?" Vegeta growled again as his eyebrow twitched.

"Well anyway, let's get going! If Gohan has to wait any longer, Chichi will probably banish him to the study corner again! You wouldn't want to spar all day with that fake Vegeta; that would be just a silly waste of time!" Goku smiled as he held out his hand.

"That's not very nice Goku; I worked hard on these programs!"

"Waste of time?" Vegeta snarled as I sensed his anger level flirting with explosion.

"This might be a good time to leave if we're going," I suggested.

"Okay, see you later Bulma and Vegeta! And try not to beat up these weaklings too hard, I wouldn't want you to break a leg or something before we spar again!" Goku suggested as he grabbed my hand and prepared for teleportation.

"Break a leg? Argh, I'll break every bone in your body!" Vegeta roared as he flew towards us. Goku panicked and teleported quickly, putting us next to his house within a second or two. I felt Vegeta's power signal rising violently before he rushed towards us from several hundred miles away.

"Uh oh, I think he's a little angry," Goku noticed.

"I think you just gave yourself an impromptu match, have fun," I said as Goku nodded and blasted off into the air and searched for somewhere to hide. About two and a half minutes later, Vegeta arrived at Super Saiyan two, and to say he was angry is an understatement. He panted just slightly as he had likely flew at top speed just so Goku wouldn't get away.

"Which way did he go?" Vegeta asked, apparently not checking his own senses.

"That way," I pointed to the east.

"You're mine clown!" Vegeta shouted as he blew down some trees on the way out. _That'll be a good chase._

* * *

"Hey, feeling any better?" Gohan asked as he walked out of his house a few seconds later.

"Yeah, I guess," I said with a questioning eyebrow.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were feeling up to this. I heard about the past few days, must have been rough. I'll bet the Supreme Kai is watching you right now," he said.

"Let's not go there. I only did what should have been done in the first place. But enough about that, I'm in a bad enough mood over it," I said.

"Is it that energy field Kibito set up around Capsule Corp? I can just barely sense it with you, feels a little dark," he commented.

"Drop it," I retorted sharply. The truth was, I had been trying to block out everything that Kibito's little toy had sent at me ever since I started feeling its effects. It was very subtle about its outpour of emotional punishment, and tended to wait until I was not ready for the assault, causing me to lose a bit of sleep during the night. Fortunately, its effect was just as subtle, and I was able to deal with most of it. The only problem was that it tended to make me a bit moody at times.

"All right then, feel like training me for once?" he asked, surprising me.

"And what would I have to teach you?"

"Well you know that your training with Psi and Chi energy was much more in depth than mine. You've got more techniques and more practice than I do. All I can do with my Psi energy is detect it, use instant transmission and recharge my ki power when I'm running low. Other than use it for energy blasts of course," he explained.

"And the sword," I commented.

"Oh yeah, that. Well I was just practicing one day after we got back when I figured it out. I guess that Viro guy perfected it," Gohan grinned slightly.

"Well, it did save his ass a few times in that fight, or should I say, your ass," I smirked back.

"Well anyway, I know I can't concentrate it as well as you, but I need to be able to get more out of it. I've fought with Frost, and he is stronger than both of us. Aside from absorbing a lot of extra energy to power up with, I can't figure out how I'm going to keep up with him if and when he comes to Earth. I thought that maybe you had some ideas," Gohan said, looking to me for input.

"Absorbing a lot of power only does you so much good. As you know, to stay at Super Mystic requires that near perfect balance of the two energies. When I was fighting in the Other World tournament, I absorbed a big time ki attack, kind of like the evil version of me did against you guys back on Char. Well I wasn't Super Mystic at the time, nor did I have enough Psi energy to match it. So when I used the extra energy to power up, I transformed into an ascended Super Saiyan instead, and I was still able to use my Psi energy separately just like normal form," I explained.

"Really? Wow," Gohan said in amazement.

"The point is, I can't quite convert my Psi energy to ki like you and Aldaris did, nor would I want to. I can do it to others with my healing power, but why waste it if I don't have to? Besides the other kind of healing is better if it's just wounds and not something weird. But if you were to use your recharge ability while at maximum power in this state, you might be able to push that Super Saiyan level again like I did. And this time it would probably be stronger than your Super Mystic level. The same could happen if you use the sword to absorb enough power. Give it a try," I suggested.

"Maybe we should go somewhere a little more distant, Bulma got a little upset the other day when me and dad powered up a little too much," Gohan said nervously. I glanced at the house, seeing some fresh looking cracks in the sidewalls.

"Good idea," I said as we took to the air, heading south and east towards the sea.

"Hey, I know! The perfect training for Frost is to train in space! In Super Mystic form we can survive up there just like he can! And we can go all out without worrying about damaging Earth!" Gohan pointed out midway through the flight.

"A couple things wrong with that theory. If either one of us runs out of power, there goes the ability to breathe. And if the other one is too tired to maintain power for air on the way back, well you know what that could mean," I said.

"We can take a ship up there though and park it out of the way," Gohan suggested.

"Yeah, and hopefully not blow it up. Surely you remember just how rough things got before Viro used that damn virus on me?" I asked.

"Ugh, how could I forget? I'm still sore from that Galic punch of yours; I think you missed a spot," Gohan said as he rubbed his stomach.

"The one punch, or the fifty that followed? Anyway, all I'm saying is let's keep the rough sessions in the time chamber so we don't have to worry about air. As you probably noticed, I fight a little differently now," I explained.

"Yeah I'll say, cool trick with the glowing fists though. You had Viro stumped most of the time since you can virtually attack or defend in almost any possible way with that ability," Gohan chuckled.

"Funny thing is, I had already learned it before I figured out how to effectively use it. Dabura and the Kais called it mastering my power, though all it really does is allow me to concentrate a lot of energy without much effort. I really didn't spar as much as you would think, most of it was a lot of meditation," I continued.

"Yeah, Videl mentioned that. Good to see that she got a lot stronger too," Gohan said with a grin.

"Good as in you won't have to save her all the time? Or good as in she's a little rougher in the bedroom?" I asked, returning the grin and kicking off the start of a verbal sparring match.

"You don't have much room to talk with that knockout you brought back!" Gohan said.

"Technically, you brought her into the fold, I trained her. If Videl wasn't around, I think you and her would be taking care of some business judging by the look over she gave you at the last party," I pointed out.

"Yeah, well it appears that she shows a lot of affection toward the younger generation. I guess you got the inside track being her teacher and all," Gohan said.

"It seems that way at times. I really need to chisel it into her head that she and I are not an item no matter what her personal beliefs are. It might be because Vegeta is dishing out that future mate crap again, but this time I'm avoiding the subject if at all possible. Besides, as strong as she is now, the combined effort between the legs of steel and the hot air balloons could probably make even Broly suffocate," I laughed along with Gohan.

"Now that would be something to see," Gohan said.

"Ugh, no it wouldn't!" I gasped with a horrified glare.

"I was just joking bro," he chuckled.

"I know, but I've already gotten a bad image of Broly with someone just by knowing who it's with, and it isn't with someone who is that much smaller than him if you get my drift," I said.

"Really, who is that? Describe her, assuming it is a female," Gohan requested.

"Now that is just wrong. You just had to go there didn't you?"

"Maximum suffering," he added.

"Fine, imagine Videl with shoulder length hair, black eyes and quite a bit bigger in all places, especially in the chest and arms. Now imagine eight feet of that and a general desire to screw anything in sight," I described.

He went slightly pale, "You're right, that is a bad image when you stick it next to Broly!"

"Well take Broly out of the picture and it's not quite as bad. I'm sure you could imagine that easily, assuming you don't already," I chuckled.

"I guess its better to imagine it than live it, shrimp," he fired back.

I snorted slightly, "The height comeback is getting pretty worn out. In a few years it won't even be valid!"

"Oh really, I seem to recall you were still pretty short even when you were older, a sign of things to come maybe?" he asked with a deep grin.

"Nah, I've always been a little behind on the growth curve. That damn growth ray thing was probably malfunctioning that day," I said.

"It looked on target to me," he said, trying to keep the match going, or at least try for a win. Unfortunately for him, I had already spotted the counter.

"I agree that it was accurate for its setting. Looks like you better not use it though, I think I see a gray hair or two, old man," I joked. Gohan glared hard at his hair, pulling one small and dull strand out and throwing it aside.

"Fine, you win that round. This looks far enough anyway, let's try this out here!" Gohan said as we stopped over the far reaches of the open sea.

* * *

"We should be at least two hundred miles from the nearest landmass, that should keep things nice and calm for everyone," Gohan said as he drifted above the water.

"Gohan, maybe you should do this a little higher in the sky," I suggested.

"Why, we're far enough away aren't we?" he asked.

"It's called a tidal wave," I said as I pointed towards the water.

He glanced down and immediately rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin, "Oh yeah, guess you're right!" _And the goofy Goku genes are active once again._ Once settled several thousand feet in the air, Gohan powered up to his maximum in normal form quickly. He brought out his Psi energy next, turning his eyes blue.

"Okay, now at this point it's your option rather you would prefer to try to absorb energy through the sword, or use that recharge ability. Using the Super Mystic transformation will just burn up the Psi energy. Instead of combining the power, convert it. Try to crank it up as far as you can and I'll monitor how far up you can go!" I ordered, feeling a bit strange by telling him what to do.

"Haaaaaa…" he shouted as his aura reappeared and flashed with Psi lightning. His ki level rose up slowly as his Psi energy drained. As the winds increased and pushed against me, I could sense something wrong. Gohan's recharge ability was using twice as much Psi energy than it should have been. He was filling up with plenty of extra ki power, but his Psi energy was nearly gone. Then he stopped and struggled for a moment. He wasn't quite out of gas yet, so this was slightly unexpected. Then I recalled what had happened with me.

"Push with your anger and rage while you power up, you still gotta do that," I suggested. Golden light exploded around Gohan a moment later as the force of the wind nearly sent me flying. I managed to block against it as I released more power just to stay in the air. Psi lightning changed to ki lightning as Gohan kept going, and soon he stopped, topped out at an absolute maximum. _Wow, that was effective. He may lose Psi energy this way, but he doesn't have to worry about a time limit. _Gohan looked slightly disappointed though in his new Super Saiyan two form.

"I thought it would be better than this. This is barely above my Super Mystic power level and not quite even with Frost's fifth form, though it's very close," he explained.

"Then what are you complaining about? You know I'll be here to help if he shows up. And you know the others will be too," I said.

"It's not that, sure this would be enough to fight him even without help. But..." he trailed off when his aura started to flicker. I scanned his energy and found the problem, his ki was draining slightly. It drained noticeably until it fell back to around where his power would be at Super Mystic and remained stationary.

"My body isn't used to this, and I'll lose a little bit of power. Enough to have an impact on a battle with Frost anyway," Gohan explained.

"I noticed that you lost a lot more Psi energy when you converted it. Like it took almost twice as much power to convert it," I said.

"Yeah, it's been like that every time for me ever since I figured out how to do it. Of course not being used to that kind of power didn't help either," he said.

"Okay, then try a lot more mediation then straight up sparring. Work on this technique a lot too. Maybe you can improve its effectiveness and use a lot less power to advance further. If this Frost is as strong as you say, then you can't have any drain on your energy, nor can you be holding back anything," I suggested.

"That's a good idea. I guess I've been slacking that a lot lately. It was hard to resist a challenge when traveling with the other Saiyans," he replied.

"Yeah, I have no doubt about that. I'm sure you really tried to stay in the study corner everyday in space," I said sarcastically. Just as we laughed it off we both detected two power signals headed our way.

"Gohan, save me, he's a madman!" Goku cried out as he flew in and hid behind his son. I could hear Vegeta screaming in rage as he blazed in like a man possessed. He came to a halt and panted slightly as he spotted Goku again. Both Saiyans were back down to Super Saiyan, and both felt tired as they were likely flying around the planet several times over in the game of cat and mouse.

"I'll teach you to insult my woman's work!" Vegeta bellowed as Goku took off into the distance again and Vegeta blew by in full pursuit.

"You think they might have gone a little over board with this one?" Gohan asked as he spotted a long line of displaced water far below us. He was probably thinking about how much damage they could have caused to the countryside; the picture was pretty frightening.

"Maybe, but I think we just found a really good way to wear out the boys next time they find the candy stash," I pointed out as we both laughed loudly.

"So, want to mix it up a little bit while I'm still so powered up. I promise I'll go easy on you," Gohan said with a deep grin.

"I think I'll pass, I'm still a little low on energy due to yesterday's grand event. I probably used more power than necessary on that freak," I groaned slightly.

"Funny, you feel stronger than you were on planet Auir, at least your ki level does. Hell even a little more since the fight with Viro, I can feel it," he pointed out.

"Effective training pays off," I grinned.

"Wish I could say that, my power hasn't budged since I mastered the Super Mystic transformation, and that was almost a year ago. I think I've topped out," he said with a frown.

"Well, maybe you have. Maybe the reason mine is gradually going up is because I'm still growing up. I guess the shrimp syndrome isn't so bad. Old Kai mentioned that it would go up slowly as I matured, but maybe there is a cap for it. Master that Psi energy a little better and you might be able to break that cap," I suggested.

"Not sure I want to have permanent blue eyes, kind of a big step down in the world," Gohan chuckled.

"Laugh it up, look who had to save the day the last few times when you were down and out," I smirked.

"Speaking of which, I gotta burn this up somewhere, otherwise I won't sleep tonight. I guess I could just blast an asteroid or two, if I could breathe up there at this point. You think you could point one out for me with that special sense of yours?" he asked.

"One target coming right up," I grinned as I closed my eyes. I willed my spiritual vision to take me beyond the atmosphere and into space, where I began to search for the nearest hunk of worthless rock. I noticed a problem though; my vision became cloudy once I got beyond the atmosphere. I scanned around quickly and found something floating harmlessly by quickly and traced it back to our position.

"Something wrong?" Gohan asked.

"No, just had to look a little further than I should be able to. I've got your target by the way, turn slightly right and angle your blast at about sixty three point five eight degrees straight ahead and above you," I said.

"You can narrow it down that well?" he asked as he charged up a large attack.

"No, just a guess, and I was pretty good at measuring angles back in my school days. Just aim it straight that way," I said with a grin as I opened my eyes and pointed.

"Masenko, HA!" he shouted, firing a very large and powerful gold beam into the skies and beyond. I sensed it leave orbit quickly before I saw an early explosion a few seconds later.

"That one seemed a little close," Gohan commented.

"Hmmm, it was hard to see that far up there. I don't think that spirit vision technique is meant to go very far away. But I thought for sure that rock was further away than that. Want me to check again and find a more distant target?" I asked.

"Nah, I don't sense anything. Maybe I hit some debris or something, besides, it was enough," he said as he powered down to normal and we flew back towards the Son house. We got a nice laugh out of seeing and exhausted Goku and Vegeta fly around recklessly before Goku finally used instant transmission to get away from the tired prince.

* * *

I said goodbye to Gohan and flew back home quickly as twilight took over the skies. While it wasn't quite evening time when I got home due to the differing sunlight, I walked into what seemed like a dinner rush. Only this time, Bulma had a bunch of scientists running around in a frenzy.

"It's incredible I tell you!" one shouted as I walked in the door.

"But how could something be there? It's nothing but ice on the edge of the world!" another yelled back.

"That's what makes this so exciting!" the first one called out.

"Okay, just what is so exciting?" I asked as the second one came to a brief halt.

"Oh, uh, yeah this isn't for kids," he stuttered as he ran by carrying maps.

"Fine, I'll just go ask the real genius then," I said as I walked down towards Bulma's lab. About twenty to thirty more scientists and other workers were crammed into her lab, looking at various displays with an astounded gaze. I quickly got tired of pushing my way through and simply jumped over all of them and landed next to Bulma, who was sitting at the control console, looking just as amazed.

"Well, what is the big deal?" I asked.

"Hard to say, but we detected a heat signature along the big glacier to the south. Past Baba's place and around the south pole," she pointed out on the world map.

"I take it that it isn't supposed to be there; you happen to know what is causing it?" I asked.

"Nope, no clue," she said simply. I reached out with my energy senses and scanned with all my effort, not picking up a single blip from that direction.

"Well, I can't sense anything either, maybe it's some abandoned town and someone got stuck and started a camp fire," I suggested.

"That would be pretty hard kiddo; it's not on top of the ice. It's a few thousand feet below the surface," she explained. I glanced at the image again, seeing an outline of some sort of building the satellite was picking up.

"I'd call this a major scientific discovery. Wanna come check it out with me?" she asked with an amused look on her face.

"Nah, that's okay. Probably just some buried temple or something that froze over way back when," I pointed out.

"Well, that's part of the mystery! I want to find out who built it and when. I've always been interested in ancient Earth history!" she said happily.

"You would have had a field day on my world then. Count me out on this one, unless you get into some trouble that is," I replied.

"Nah, I'm gonna get Vegeta and Trunks to go with me along with a big drilling crew we're going to hire. If Gohan didn't have school I would have invited him too. Probably take a week worth of drilling just to get down there, unless I let Vegeta blow the whole thing up of course. Might be kind of boring around here," she hinted.

"A week in the cold and ice doesn't sound that fun. Besides, I'm supposed to be on house arrest, remember?" I said.

"Yeah that's true. I guess you could just stay and keep warm with Lenz, you'll have the whole place to yourselves after all," she said slyly. I stopped for a moment; the offer was suddenly tempting.

"Nice try, but no. I've been in enough trouble for one week back on Earth. No need to go looking for it again," I replied.

"Oh fine, I just didn't want you to be left out in case we find something valuable," she snorted slightly in disappointment.

"I'm not a treasure hunter. What's the big hurry anyway?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not the only one with a satellite you know. It's only a matter of time before a rival company discovers it and gets their people down there before we do. After all, it's a first come first serve method of science. Sure I could come right out in public and claim it as my find, but then you know someone will dispute it. Better to go check it out for myself," she said.

"Bet things can get pretty rough if multiple teams show up," I suggested.

"That's why I have Vegeta. He keeps them, entertained," she grinned.

"Yeah I'm sure, have fun," I said as I promptly left the room and headed for the kitchen.

**Power levels**

**Mystic Gohan: 580,000,000; Super Saiyan 2 maximum power: 755,000,000 (drains slightly)**

**A/N: Been awhile since I released what I would consider a very laid back and mostly humor filled chapter. I don't imagine there will be too many of those in the near future, but I try to have some humor in every chapter to take some of the edge off…or add to it.**

**WDG: **Hmm… Heat source and temple on the South Pole? … Do I sense another cross-over-y-thing coming up? :P

**VB:** Whew, sure is warm in here.

**Next time on DBV: While Verto stays home; Bulma, Trunks and Vegeta head to the snow filled lands near the South Pole. There, they explore a buried temple below the ice. But all is not well, for the hired drilling team has their own agenda, and the temple holds a dangerous secret.**


	14. Frozen Temple

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 13: Frozen Temple**

"Vegeta, can you carry this bag for me? Vegeta?" Bulma asked as she slowly walked off the large boat. Vegeta was standing in the snow, checking out the frozen scenery as the drilling teams started to unpack and get things ready several hundred yards away. The entire team had ridden a large icebreaker boat into the area due to the extreme cold and the weight of their equipment. Vegeta had stayed somewhat separate from the twenty-four other humans on board, but had not taken his eyes off them at all. It wasn't a matter of hatred; he simply didn't trust them. While Bulma had bought the best drilling team money could buy, it was the fact that they were hired that bothered him. Only two of them were actual Capsule employees, and were Bulma's top scientists in their field of archeology. Vegeta had no doubt that he could easily plow through this ice with his power, but he also didn't want to put up with his wife's screeching afterwards since it was a delicate scientific matter. Trunks was brought along mostly because he shared an interest for history, and because they didn't want to risk the terrible twins making unsupervised trouble again.

"Vegeta!" Bulma screeched again, drawing his attention for just a moment.

"What is it woman?" he asked as he glared back.

"The bag, it's heavy!" she groaned.

"Then you should invest more time in training," Vegeta suggested as he turned back around and surveyed the drilling team.

"It's cold out here; my body has to keep up with it and I simply don't have the strength to lift it right now!" she shouted back.

"I've got it Mom," Trunks said as he picked up the heavy bag easily and walked off the boat.

"Men, so unreliable," Bulma snorted. Vegeta ignored this and watched as the team set up to drill at an angle.

"This cold is unbearable!" Bulma whined as she bundled up tighter with her coat.

"Another reason to take up training," Vegeta grunted.

"Well I'm sorry if a measly human like me can't stand up to extreme cold. It's negative twenty degrees Celsius out here, you know! On top of that it's windy and it's snowing! I'll be lucky if I don't get frostbite! Even you couldn't stand that for long without your jacket!" Bulma stated. She was a little jealous that Vegeta and Trunks could stay out there with no more than a light jacket and sweat pants and still stay perfectly warm.

"I would have to be incredibly injured and completely out of power for that to be a factor. But if it will stop your whimpering, you can borrow some heat," Vegeta growled as he walked up, offering out his hand. Bulma took it and Vegeta slowly transferred a low amount of ki into her body, warming her instantly.

"Wow, that is handy! Show me how to do that someday!" she said happily.

"Training, woman. Training," Vegeta repeated.

"Can't you show me without making it so rough?" she asked.

"You don't get one without the other. Great power comes with great effort. I believe you humans refer to it as no pain, no gain," Vegeta replied.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Oh well, first time for everything!" Bulma grinned.

"Oh, really?" Vegeta frowned.

"Well, I managed to snag a stud of a man who is loyal and who protects his family, which is what I wanted. At the same time I didn't want an arrogant, pig headed asshole that doesn't help me out at all! And I have to do just about everything for him as it is! Yeah, for once you're right Vegeta, no pain, no gain!"

"Damn woman," Vegeta growled as one of the engineers trudged up to them.

"Miss Bulma, we are commencing drilling!"

* * *

While Bulma and her two top aids remained in the slightly warmer command center that was set up, Trunks walked around the area to check out all the equipment. He wanted to fly off and play with Goten, but he knew that wasn't an option right now, especially not with his father watching over the whole area from the highest hill. He wandered up to the drilling team and watched as they slowly dug a hole through the thick ice and snow.

"Hey, how long will this take?" Trunks asked one of the guys monitoring the equipment.

"Not now kid, we're working here!" he said. Trunks frowned at this and decided to go find the guy in charge.

"Hey, how long will it take to dig through all that?" Trunks asked when he found the Captain, Gates.

"Shouldn't you be inside with your mother kid?" Gates asked.

"If I wanted to be, yes. You gonna answer the question?" Trunks fired back.

"Probably about a full day if everything goes decently, less if it goes better. My team is the best on the whole planet so we'll have things wrapped up quickly, assuming we aren't being pestered all day and night," Gates said, clearly trying to get the boy to leave.

"So how much is my mother paying you?" Trunks asked with a wicked grin.

"That is none of your business," Gates said as he attempted to focus on the job at hand.

"I hope it was all in advance, because if it wasn't, you just lost your cut!" Trunks smirked as he ran off.

"Dumb kid, oh well, he won't be a problem soon enough," Gates sighed.

"When do we finally engage the operation sir?" one of his workers asked.

"Not until we get the signal, Coleman. The kid is bad enough, but I really have no desire to deal with that one-man wave of destruction without some help," Gates whispered as he carefully eyed Vegeta, who stared back from a good distance away. Gates was pretty sure that the Saiyan prince hadn't heard anything over the sounds of the drilling and the winds, but that didn't stop a nervous sweat from running down the back of his neck as the death glare bore down on him.

"Turn up the speed a little fellas, I want to get this over and done with quickly!" Gates ordered.

"But we will fry all the drill bits; we only have a dozen extras!" Coleman yelled back.

"Well then, we will just have to be extra careful, I'm sure our client won't mind if we are ahead of schedule! Besides, do you really want to be around here once the fireworks begin?" Gates asked.

Coleman sighed slightly and turned back to his partners, "You heard the captain!"

* * *

**Interlude: Verto and Lenz**

* * *

Lenz and I were sitting on the living room sofa, watching some football on the newest TV when we heard Bulla screaming again.

"Do all humans cry that much when they are teething?" Lenz asked, exasperated from getting up all the time.

"They've been gone for barely a day and a half and you're already complaining about the baby? Do I need to point out that she is also half Saiyan? Vegeta calls it the cry of a warrior," I replied.

"I call it the merciless cry of agony! I'm gonna go nuts if the grandmother doesn't get here soon!" Lenz groaned as she got up and left the room to tend to the baby again. _And here I thought I was the one who would go nuts around here lately. _After a few more minutes of Bulla's constant screaming and the sounds of Lenz dropping things, I decided to go look in on things; the game was a sloppy slugfest anyway. When I arrived, there was a cloud of powder in the room and several puddles of milk on the ground.

"I don't know what to do! She doesn't need changed and she isn't hungry!" Lenz said, holding the baby awkwardly out in her arms.

"Let me hold her then, you aren't doing that good of a job anyway. I figured you would know a thing or two about taking care of babies if your race is so emotionally charged," I said as she handed Bulla over to me.

"Hey, I wasn't around the little ones that often! Besides, what does a runt like you know about infants?" Lenz growled.

"Only enough to know that you don't hold them at arms length and sideways," I answered. Once I had a hold of Bulla, she stopped crying almost instantly.

"Wow, I guess you do know a thing or two about them. Chicks dig that you know!" Lenz grinned.

"Probably just blind luck, just about every kid I've ever held has bawled their eyes out within a few minutes," I said with a slight shrug.

"Since you're so talented, can you clean up the mess she made too?" Lenz asked with a hopeful look.

"You made it, you clean it up," I said as I gently put Bulla back in her crib.

"But I have to be ready in an hour!" she whined.

"Better clean fast then. Wait a sec, where exactly are you going?" I asked. Lenz face faulted for a moment, as if she wasn't supposed to tell me something. Unfortunately for her, she had just slipped big time. "Well?"

"I planned to check out one of those human party clubs tonight since Bulma and the prince are gone," she admitted. _Argh, figures._

"Didn't we already discuss that you shouldn't leave the compound unsupervised for a little while? You haven't been on Earth that long after all," I pointed out.

"I'll be fine, not like any of these weaklings are going to hurt me! Besides, you're the one with the restriction!" she said.

"Well good luck getting in without causing a scene. While you're underage for most places, they would probably let you in based on looks alone just so you stick around," I replied.

"As they should," Lenz smiled happily while posing.

"Just don't drink anything alcoholic. I'm not sure what the true tolerance for an average Saiyan is, but I know with our metabolism it'll affect you fast, and you don't need anything impairing your decisions as it is!" I suggested.

"Well, thanks for the tip! I'll keep that in mind for future use," she grinned wickedly as she skipped off. _Note to self; inspect all food and drinks from now on when she is within a few miles of my position._ I sighed slightly as Bulla fell asleep, and then whistled for one of the nearby robot maids to clean up the mess. When I left the room though, she started crying again.

"What's wrong now?" I whispered to her as I came back in. Once I peered over her crib again, she settled down and only gurgled a bit. _Great, looks like she's suffering from the isolation bug. Oh well, not like I was doing anything important tonight anyway. I can surely survive babysitting until Bunny gets here. _ I sat next to the crib and meditated with my arms folded while Bulla shifted around slightly. In the corner of my senses, I thought I sensed something strange in the air, but there was nothing nearby as I heard Lenz leave the building, along with that crazy energy field of the Kai's. I attempted to focus to a more positive state, knowing that there was a chance that Bulla would go into a screaming fit if I gave in to the energy field. As much as I tried to counter its effect, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. But the feeling wasn't coming from anywhere near my position, nor was it emitting a clear signal. It was however, coming from the south.

* * *

"We are approximately seventy percent through now Miss Bulma. We've hit a snag currently as we fried all of our drill bits in trying to reach the deadline. We will have another set here within two hours by helicopter!" Gates reported inside the Capsule house that Bulma had set up.

"The maximum deadline was for four days of drilling, so why are you going so fast?" Bulma asked as she sipped some hot cocoa.

"My men work until we get the job done. And we feel that we should be able to beat every deadline set in front of us. I apologize for the delay," Gates replied.

"Well, your men can take a break and warm-up then; you've been at it for almost ten hours straight! You've done very well for today captain!" Bulma said.

"Thank you ma'am," Gates bowed as he departed.

"I see the grunts know royalty when they see it," Vegeta chuckled from the far wall, standing directly behind the door.

"They are probably just sucking up so they get paid extra. Or you threatened them beforehand, one or the other," Bulma smiled slightly.

"My presence alone has them terrified, pathetic humans," Vegeta snorted.

"Where is Trunks anyway? I hope he's not out there getting in their way," Bulma said with a questioning glance.

"I sense the boy on the ship, no doubt looking into ways of causing random mischief. Maybe I'll go join him; this trip is a complete waste of my time," Vegeta grunted.

"Oh shut up; it's not like you had anything important planned," Bulma pointed out.

"I intend to prepare for the next villain who drops in. Trouble follows this planet as a beast follows its prey! I will not let the boy and Kakarot show me up again!" Vegeta growled.

"In other words, you're just jealous because he's stronger than both you and Goku now, never mind Gohan. And you hate being left out of a good fight," Bulma pointed out as she finished off her drink. Vegeta only grunted and looked the other way.

"Oh lighten up; I'm sure you'll have plenty of battles where all the glory is yours!" Bulma said as she noticed Vegeta staring at the window.

"Maybe sooner than later," he replied as his eyebrows suddenly narrowed.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Bulma asked, knowing that look on her husband's face.

"Get some sleep woman," Vegeta whispered as he stared at the snow flying outside.

**-**

"We have completed drilling! We should be ready to take exploration teams down shortly!" Gates shouted as he literally ran into the Capsule house about six hours later. The only thing he found when he came in was Vegeta's death glare.

"Er…" Gates stuttered for a moment when he realized what he did.

"So, how long exactly did you want to live? The woman is sleeping, and I do not wish to listen to the ruckus she will create if she wakes up now. One more sound out of you and I promise that you won't be around to hear it!" Vegeta growled as he stared Gates down.

"Ugh, what's going on? Will someone close that damn door?" Bulma yawned as she entered the room.

"This noisy buffoon was just leaving, weren't you?" Vegeta asked with an even darker glare.

"We have finished drilling, I figured you would want to know that," Gates said quickly as he backed away.

"Oh, well give me a few minutes and we'll be right there," Bulma yawned again as she retreated back into her room to change. Before Gates could leave though, Vegeta had him by the shirt collar.

"Don't ever barge in here again," he growled as he opened the door and threw Gates out into the snow.

"Captain, are you alright?" Coleman asked as he helped Gates to his feet.

"I've been better Coleman; let's get this show on the road. Do you have a complete schematic of the pyramid uploaded yet?" Gates asked.

"The layout still shows hundreds of rooms built around the central core. Everything looks accessible, though there might still be hidden booby traps or passages from last time," Coleman said.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we have someone strong to lead the way," Gates chuckled.

"Did you manage to plant the bug on him sir?" Coleman asked.

"The guy is like clockwork if you can read his reactions correctly without getting killed. His mistake was grabbing me and giving me the opportunity to slip it into his jacket. The good doctor's pet should be receiving its signal now," Gates explained as they both walked towards the freshly drilled hole.

"What if the alien device doesn't work? I'm pretty sure that guy could kill us all in his sleep. You saw how many of those Zerg he killed by himself!" Coleman pointed out.

"He could probably kill us all without his energy. Hopefully we will be out of there before that becomes an issue. I trust you have planted all of the explosives just in case?" Gates asked.

"Of course sir," Coleman nodded.

"Good, lets see the mighty Saiyan Prince get out of this one," Gates laughed.

**-**

"Hey Mom! What do you suppose we'll find in there? I hope it's a lot of treasure, or maybe an awesome weapon!" Trunks declared as they prepared to enter the dark chasm below.

"Be quiet boy; all of your noise will attract unwanted attention, namely mine!" Vegeta barked.

"Cool it grumpy! Is everyone ready to go down there Captain?" Bulma asked.

"We have a team of seventeen ready to enter, the other five will remain on the surface," Gates said as he prepped the sled they had setup.

"Sounds good," Bulma nodded.

"Hold on, I counted twenty-four of you; where are the other two?" Vegeta asked as he glanced around, noting that he didn't sense them in the area either.

"You tell me; they are your employees. Once the tunnel was done they told me that you ordered them down there upon completion," Gates shrugged.

"Oh, really?" Vegeta asked as he glared a hole through Gates' head.

"Calm down Vegeta, I wanted to make sure everything was safe before we all entered. Dr. Redwood and Dr. Gray probably just took the initiative," Bulma said.

"Pardon me Miss Bulma, but I was under the assumption that you would want to make the first dive into this piece of ancient history. It is your find after all," Gates said. Vegeta glare darkened as Bulma held him off with her hand on his arm.

"I never planned to be in there first if that's what you mean captain. I want to make sure things are safe first," she explained.

"I assure you, things are perfectly safe. The cavern is completely stable, unless of course your husband changes that," Gates said with a smarmy tone.

"I doubt your long fall down to oblivion will affect the cave at all. You on the other hand, well that is quite a drop for a weakling," Vegeta said with a thick grin.

"Fine, let's go since you guys are in such a hurry to get paid," Bulma sighed as she ignored Vegeta.

**-**

"Wow, I wonder who built this one," Trunks asked as they got their first look at the temple under the ice.

"Signs point to several different designs all embedded into one. It's possible that this may have been one of the first pyramids on Earth. I estimate that this one is well over ten thousand years old," Redwood said.

"Kind of a cold place to build it," Coleman commented.

"Let's proceed inside then," Bulma said nervously as they hiked up the stairs. Vegeta noticed this sudden change in attitude from his wife, but let it slide for the moment. Inside, they saw several statues of very alien looking warriors holding ancient weapons. Trunks was tempted to fly up and retrieve one, but his father's glare held him down. The group stayed primarily silent as they proceeded through the main hall, occasionally glancing at all of the hieroglyphs that were written on the walls. Vegeta thought he heard something in the floor as they walked through, but saw nothing behind, nor did he sense anything. They came to a stop when they entered a circular room with eight long tables in the center. On every table lay the remains of a corpse, each with a large hole in the midsection just below the rib cage.

"The room is labeled, the Sacrificial Chamber. I can only assume this is where they conducted their rituals," Bulma said as she translated the some of the writing on the walls.

"How nice of them to take out their hearts," Coleman noted as he looked closer.

"Humph, I would think most humans would be intelligent enough to know their own anatomy. I guess I was wrong," Vegeta scoffed.

"An expert at tearing out vital organs eh?" Coleman said smugly.

"You have no idea, fool. But that isn't where your heart is. And judging by the way the bones are twisted, I'd say something came out from the inside," Vegeta said.

"Glad whatever it was is probably long gone and dead by now," Bulma pointed out.

"Perhaps," Vegeta replied as he felt a cold wind blow through. His senses picked something up briefly in the area, but he couldn't locate it before it vanished.

"What is it dad?" Trunks whispered when he saw his father's battle ready grimace.

"Be on your guard boy; we are not alone," he said.

**A/n: Okay, it all looks familiar right? I wouldn't bet on that continuing.**

**WDG:** I hope it won't continue that way. There'd be no fun in it if things were that predictable. :P

**VB:** Oh stop whining, you're on the edge of your seat and I know it!

**No preview this time**


	15. Traps

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 14: Traps**

"Looks like there's another room directly below us. We should be able to find the way down there through that tunnel," Dr. Redwood said.

"Let's check it out then!" Bulma exclaimed with slight excitement.

"Excuse me ma'am, but may I stick around here and study this chamber a little more thoroughly?" Dr. Gray asked.

"Oh, yeah that would be swell. Tell ya what, half of us will go on, and the other half will stay here. We shouldn't split up too much though, we don't want to get lost in this place!" Bulma suggested.

"Yes ma'am! James, you stay here with your team, Coleman and I will take the rest!" Gates ordered. Vegeta snorted at his mate's concern for their well-being, but partially agreed with her for the moment. As Trunks was following them out of the room, Vegeta stopped him suddenly.

"What dad?" Trunks asked.

"Stay here and keep an eye on these buffoons," Vegeta whispered.

"But why me?" Trunks whined.

"As I said, something is in here with us. I will go on ahead with your mother. Make sure they stay out of trouble and watch for anything suspicious!" Vegeta rasped at him as he pointed back into the sacrificial chamber. Trunks stared at the ground in disappointment, but nodded. As Bulma and the other team left the area, Dr. Gray suddenly got very excited.

"Wow, I'd bet there's over five different languages written on this wall!" he called out as Trunks grimaced. _Man, this is so boring!_

"How many more rooms are there? You could house a million people in a place like this!" Bulma exclaimed as they passed many more chambers on their way down. They had been progressing smoothly, but too slow for Vegeta's taste. He estimated they had been separated from the other group for nearly an hour.

"It is probably not used for a reason, this isn't exactly the best place in the world to live in," Coleman remarked.

"Thank you for gracing us with your obvious powers of deduction, idiot," Vegeta growled from the front of the group. When he turned around again, Coleman gritted his teeth and fumbled with his heavy coat for a moment before Captain Gates grabbed his arm suddenly and shook his head. Coleman glared back at his boss, but nodded and kept moving on without incident. The group came up to a large room several levels down, where they found a hole in the ceiling with a distant light coming from it.

"That's our team up there, this must be directly below the sacrificial chamber," Gates pointed out.

"This doesn't look to be the central core, its too small and we detected the heat signature coming directly from it. This must be some sort of throne room, or another ritual site," Redwood pointed out as he pulled out his laptop again.

"Well, looks like there's some sort of sarcophagus sitting up there, maybe it has something valuable in it," Bulma said.

"Like a rotting corpse?" Coleman sneered as Vegeta gave him another death glare.

"Perhaps, though I doubt it since it has probably been a very long time since this place was used by anyone," Bulma replied calmly as she stepped towards the burial casket. On the top of the dark box, she noticed three dials with multiple inscriptions.

"Dr. Redwood, what do you make of this?" she asked as her other aid walked up.

"I think its some sort of combination lock. It says here, 'only the chosen may open, and the hunt will begin!' What do you suppose that means?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, maybe they held contests in this temple like the world martial arts tournament. That would explain why there isn't much other than large empty chambers and a few statues," Bulma suggested.

"Unlikely, it should be obvious that these were proving grounds of some kind. Those warrior statues we saw probably have something to do with it," Vegeta said.

"Oh, then maybe we shouldn't try to open this. It could entice a battle against unknown aliens," Redwood said.

"Nonsense! As you said, this place has not been used in some time. So even if there are warriors to fight, it would be my pleasure to take their challenge and fight them to the death!" Vegeta boasted.

Bulma sighed, "Relax Vegeta, I doubt there's any need for you to get worked up over a myth. It isn't what we need on this trip."

"Well, since your husband is so eager, perhaps we should humor ourselves and open it. Let's see if anything actually happens," Gates added. Bulma and Vegeta eyed him carefully, but she nodded and stood back so Dr. Redwood could examine the inscriptions.

"Let's see, March twenty-seventh, what the?" he suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" Bulma asked.

"It's set for this exact day, a year ago?" he stared in amazement. Vegeta cocked his eyebrow at this, but said nothing as he glanced at Coleman messing with a cellular phone. He ignored it and scanned the coffin for anything out of the ordinary.

"That means this place hasn't been buried for anywhere near a thousand years. Maybe you'll get your fight after all," Gates smirked at Vegeta, who only grunted in response.

"Try resetting the year to present day," Bulma suggested. Redwood did exactly that, and the coffin suddenly lurched and opened up. Bulma, Redwood and Gates peered in as it revealed its contents. Inside was a large sword of some kind with a tiny handle at the end. It was nearly six and a half feet long by his guess, and nearly seven inches wide with a slight curve out towards the tip. To Vegeta, it looked like a weapon more fitting for a small giant.

"A big sword?" Bulma asked. Vegeta scuffed slightly at the find, resisting the urge to laugh for a moment.

"All of this for a sword," Bulma said as she shook her head slightly.

"Maybe not," Redwood said suddenly as he glanced at his laptop.

"Why, what did you find?" Bulma asked.

"I've identified multiple rooms with this same configuration, so it's likely there are many more coffins spread around the temple. Perhaps we will find something better in one of the other ones," Redwood suggested.

"Good idea, let's get moving! Hey Vegeta, would you mind carrying that, since it looks like only someone strong could even lift it," Bulma ordered. Vegeta scowled at her, but grabbed the heavy sword anyway. Just as he did, the coffin slammed shut, barely missing his arm as he quickly pulled the blade from its resting place. The walls suddenly came alive with the sounds of movement, and the path behind them dropped into the floor, before being covered up by the falling ceiling.

"What's going on?" Bulma asked first.

"The pyramid is shifting, taking the weapon must have activated some sort of reconfiguration process. Perhaps there is something to this warrior myth after all," Redwood said as he quickly ran towards the wall where the others were all standing still. Vegeta felt a slight shift in the area before things quickly went black for him. He looked around nervously as he growled a bit, dropping the large sword. He felt the cold air around him invading his senses as the loud clang from the sword reverberated off the walls. He attempted to warm himself with a very low amount of ki, but found that he couldn't.

"Vegeta, what's wrong?" Bulma asked as she stood next to her husband. The sounds of screaming echoed through the room, followed by a slamming sound and gunfire, all of which were coming from the small airshaft that led to the sacrificial chamber.

"It's begun Captain," Coleman said.

"Trunks!" Bulma shouted.

"I must admit, that was effective. I thought I'd hear an explosion for sure. Looks like the doctor's little toy works after all," Gates chuckled. Vegeta turned his hatred filled eyes towards Gates, who now had a gun pointed at them. All of the other humans were pulling out firearms, and Coleman grabbed the surprised Dr. Redwood and held a pistol next to his head.

"What the hell is going on here?" Bulma shrieked.

"Your husband has lost his powers, that is why he is suddenly feeling a bit under the weather. As for us, let's just say that this has been much simpler than I thought it would be. How long Coleman?" Gates asked.

"Should be about one minute sir," he replied as he kept a firm hold on Redwood.

"Who are you? How did you make Vegeta lose his power? Just what is going on?" Bulma asked.

"You should attempt to remain calm Miss Briefs, otherwise you may not survive down here. We're actually mercenaries that happen to know how to get into difficult places. Let's just say you weren't the only client that hired us for this job. Our other client hired us for the sole purpose of getting you down here and leaving you and your family behind. Your husband wanted a fight; well he's going to get one shortly. I'm sure our client will reveal his intentions before he kills you and your son, but we won't be sticking around here long enough to care," Gates said.

"Explain yourselves, I paid you to get us to this place, you owe us at least that!"

"You paid us half now and half when we get the job done. I don't work that way lady, its all up front or nothing. Luckily my client has provided much more funding than you did. And since you only paid us half, you only get half an explanation. Now back off!" Gates ordered. Vegeta had risen to his feet fully, but had not moved an inch towards the gunmen just yet as he let the few facts go through his head for analysis. He had already been caught off guard and he was angry enough about it. He didn't want to make another mistake with his mate in a vulnerable position even by his side. He wasn't sure what had happened to Trunks or the other team, but he had to focus on the current situation first. His ears perked slightly to the sound of the walls moving again, and this time a stairwell opened up directly behind his feet. This led to a new path out of the chamber.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to be getting out of here, back away!" Gates warned with his gun.

"Why leave now, when you could still be part of the show?" Vegeta asked in a deadly calm tone as his fists clenched.

"What are you talking about? Get out of my way!" Gates shouted.

"You've been nervous about getting near me the entire time we've been out here. Normally I would take that as a compliment. However, with your great plan in action, you still waver, you still feel fear. And I relish the fresh smell of fear that I'm detecting now. As brave as it is to threaten a Saiyan prince and his family, you are still groveling underneath this fake façade. I wonder why that is," Vegeta said with a dark grin.

"You don't know what you're talking about! And without your power, you are as weak as any of us normal humans!"

"Is that so?" Vegeta asked as he shifted so he could move Bulma directly behind himself as he stepped forward. Gates shook slightly in place as he took aim at Vegeta.

"Don't come any closer you alien freak!" Gates screamed.

"Or what, you'll fire that pathetic excuse for a weapon? Please, don't waste the remainder of your life! You are afraid of me because you know that peashooter won't do anything. Even without my energy, I can easily crush you like the tiny insignificant insects that you are!" Vegeta boasted as he took another step forward.

"I'll blow your head off!" Gates shouted as he fired three times. He gasped as Vegeta swiftly caught the bullets without much effort.

"Now, I believe my mate asked you a question or two. Care to answer them before I rip out your lying tongue?"

"Don't forget, we still have one of your scientists here!" Coleman piped in as he dragged Redwood towards the front.

"What makes you think I care?" Vegeta growled.

"Surely you wouldn't want the death of an innocent man on your soul, and you can't take us all at once without your power. Even if you can't be injured by our firearms, I doubt you would be able to kill us all before one of us got a hold of your wife!" Coleman said.

Vegeta glanced at Bulma for a very brief second before snarling in response, "Try me!"

"Vegeta! Let them go!" Bulma pleaded with a slight hint of tears in her eyes.

"What?" he shouted.

"Let them go. It's obvious they don't mean us any harm; they were just doing their job. If we let them go, we can find out what the real purpose for all of this is," Bulma said with a beaming look in her eye. Vegeta growled in response, but looked the other way, opening the way out of the chamber.

"Your generosity is quite remarkable, a great asset to go along with your intelligence and beauty. I see why our client figures you to be a chief rival of his, it's a shame you may not survive long enough to meet him yourself. As a response to your concern for other life forms, we'll leave Doctor Redwood here as well. I bid you all farewell," Gates said as he carefully walked past Vegeta along with the rest of his team.

"Just remember something Captain, everyone gets their own form of justice eventually," Bulma said clearly.

"Perhaps, but I'm going to enjoy a nice rich retirement first!" Gates chuckled slightly. Vegeta turned to follow them just as they left the room, but the wall began closing up again. Gates waved to them as it closed up completely, leaving them trapped in the room for the moment. Vegeta punched the wall harshly to break it down, but the thick stone only cracked a little in response.

"Let's try to find a way up to Trunks. Can you find a way up there with your map doctor?" Bulma asked.

"It's unlikely with the temple shifting so much, but odds are another path will appear before us given enough time," Redwood explained as he searched his laptop display. Vegeta continued to take things out on the wall, making it crumble slowly as he beat it relentlessly. Bulma stared up the airshaft, listening for sounds. There was nothing now, and the shaft was dark like something was covering the opening. Bulma sighed heavily as she wondered what happened to Trunks.

* * *

Trunks sighed slightly as he clung to the wall as if it would provide him with entertainment. The other Capsule Corp aid Dr. Gray had immersed himself in some sort of ancient story to go along with his wall reading, something about praying to gods and breeding the ultimate prey for some hunters. Trunks even attempted to will himself to sleep, but failed miserably. After about an hour, he finally heard the sounds of his father's gruff voice far below them, but it didn't sound like anything exciting. _Man, why did I let Mom talk me into this stupid trip? I should have known it wasn't going to be fun._ A loud ringing from a cellular phone drew Trunks' attention to James, whom Captain Gates had left behind with the other team.

"Yes? Understood," he said shortly before putting the phone away for a brief moment. He whispered lightly to his other comrades as Trunks stared back at the wall. Trunks suddenly shivered as a rush of cold touched his skin through his jacket. He shifted slightly as he felt suddenly restricted. _What am I feeling? It feels like I'm stuck inside a tiny closet and can't get out._ He then tried to sense his father's power signal, as it always made him feel brave. One can only imagine his disappointment and sudden isolation when he felt nothing. Trunks heard something shift in the temple suddenly, but he wasn't prepared for what would happen next. Both of the large doorways suddenly slammed shut due to a large slab of stone dropping into place around them.

James was the first to speak, "Damnit, we need to get out!"

"Some sort of trap must have been triggered, surely there must be a way to escape this room," Dr. Gray said.

"Hey, no problem!" Trunks said as he rolled up his sleeves.

"What are those?" James asked as he pulled out his sidearm. Trunks turned from one of the closed doors to see several large and slimy round objects rising into the room from the tables around the center, almost a dozen in all.

"I haven't a clue," Dr. Gray said as he went to examine them. One of the egg-like objects suddenly opened up, and a small creature started to crawl out.

"Hey kid, if you're gonna get that door open, now would be good," James suggested. Trunks cracked his knuckles slightly as he pushed out and upwards on the slab of stone, making it slowly grind upwards after a little effort. Trunks then moved below the actual doorway and held it up with his raw strength, waiting for the others to move.

"See, told ya I could do it!" Trunks grinned. When he turned around though, his eyes went wide with shock and awe. Several of the tiny creatures were literally jumping out of the eggs and onto any human nearby. They all appeared to be as large as a bowling ball, but pale in color with many human like fingers for legs and a large tail. To Trunks, they seemed like a strange cross between a spider and a scorpion, though the pale skin color made that unlikely. James attempted to fire his pistol at one, but could only scream as it latched onto his face. It covered his face completely and wrapped its tail around his neck in a choking fashion. Trunks was about to move to help him when one of the creatures jumped towards him. He quickly back stepped and let the door fall, hoping it would squash the little vermin with its weight. The creature was too fast though and got through just in time. Trunks fell into his fighter stance, ready to fight whatever this was. He prepared to blow the creature away, but found no energy at his disposal. The parasite didn't wait for him to figure out what was wrong before it launched towards him again. Trunks slapped it away with his bare hand, but it only shook off the impact and kept coming. Trunks backed away slowly, trying to read his opponent like his father always taught him. He kicked it hard and into the wall when it jumped again, and this time it appeared to have an impact. The creature limped out slowly, favoring one of its legs, which had been severed. Trunks' eyes widened though when he saw the yellow blood that was dripping out. The ground smoked and several spots even disintegrated from where the fluid touched. _Their blood is like acid._ Trunks spotted one of the statues behind him and elected to grab the spear the warrior was holding as the creature hobbled towards him. Trunks freed the weapon and stabbed the mischievous little devil through its back, killing it instantly. The blood ate through the arrowhead of the spear and soon all Trunks had was a long stick with a melted end. He stared at the dead creature for a moment before the temple shifted and he had to pick a better spot to stand in. Once a path opened up to him, he dashed through it, with only one thought on his mind. _I better find Mom and Dad_.

* * *

Vegeta growled slightly as he glanced around, he didn't like not being able to sense a person's whereabouts. He liked the chilling air around him even less. The slight weight of the heavy sword on his shoulder didn't bother him much thanks to years of training, but without his energy, he didn't want to be slowed by anything at the moment. The only reason he was carrying it was Bulma's suggestion. Without his power, it would be unwise to leave a potentially useful weapon behind. He was leading the way with Bulma and Dr. Redwood lagging behind a bit, but as he passed every open room, he glared into them as if waiting for a surprise attacker to leap out.

"First we need to find Trunks and get out of here. Then we can deal with these mercenaries and whoever hired them. If only I had brought my phone with me I could have called home and gotten Verto to give us a hand," Bulma said.

"The boy wouldn't have made much of a difference, he would have been robbed of his energy as well," Vegeta growled.

"You don't know that Vegeta, his power is different than yours!"

"Whatever," Vegeta grunted in response as he kept scanning the area with his eyes.

"We should try to hurry, if they get back to the tunnel before we do, we might be trapped down here!" Bulma suggested.

"Like I can't climb up solid ice woman," Vegeta snorted.

"Oh look, my brave husband is using every muscle except the one that matters. Let's see here, paid off mercenaries that are trained in god knows what kind of operations, and that includes how to work drilling equipment and probably explosives. Do the words 'cave in' mean anything to you?" Bulma screeched in his ear. Vegeta promptly shut his mouth. He had actually thought that was a possibility before they came down there, but due to his growing reputation around the world, he doubted the humans would be brave enough to try that. His pride was now kicking him around emotionally for falling into this trap. He yearned for the chance that they would run across the mercenaries, just so he could pluck every tooth from Captain Gates' mouth while he groveled at his feet. He would even settle for one of the subordinates, anything to repair his damaged ego. The temple had finally stopped shifting around about an hour ago. This shifting had altered the path a few times, obviously a way to change the pattern of the temple for any of these supposed mythological hunters. He hadn't detected a trace of the humans yet, not even their scent. He had considered changing directions to one of the many paths they had come across, but decided it would be best to remain on his present path until something forced him off of it, as it seemed to be a main hallway. He also suggested they remain as quiet as possible and not engage in any unnecessary conversation. So they quietly walked through the temple at a very slow pace, searching for both Trunks and the other humans. A sudden whiff of something unfamiliar caught Vegeta's attention awhile later as they came across an intersection. Only this one had a stray machinegun lying on the ground as well. Vegeta reached for it and touched its side, picking up a portion of a slimy residue that was left behind. He sniffed it slightly, getting a strong musty scent before wiping it off.

"What do you suppose…?" Bulma started to ask before Vegeta quickly hushed her so he could listen. He could hear very feint breathing patterns nearby, patterns he didn't recognize to be human.

"Keep your eyes open woman, and stay close," Vegeta whispered as he repositioned the large sword to his front. They moved onwards even more cautiously now, as Vegeta was on definitive search and destroy mode. They came across the next intersection when he heard sounds of shouting and gunfire to his right. He darted that way quickly with Bulma and Dr. Redwood lagging behind. He came to a sudden stop when he noticed that musty scent again; only it was much stronger as he neared the source of the activity. When he entered the room the path ended at, he spotted a large black and scaly creature pulling one of the humans with it though he couldn't tell which one. At first the creature didn't notice him, and he elected to use that time to scan the rest of the room before he attempted contact. Signs of battle were all over the place, with random burn marks and blood splattered about. The room was also lit up a bit by two torches on the same far wall. Only one body was present, but for this much activity, he assumed there must have been more. The human that was being dragged looked to be at least unconscious, or maybe even dead. With the human's head turned aside, Vegeta couldn't quite tell whom it was due to all the blood, but it looked like Coleman. Vegeta turned his eyes back to the little demon that was slowing dragging the body. It had an oddly shaped but rounded off head. It looked eerily similar to Frieza's freakish head in his third form, only it was all black with no eyes to speak of. Its body was rough in texture with strong but very slim arms and legs. It also had a long tail that ended in a sharp point that looked like it could be used as a weapon. It had other little features that appeared to serve as intimidation tools, such as the long bones extending from its back. At full height it would likely be nearly seven to eight feet tall. Bulma gasped slightly as she caught up and saw the creature, and that was enough to grab its attention. It dropped its prey and hissed at them.

"Well, I think we could rule out a spoken language," Dr. Redwood said with a slight gulp.

"Leave this thing to me, and stay back," Vegeta muttered as he dropped the heavy sword and stepped into the room. The creature hissed some more and crouched into a prone position as Vegeta approached with slight caution.

"What an ugly excuse for a creature. I hope you don't put too much stock in defeating a lowly human," Vegeta said with a tight smirk.

"I don't think it's going to answer," Bulma suggested from the side. She was almost right in that, the creature responded by charging and reaching out with its arms. Vegeta sidestepped and punched it lightly in the head. The creature stumbled a bit before turning up and hissing at him again. Vegeta grinned slightly and waved it on to attack. The creature sprinted towards him with unexpected speed and tackled Vegeta to the ground, pinning his shoulders. Vegeta's grin held until he saw the creature opened its mouth. Inside was a second set of jaws that were opening, and he could see some sort of tissue prepping to move them. The second set of teeth suddenly launched at him, barely missing his head. The jaw retracted, and Vegeta decided not to let it have another chance. He bent his knees quickly and kicked the creature upwards. Rolling out of the way, Vegeta flipped up, but his opponent was already coming at him. This time its tail was starting to swing towards him, and it clearly meant to maim him. Vegeta dodged the first tail thrust, but saw how slowly the creature could retract, and thus saw his opening. The creature swung with its tail again, and upon missing, Vegeta grabbed the tail and held tight. The creature hissed and attempted to pull back, but didn't have much luck against Vegeta's raw strength. It tried running towards him, but Vegeta ducked its tackle attempt and kicked it in the head. He then picked up the tail and pulled hard, swinging the black monster through the air. Vegeta spun with the creature once before letting go, watching it smash into the wall with a dull thud.

"Pitiful," he muttered, disappointed in his enemy. The creature stirred slightly, but clearly had trouble getting to its feet, and even favored an arm that was likely broken.

"I strongly suggest you stay down cretin, the next blow will not be as soft as the last one," Vegeta growled. The creature didn't take his advice, and screeched loudly as it staggered towards him. Vegeta brought his right arm back before swinging it into the creature's head. A loud crack could be heard as Vegeta's backhand made contact, and the creature collapsed, its head turned sideways as it fell. When it hit ground, the head popped completely off, and a spurt of yellow blood spilled out onto the stone floor.

"Humph," Vegeta grunted before allowing a gasp to slip out. The floor was steaming from the creature's blood, and then it began to dissolve.

"Whoa, acid blood! What a defense mechanism!" Bulma exclaimed.

"Yes, this thing is clearly not of this world. Must be some sort of alien," Dr. Redwood pointed out. Vegeta only grunted again, but in the back of his mind, he was also drawing a blank. He stared at the alien's remains, trying to figure out where it might have come from.

As Vegeta was deep in thought, Bulma decided to check on the human victim, who was still lying very still. She turned him over and gasped slightly, as the other half of his face appeared to be badly burned. The other feature was the large bite mark in his shoulder, just above the collarbone.

"Which one of them is it?" Redwood asked.

"I think it's that Coleman fellow," Bulma said as she reached for a pulse. She felt a very faint one just as Vegeta walked over and stared at the prone body with disgust.

"He's still alive, somehow," she said.

"Really?" Vegeta asked as his mate rose up and nodded. He then kicked the side of Coleman's head sharply, and his neck snapped instantly.

"Not anymore," Vegeta growled. Bulma scowled back at him, but shook it off slightly as she began to search the dead man.

"What in the blazes are you doing now woman?" Vegeta barked.

"Well, some people do pay attention you know! I'm looking for his cell phone if that's any of your business!" she shrieked back.

"What for? There is no need to call the boy!"

"Argh! Think about it. That alien didn't kill him, it was dragging him away! Maybe it was going to eat him, or maybe it had another purpose! Secondly, one of those mercenaries might have already gotten back to the surface, and with your energy gone we might be stuck down here if they blow up the tunnel! Third, with this phone, there's a good chance we can find out who hired them by checking the call history on here, as I'm sure you would also like to know if we do get out of here! Lastly, there might be more than one of those things in here, so I'm keeping it in case of emergency. God knows what else might happen while were down here! Is that a good enough reason for you?" Bulma screamed in his ear. Vegeta muttered random curses in a different language once she was done venting, he was already getting a headache. A loud rumbling sound got his attention, and it was coming from the walls.

"Ugh, what now?" he asked. Less than a second later, a large yellow being smashed through the stone walls and came to a stop a few feet away. This creature was humanoid by the look of it, but had yellow skin and was huge in size. At least nine or ten feet in height, with sharp pointed ears and a rugged face. Its body appeared to be in very poor shape, its skin almost hung off whatever bone structure it might have had, Vegeta couldn't even see where its stomach ended and its legs began. It also had large claws at the end of its fingers, the only thing about it that actually looked threatening. It was wearing a red vest that seemed to be several sizes too small.

"Vegeta!" it bellowed.

"And just what are you supposed to be?" Vegeta asked in a vile tone.

"Misokatsun!" the newcomer groaned, "Die!"

**A/n: And the author strikes again with another plot twist! Obviously there are no power levels to be listed, as there is no energy being used. By the way, if you don't know who or what Misokatsun is…well that's your problem. You'll have to stay tuned I suppose. Let's just say he is a partial introduction to the next series of events. I imagine at least a few of you diehard DBZ fans do know, or can figure it out. Those that don't recall right away will likely research that one and suddenly have a stroke of recollection and come back like they knew it all along. Yeah right.**

**No preview.**


	16. Recognition

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 15: Recognition**

Vegeta flip-kicked the large Misokatsun as he attempted to punch the Saiyan prince. He stumbled backwards, stunned, and Vegeta took full advantage by charging in and punching as hard as he could. Misokatsun's large belly took the punch all the way to the point where Vegeta's fist got stuck, surrounded by the flab of the newcomer.

"What the?" Vegeta gasped as he looked up into the monster's grinning face. Vegeta jumped back as a big fist came swinging, barely missing him. _Just what is this tub of lard made of? That was no ordinary punch, _Vegeta pondered as he stared down the beast, who was chuckling slightly.

"What's so funny tubby? Did I make a joke?" Vegeta growled as he slid back into his fighting stance. He appreciated the new challenge, but he was still uncomfortable without his energy. Misokatsun declined to do more than laugh before he trudged forward again. Vegeta read his attack before he even made it, and caught the fat arm in mid-punch. Vegeta swung the large beast around and hurled him into the wall, smashing it into several stone pieces. Vegeta didn't wait for him to get up, and rushed towards the fat monster. It rose to a sitting position just in time to see Vegeta's fist drawn back. Misokatsun was flattened by the head blow, and groaned heavily as he lay stunned for several seconds.

"Even that pathetic creature over there took more effort to beat, you're a disgrace!" Vegeta spat as he walked back into the room. Misokatsun stirred and stared angrily at Vegeta, who turned back to return the glare.

"So, you want some more?" Vegeta asked with a slight smirk. Misokatsun rose out of the rubble and slowly stomped towards Vegeta, eager to engage him again. Bulma suddenly screamed, causing Vegeta to glance over. Dr. Redwood was down and being dragged from the room by a pair of dark arms clenched around his legs, he quickly vanished. Vegeta turned just as the large monster smashed his face, and a whole new realization came to him as he flew into the wall. _Blast it all! The woman was right again; there are more than one of those alien freaks. My pride has gotten us into enough trouble for one day, its time to adjust my strategy. I won't be able to fend this thing off and keep an eye on her without my energy and without Trunks here. _

"Bulma, call the boy!" Vegeta growled as he pulled himself from the wall. Bulma was already dialing.

* * *

I was lazily watching the tube when I heard the phone ring. I let Mrs. Briefs answer though; I really didn't feel like getting up just yet. She had taken her sweet time in taking over babysitting duties; apparently the conference she and her husband were at went into overtime. She had blamed it on the big ball of stubbornness that most scientists and philosophers eventually become. That and the whole song and dance about Dr. Briefs getting into it with a rival of sorts over robotic technology, some dude named Cash. I eventually tuned her out when she went into every single detail about how rude he was. I was looking through the local news for any relevant developments, hoping for anything that didn't involve bitching scientists. That was when Bunny came rushing in with the phone.

"It's for you honey!" she said with a ditzy smile. I cocked an eyebrow up at her, wondering just who would be calling this late.

"Yes?" I asked into the phone.

"Verto, it's me!" Bulma's voice rang in.

"What is it?" I asked, though noting the urgency in her voice.

"We need your help down here. We ran into a lot of trouble. There's aliens running around, the drilling team ran out on us, Vegeta's fighting some sort of really big monster, and we can't find Trunks!" she said quickly as the sounds of Vegeta's battle cry echoed through the phone.

"All right, I'll be there shortly!" I said.

"Thanks, oh I almost forgot!" she suddenly called out.

"What?" I asked as I heard some static build up in the phone.

"There's something weird about this place, Vegeta can't seem to use his, …. So be ready… that. Bring a …kit, its very cold!" she said, breaking up before I heard a disconnect tone. _Humph, cellular service at it's best._

"What's going on cutie?" Bunny asked.

"Some sort of trouble, I'll be back later. If you see Lenz, tell her I went to help them out, but she is not to come down!" I said as I put on my shoes.

"Hey, you forgot your green shirt!" she called out as I promptly headed for the door.

"Wash it!" I shouted back, shaking my head slightly at her air-headed behavior. When I reached the door though, a fiery red headed girl greeted me with the deepest scowl I had ever seen.

"Going somewhere boy?" Leira asked.

"Yes I am actually. If you're here to tell me why you're here, it will have to wait," I said sternly.

"You never think things out do you? Just rush out the door to help your friends without trying to analyze the situation," she said.

"I'll have to make due on the fly, as I don't know the situation aside from what I was just told, now get out of my way!" I said, attempting to push past her. She blocked my way and actually pushed me back into the building. _Well, she is fairly strong, I'll give her that._

"What you may not have heard is that your energy will not function there. There is a temple buried in the ice, which is where they are now. It is a sacred place, and has a natural suppression field that blocks out Psionic waves," she explained. My questioning eyebrow went back up for a moment at this informative girl.

"Fine, I'll only use my ki, anything else?"

"That will not work either, as Vegeta and Trunks know by now. Someone other than your surrogate mother got a hold of the Protoss technology that was left behind. I'm sure you remember the ki disruption devices," she said with a beaming look. I growled slightly, not directly at her, but of the memory of that particular occurrence.

"So are the Protoss back as well, or is this a different breed of aliens?" I asked.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Argh, no, these aliens have been frozen on Earth for some time. I'm sure you'll know what to do with them once you get there. Since you might have problems, I am willing to offer some assistance," she claimed.

"You're going to come with me then?" I asked. The offer was quite tempting given the situation; my knowledge of her was very limited. Even without directly telling me what I wanted to know, seeing her in action would probably be enough to answer a few questions.

"No, I am not coming with you. I will only give you this," she said, dropping a thin brown stone into my hands. I looked it over briefly, seeing small markings and inscriptions all around it.

"This enchanted stone will allow you to channel a small amount of your spiritual energy, but beware. Its power is limited, if used too much or too long, it will crumble apart and become useless. Choose your spots wisely and carefully and you may yet be able to rescue your friends. In all cases however, do not allow any of those creatures to escape their frozen tomb. They will create quite a mess on this planet if that happens. You will see what I mean when I get there," Leira said as she turned to leave.

"Thanks, but when are you going to tell me who you really are, and why you are here?" I asked.

"When it is your time to know little one," she said in a much nicer tone. I watched her vanish into the shadows before shutting the door and taking flight, heading full speed towards the cold wastelands of the south.

* * *

Trunks walked carefully through the passages as he attempted to find his parents. The temple had shifted several more times, altering his path a great deal. He now had no real idea where his current path would lead him, but he had a feeling that it would be near the temple entrance. The only thing to tell him this was the increasingly chilly air. This was the only real benefit of his energy being gone, the ability to rely on his other senses. Currently, his sense of smell was picking up two distinct scents in the air. One of them was human, but the other one was nowhere near anything he had ever smelled before. It was barely even there, more like a strong musty scent one would find in a wet basement. If they weren't in a frozen wasteland, Trunks probably wouldn't have even noticed it. He didn't feel that his mother and father were up ahead since they had ventured deeper into the temple's catacombs, but he needed a point of reference right now before he tried to retrace his footsteps. He also figured that if he would encounter them anywhere soon, it would be there. Several hours had passed since he left the other humans and the tiny creatures that had attacked them, and he hadn't seen or heard anything since then. For quite awhile he was lost in the confusion of the constantly shifting rooms and passageways, but once that halted he was able to find a main hallway to stick to.

A sudden shout grabbed his attention as he heard footsteps up ahead, followed by a gunshot. He ran towards it quickly, but didn't reach the source of the sound for several minutes. When he arrived, he saw the gun on the ground, still smoking a bit. It was also covered in a strange slime that was dripping from the ceiling above. Next to it, there was a distinct hole in the floor that was still slowly eating away. Trunks recognized it to be the acid blood of the creatures before, but he didn't see any of them nearby. Another sound of footsteps came through the air, with the sound of a body hitting the floor like it had tripped. Trunks turned around when he realized the sound was behind him, and readied himself for whatever was running towards him. Trunks was expecting another one of those creatures, but knew that the sound coming was much different. Out of the shadows, a larger human was running towards him as fast as he could. Trunks narrowed his eyes when he saw it to be Captain Gates. Gates' eyes widened a bit when he saw the purple-haired child waiting for him, and he slowed down enough to catch his breath.

"Come on kid, you and me need to get moving! There's no telling how many of them are behind me!" Gates said.

"How many of what? Just what are you running from?" Trunks asked with a cocked eyebrow. Gates hesitated as he nervously glanced into the child's piercing eyes. He had enough memories of Vegeta's death glare to last him a lifetime, now he had the younger prince staring at him with a similar look.

"There are terrible creatures on the loose in here; they'll kill us all in no time. You and I are the only ones left; we need to get out of here!" Gates said in a pitiful tone. Trunks didn't buy it either.

"What creatures? Those tiny little spider things? I'm pretty sure my dad could take them all no sweat! After all, I beat one easily! I'll bet even you could with all your guns!" Trunks said with a slight laugh. Gates stared at the child for a moment, realizing a few things. First, the smaller aliens had attacked the other group before his men could get out, but he figured that might happen. Second, Trunks had obviously escaped some of that, because he didn't know about the larger aliens yet. Third, Trunks had no idea of what had transpired between himself and Vegeta, and he planned to use that last fact to his advantage.

"No, there are larger creatures around here that are killing everyone! Your dad tried to fight them off by himself while we attempted to escape, but he failed. He was very brave in trying to hold them all off, but it was futile. By now, everyone else has likely died. Now we need to get moving and seal that tunnel we dug out! Otherwise those things might escape!" Gates said as he grabbed Trunks' hand and attempted to pull him along. Trunks didn't budge, and Gates lost his grip and fell to the floor. When he turned, he saw that his little speech hadn't had the desired effect. The young Saiyan had inherited quite a list of things from his father, and pride was very high said list.

"No! I don't believe you! My dad can beat anything, especially some stupid monsters! We are not leaving them down here! If he has in fact failed to fend off these things, then I will take his place and beat them myself. Now take me to them!" Trunks ordered with a surprising tone for a child. Gates cringed slightly; he wasn't expecting Trunks to take the false information like that. He knew what would happen if he took the child back into the depths of the temple and ran into Vegeta. On the other hand, attempting escape right now wouldn't be a great idea either; he knew the child had strength beyond his normal human perception. As the gears turned in his head, he eventually gave in that he would have to accompany the child for now, and ditch him at the earliest convenience.

"All right, I'll take you down there. But I'm telling you there is no point, and we may get killed," Gates said, attempting to change the young Saiyan's mind, to no avail.

-

Less than five minutes into the journey back into the temple's depths, Gates started panicking and tried to stall.

"No, I won't go back in there again. Those things wiped out my team!" Gates cried out in fear as he sank to the ground. Gates was honestly not sure what he was more afraid of, the aliens, or Vegeta. He knew where he stood with the either choice, but at least he had a slight chance to get away from the aliens. Vegeta was a different story and even Gates knew that if the Saiyan prince spotted him again, he was dead meat. Trunks growled a bit as the human refused to move any further when he tugged on his jacket a bit. Trunks was considering just throwing him into the wall like his father was known for when people were in his way, but decided it wouldn't be the best idea right now. He needed the man's help to find his parents. A sudden sound above caused him to drop Gates' arm.

"I'm telling you I'm not moving from this spot kid!" Gates said, still groveling.

"Shhh," Trunks rasped as he tried to trace the sound. He heard a faint breathing sound, but didn't recognize it.

"Don't you shush me kid, I'm older than you and I know better. Those things killed everyone and we're only killing ourselves going back down there!" Gates shouted back.

"Shut up moron! There's something in here!" Trunks said as quietly as possible. Gates promptly shut his mouth as he got back up and looked towards the rafters. Trunks scanned the walls and ceiling over, finding several small holes that might serve as airshafts. He saw no movement, but that didn't mean anything. A soft step down grabbed his attention away from the rafters and into the shadows ahead. He saw something move into the very soft light in the area, but couldn't tell what it was right away. It got closer, and Trunks was able to make out some of its very alien features as it crept towards him and Gates. Being without Saiyan vision, Gates was unable to see what was coming, but he had a pretty good idea and backed up several steps.

"Time to run kid!" Gates suggested as he turned on his heel and took off.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Trunks shouted, prompting his alien opponent to attack. Trunks turned just in time to see the alien leap at him, and dodged aside. The alien recovered from its landing very quickly and leaped again. Trunks blocked its claw and spun quickly, smashing it in the head with his fist. The alien bounced off the floor once before landing on all fours and hissing at him. Trunks heard more commotion above him, and dove out of the way right as another large alien jumped down. Trunks got to his knees carefully as the two aliens stepped slowly towards him. Behind the two, he could still see Gates running for the exit to the temple. Trunks got up and growled a bit as he rolled up his jacket sleeves as an angry expression took over his face.

"You creeps have no idea what is about to happen to you!" he warned as the two aliens attacked.

* * *

Finding the area they had drilled in wasn't too difficult; there was nothing else there besides ice and snow. Though, it was nice of them to leave the trail of broken up ice that lead me straight to the drilling equipment. I flew low once I spotted it, as I sensed a void of life energy ahead. My Psi energy was long gone miles beforehand, so the task ahead was becoming increasingly daunting. I landed just before I entered it, and scanned around for anything that resembled a Protoss device. I didn't see anything other than the drilling equipment and the Capsule houses, and I didn't expect to either since there was a lot of snow being blown around by the wind. I sighed slightly, the area affected was much too large to detect an exact center point, and I really didn't have the time. I carefully stepped through the snow and felt my senses cloud up almost immediately just as my ki energy vanished. I considered testing the ancient stone that Leira had given me, but her warning of its power duration concerned me. _Oh well, its not like I haven't dealt with this kind of thing before._ My arms shivered a bit as the cold wind hit my bare skin. _Should have brought a jacket though. _I quickly ran through the cold and reached the large tunnel that had been drilled out. I spotted a large amount of blood suddenly and traced it back to the drilling equipment. There were five human bodies there, all of them dead and slightly frozen. My eyes instantly narrowed at this as I looked around for anyone else, finding nothing but snow. The bodies were strung out in a way that represented the murderer had simply walked up and killed them without much of a fight. A few of them had been slammed up against the massive drill; another had his throat ripped out by the look of it. In the snow there was one large and heavy looking set of footprints, all leading to the tunnel. _Whoever did this is likely down there with them,_ _most likely something big. _

I could see small lights had been set up along with a few cables to hold onto, so I wasn't venturing into a completely dark abyss. I gently grabbed one of the cables and stepped into the tunnel, slowly gliding along as I used my hand for a brake. I repelled off the walls a few times to gain some speed, and reached the bottom about three minutes later. A large amount of lighting had been set up next to a return sleigh that was currently parked. Ahead, I spotted the mysterious temple in the dark cavern. It was much larger than I thought it would be, and judging by the way it was constructed, it also looked like it would have chambers far below the snow it was sitting on, meaning it could actually be huge and I was only seeing the top portion of it. I heard a loud shout coming from the top, prompting me to dash towards the stairs and run up them. Within thirty seconds I was standing at the entrance, and I spotted a grown man running straight at me. He looked like one of the guys from the drilling team, though I hadn't even seen much of them aside from what I had seen from my window two days ago. He slowed down a bit when he saw me, but he looked absolutely terrified.

"Who the hell are you kid?" he asked as he glanced behind him.

"You first. You're obviously part of the team that was supposed to come here with the Capsule scientists. My question is; where are the rest of them?" I asked carefully. The nervous man wasn't sure how to answer at first, but he shook even more when he got a good look at my face.

"I've seen his face somewhere before. Oh god, it's the other son," he whispered to himself.

"Close enough, care to answer my question?" I asked again with a slight smirk. _Well, he knows something about me at least. But does he know that Bulma called me, probably not. _

"I'm Captain Gates. This place was overrun by some sort of alien species. They attacked us way back there and we all got separated. Your mother and father were killed; I saw it with my own eyes! Everyone else is dead too, or soon will be. We have to get back to the surface and blow the tunnel so those things can't follow us!" he said, trembling as he did. As pathetic as his plea was, it didn't get any pity from me, as it was inaccurate.

"Funny, she said that you guys ran out of them. And that there was some other large monster running around down here. And what exactly are these aliens that you say have killed everyone? Choose your answers carefully, as I can be worse than Vegeta is when people lie to me!" I said with a slight glare. Gates trembling increased in intensity when I said Vegeta's name, answering at least that he may be alive and that this fool did in fact run out on him. Gates decided not to answer anything that I asked for the moment, and only gazed into the dark temple.

"You will find your answers in there," he said.

"Oh I won't be going alone. You're coming down with me!" I said as I grabbed his arm and tugged on it.

"No way kid! I'm not going back in there with those things running around. You can fucking forget it and nothing you say can make me go!" Gates said as he stood as firmly in place as possible.

"Whether you like it or not, you are coming down with me. I will figure out why you ran out on my family, and trust me, you don't want Vegeta or I to be hunting you down when we get out of here. I can promise you that you will remain safe from our wrath if you do what I say. I'll wait until we are out of this mess before I address what you may have done!" I said. Gates didn't seem to relax a whole lot, but he did stop trembling for the moment.

"Look kid, we were only hired to bring them down here and leave. We didn't know that we'd be killed as well," he said. Part of that sounded accurate, but there was something else he was hiding. _I can't let this guy get away and seal up the tunnel. _

"Your other comrades may not have known, but I'm guessing you did. Funny how you're the only one that has gotten out so far. No matter how bad things are, I wouldn't try to leave my friends behind. And guess what, you won't either! Now come on!" I said as I roughly dragged Gates into the temple.

-

I heard light sounds of battle a few minutes into the temple, and judging by the battle cry I heard, I could only guess that Trunks was up there.

"Stay here, and don't even think about leaving!" I warned as I let Gates' arm go. The instant I did, he took off running in the other direction. I sighed slightly and chased him down, blocking his path a few seconds later.

"How did you get in front of me without your power?" he stammered. _Big mistake, now I know for sure that you and your men were more than a little involved._ My eyes narrowed a bit as I glared at him and he gulped slightly, backing up. I jumped at him and pushed him up against the wall harshly.

"Where is the Protoss device?" I barked at him.

His eyes widened a bit, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Bullshit! Whoever hired you had the technology from all the crap they left behind after the Zerg left this planet. I know all about it because I was deeply involved with that war! Now answer my question before I decide to get rough! Where is it?" I shouted as I shoved up against the wall even harder.

He stopped trembling for a brief moment and grinned just slightly, "It's buried in the snow!" I dropped Gates once he said this, he and I both knew it would prove difficult to find under all that snow. The sounds of battle got closer, and while it didn't sound like Trunks needed my help that badly, I figured I better get up there and see for myself just what we were facing.

"Stay here. You even think about running out on me again, and you'll find that Vegeta and I have something in common!" I growled at Gates. As soon as I turned around, he got up and ran for the exit again.

"Fool!" I shouted as I caught up with him again. He tried to avoid me and keep going, but I kicked his leg out from under him and he fell to the ground.

"No, you can't make me stay in this hellhole!" he said, shaking again.

"That's where you're wrong!" I said as I grabbed a hold of his left leg. With enough applied force, I chopped his knee once. I heard an instant crack and his scream of pain said enough. I then moved down and did the same around the middle of his calf and then I grabbed and squeezed his ankle long enough to feel the bones crack. His screaming continued as he held the leg protectively.

"I warned you enough times. Now you won't be leaving without my consent!" I snarled as I got up and moved towards Trunks. Gates continued whimpering as I left him behind, but I had more pressing matters to attend to. I reached Trunks quickly enough, and saw the two creatures he had been fighting with. One of them was down and barely moving at all. The other one was in a crouched position, and readying itself to attack again. Trunks looked barely scratched if at all. Once that was established, I examined the creatures in general as I got a bit closer. They were all black with strange looking heads and bodies. For a moment they looked oddly familiar to something I had seen in the past, but I couldn't pinpoint it. They weren't like the all the different aliens I had seen in my time away from Earth, not even close.

"Verto! How'd you get here?" Trunks asked.

"I flew," I replied with a slight scowl. The crouched alien leaped at his distracted face, and tackled Trunks to the ground. Just as I moved towards it, I saw it open its mouth, and a second set of teeth slowly extended out from the inside. _I have seen one of those things before!_ Trunks stayed still for a moment until he saw the attack coming and quickly rolled out from underneath the beast. I ran towards them and kicked the alien off of him.

"Thanks," he said as he got up.

"We gotta kill these things quickly Trunks," I said.

"Well what's the hurry? I already beat that one over there, and this one won't stand a chance against both of us!" he said with a deep smirk.

"Let's just say those things use humans as hosts to breed. We can't let a single one survive!" I explained.

Trunks' eyes widened a bit, "So that's what those little spider things were doing to their faces! They all came out of some sort of really slimy eggs!" I glanced at him with a questioning look. _Ah crap, that can't be good._

"Were the eggs frozen like the rest of this place, or did the slime look very fresh?" I asked carefully.

"They were absolutely drenched in that nasty stuff, had to be fresh. Why does that matter anyway?" he asked. I growled a bit as the alien in front of us slowly recovered.

"It means that there is a much bigger version of these things laying those eggs," I said.

"How do you know all this?" he asked as suspicion flashed over his eyes.

"In a minute, first things first," I replied as I revealed the sacred stone from my pocket. The instant I grasped it, I felt a tiny twinge of my Psi energy coursing through me.

"What is that thing?" Trunks asked. I ignored him as I concentrated the energy into the stone and watched as it started to glow blue. The alien had finally recovered and hissed as the blue light lit up the entire area. Once I felt enough control over the stone, I released a little more power into it. The stone glowed brighter and took in more and more energy. I glanced up at the alien and grinned slightly as my Psi sword emerged from the tip of the stone and moved with it.

"Whoa, you can use your energy here?" Trunks asked.

"Almost," I said as I stepped towards the hissing alien. Trunks appeared to be trying to find his own power, to no avail. The alien continued to hiss at me, but didn't appear to be anxious to fight me now that my sword was staring it in the face. I suddenly ran towards it, sidestepping its attempt to claw me, and slashing across its head. The sword steamed slightly as yellow blood poured out, but maintained its shape as the ground started to hiss and bubble. The alien collapsed and died immediately, though the same could not be said for its blood, which ate right through the stone floor. _Just like I thought; they are exactly like I remember._

"So, you wanna tell me what these things are?" Trunks asked as I stared down the injured alien.

"They're aliens from a different world. I don't know what their proper name is though," I said simply.

"How is it you know about them?" Trunks asked again. _Ugh, sharp as ever._

"You remember when I first came here and we got stuck in that wizard's trap?" I asked him.

Realization flowed over his face, "Yeah, we went to those other worlds and you knew about them. Like you had seen it on TV and stuff!"

"Same kind of deal, only this time they are on our world, not some other dimension," I explained.

"But how did they get here?" Trunks asked.

"Someone must have brought them here by spaceship a long time ago. I don't think they are smart enough to fly a ship on their own, but they are very lethal hunters," I explained.

"Yeah I noticed that," Trunks said as he glanced back at the injured alien.

"Do you know how many there are?" I asked.

"I have no idea, these are the only two I've seen, other than those spider things that came out of the eggs," he replied.

"Hmmm, better question. How many people came down here with you?" I asked carefully.

"Well, me, mom, dad, Dr. Gray and Dr. Redwood. I think there were sixteen or seventeen others. I know there were still a few on the surface!" Trunks pointed out.

"Five, right? They're dead," I answered. Trunks eyed me carefully for a moment after gasping.

"It wasn't me Trunks; they were dead before I got here. There's something else here besides the aliens, because I don't think they would have gone to the surface already with so much fresh meat around here," I said.

"Well why not?" he asked.

"Because of the queen," I said as I stepped towards the injured alien. _Possibly nineteen or twenty of them total, though I doubt Vegeta would let anything happen to his wife. And that leaves the queen, who can bring thousands more if she escapes._

"That's the egg-layer I take it?" Trunks asked. I quickly stabbed the alien in the head with the end of my sword, and waited until it stopped fidgeting before I removed it.

"Yeah, we need to kill her, or at least prevent her from escaping by any means necessary. Like I said before, these things can use humans as hosts to breed more of them, and she is the key to it all. If she and all her little minions die, end of story," I explained, passing the hint to him.

"What about that thing?" Trunks asked as I powered down my sword, leaving only the brown stone behind.

"I'm not completely sure, but in this environment it's going to be useful. I can't use my power either. That red headed girl we encountered before gave it to me on the way here. I still have no idea what her story is, but it'll have to wait for another day. As for our ki energy, there's a Protoss device planted out in the snow somewhere. I think you know which one," I said.

"One of those ki blocker things again?" Trunks asked, agitated.

I nodded slightly, "We're going to have to press on and hope it runs of power or something on the way. It'll take too long to search the ground up there and risk that queen escaping. Plus we need to look for Bulma and Vegeta, so sealing the tunnel is not an option yet. Understand?" I asked. Trunks nodded slightly.

"This might get a little messy, I need you to stay strong," I said with a reassuring hand to his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. I'll do my best!" A sudden scream from behind us drew our attention, and judging by the sound of it, it was Captain Gates.

"Damnit," I growled as we both sprinted towards him. We arrived just in time to see his body vanish into the rafters, being pulled by what was likely another alien. _Argh, well I suppose I should have expected that might happen since I left him crippled. I had no choice though; he would have trapped us down here._

"We should follow that blood trail!" Trunks suggested.

"No. We might lose them in the air shafts, or we might get lost on the way," I said.

"But you said they might escape! The door is open after all if they can all move through those vents!" Trunks said in a panicked voice.

"Relax Trunks. Those things won't be leaving without the queen. And she is much too big to go through those. If she tries to escape, we will be able to intercept her in these main passages. Odds are that while there are still humans around here, she will stay put. And it will likely be in the warmest and deepest part of the temple," I said.

Trunks nodded slightly, "Probably near the central core at the bottom, right?" I gave him my own questioning glance, prompting his own explanation.

"I heard the grownups talking about it, they said that's where all the heat was coming from," he replied.

"Well you're catching on, that is likely where we'll find that thing. Let's get going!" I said as we slowly moved into the darker depths of the temple.

* * *

Vegeta bounced off the wall before dodging out of the way of a large yellow fist that left another hole behind. He growled and cursed silently at his current situation. He had been keeping decent pace with the monster and taking very few hits, but it was still agitating to him. He had Bulma move towards one of the corners of the room so he could at least watch her from the corner of his eye. He then tried to ascertain the weaknesses of the monster other than its general lack of speed. He couldn't find it, and had to find out the hard way that it was strong enough to both bruise him and take a beating at the same time. Ever since then he had danced around the room as he dodged and counter-attacked, only to see his attacks have no real effect when the monster kept getting up. Its head seemed a bit vulnerable, but without energy to power up, Vegeta could not hit it any harder to exploit it. Its belly was another story all together, it seemed to absorb every attack Vegeta landed. To him, it was a lot like fighting the fat form of Majin Buu, though that was an entirely different battle. Vegeta could out maneuver this monster quite easily as long as he stayed a few steps ahead of it and didn't take an unnecessary risk, but until then it was virtually a stalemate.

"Hey Vegeta, are you sure you can beat this thing by yourself?" Bulma asked suddenly.

"Be quiet woman, don't distract me!" Vegeta barked back. Bulma fumed over this, but let it slide when she spotted the large sword still lying on the ground. She knew that he would not find it meaningful to use a weapon if he didn't have to, and it might damage his pride a bit, but this was a unique situation.

"Vegeta, maybe you should try using that big sword we found!" Bulma suggested. Vegeta glanced at her and then at the sword in question before turning back to Misokatsun and following his movements. Vegeta allowed the monster to get a little closer before jumping and flipping out of the way several times while Misokatsun was a bit overzealous in his punches. Vegeta glanced back at the sword once more when he had a moment, but turned back and continued his duel. Bulma thought that maybe his pride was preventing him from retrieving it, but declined to say anything about it for the time being. After a few more clashes, Vegeta was able to get behind the monster when he punched hard enough to embed his fist in the floor. Vegeta didn't even waste a moment and rushed Misokatsun, unloading with a series of hard punches to the head that stunned the monster. With a loud battle cry, he kicked him hard in the chest and watched as Misokatsun went flying into the wall and stayed there for a moment as dust flew from the hole he left. Vegeta dashed over to retrieve the large sword and then slowly walked towards Misokatsun as he positioned himself behind the slowly recovering monster. He steadied the heavy sword before arching back and started to swing just as Misokatsun turned. The monster managed to raise his arm to block, and did so successfully as Vegeta slashed downward. Vegeta's expression changed to pure surprise when he heard a slight clang coming from the point of impact. There was a slight trace of blood coming from the arm of Misokatsun, but not nearly as much as there should have been. _There's metal in there! That blade should have sliced right through him, what is he?_ Vegeta backed off as he examined Misokatsun a little more thoroughly based on what he had seen so far.

_It must be some sort of blasted android; that blow should have severed its arm. This will be difficult to finish without my power._ Vegeta didn't detect any sort of Red Ribbon insignia on the beast, but held little doubt that Dr. Gero could have made this one as well. After all, Cell didn't have that symbol either. The only thing that was blocking that theory was the fact that this beast was likely created long after Gero had been killed, and he doubted that Gero's computer could have made such a defective android. It lacked intelligence and speed, and that was something Gero's androids had been most proficient in. Also missing was any energy the creature may have had, because ki restrictors didn't affect the androids. Vegeta lifted the sword back to a ready position in front of him, as he planned to use that vulnerability around its head to his advantage. His planning was interrupted though by a scream behind him. He turned to spot Bulma cowering in the corner with an alien very close to her and closing in. Vegeta dropped the sword and rushed to her aid, leveling the alien with a hard head blow. He didn't have but a few seconds to react before Misokatsun was all over him. The monster wrapped him up in a bear hug from behind and squeezed with all its might. Vegeta groaned a bit as he felt this unwanted pressure, but held steady as he attempted to overpower the grip. The monster's raw strength surprised him a bit and made him unable to escape for the moment. The sound of another alien approaching and his wife screaming again drew his attention for a brief moment before he cried out, trying to break free. Misokatsun laughed just a bit at this until he noted the alien's close proximity to Bulma. Misokatsun dropped Vegeta and stomped towards the alien, surprising the hell out of it by grabbing it by the shoulders and throwing it across the room. Bulma and Vegeta both left a resounding gasp in the air as the monster ran after the alien, which managed to land on all fours. The alien jumped at Misokatsun and managed to claw at his chest and face before being grabbed by the tail and swung into the wall with a great deal of force. One of the alien's shoulders snapped, and a bit of the acid blood spurted out and onto Misokatsun's large arm. The acid went right through it, revealing a sparking wire mess wrapped around a metal endoskeleton. Misokatsun glanced at Bulma with a narrowed expression, and then turned to Vegeta with one of pure hatred. Vegeta was able to decipher a few things about this, the monster was definitely some sort of robotic creation and it was after him specifically. That fact almost ruled out Dr. Gero completely, plus most of those androids were after Goku to begin with. The female Android Twenty-one and Cell were the only exceptions to that rule. The other thing he figured out just added to the mystery; the beast was programmed to either protect his mate, or at least make sure she was safe. That made it a little easier to fight; he wouldn't have to worry about the robot going after her.

Misokatsun stomped towards him again, before he noticed the other alien slowly getting up. The alien wasn't sure which target to go after, and slowly back stepped while it hissed at them both. Behind it, three more alien heads made their presence felt and joined their comrade in hissing at Vegeta and the large Misokatsun. Vegeta glanced at the robot, which was paying complete attention to the aliens, and turned on his heel to do the same. The four aliens poured into the room, with three of them going after Misokatsun and only one going after Vegeta. Vegeta landed only a few blows before his target fell, and then he took it by the tail and swung it towards the brawl in the center of the room. Misokatsun was throwing the aliens off of himself, but they kept coming after him. One alien was taken out by the one Vegeta threw. The other two were thrown into the wall, but kept jumping on the robot and clawing at its arms and face. Vegeta moved carefully across the room during the short battle, picking up the large sword once he reached it. He double-checked to make sure Bulma was still in a somewhat safe position before he turned towards Misokatsun. He was in the process of crushing an alien with his foot while another was climbing over his large back. He stomped down hard on the one underfoot, rendering it lifeless when its spine was crushed. He grabbed the other one by both the tail and head, pulling and stretching it over his head. Its skin and bones ripped apart and a large splash of the acidic blood washed over him, eating through the flabby skin instantly. One of the two remaining aliens stalked towards Misokatsun, only to be stopped by Vegeta. He cleaved it apart with the large sword. Vegeta noticed the sword starting to disintegrate and then set his eyes on the steaming and sparking robot. By now, only a thick metal skull could be seen with red glowing eyes, though it was also melting a bit. Vegeta rushed towards Misokatsun and leaped into the air, bringing the sword down right through its metal skull. Misokatsun collapsed, his head and neck slowly eating away with the remnants of the sword stuck in place. Vegeta sighed slightly and turned his attention to the one fallen alien, which still wasn't moving after being taken out of the air by Vegeta's aim a moment before. Vegeta stood over it for a brief moment before bringing his foot down on its back harshly. The alien woke up quickly, but could only screech in response to the Saiyan's boot. Vegeta heard bones crack before he let up and then repeated the attack. He did so several times before the alien finally slumped down completely. With the threat finally over, he turned to the fallen robot, which looked finished beyond repair. He slowly walked over as the acid blood finally ceased, leaving behind a melted mess of metal. Misokatsun's glowing eyes even died out, showing that for all intents and purposes, he was dead. Bulma slowly walked over as well once Vegeta was certain that the robot was done.

"Who do you think built it?" he asked.

"I don't know. It doesn't look like Gero's design to me, but it was definitely made here on Earth," she noted, as she looked the fallen robot over. Vegeta spotted something buried deep within the robot and reached in there to get it. After ripping through several layers of wiring and other flexible connections, he pulled out a single undamaged circuit board.

He then handed it to Bulma, "When we get out of here, find out who did! Then I'll deal with that person appropriately," he said as he walked towards one of the doors. Bulma stared at the piece of technology for a moment before slipping it into her coat and following her husband.

**A/n: Sounds like most of you readers enjoyed the thought of Vegeta using a big two handed sword much like the Final Fantasy games, sure isn't too hard to imagine.**

**WDG:** Sorry I've been a bit slow on the proofreading, but I'm being bothered by a combination of insomnia, exams, work and birthdays (namely my own). It's getting quite annoying. Well, except for the money I got from it.

**VB**: Yeah, that's really the only reason I can stand the 12 hour shifts at the rubber mill as I call it. Gotta pay the bills somehow.

**Next time on DBV: Yeah that's right, I'm leaving a preview this time. As Verto and Trunks continue to hunt the aliens and specifically the queen, Vegeta and Bulma attempt to escape the chaos of the temple. They come across the main alien nest and after a few words with the barely living Captain Gates, Bulma figures out who set them up. They don't have time to discuss it when Vegeta is critically burned by the alien acid blood, and Bulma begins to wonder if they'll escape at all.**


	17. Hunting the Queen

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 16: Hunting the Queen**

Vegeta and Bulma moved cautiously through the temple, keeping all eyes and ears open for more aliens. So far they had been lucky and no more attacks had come over the past hour, but Vegeta wasn't deeming the area safe just yet. After a bit of weaving around, they came to a familiar path that had led them down there to begin with. While Vegeta doubted that Trunks would still be in the sacrificial chamber now, it was the best place to try to pick up his trail. He had Bulma stay very close and very quiet as he scanned every nook, cranny and shadow that potentially hid an alien while they moved on. It wasn't long before they came to a long, spiraled stairwell, one they had traveled before.

"Woman, tread lightly and try not to make a sound. There may be more of those things hiding in the shadows," Vegeta whispered. Bulma nodded nervously and stayed within inches of her husband as he began to ascend the stairwell. Dead silence ensued, which made even Vegeta slightly nervous. The musty aroma filled the air as they neared the top, but he still couldn't hear anything nearby, with the exception of Bulma's racing heartbeat. Once they reached the top, Vegeta double-checked the stairwell to make sure nothing was creeping up behind them before proceeding. There was nothing but darkness ahead of them, though Vegeta could make out the shape of the floor and walls. Bulma reached into her coat for a flashlight but Vegeta roughly took her hand, shaking his head no. Then he stepped forward into the black hallway, with the alien smell getting even stronger with every step. Soon they were in complete dark with not even the shallow light from the stairwell to guide their way. Vegeta momentarily lost his sight until he happened to see a narrow light coming from a passage to his right. He turned that way with Bulma trailing behind, though he went very slowly. A separate scent of human blood filled the air, almost clouding out the alien scent with its intensity. Vegeta still didn't pick anything up with his ears until he stepped into the lightened passage. Then he picked up a feint human breathing pattern, two of them in fact.

"This is it," Vegeta whispered as he pulled Bulma a little closer before stepping into the chamber. Inside, they saw that the entire room had been entrenched with some sort of slimy residue. It reminded Vegeta of the Zerg creep that tended to spread like a plague. This wasn't quite the same stuff, but it was very similar. It was all over the ceiling and walls, and a little bit on the floor as well. Along the walls, human bodies were bound with the same material. Nearly all of them had large, bloody openings in their chests, and all of those afflicted victims were dead. Bulma gasped slightly and turned away to bury her head into Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta spotted two that were not dead, and one of them was asleep. The other one appeared to be awake and scowling at him in particular, and the Saiyan prince was obliged to return it in kind. Vegeta eyed the battered and twisted right leg of this man, figuring that was how the aliens captured him before he got away.

"So, you're still alive?" Vegeta growled. Bulma turned and spotted Captain Gates glaring down at them both, though he wasn't in a position to do anything about their presence.

"You should thank your lucky stars Vegeta. I nearly escaped, no thanks to that blasted kid of yours!" Gates grumbled.

"So Trunks is just fine?" Bulma said with glee.

"I have no idea about Trunks, it wasn't him that stopped me from escaping," Gates sighed as he glanced down at his ruined leg.

Vegeta chuckled slightly, "So the boy made it here as well, I thought that injury had a familiar look to it. You might have stood a better chance if you hadn't betrayed us. That leg must hurt awfully bad!" Vegeta grabbed Gates' broken leg and squeezed just a little bit, causing the mercenary captain to shout in pain.

"Do your worst, I'm dead within a matter of hours anyway!" Gates screamed back.

"Really? You think it would take me that long?" Vegeta said with a smirk.

"One of those damned aliens is inside me by now. I hope it's the one that kills you!" Both Vegeta and Bulma stared at Gates in question, until they looked at the other dead bodies around the area.

"I get it! So they must use humans as hosts to breed or something!" Bulma exclaimed.

"More or less," Gates frowned.

"But how did they get here?" Bulma asked.

"I have no idea," Gates said.

"You're lying!" Vegeta shouted at him.

"Believe what you want to, oh great Saiyan prince! But I really do not have any clue as to how they got to Earth. It could have been decades ago!"

"He's, ugh, telling the truth!" a voice said from behind. Vegeta turned to see a pale Dr. Redwood hanging there.

"Hey, you're still alive too?" Bulma asked.

"Barely, but not for long. Dr. Gray told me everything before one of those things came out of him. Long ago, alien hunters from another world came here, and they brought those creatures along so they could hunt them. And they tended to return to this planet after a certain amount of time. I think our ancestors worshipped them as gods, thus why this temple was built. At first I didn't believe it, but it sounds accurate. As little as a thousand years ago, this area wasn't completely covered in ice," Redwood explained.

"Why did they bring them here though? Couldn't they hunt them on their own world?" Bulma asked.

"No, those creatures can only reproduce with a human host, or at least that's what Dr. Gray assumed. He said he found the story written along the walls in the ancient languages. Those aliens would arrive and expect a sacrifice, and using humans, they would breed the ultimate prey. But because of the hostile nature of the creatures, they would fight them to the last. And if they didn't survive, they made sure nothing would. There are several indications that this has happened many times before, and the other aliens didn't win for some reason. Entire civilizations wiped out instantly because of their failure," Redwood explained further.

"That would explain some of the missing cultures from the past I guess. But my question is, why aren't those other aliens here now to stop them? I understand that luring us down here with the heat bloom was likely part of the trap, but we should have seen them by now, right? If they would really make sure that none of those things survive, we should have seen a trace of them!" Bulma pointed out.

"I'm not sure, but I have a theory. The last inscription made here was one over five hundred years ago. And before that time, they would come once every generation, but there is nothing written afterwards. Either they fought and lost the last time, or they simply haven't returned since then," Redwood said.

"That doesn't add up, you said that the tomb down there had been opened exactly a year ago! That means that someone was here then. We probably wouldn't have known about it due to the Zerg war that was being waged," Bulma said.

"I think I can answer that one," Gates chuckled from the other wall. Vegeta turned and growled a bit, but remained silent so he could hear the rest.

"Fine, explain yourself!" Bulma scowled.

"It was us that opened the tomb last time. Our client wanted to examine this place when he found it on some ancient map he discovered buried at another dig sight," Gates replied.

"That explains why you got the hole dug so fast, you had already done it before. But that doesn't explain how you survived last time!" Bulma pointed out.

"Quite right, but there wasn't anything to fear either. That heat bloom was not our doing and it wasn't here last time. We simply explored the temple and left, and I can only assume that it reset itself since we were here last. Those creatures weren't here either, even though there were traces of them everywhere. Our client left a small beacon to transmit a signal from this temple in hopes of drawing those other aliens here. Well that never appeared to work either, until just a few weeks ago, he received a return signal. He's been busy plotting against you two, so it kind of went hand in hand. Then the heat bloom went off, and well, you know the rest," Gates grinned.

"Anything else you would like to mention about your boss before I rip you apart? His name would be a good start," Vegeta snarled.

"I would, but I'm sure you have plenty of ways to figure that out. It's much more gratifying to see you fail, Saiyan!"

"And what business do you have with me, weakling?"

"I was in East City those many years ago when you and your big friend first landed on Earth. Somehow I escaped the explosion, maybe because I was one of the smart ones and started running first. My family wasn't so lucky, and got caught in the blast. I probably should have died that day, but it doesn't truly matter now. It's too bad I'll probably be dead before I see the good doctor's pet tear you apart!" Gates sighed.

"Pet? Oh, you mean that worthless robot? Let's just say that it won't be a problem," Vegeta said with his cocky grin installed.

"Who built it?" Bulma asked as she stepped forward.

"I'm not inclined to tell you Miss Briefs. Why would I want to when you're married to a genocidal alien like him?" Gates fired back.

"Hmph, you have no idea how right you are!" Vegeta grunted as Bulma reached into her coat and pulled out Coleman's cell phone.

"I can find out by tracing all the calls made to your buddy's cell phone, so you might as well save me some trouble!" Bulma said as she flipped the phone open and turned it on.

"No need to dig that far. I'm sure you can figure it out by simply looking at it long enough," Gates explained. Bulma waited patiently for the phone to startup, and then gasped at the symbol that she saw.

"What is it woman?" Vegeta asked.

"Let's just say that this won't be as simple as you might have thought. But I do know whom we are dealing with, and we'll deal with things appropriately when we get home. We should concentrate on finding Trunks and getting out of here first!" Bulma replied as she promptly shut off the phone. Vegeta growled a bit at the lack of information, but agreed with her for the time being.

"Let's also get you down doctor, we'll take you somewhere and get that thing removed!" Bulma said, motioning for Vegeta to help her.

"There's no point, the thing inside him will burst out before you get out of here. Those things seem to breed rapidly. I'm surprised I've lasted this long to be honest, ack," Gates said with a slight cough.

"In that case, I will be merciful. It is much more gratifying to see your suffering," Vegeta chuckled.

"Yes, too bad isn't it?" Gates scowled. His eyes suddenly shifted upwards for a brief moment, and Vegeta caught the motion. He spun just in time to see an alien dropping down to him. He managed to catch its claws as it landed, starring face to face with it. The aliens jaw opened wide and Vegeta nervously frowned at the second set of teeth aiming for him.

"Hahaha, I hope that thing rips your head off!" Gates laughed from the sidewall. Vegeta ignored this and readied himself to counter this attack. The alien's teeth sprang out, and came to an abrupt stop when Vegeta caught the tongue like muscle that propelled it. The alien screeched and tried to pull back, but couldn't escape Vegeta's grip. Vegeta growled a bit and ripped the tongue right out of the alien's mouth. The alien's screeching increased ten fold as it cried out in pain. A steady flow of its yellow blood then streamed from the back of its mouth. Vegeta saw it coming, but struggled to get the beast off of him as it held on tight. The alien leaned forward and the acid blood poured all over the top of Vegeta's right shoulder. He threw the alien off, but it was too late, and his jacket fizzled out as his shoulder burned. It was Vegeta's turn to cry out in pain as he literally felt his shoulder melting and disintegrating. Bulma came over to help him, but was hesitant to touch the afflicted shoulder. Instead, she spotted a machinegun on the ground, and picked it up with intent as the alien slowly recovered.

"Take this you monster!" Bulma shouted as she opened fire. The alien took the first few bullets without a problem, but Bulma kept firing until it fell backwards and lay unmoving. Bulma approached the dead alien and pumped a few more shots into its head to be sure before checking on her husband again. Vegeta's shoulder was in very bad shape, but for the moment it appeared that the acid had stopped. She could see that it had penetrated several layers of skin, muscle and other tissue, but it looked like it missed all of the bone matter. Vegeta managed to remove the rest of his jacket and handed it to her as he cringed in severe pain.

"Well, it almost got you, what a shame!" Gates laughed as Bulma used the jacket to wrap up Vegeta's shoulder.

"Laugh it up weakling, you'll be dead soon enough!" Vegeta growled back.

"Perhaps, but its very pleasant to see you go down before hand! Hahaha!" Gates laughed. Vegeta snarled as Gates continued to laugh, though both of them were silenced by the sudden sound of bones snapping. Gates' face lit up in pain as his chest starting bleeding. He yelped a bit as the creature in his chest suddenly burst out and flew through the air towards Vegeta. Vegeta caught it in mid air with his left hand, and grinned darkly as the young alien squirmed in his grasp. With all his strength, he threw it into the wall, watching as the alien smacked the stone before simply dropping to the ground, not moving. Vegeta chuckled slightly at the easy kill, though his shoulder ached again once he did, causing him to clutch it protectively.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" he said as he slowly walked across the chamber to the other door. It was slammed shut however, and judging by the shape of the door, it only slid up and down.

"Damnit, it must have triggered shut when the temple started to shift," Bulma shrieked slightly.

"I guess we'll have to force it open then," Vegeta said as he placed his good arm up against the stone. Just as he started though, he heard sounds on the other side, and stepped backwards.

"What is it?" Bulma whispered. The door suddenly lit up with blue light, and some sort of cutting beam pierced through the left side of it and began to circle around. Bulma hugged her husband for protection as whatever was behind the door was coming through.

* * *

"Hmmm, which way to go this time?" Trunks asked as we reached a fork in our path, again.

"Well the center was a dead end, so it's either right or left, pick one!" I said impatiently.

"I don't know, this wasn't here when we started ya know!" he replied, exasperated.

"I guess I'll take a stab at it then," I said as I stepped into the three-way intersection. The fork on the left seemed to have warmer air coming from it, and the one of the right had a strange musty smell coming from it. It was the same smell of the aliens from what I could tell, only it was very feint. I could detect trace amounts of human scent in there as well, but I wasn't for certain.

"Well, I'd say this is the direction you went before, but the warmer air this way is probably the way to the core. All right, let's hurry and find them before that queen decides she's been here long enough," I said as we moved to the other path. We both ran down the darkened corridor, and the musty scent increased the entire time, along with a distinct human blood smell filtering through the air. I thought I heard a feint banging sound as we got closer, but I wasn't quite sure. We came to a stop at a large stone door, one that had a dead parasite alien lying dead nearby.

"This is it big brother. This is that sacrifice room or whatever it was called. It's where the eggs first appeared," Trunks whispered.

"I take it the door slammed shut on you guys," I said, as I looked it over.

Trunks nodded slowly, "I could lift it, but it wouldn't stay open."

"All right then, stand back, I'm going to cut it open," I said as I pulled the ancient stone from my pocket again.

"Why, I could lift it pretty easily before!" Trunks pointed out.

"Well, if we have to drag anyone out or are in a hurry, we don't want a huge heavy door in our way. It won't really matter if we leave it open or not, the aliens can go through the air ducts anyway," I said as I summoned my Psi sword from the stone.

"Okay, you're the boss," Trunks gave in as he stepped backwards. I stabbed into the side of the door and cut through rather easily as I made a circle extending from the ground to just about six feet up.

"You're up," I said, pointing to the door and shutting down my sword. Trunks charged it and pushed open the freshly cut stone until it fell backwards and into the room. The stench of the aliens mixed with human blood then increased several times as the air rushed out. The first thing I saw in there though was a surprised Saiyan prince and his blue haired mate.

"So, you made it after all," Vegeta noted as Trunks and I stepped through.

"Yeah," I nodded slightly. I spotted a slightly red jacket wrapped around Vegeta's right shoulder, which automatically meant some sort of injury. _Must be a bad one if he actually bothered to cover it up. _

"Oh Trunks, I'm so happy to see you!" Bulma cried out as she embraced her son.

"All right, we don't have much time. Let's get the hell out of here," Vegeta grumbled as he hobbled towards the door.

"Hold on, we need to hunt down these aliens and destroy every last one of them! We can't let them get to the surface!" I replied. This stopped Vegeta in his tracks as he glanced back at me.

"How do you know about that already? The woman didn't have any time to explain things!" Vegeta growled at me.

"I know enough. And while sealing up the tunnel might work, it's not a guarantee. We have to kill the egg-laying queen, and my guess is that she is near the core, or wherever the heat is coming from," I explained.

"You know about them? Don't you dare keep it hidden from me boy!" Vegeta roared.

"He's right, you need to kill every last one of them! You can't risk them getting to the surface!" a voice said from the far wall. I spotted one of Bulma's assistants, Dr. Redwood, hanging on the wall. Judging by the pathetic shape he was in, he was already impregnated with an alien.

"I'm sold, but how are we going to get through this maze before this queen decides to leave?" Bulma asked.

"She's a lot bigger than the others, she won't be able to travel through air ducts and such. There's a fork in the path just behind us, it likely leads there!" I said as I pointed back through the door.

"That doesn't explain how you know about all this," Vegeta growled.

"Later," I replied as I stepped towards Dr. Redwood.

"What are you doing now boy, leave him! He's going to be dead in a matter of hours anyway!" Vegeta shouted.

"I might be able to save him, you never know," I said as I started ripping the slimy bindings off of the doctor.

"He's right kid, just leave me. You don't have enough time to reach a hospital from here," Redwood grunted as I pulled him down.

"Don't need one yet, not when I can do it myself. Now I want you to sit still and close your eyes," I ordered. The doctor looked confused at this, but shrugged and complied. I grasped the stone again, but hesitated for just a moment. _Hope this works._

"Now I want you to concentrate with a single thought. Isolate a memory, something that made you feel good or happy. Hell, anything positive and not evil. Should be easy to reminisce at this point. Whatever happens, do not let go of this thought, do you understand?" I asked. Redwood didn't act like he understood, but I suppose that could be expected.

"Not really, what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'll tell you afterwards if it works. It won't work if you don't do what I just said," I replied. Redwood sighed and relaxed for a moment before a slight grin came across his face.

"Do you have it yet?" I asked.

"Yes, I was just thinking about the first time my wife and I…" he began as Trunks suddenly gagged.

"I don't need details, just focus on that thought if that's what makes you happy. And whatever you do, do not open your eyes until I say so!" I barked at him. He shook nervously for a moment but then calmed down for a moment before that smile returned. I then summoned my sword from the stone again and carefully refocused my own mind to a positive state.

"You can use your energy down here?" Vegeta shouted in disbelief, aggravating me again.

"Shut up!" I growled back at him before shifting back to the task. I summoned more energy and allowed my concentrated sword to slacken and expand until it was nearly four inches in diameter and glowed slightly white, though it remained mostly blue. _Just as I thought it might do, well I'll know pretty quickly if his thoughts aren't straight. _I slowly stabbed forward through Redwood's chest, watching for any signs of pain. I saw none, but he did at least notice the light and change in temperature. I moved the sword up and down through his body until I heard something inside him shift a bit. A painful grimace came across Redwood's face, prompting me to hurry.

"Keep focusing, I've almost got it!" I reassured him. I chased whatever was moving down and felt my sword tear into it. Redwood's grimace lightened, and after a few seconds of waiting and slowly moving around the same area, I pulled the sword out and shut it off. His eyes shot open as he caught his breath, and color returned to his face.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Killed it," I said simply with a grin. He ripped open his button shirt to see nothing but a very light burn mark, no more serious than low-grade sunburn.

"You may want to take a few scans when we get back, just in case I missed something. You're welcome," I said as I gave him a hand up.

"Okay boy, just how did you do that?" Vegeta grumbled.

"This stone allows me to concentrate a little Psi energy. That red headed girl we encountered gave it to me on the way here. Something about this place being sacred and having a natural suppression field for spirit energy. As far as removing that alien in him, that's just knowing how to use my power, nothing more. It was trial and error with Zeratul the same day he showed me how to freeze things. And speaking of the Protoss, whoever hired these guys got a hold of some of their leftover technology and set up a ki restrictor out in the snow somewhere, she told me about that too," I explained. Vegeta looked somewhat satisfied with my answer, though I knew he was still waiting for how I knew about the aliens to begin with. A sudden hissing sound got our attention though, and we glanced over to see several aliens crawling over the walls and coming through the opposite doorway. I backed up towards the door we had entered through, motioning for the others to get there quickly. I spotted several eggs lying around the room, and some were starting to open as well. _Time to find out how much power this thing can handle._ I grasped the stone and held it sideways in front of me as I started focusing as much power as I could into my hand. It slowly leaked in there and sparked a bit, but it didn't gather up near as much as I wanted. _Looks like Leira wasn't kidding about it not handling very much power, I don't have enough for a powerful beam. Guess I'll just focus it a bit harder._

I shifted the stone to my left hand and then held it across my right arm as I opened my Psi filled palm. I spotted six full-grown aliens crawling towards me quickly, and released the glowing ball in my hand at each of them at the same time. The blue lightning poured out and zapped them all down. I kept up the effort until they literally blew up and showered the floor with their acid blood. I pulled back and reenergized the lightning blast again, this time aiming for the eggs and parasites in the room. I spread the energy out a little wider so I didn't miss anything, and fired again for several seconds. Psi lightning streaked through the room in a thick and wide burst, striking everything multiple times. All of the parasites I saw instantly dropped and the eggs fell apart from the inside. I stopped momentarily, watching for any real movement, and seeing none.

"All right, let's go find that queen!" I said as I ran out with the others.

-

About twenty minutes or so into the trip towards the central core, Vegeta started to grow impatient, not that it was a surprise.

"Where is this blasted place supposed to be?" he growled as we were still slowly running down the corridors. I shook my head slightly at this, though I expected Vegeta to be a little frustrated. I had considered sending them back to the surface and going on alone with Trunks, but I didn't want to risk splitting up with Vegeta injured and without his energy. But at the rate that the prince was getting angry, it was getting tempting.

"It's probably quite deep in the temple, and we haven't gone down very far yet," Redwood said.

"Argh, what a waste of effort. We should just go back to the surface and wait it out there. Then at least we can search for the Protoss device while we wait," Vegeta suggested as he came to a stop. The rest of us stopped as well, and I allowed my momentary frustration to come out again.

"If you want to go back now, be my guest. I'm not turning back until that thing is dead or until I'm forced to. Don't be turning coward on me now," I spat back at him. What I got in return wasn't one of the death glares I wanted to remember, but he got the message.

"Perhaps we should split up boy, since you're in such control of the situation. We're being slowed down anyway," Vegeta said with a slight grin of arrogance.

"Hey, I resent that!" Bulma screeched at him. He had said that just to undermine me, but it did point out a good suggestion at the moment.

"That might actually be a good idea, but one of us should go with them back to the surface. Since you are being slowed by your injury, you should go back with them while Trunks and I go ahead. Only problem is that I don't know how many aliens are left and where exactly they are. My gut says that they will proceed this way in order to protect their queen, but that doesn't mean they aren't done hunting either," I pointed out.

"Argh, I'm fine!" Vegeta grunted back. I spotted movement behind him and Dr. Redwood, and saw several aliens creeping up on us. Vegeta realized what I was staring at and sunk into a stance as Redwood moved behind him. Behind me I heard more movement and spotted four more coming near, making a total of eight near us.

"Trunks, protect that side with Vegeta, I'll handle these!" I shouted as I grasped the stone in preparation. The four aliens before me backed off a bit when my sword reappeared, as if they had sensed me use it before. I heard Trunks' battle cry behind me as he attacked one of the aliens there. I ran towards another and slashed it in two before it could even take a step. I heard Trunks stomp down hard on the other one, and it ceased to move. _All right, down to six, that was easy enough._ The remaining aliens suddenly perked up and seemed to sense something in the air, though I couldn't tell what it was. The three before me suddenly turned and ran in the other direction and the other three followed along the walls, running past and completely ignoring us. For a brief moment I detected a screech go through the air, but it was so feint that it must've come from quite a distance away.

"What the hell?" Vegeta asked first.

"Maybe the queen is calling them for whatever reason, I could barely hear it but I'm guessing she's down this way! You three head back to the surface just in case there's another way out of here. Trunks and I will go on ahead and stop them!" I ordered, though Vegeta grumbled at me for it.

"Hey, maybe the other aliens finally got here and are taking care of the queen. Maybe that's why they are rushing to help her!" Bulma suggested.

"Other aliens?" I asked with a questioning eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, whoever brought them to this planet in the first place. It's written on the walls around here, it says that these aliens were worshipped as gods and that they used humans to breed those monsters so they could hunt them. It said if they didn't beat the monsters, that they would leave nothing alive to ensure that the creatures didn't escape," Redwood explained.

"It must have been those other aliens that lured us down here to begin with. They had to have activated the heat bloom. The whole situation with the mercenaries is probably mere coincidence since Gates admitted that they didn't really know about the monsters," Bulma added.

Trunks scuffed slightly, "Well at least we know how they got here, but I haven't seen anything thing other than those freaks yet!" I narrowed my eyes slightly, something about this wasn't quite adding up. I had seen the dead humans on the surface, but they looked like that had been just beaten to death and thrown aside. _If there are more aliens down here, we should have seen a few by now. _

"Did you guys encounter anything else down here?" I asked, gazing at Bulma and Vegeta.

"Yeah, a big yellow robot that Vegeta beat up, but I can tell it was made on Earth, so it couldn't be that!" Bulma explained. _So either they are running late, not coming, or are ready to wipe this place out if we don't succeed. Either way, we have to move forward to be sure they aren't down here. _

"Head back to the surface. If you see any of these other guys, try to hold them off or explain that we'll take care of that queen. Trunks, let's get moving now!" I said as I promptly chased down the aliens, he followed a second later.

-

Trunks and I ran at near top ground speed as we followed the alien scent. The air continually got warmer and I could see a feint red glow coming from a distant part of the long corridor.

"That must be it up there!" Trunks pointed.

"Maybe, let's not get our hopes up just yet!" I replied. Another minute of running and we came to a long and steep stairwell that went down. At the top of it, there was a large warrior statue holding a sheathed sword, one that Trunks was eyeballing. Then he grabbed it and pulled it loose.

"Trunks, we don't have time for games!" I barked at him.

"Why can't I, he's not using it after all! Besides, it isn't fair that you can use your sword when I can't even feel my energy! It might come in handy you know!" Trunks scuffed at me with his nose in the air. _Well I guess it couldn't hurt right now, _I thought as he strapped the sword around his shoulder, looking like a miniature version of his older self. At the bottom, I could see a lightened path surrounded by flaming pits.

"Let's go," I said as I quickly jumped to the ground far below, landing carefully with Trunks right behind me. The chamber we entered was large, but very warm compared to the entire temple. At the back of it, I spotted large chains hanging from the ceiling over some sort of throne like surface. As we got closer, we saw that some of the chains had broken off, and among them was a large, round and slimy object and even a few more eggs lying sideways. I approached carefully, seeing that the chains were melted, and that the large round object had a big enough opening at one end to hold one of those eggs.

"Gross," Trunks commented.

"I think that's the egg sack or something, but where's the queen?" I asked as I glanced around. The big alien wasn't something that could easily hide as far as I could tell, and I didn't see her anywhere. I did noticed how melted the chains were though, and this gave me the answer right before Trunks came up with it.

"Those other creeps must have used the acid blood to free her or something, look there's a melted chain over there!" Trunks pointed out. I turned and spotted one of the large chains discarded farther away, along a different path than we had taken that also led out of the chamber.

"She escaped, damnit!" I groaned.

"Well, we can just chase her down then!" Trunks suggested. Just as he started the other way, I thought differently.

"No, let's go back the way we came Trunks. We can meet up with the others along the way and it should be fast enough that we could beat her back to the surface and seal the tunnel if possible. Since we don't know that way, we could be slowed down by the maze of unknown obstacles. Once we get up there, we find that Protoss device, shut it off, and blow this place sky high!" I suggested. Trunks nodded at this idea and followed me back up the stairs, both of us running as fast as we could.

**A/n: I feel the need to point out that the majority of you may have missed something a few chapters ago. I'm not going to say what it was, but it can be considered a very clever cover up. If you caught it, good for you for noticing. But I seriously doubt that you did. On the other hand you can just stay tuned and let it work itself out, and then slap your head wondering, "How in the hell did I miss that?" **

**No preview this time either.**


	18. Escape

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 17: Escape**

"What the hell? You're back already?!" Vegeta growled as Trunks and I ran up towards them. He had managed to get back to the main path branch-off with his wife and the assistant, but I saw no sign of the aliens yet.

"The queen escaped somehow before we got there and went down a different path. I can only assume that it also leads up here. Did you guys see anything?" I asked.

"No, it's been very quiet," Bulma said as I took the lead into the main hallway leading to the entrance. A fresh musty smell entered my nose and soon I saw traces of slime on the ground and walls ahead.

"Ah shit, she's already ahead of us!" I pointed out.

"Impossible! Those things are not that fast!" Vegeta claimed.

"Well you three were hobbling around while we were much deeper in the tunnel, so she's had plenty of time with the other aliens to help her!" I said, drawing his anger some more.

"Well then super slick, maybe you should hurry up and head her off!" Vegeta suggested. _That might leave them vulnerable though if there's more aliens around. But he does have a point._

"Fine, but don't lag too far behind! Come on Trunks!" I said as I dashed ahead. All of us were running at this point, though the decisively weakened Vegeta was hanging back at near human speed. I reached the exit to the temple first with Trunks only steps behind. I stopped for only a moment to scan around, though I didn't need to, I already saw the small cluster of aliens making a break for it.

"Let's go!" Trunks shouted as he ran down the steps. I had a different strategy and backed up just a bit before running hard and jumping high into the air. Combined with my forward momentum, I covered much more ground quickly and landed a good ways from the temple in the hardened snow, well ahead of Trunks and less than a hundred feet from the aliens. The aliens spun and hissed as I glared death at them. I couldn't detect any sign of the bigger queen alien, but I saw the large tracks in the snow; she had at least been here recently. I pulled out the ancient stone and felt for my Psi energy, triggering a quick reaction that turned into the blue sword. The aliens all backpedaled a bit once the blue blade formed in front of them. A loud screech sounded from the large tunnel, and the aliens marched towards me, though hesitantly, as if trying to buy as much time as possible for their queen. _Well, at least she's still in the tunnel. I might be able to finish this without needing any more power if I act fast enough._

"Hey wait up for me!" Trunks shouted. I didn't bother waiting at all and sped towards the closest alien, slicing its head in half before it could budge. As it slumped to the ground, I spun and hacked through the midsections of two more. That left three, aside from the big one. They shifted position into a straight line from left to right, as if to act as a wall. I casually stepped over the remains of the first set and slowly walked towards the waiting trio, whom were all shifting nervously. _Okay, which one will be the fodder first? _The one in the middle didn't wait for me to attack and chose to take the initiative by jumping towards me. I sidestepped left and held out my right arm as it came down, hitting the sword instead. As chunks of its head and body severed and scattered to the ground, the remaining two took up positions to either side in my path to the tunnel. I stopped my advance and eyed them both carefully; neither was going to move first until I did. They might have been somewhat savage creatures, but they could hatch an attack plan quickly, and this one was obvious. While I attacked one, the other would attack me. I doubted it would be any more effective then anything else they had come up with recently, but I needed to get past the obstacle they presented.

"Here I come!" Trunks announced as he jumped towards the alien on the right with a flying kick. _Timely distraction as always._ The aliens weren't prepared for this, but chose to deal with Trunks first: their mistake. Trunks knocked the first one down easily, but was intercepted by the second just as quickly. As he was tussling for position, I grabbed the beast by its tail and swung it off of Trunks and into the nearest icy wall. I moved in to finish it off, but found that I didn't need to when it stayed where it was. There happened to be a nice, thick spike of ice sticking out, which impaled the alien through the chest and slowly melted apart as the alien died. As Trunks got to his feet, I stepped down on the neck of the alien he had knocked down, and stabbed it cleanly through the head before it could react. Death was instantaneous, and it stopped squirming after only a few seconds.

"Not fair!" Trunks whined.

"I'm sure you'll have your shot one of these days, but we don't have time to spare at the moment. Maybe I'll let you have the next one, if she survives long enough for you to attack that is," I grinned slightly as Trunks stuck out his tongue.

-

"I see he's quickly becoming a decent sword wielder," Bulma said as she walked by the piles of alien remains.

"Pathetic cretins shouldn't even get that close," Vegeta growled behind her.

"Let's get going, that queen is almost at the surface!" I stated, attempting to get them moving a little faster. The retrieval sled was not very big, but it looked like it could hold the five of us, if someone rode in front. I directed them to board the sled so that Vegeta and Bulma were on securely, with Trunks and Dr. Redwood towards the back. I held on to the very front and crouched down in a ready position, nodding to Bulma to set the sled to retrieve. A slight jolt hit as the sled began to reel itself in, pulling all of us towards the surface at a very quick rate. The disgusting scent of the queen alien invaded my sinuses, especially as we got closer to the snowy landscape.

"Don't slow down until you absolutely have to!" I yelled, getting a nod out of Bulma.

"I'll crash it if we have to; the snow should catch us pretty well!" she said. Then I saw it, the long and large tendrils of the queen just disappearing over the very top of the opening.

"Destroy that abomination boy!" Vegeta grunted his encouragement. I nodded as the end of the tunnel quickly arrived, and I grasped the ancient stone once again as I lowered my crouched position just a bit in preparation. The cable jerked just slightly and I jumped straight up. The sled came flying out and off to the side, while I locked onto the queen and summoned my sword once again as I soared towards her large form.

"Take this you bitch!" I shouted just as she spun around with a claw outstretched. I came down with an overhead slash, slicing clean through it, and leaving a slightly dripping but severed arm, plus a shrieking queen. She backpedaled a few steps while swinging her injury around, as if trying to shake off the pain.

"Don't worry; it'll be over soon," I said with a frown. The queen's tail shifted around, its needle-like ending now aimed right at me. She stabbed forward once it was in position, and I barely had the time to dodge it. I sidestepped right clumsily, giving her enough time to retract and reload. I readied the sword for the next stroke and even slid left just slightly to center myself again, trying to bait her in. It worked, and she struck slightly right this time, giving me the chance to dodge and then slice a great deal of the rough tail. Acid blood spilled out and splattered in several directions. I managed to avoid that as well, leaving an even angrier queen with very few methods of winning left. I held off my attack for a brief moment, letting the queen try something else before I ended things once and for all. This turned out to be a mistake when I heard the first cracking sound. It wasn't much, but when the light from my sword dimmed and then vanished completely, I figured out what was wrong. The stone was literally crumbling in my hands, cutting off my power completely since we were still so close to the temple. _Great, figures this battle wasn't going to be that easy. Probably shouldn't have used that Psi storm earlier._

"Hey Trunks, it looks like I'll need that assist after all! Everyone else look for that Protoss device, but do not get too close to the fight!" I shouted as I backpedaled, trying to bait the queen into following. She hissed angrily and stomped in my direction. Trunks ran quickly towards her from the side, metal sword in hand as he jumped into the air. The queen still appeared to be locked on me, but suddenly stopped and shifted just slightly. My visual senses translated the movement, but not quite in time.

"Trunks watch out!" I shouted. Trunks kept pressing, but was caught in midair by the queen's good arm, which sent him flying, sword falling harmlessly to the side. _Damnit, her senses are excellent. Fighting her is going to be a bit more difficult without energy. We gotta find that damn ki dampener. _The queen had now turned around and set her sights on Trunks, who was still a bit stunned, lying in the snow.

"Hey bitch, over here!" I shouted at her. She barely acknowledged my presence now, still marching towards Trunks, who froze just a bit in surprise. I didn't bother waiting to see if he would recover and ran through the snow as best I could to take her by surprise. She swung with her dismembered arm, which sailed just short when I ducked out of the way. I rolled back when her good arm clawed at me, leaving a gaping hole around her large midsection. I jumped at the chance and landed a stiff punch there. I landed and watched her stumble backwards, but then recover and hiss back. _Big shocker there, this one makes the others seem like nothing._ I lowered into a guard stance as I back stepped cautiously, I didn't need to be making any careless mistakes now. Trunks had now recovered and was creeping up from behind, but was mimicking my action of staying on guard. The queen hissed at both of us, but hesitated on which to go after. She backed off a bit and turned slightly as we closed in to keep her guessing, eventually putting both of us in front of her to either side.

"How should we do this?" Trunks asked once he was close enough.

"Carefully. As you can see, she makes the others look extremely weak," I warned.

"Yeah no kidding! For a second there I thought she broke a rib! But Dad still hits harder!" he said with a cocky grin.

"I'm sure, but don't get overconfident since we're not exactly in top form either. You go in on the right while I take the left, but only counter attack when the time is right; don't rush into it!" I ordered.

"Hey, I know how to fight! Just don't screw up your part and make me do all the work!" he snapped back. I rolled my eyes slightly at this; it wasn't entirely unexpected after all. The queen continued to hiss and screech as we closed in slowly, watching for any sudden movement. Trunks suddenly veered off before anything happened though.

"Trunks, where are you going?" I rasped at him.

"I'm gonna get my new sword back so I can slice off her head! You can hold her down!" Trunks said as he turned his back. The queen didn't even have to think about things and moved towards him swiftly. I ran after her as Trunks nearly reached the metal sword. He spun when he heard the massive beast coming and dodged her attack, which threw a large amount of snow up everywhere.

"Awww, where'd it go?" he cried out as he brushed the cold white off himself.

"Focus on the moment Trunks. We'll get your precious toy back later!" I yelled, getting the queen's attention again. She stomped in my direction, bearing down as I sunk back into stance. She swung with her good arm first, missing but throwing up even more snow to cloud the area. The white mist fogged up in front of me, enshrouding the beast.

"Hey Verto, I found it!" Trunks shouted. My eyes shifted by reaction, and that was enough to throw me off guard for the moment. The queen's tail came swinging in from the left, striking my side. I landed sideways in the snow before getting up in slight anger. Not at the beast, nor myself, but at Trunks for continuing to play this like a kid's game.

"I got you now freak show!" Trunks shouted as he charged with the sword in hand. The queen was surprisingly crouched down, with her left arm in the snow.

"Watch it Trunks!" I warned. The queen lifted up and a large amount of snow clouded the air once again, confusing Trunks when he got most of it in his face. _Damn this thing is smart; clouding our senses helps against any counter attacks we make. _Trunks was picked out of the air by a large claw, planting him into the snow again. The queen screeched before stomping away again.

"Oh man, that wasn't supposed to happen!" Trunks groaned as he recovered.

"No kidding, now quit acting like this is a game. We have to stop that thing here and now! Powers or not, I'm not going to be fighting off millions of her children!" I growled.

"Okay, Okay!" Trunks said, as he finally seemed to concentrate on the dire situation and re-sheathed his sword. I shook my head slightly; the ease of defeating her spawn before had led him into a false sense of security. The queen meanwhile was in hot pursuit of an incredibly frightened Dr. Redwood. Trunks and I started running after her, but with the deep snow and her apparent ground speed we were not going to catch up quickly enough. She roared and chased him down as he fled towards the large boat nearby. Just as she was only a few feet away, she stopped for some reason and glanced upwards. She went down hard when a small vehicle plowed into her, completely out of control. I looked over to see Vegeta standing there, holding his bad shoulder in pain. _Even injured he makes an impact._ The queen managed to move the ATV off before getting up and plaguing the air with her lack of language.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that to defeat us!" Vegeta roared with pride as he strode towards her large form. With Trunks and I closing in, this backed the queen up towards the ship, and also into a fleeing Dr. Redwood, whom she grabbed with her large hand. Trunks jumped to run to his aid, but I managed to grab his arm when I saw the queen's positioning. As Redwood struggled to maneuver out of her tight grip, she turned towards us and opened her mouth wide. Instead of piercing the air with sound again, that weird second set of jaws appeared again, right behind Redwood's head. He froze in fear when he felt the hot breath on the back of his neck.

"Back off Trunks!" I rasped as I did so.

"But why?"

"It's called a hostage, now shut up and do it!" The queen seemed satisfied once he stopped his advance and turned to Vegeta with the same threat. I knew Vegeta though, and at this point Redwood was as good as dead.

"You think I care about that measly human at all?" Vegeta growled as he continued marching on her. The jaws opened wide and slid forward just a bit, only inches away from his neck. Redwood visibly broke down, the amount of fear running through his head was overwhelming him and he began to pray to random beings.

"Go ahead and kill him, see if it matters! Your kind is still going to be wiped out today!" Vegeta cocked a grin.

"Vegeta!" Bulma shouted angrily from her position near the other vehicles.

"Shut up woman! The damned thing can't be reasoned with anyway!" he shouted back. _And a timely spat, as always._ As husband and wife bickered for a few moments, Redwood managed to slip free briefly, before the queen snatched him up again and hissed into his face. Then she leaned down towards his chest and stared at it in intrigue, before hissing again. _Uh oh._

"She's realized I killed the one inside, let's go!" I shouted as I ran forward to stop her. The queen didn't pause this time, and a large splatter of red filled the air before coloring the snow with Redwood's insides. She had pierced right through his whole chest cavity, leaving a hole large enough to toss a Frisbee through. Trunks stopped in pure surprise to the scene, while his father shared an equally perplexed expression, in his own way. I didn't look over, but I had a pretty good idea what Bulma's facial features looked like. The muffled scream confirmed it. I stared at the ground as my fist shook a bit in frustration. I knew getting angry wasn't going to help, but that didn't stop the rage from building. There wasn't any power building from it either, thus there was no true advantage, but right now I just didn't care. It didn't help matters when the broken body landed at my feet a moment later, with the sound of a challenging screech filling the air. It did stop me from thinking through this logically.

"Trunks," I said softly.

"What is it, do you have a plan?" he asked.

"Yeah I do. Kill it!" I shouted as I charged forward.

-

I dashed in quickly, only to receive a nasty claw swipe to the face when my punch missed. I landed on a knee and jumped up to land a kick to the large alien's head. She stumbled but swung back, hitting me all over with a single hit. I winced as I crashed into the side of the ship, knowing what Trunks found out earlier, the hard way. Trunks took the opportunity to grab the alien's tail and attempt to swing her around. The queen curled it back and bashed Trunks in the body, putting him in the snow once again. She spun to see Vegeta's vicious right hand knock her down. He landed painfully as he continued to hold his left shoulder protectively, but stood his ground as the alien recovered. She stomped forward quickly and swiped at him, missing the first time when he jumped, but not the second when he couldn't protect his left side. Vegeta groaned loudly with pain that I didn't want to imagine.

I got back to my feet and stomped forward, stopping when I set my eyes on the fallen ATV. The queen had her back turned again on top of a taller snow bank, giving me the silent go signal. I stepped lightly and turned enough to line up with the queen and the vehicle, adjusting my aim while she hissed at the other two Saiyans. I grabbed the ATV by the rear part of the motor, trying not to break anything as I hoisted it off the ground while bent down next to it. The queen made no notice and I quickly spun and threw the broken vehicle straight at her. She turned as she likely sensed it through the air, but was unable to avoid it completely. It caught her in the side, putting her on the ground momentarily, but out of my sight. I ran up the small hill, only to stop in my tracks when the same ATV came flying back into my face. It struck and took me with it to the ground, but this time it fell apart partially, its durability wearing thin. I cringed slightly from the light pain before ripping one of the tires off and hurling that instead. She deflected the tire easily, but took a kick to the back from Trunks as result. When she managed to get him off, I tossed another tire. This time Vegeta jumped at the chance, but still she took the brunt of the assault without much visible effort. _Man, it's like fighting a damn tank with your arms tied._ I ripped out what was left of the axel and considered throwing the engine at her instead. When I literally saw its remnants crumbling, I growled angrily and threw it backwards towards the ship, accidentally taking out the boarding ramp instead.

"Hey! Watch where your throwing things! We want to be able to leave here ya know!" Bulma shouted at me. I ignored this for the most part and took the long pipe part of the axel with me towards the queen, who was fending off Trunks and Vegeta surprisingly well, though they were not attacking together. I charged in and leapt into the air just as she knocked them both away with her tail. She spun just in time to receive a pipe blow to the face. I spun and swung it into her backside next, sending her tail into a flailing frenzy as she crashed into the snow. I jumped on top and prepared the finishing blow for the back of her head. She shifted, throwing my balance off and I fell into the cold snow. I dropped the pipe in the process, but managed to get to my feet and grab the upper part of the tail, rather than the lower like Trunks had done earlier. She screeched and reached for my own leg, grabbing it and tugging hard. I lost my grip in surprise and was flung back towards the ship, crashing into the wall next to the battered ramp and vehicle.

"Damnit!" I groaned by reaction as I held my aching head. It filled with a ringing sound as expected, but it sounded different than a typical massive migraine. I glanced over and saw a tiny set of blue flashing lights blinking at me from under the smashed ramp. _No way, right under our noses?_ I dashed over and pulled the source out of the snow. It was a small and rounded off pylon crystal with machinery wired into it. I hadn't seen the devices that the Protoss had used before other than the ki collars, so I wasn't sure what to expect. There was also a large switch on it, marked with settings of "on" and "off". I flipped the switch and watched as the device whirred to sleep, shutting off the lighting in the process. My body jerked by reaction when I felt a flood of energy pouring back in, though it was a bit slow. It was my missing ki coming back, and I wasn't the only one who felt it. Vegeta was laughing as he got to his feet slowly, his aura shining brightly. Trunks was also on his feet, and was now sporting a golden hue. He looked furious, probably at his own mistakes during the fight. And he likely knew that Vegeta was going to chew him out for it later in training. His blood raging scream got the queen's attention as she stared down a Super Saiyan with a shining sword. He charged in quickly, overtaking the queen in less than a second and flooring her with a fist to the midsection. The queen bounced off the wasteland snow from the vicious attack, clearly feeling the difference in Trunks now. He chased her down and kicked her into the air and then intercepting the large alien and bashing her back into the surface. Trunks stayed in midair for a brief moment before his aura lit up the sky with channeled fury. The swirl of golden fury streaked towards the alien with murderous intent. The queen scrambled to her two feet, but it was already over. Trunks sliced clean right through her large head diagonally, leaving a unique looking scar as half of it fell off. The sword disintegrated from the acid blood, which only seemed to anger him more. He glided backwards for a brief moment before pulling his arms back above and behind his head, charging a mean blue colored attack.

"Buster Cannon!" he shouted as he brought it forward. The alien's remains vanished along with the snow with the explosion, leaving a brown but still somewhat frozen crater.

-

Trunks recovered slowly from his blast, but more likely due to transforming with an angry burst. As he landed and let the situation dawn on him, his mood quickly lightened.

"Yeah, take that! I saved the day! Oh yeah! I'm totally awesome!" he celebrated while Vegeta growled at him a bit.

"Well Mister totally awesome, perhaps you can fight every battle by yourself next time. I'm sure none of them will require our pathetic abilities!" Vegeta said smugly, silencing Trunks as I walked up.

"Well, here it is," I said as I allowed Vegeta to eyeball the modified Protoss technology as Bulma came closer.

"It's smaller than I thought it would be. Since its partially made with Earth technology, I assumed there would have been a large transmitter or something," Bulma noted.

"It matters not; destroy it!" Vegeta ordered. I nodded in approval, but Bulma grabbed it from my hands.

"Hold on there. We could examine this to better discover the mystery behind this whole ordeal. I'd like to know why we were left for dead after all," Bulma explained.

"I thought you said you already knew who was behind it?" Vegeta barked.

"Generally, it might not be as big of an operation as I originally thought. It may only involve a few key members of their organization. Patience Vegeta, this will require patience," she replied coolly.

"Whatever, fix this shoulder boy!" he ordered me.

"I can't yet. We're still too close to the temple; I still can't feel any Psi energy. That stone fell apart and I doubt it would have held up to a healing job anyway, that takes a lot of energy and it's a bit risky," I said.

"What do you mean by risky?" Bulma asked. I sighed; I still hadn't mentioned the possibility of mutations caused by my powers yet. It wasn't something I was very comfortable talking about, even though the warning from Old Kai was very real. I had already seen a change in Bulma, and it wasn't because she was finally over being pregnant again. It was like her age had partially reversed and she was back into her prime, not that she had really left it, but there was a difference. Vegeta noticed my hesitation, but only glared at me to answer.

"Old Kai mentioned that my powers might induce some sort of random mutation in those weaker than myself. He didn't specify, but I think at least a few people are already affected by it. That goes for Gohan too," I explained.

"What?" Vegeta shouted.

"Well are they good or bad effects?" Bulma asked nervously.

"Like I said, random. I just don't know, but when I cured Viro's virus, I think it kicked in. You mentioned that everyone's immune system kicked into overdrive right?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I just figured that since the immune system is always overactive during and shortly after illness anyway, that all those other viral strains were nearly wiped out. That and Viro's little bug pretty much destroyed every cell in the body, including other bacteria and such. Are you saying your healing trick can cause adverse conditions?" she asked.

"Not just that. I think just being in my proximity can do it over time, and as I said, same thing for Gohan. I'm not sure who all has been affected other than that little change you mentioned, but I know you have been at least," I replied, pointing at Bulma.

"How so?" she asked, slightly alarmed along with Vegeta.

"Feeling a little younger?" I asked sharply, causing them both to gasp.

"That's what it was?" Bulma shrieked slightly as she glanced over her body.

Vegeta glanced over her briefly before turning back to me, "You say you don't know the extent of these mutations? Can it affect Saiyans as well?" he asked, looking a little distraught.

"I would imagine it's possible, have you noticed anything?" I asked. His gaze went to his injured shoulder, which he was no longer holding so protectively. He then ripped off the wrapping, revealing a still very battered and reddened shoulder, but nothing close to what I thought for an acid splash. Scar tissue had filled in, and there was just barely a hint of residual scarring and blisters left over. At worst I would have expected a few days of downtime out of what I now saw.

"It's barely touched compared to earlier! He was lucky it didn't melt his arm completely off, how the hell did it heal so fast?" Bulma asked. I sighed slightly, and Vegeta's question was also answered.

"It started on the way back from Planet Auir. It isn't anything like that regeneration we saw out of the Zerg infested Saiyans, but my wounds heal much faster than any Saiyan's should, especially the minor ones. Until you shut that thing off, it was dragging me down in that fight. Now that my energy has returned, the pain has lessened by quite a bit," Vegeta explained.

"Well, I can't complain! At least I'm keeping this body for a long while if I stick around you kid. I won't get any younger will I?" she asked, hopeful.

"I have no idea, its not like I can control it," I replied, staring at the ground slightly.

"Can't you just suppress your energy then?" Vegeta asked.

"Problem is when I might have to use it, and we don't actually know if suppressing it makes any difference. I would think yes, but again, I don't know," I said, exasperated.

"Hey, when do I get a cool new power?" Trunks piped up suddenly.

"Shut up boy!" Vegeta growled back.

"Well I suppose we better call the cleanup crew for this mess, no need to leave all this equipment out. Still, I'm curious about sticking around for a while longer," Bulma added.

"For what?" Vegeta grunted.

"Well, we never saw the other aliens that were mentioned down there. And Gates specifically said that it was their heat bloom that lured us here, so where are they?" she asked. Vegeta glanced towards me as I thought this over, but I knew less than he did about it.

"Well I know I never saw anything other than those statues down there. Maybe they just never arrived or something," I said.

"I'm not so sure, when I first detected the temple, a few proximity sensors went off from one of the satellites. It vanished only a few minutes afterwards and I still hadn't figured out what it was. Then I detected the heat bloom not long afterwards. Actually there were two, one in space and the other was here. The one in space vanished quickly though, that's why I didn't pay it any mind, probably just some solar debris or something," Bulma noted. I stared at her wide-eyed, alarmed at this.

"That wasn't anywhere near any close asteroids was it?" I asked.

"Maybe, but I think it was a little closer to one of them, but it was gone so quick that I don't recall," she replied. I sighed slightly, but kept silent on what might have happened. The second heat bloom was not something they would have caused; it was Gohan's fault. When I had been attempting to track a nearby asteroid for him to blow up, they must have gotten in the way somehow when he fired his blast. _I guess I can always hope that the rest of their people assume the worst and never come back. Blowing up their temple would probably help._ I needn't worry about that little detail; Vegeta was always up to the task of destroying property. With that thought safely tucked away, Bulma called her own employees to clean up the mass of equipment while Vegeta turned the temple into ashes with his Big Bang attack.

**A/N: For those wondering what you "missed" that last part was it. Seems so blatantly obvious now doesn't it? I was never planning to bring the predators in, and if that's what everyone was hoping for, too bad! I'll let the AVP guys ruin both stories on their own, and that's quite a shame in and of itself since I love seeing different kinds of aliens trashing each other. Obviously that means I'm not doing anything with the AVP sequel either. This was specifically meant as an intro to the next series of events.**


	19. The Rich and Pompous

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 18: The Rich and Pompous**

The next few days were rather routine, though I couldn't help but detect a deafening silence that shouldn't have been there. Vegeta's shoulder still took some time to recover, especially when he refused to be healed once my spirit power came back. Personally I think he just wanted to test how well his own recovery would take without a boost behind it. By day two though, he was throwing punches again, and Trunks got the receiving end of most of them due to his mistakes in the previous battle. Lenz kept to herself oddly enough, though I could certainly detect the signs of serious hangover in her system when we got back. It was Bulma that was being too quiet for her usual routine. I didn't press her about it, but I had a hunch as to what it was about. I waited till the third day to confront her about it, and did so as directly as I could so she wouldn't dodge the question, and while Vegeta was in the new gravity room, sparring with the holograms.

"So, have you figured out who hired the mercenaries?" I asked straight away. She flinched slightly at this, but relaxed for the moment, she apparently hadn't expected me to come at her with that so soon. She was lucky if she felt that way; I was ready for action within minutes of leaving the temple.

"Yes and no. I do know that they worked for a man named XS Cash, who happens to be the richest man in the world. But whether he actually knew about the operation or not is still up in the air, he's not usually one to put others in danger. It might have been one of the CEOs or scientists. He owns multiple companies all around the world and a lot of them revolve around both science and military aspects, and he's our chief rival with many products. When the Zerg were here, it was assumed that his empire would collapse and a lot of his money would vanish trying to build it back up. Well, he recovered just fine and the money didn't go anywhere. If anything, he's flourishing," she explained.

"I see why you said to be patient. I don't suppose you've narrowed down the possibilities a bit?" I asked.

"From what I can tell, there are only a few under Cash's influence that could have hired those mercenaries and only with Cash's approval. So at the very least, he knows about what went down, maybe not in huge detail but he at least knows there was an operation. I'm planning on paying him a visit tomorrow to discuss things as rationally as possible and work this horrible incident out. Don't tell Vegeta," she warned.

"I won't tell him on one condition. That I go with you," I replied coolly.

"No! Having you along might only make things worse! This is a political and financial nightmare waiting to happen and I don't want you guys getting mixed up in it! Cash used to be business partners with Mr. Satan and they had a very bad fallout, which has turned him against martial artists and the like. You coming along won't help the situation!" she said sternly.

"I'm going, or else you won't be. I'm not going to take the chance that they'll take advantage of that meeting," I replied as calmly as possible.

"Oh Verto, I seriously doubt they would be that foolish!" Bulma said reassuringly, though I wasn't buying it.

"Tell that to the guys who tried to leave you for dead a few days ago," I retorted. Her silence was enough to tell me that she was in agreement.

"I promise I won't act rashly, in fact I may not say a word and let you do the talking. My presence alone should at least clear a few things up, and I'll be able to tell who's lying and who isn't. I will speak out though if he fails to acknowledge something. Besides, letting Vegeta know would be a nightmare for all parties involved, and I don't want to subject everyone to that outcome," I said with a slight grin. Bulma sighed, I had her pinned and she knew it.

"I think I liked you better when you had emotional breakdowns and a lot less of a brain. You certainly kept things interesting, but simple. Fine, we leave for North City at six in the morning!"

-

The trip to North City was long and quiet. Bulma had demanded that we take her private limousine there, which made the ride much longer. I thought I knew why: being a rich and famous woman she wanted to arrive in style. She certainly had dressed the part with her blue colored blazer. She had attempted to lure me into a formal outfit with the promise of a good meal, but when I threatened to change her outfit into a clown suit, she backed down and allowed me to stay in my green and blue uniform. North City itself was looking a lot better than it did when the Zerg had been on Earth. It hadn't really been hit that hard aside from some minor skirmishes on the outskirts, but it had been completely evacuated for a time. It didn't take long for me to see what Bulma had been talking about; this Cash guy was loaded. Hard not to be when you own over half of the city, not to mention all but a few skyscrapers in the business section. Even leaving at six in the morning, we didn't arrive till early afternoon, just after lunchtime. My growling stomach was enough of a hint to stop somewhere first, but Bulma had come prepared and packed one of her mega sandwiches. Since the limo driver was used to it, no one suffered seeing a Saiyan appetite in full swing.

We arrived neatly at one thirty in the afternoon, pulling up to the largest building in town. Cash definitely owned it, since security was all over us upon entering the building. Bulma wasn't scanned and searched near as much as I was, for obvious reasons. I would have considered frying all their scanning equipment if it came to a strip search, but it never came to pass. Once they were satisfied that I had no explosives on me, we were silently led up to one of the upper floors, somewhere near the top but not quite. I took note of the position of every single security guard, just in case something went down. None of them seemed too eager to do anything even close to threatening, if anything it was pure nervousness. Only one time did I have to remind them not to touch Bulma, and that particular guard literally pissed his pants when I glared at him. We came to a large red set of doors, which opened immediately, featuring a plump man rising to our presence, and a young teenager barely noticing from the same large desk.

"Welcome Miss Briefs, hope you don't mind my extra security measures. I had the impression that your husband would be joining you today. I don't need to keep them around do I? I trust your son will behave himself?" he asked as he glanced towards me.

I returned his stare and then allowed myself to smirk just slightly before answering, "If you think it will matter." Cash's smile had reduced itself to a quiver at this point as he gestured to the two chairs sitting before the desk. The other boy in the room barely paid any attention to us; he looked bored to be honest as he stared at a computer screen.

"Monty, you really should say hello, Miss Briefs is a very famous person. And her son fought with Mr. Satan!" Cash said. Monty barely even turned his head before giving me the look over.

"Nah, must be some mistake. He looks too scrawny to be that kid!" Monty claimed. I had considered turning his display screen into a heap of debris, but held back so I that I wouldn't accidentally vaporize the kid's freckled face. Bulma cleared her throat slightly, drawing Cash's attention once again.

"You know why we're here I hope?" she began.

"Of course I do, you're wondering about that little misunderstanding down on that glacier," he replied coolly.

"Misunderstanding?" I said aloud despite Bulma's glare.

"I must confer to you that I did not personally hire them, but the operation was given the go ahead with my approval," he continued. I growled audibly, the guy sounded so cool under fire that it infuriated me. Monty had taken this opportunity to turn off whatever he was getting into; apparently the situation now had more merit to him.

"Control your son Miss Briefs; I have no intentions of ordering him removed, but I will if I have to," Cash warned.

"Verto!" Bulma said in a warning tone. I left Cash with a silent death glare that only Vegeta could reproduce, feeling that for the moment that would do if it meant getting to the bottom of this mystery.

"A young violent prodigy is a bad omen you know. You really shouldn't have brought him along; this is not a matter for adolescents. I suggest you have him wait in the lobby," Cash said, a direct verbal slap to my face. My glare deepened but I managed to stay silent, he obviously was trying to irritate me in an attempt to have me removed from the conversation. That didn't save the armrests of the chair though, and Cash grimaced slightly as they crumbled to the floor.

"Mr. Cash, I need not put a leash on him. He's one of the greatest heroes this world will ever know. I did not intend for this meeting to turn ugly, but rest assured that if it does, he is just as capable as my husband. Now I suggest you tell us why you arranged those guys to sabotage our operation and leave us for dead," Bulma replied with a cold voice I had never heard out of her before. I saw several traces of sweat forming and watched as they trickled down his neck during the next few silent moments.

"I'm afraid that the specific information you are seeking is not at my disclosure right now," he answered. His heart was racing, but his low energy level revealed this to be truthful, well most of it anyway. That's the only thing that saved him from getting fried on the spot.

"Really, that doesn't sound like the work of a financial genius who's always looking into new technologies and products," Bulma said, again in her cool tone. _The hell hath no wrath rule at it's best, where's Chichi to make it a full onslaught?_

"It doesn't?" he asked, surprised at this answer.

"No, it sounds like the work of a fool backing the true mastermind. Now, would you care to tell us who that is?" she asked.

"No, it no longer concerns you. The operation was a failure; we will leave it at that. Since you first laid claim to the findings, it is yours to do with as you like. We will consider this an unfortunate accident on our part and notify those whom it may concern," Cash answered, back to his cool façade. He kept nervously glancing towards me, but managed to keep a straight face when he said this. His heart rate kept climbing though; it was probably near the point where he would collapse in exhaustion by just taking a few steps. At any time, she could have threatened him and any information he had would have come spilling out like a flood, but she didn't. Not yet anyway. I knew Bulma had a certain way of handling people who were in a position of power, whether they were rich or deep into politics.

"That may work for you, but not for me. Twenty-six people died to the creatures that inhabited that place. At least half of them could have gotten out alive if they hadn't turned on us. More so, we know about the Protoss technology that was activated in the area to narrow our chances of escape. If you remember correctly, it was us that directly worked with them against the Zerg before we were betrayed by a certain Protoss faction. I happen to know a great deal about their technology, so don't even try to deny it. I know that someone under your control specifically redesigned it because we happen to be the only other company in the world with sufficient technology to even identify their machines. More so, one of your flunkies dropped a cell phone that was not only from your company, but also had several call logs to your scientific research facilities. Do I need to go on, or was that enough?" she asked, though her tone had clearly changed from icy to hot. Cash's eyes narrowed slightly with every little piece of evidence she had mentioned. He remained silent, apparently deep in thought and probably trying to figure a way out of his situation. His son Monty, who had been staring at us with unimpressed eyes for a time, simply stared at his father.

"Why do you let them treat you like this Dad? Uncle Flandal wouldn't put up with it you know! He says they are all inferior creatures that must be dealt with," Monty said aloud.

"Quiet Monty!" Cash rasped, but it was far too late. I'm very sure Bulma picked up on every possible aspect of that little tidbit, because she rose out of her chair in an instant. I thought for sure she would press the issue, but instead she turned on her heel and headed for the door. I got up to follow, though I was a bit confused at this sudden urge to leave.

"Goodbye Cash, hopefully the matter between us is settled. However, you may want to inform your brother to stay out of our lives. Next time, it will likely be my husband demanding answers. Let's just say he won't be as, subtle, as I was," she said as she opened the large door, barely turning back to see the frightened expression on Cash's face. I quickly followed her all the way to the car, noting the silent but angry look on her face. It wasn't till we were pulling away did she actually say anything.

"Before you ask, we are going home for now. I had a feeling we weren't dealing with the one behind all this, but it was a start. Flandal is his brother, an expert in the fields of robotics and biotechnologies. I also hear he is quite an accomplished chemist and programmer. Here's the part you don't know; he is a little deranged. Okay, I'll be blunt. He's a fucking psychopath," Bulma said with distaste.

"The question then is what does he want from us?" I asked.

"It's a question that can wait a little while. He isn't stupid by any means, but his insatiable hunger for his own gains has caused his rare mistakes and gotten him into trouble. His brother is the only reason he isn't locked up in jail where he belongs. As for what he wants, I can only guess. But it was definitely him that built that robot. For what reason, I have no idea," she explained.

"Why not storm the place now, or I can come back later if you point out the right one," I said with an ornery grin.

"Don't get any ideas, besides, with his guards following us out of town, you'd be hard pressed not to be seen. He probably has more ki dampeners as well. Waiting it out is the best option right now," she suggested. I snorted but remained silent. As I glanced at the darkened vehicles around us, I decided not to press the issue anymore. When dealing with a mad scientist, sometimes you have to have patience.

**Next time on DBV: A few weeks have gone by, and Verto and Lenz spend a day together in the new gravity chamber, sparring with the holograms. What begins as a routine session for improvement becomes a horrible nightmare when the program malfunctions, and things worsen into a desperate struggle for survival.**


	20. Hollow Training

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 19: Hollow Training**

"Come on, why won't you tell me what you and Bulma found out the other day?" Lenz asked as we walked towards the gravity chamber for training.

"That was a two weeks ago Lenz, and I already told you that nothing went down. We found out who may be behind everything, but not very much in the details. Believe me, when I go back there, it won't be to talk!" I replied angrily. It was the fourth time that day that either she or Trunks had approached me about it, and it was getting irritating. I had a feeling that Vegeta might have been behind it, trying to draw the information out of either Bulma or myself; he had failed at doing that himself. She had locked herself in her lab again while examining the device they pulled from the robot down in the temple, as it might have provided a clue that Vegeta would have certainly overlooked. Bulma hadn't even meant for him to know of our little trip to see Cash, but it's kind of hard to ignore when Goku blurted out sensing us in the area while he and Chichi were shopping at one of Cash's stores. I didn't think he would try to grill Piccolo for it, because that would have been assuming the Namek had even been watching what would have been an "insignificant human ordeal." That would likely take time from his precious meditation cycles and everyone knew that couldn't happen. The silence was bothering Lenz a bit, as she likely suspected that I was dodging her question on purpose, which meant some sort of provocative action later if she really wanted to know. _Note to self; get her drunk enough to forget about it._

That was another matter that Vegeta hadn't been overly happy about, Lenz had been going out to party a lot lately and was coming home completely smashed. He allowed her to do what she wanted as long as she wasn't causing trouble, but in my humble opinion, she was just asking for it. The drinking wasn't much of a problem; it was the other part of going out to party. Ever since her training in the afterlife, she had matured more physically, thus she looked at least closer to what I would deem a legal drinking age. That didn't mean she was legal, but sometimes you don't need to be with the right look. The phone calls from those who got the number didn't help Vegeta's temper. I tried to remind him that humans had a nasty habit of trying to get in the pants of every cute girl they saw just because of instinct. It was after all very true, boy sees attractive girl, boy's instincts and hormones kick in and he wants to commence the mating cycle, it wasn't anything I could deny. Lenz, being as she was, drew an awful lot of attention. Not only that, but after just a few nights out in the wild, no less than thirty guys had either called or knocked on the doors of Capsule Corp. As if karma had anything to do with it, Vegeta had usually been the one to answer the door. Not much actually happened, past one or two broken bones when they asked to see his daughter. His initial reactions hadn't been very good for anyone nearby, especially if that someone had mentioned what he wanted to do with her. We weren't quite sure where some of them landed, but the odds of survival were nonexistent. I did have to explain to him that they likely mistook Lenz to be his actual daughter, with the purple hair and all.

That was just as potentially bad though, because then he looked bound and determined to, in his words, "Eliminate at least seventy percent of the adult male humans by the time my daughter reaches puberty!" I didn't actually stop to consider that Vegeta might be trying to adjust to his role as a father who now had a daughter that would likely grow up in a similar manner to her mother, but I still doubted it. In any case, he handed over Lenz's personal training to me for the day, and now I had to deal with whatever he might have drilled into her head. He had gotten a phone call from Goku to come to the lookout for a match, and that had broken his usually tight training schedule. We had scheduled a heavy match for the day, one that Lenz had been lobbying for since I had met her. It was slightly disappointing, but Goku hadn't offered him a match much lately. All the chaos streaming from the summer camp fallout had kept everyone with their families. Lenz had gotten a lot better in her short time on Earth, primarily because of Vegeta. She still moved in various ways that I might have done differently, but it wasn't anything I would pester her about. He had mentioned wanting her to get a little stronger before trying to take her further, but the lessons she needed revolved more around patience and understanding her surroundings in a battle. Vegeta didn't teach patience nearly as well as Piccolo, and his surroundings tended to get blown up if he didn't like or understand them. He taught me enough about anticipation, but wasn't nearly as thorough as Piccolo since strength training tended to be his forte.

-

"Verto, I want to know!" she begged again, bending over just slightly with her back to me, wiggling.

"Stop that Lenz, shaking your ass isn't going to work. But just for that, your program just went up a few notches," I grinned slightly.

"You're no fun!" she whimpered as she entered the large gravity chamber.

"Now, who shall it be today?" I pondered as I glanced through the list of capable sparring holo-partners.

"I think it should be you, mister high and mighty! You're not too scared to take on a girl are you?" she said, clearly trying to agitate me. Once she saw that the suggestive movements weren't working, she decided to try a different route. If I decided to spar with her, it would likely come back to that if she got lucky, which was doubtful. _Another reason losing the tail was a good thing. _

"Let's see, which hologram did you fight last time?" I asked, ignoring her woes.

"Vegeta had me fight the Goku one again at the maximum setting for a while. Then when I won, he took it on instead, really beat it up too," she answered. There was a slight glimmer in her eye about it, meaning either she had actually lost against the hologram, or it was too easy in her opinion. It was probably the latter; she had been bragging about beating that program and the next one up before Trunks did.

"Then you get Bullard, at two hundred and fifty!" I said with a dark grin. Whatever hopes she had of weaseling information out of me had just gone flying out the window along with whatever pride she had in beating a fake fighter. She frowned at me and started to stretch suggestively as I input the information. Just for that I also set the hologram's setting at near maximum, but mostly because it saved me the trouble of resetting it later, as I also planned on taking on the top program. It was the only one I hadn't completely plowed over yet, and only because I hadn't fought it. Bulma had set things up so that you couldn't fight the higher-level programs until you had beaten the previous one at maximum setting and at two hundred and fifty times gravity minimum. That had been another request from Vegeta, but an understandable one to prevent over-exhaustion for Lenz and Trunks until they were used to it. I had already beaten the previous four at the maximum setting and at five hundred times gravity in two days time. What made things nice was that you could literally kill the hologram to end the session, and no harm done. It was good practice for real battles as Vegeta put it, and I agreed for the most part. I was never one to hold back on artificial intelligence anyway. The only flaw was that Bulma hadn't programmed in certain reactions to my abilities other than damage, so I had to settle sometimes. My feedback technique was a good example of that; nothing actually happened. Yet my lightning blasts could nearly fry all the circuits. I had yet to take on the final hologram, which was supposed to be similar to Cell except for looks, so I didn't know what to expect yet. Since Lenz had also beaten the previous set of holograms, I felt she wanted to prove herself.

"Tell you what, you beat this program before I do, and I'll tell you what all happened. You can even go first," I offered.

That changed her mood in a hurry, "Well come on, get that electronic asshole out here so I can crush him!"

"Ask and you shall receive," I warned as I pressed the enable button. A tall blonde man appeared in the room dressed in a brown outfit similar to Goku's.

"Finally, my time has come! Oh, it's the little girl again, what a waste of my time!" he said with a laugh.

"Whatever, let's go Blondie! Begin!" Lenz challenged as she lowered into a stance. That was all Bullard needed before lifting off the ground and charging towards her. I allowed myself to grin slightly as I sat off to the side and observed. The battle started as a short scuffle before Bullard landed a few hard hits and forced her backwards. Instead of continuing the attack, he backed off and folded his arms, chuckling slightly. Lenz frowned, but knew what the hologram likely wanted her to do next. Bullard didn't seem to fight seriously until his opponent did the same. Blue ki erupted from Lenz for a short power up before she ignited a few ki balls and tossed them into the air. Bullard glanced at them, unimpressed for the moment as Lenz jumped to catch them. Then she spun and kicked one right towards him, spinning again to kick the other one. Bullard dodged the first one, and put himself right in the path of the other one, which hit dead on. The smoke cleared quickly, revealing not much more than a blemish, but his smile was gone. A light blue aura sparkled to life around the hologram, prompting Lenz to blind him with her own golden light. As soon as the Super Saiyan showed herself, Bullard launched into attack mode again, punching brutally as Lenz struggled to block initially. Ten to twenty seconds passed before I saw any real change in activity between the two. Slowly, Lenz recovered from the quick attack and began blocking his blows with ease, using only her hands and arms to deflect. Bullard's strategy changed quickly, and he started throwing in random kicks and spinning blows. He started punching and kicking in a specific pattern that I picked up on halfway through, and continued until he jumped back and fired his own blast off. Lenz was caught totally unprepared in the middle of a spin kick and fell to the ground for the moment when it struck her face. "I hate it when he does that!" she groaned and wiped off her lip.

"Then you have to anticipate! Whenever your opponent starts a continuous pattern like that, they usually end it with something completely different! This isn't all about a bunch of fancy moves and explosions!" I said.

"Yeah yeah, I know!" she growled back. It wasn't her fault completely; after all, we couldn't sense any power levels from the holograms. She had been the only one to complain, but there wasn't much we could do about it. It was a good teaching tool since being able to sense energy clearly made battles easier. I stayed quiet as Lenz and Bullard started up again, and I saw his pattern erupt again. Lenz blocked each blow and returned a few kicks when she recognized it, but I could tell she was waiting for him to make that move again so she could counter it. She initiated it by spinning around, and again, Bullard jumped back to fire. She was ready this time and phased out right when the blast got there. She reappeared behind a surprised Bullard and punched right through him. She gasped at the after image until she was nailed from behind, putting her into the wall.

"Argh!" she groaned in pain while the hologram waited patiently for her to get up again.

"I guess you're not the fighter I was waiting for, pity!" Bullard mocked.

"Shut up!" Lenz shouted back as she held her bruised face.

"Do you need me to lower the settings?" I chuckled.

"No," she muttered angrily.

-

The battle continued with the hologram getting the best of her at almost every turn. Only twice did she actually win a scuffle, but each time she didn't take the opportunity to finish the fight when he was stunned. She could keep up with him; it was just a matter of anticipation and capitalizing on mistakes. She also didn't save her stronger attacks like she should have, and used them at bad times, which only damaged the walls.

"You can't assume your opponent will let you recover, even when he's stunned. You have to take the fight to him before he recovers, that's how a lot of these battles are won! Just stunning him and backing off won't work. Save your big attacks for when you know they will land!" I advised.

"I'd like to see you do this then!" she called back from her sitting position. She was almost out of breath and a bit battered at this point, though Bullard hadn't been going that easy on her. I got up and cracked my knuckles just a bit, motioning for her to back off.

"Change target!" I said, resulting in Bullard turning my way.

"Are you the fighter I've been promised? You don't look like it!" he said, frowning.

"Say whatever makes you feel better," I grinned as my ki to rose quickly.

"I shall make an example out of you then, you may attack when ready!" he offered. _I guess the intelligence level isn't high enough._ Lenz looked eager to see what I would do against Bullard's fighting style, but I didn't plan on worrying about it. I held my palm up and charged a low power ki blast, but made sure to make it large enough to seem like a threat. Bullard's eyes narrowed slightly and he positioned himself in a wide and open stance, slightly wider on the left. _He's going to counter. Attack is probably coming from my left._ I launched the ball and stayed in position until I saw him flinch, turning and blocking his failed punch from the left side. I took the chance and kicked straight up into his midsection, stunning Bullard right under the rubs. His grimace turned into a shocked expression when I left an imprint of my fist there next, and he dropped and bent over. I glanced over at Lenz, who was surprised to say the least.

"Well, you're cheating! You're stronger than I am after all!" she surmised. I rolled my eyes slightly, if she had been paying attention, she would have noticed that I still hadn't gone past the level she had been at previously.

"Or maybe I can read my opponent better. I'm trying to teach you patience and anticipation, it's a very important lesson and it can turn the tide of battle for you very quickly. The tiniest little movement can be seen with the naked eye; you have to learn to see past that movement to know what is coming. Sometimes enemies can lay out decoy movements to try to throw you off their game plan, and you have to adjust again. It will improve your offense and defense," I explained in an agitated tone.

"I almost never see you get into a long brawl like that unless you're sparring. In that fight against Viro you went for the kill almost the entire time with your special attacks!" she pointed out, though she hadn't seen all of it since some of it was in outer space.

"That's different; a lot of my training in the mystic arts revolves around finishing the battle as quickly as possible, _through_ patience and anticipation! Viro couldn't anticipate a majority of my attacks because he was relying on Gohan's fighting experience, and for the most part, Gohan hadn't seen any of my battles or training during the war, or after. Even when he did, he didn't completely understand them until it was too late. He tried to counter me with his own version of my techniques and used his slightly superior strength. Obviously that didn't work, since no one knows all of my moves better than me. If he hadn't of had that virus to rely on, that battle would have been over very quickly. Also keep in mind that I was trying to finish it quickly due to the virus!"

Lenz looked slightly startled at this, but just shrugged it off, "Well why didn't you train me like that in the afterlife?"

"That wasn't the purpose of your training then, you couldn't handle Vegeta's training even if you could see through every attack he makes. Simply put, you weren't strong enough yet. He considers this to be very basic training that you should pick up in the blink of an eye, but in all honesty, it's more advanced since it makes you train as though every battle will be very tough to win. You weren't trained that much prior to coming here, all you had was Saiyan instinct," I continued.

"I know that, I mean the other abilities you have, with that Psi energy or whatever you call it," she said, looking hopeful.

"I can't. Or more specifically, you can't. I haven't been able to sense anything abnormal about your spiritual energy in that manner. It generally takes a lot of Psi for you to even notice it there. We'll give it some more time, after all I didn't know about it for the longest time either, and I didn't even notice it till during the war with the Zerg," I replied.

She gazed downward for a moment, looking very disappointed, but piped up suddenly, "If I have that potential, can I get as good as you or Gohan are, or as strong?"

"That's a big if. Gohan isn't that capable with Spirit energy, well not yet anyway. He might climb the ladder and surprise me though; it wouldn't be the first time. It's more of a strength boost for him, and he uses it to teleport, that's about it for now. Should we find that potential buried in there somewhere, we'll try to bring it out, but it could take a very long time. I doubt the Kais will be eager to lend a hand like they did for me, but you never know. Now then, prepare yourself! We're going to take this up a notch so I can teach you anticipation a little more properly. Computer, raise gravity level to three hundred!" My legs flinched slightly as the extra weight hit me, plus I still hadn't taken off my weighted clothing. Once I had readjusted to the new level of weight, I powered up to the level Lenz had been at and stopped there.

"Reset program, begin!" I barked at the computer. Bullard vanished and then reappeared unscathed, dropping into a more serious stance this time and keeping quiet for once.

-

An hour later, I watched Lenz attempt to fix her patience problems against the top-level hologram once again. I had spent the better part of that time beating the tar out of it, killing it off several times with nicely timed ki blasts and had never really getting pushed. It was almost too easy even with three hundred times gravity, but I had powered up to my maximum without going to the next level, and the hologram suffered many painful rounds as result. Bullard never used much more than a minor blast and never really had enough time for more before I was all over him. I almost had to double-check the settings just to be sure they weren't too low. I resumed my passive training once powered down and observed Lenz's next session. Lenz was struggling a bit more with the added gravity, but she was reading him a bit better and was able to counter more minor attacks than before. The more I watched though, the more I couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong with the program. Granted there was a sizable difference between her power and mine, but even at three hundred, she shouldn't have been struggling that much past a few mental errors. Her technique started to get sloppy as her power waned a bit, and Bullard seemed to sense the moments of weakness coming. He suddenly phased out, and when he reappeared before Lenz, there was a double coming at her from behind. _Some sort of split form?_ Both fighters were as real as holograms get, and both beat on Lenz until she backed off, favoring a sore chest and bruised arms.

"Alright, stop! That's enough for today," I said, addressing both Lenz and the two Bullards. It had been obvious that the AI had been holding back on purpose and had simply finished her off once she was worn down. The pair turned towards me, giving the evil eye along with a vicious grin. I glared back, before feeling a tremendous amount of force press down on me. The gravity level had just increased by several levels, and by my guess it had gone to at least five hundred.

"End program!" I shouted at the computer. Nothing happened, except for the two Bullards coming closer. _Must be some sort of malfunction._ Another force of weight made itself known, and actually drove me to a knee for the moment until I released some more energy. Lenz had powered down during the beating, and was struggling to move until she transformed again. The twin Bullards didn't pay her any mind though; they had clearly set their sights on me.

"Come here little boy, it is time for spankings!" they said at the same time. It wasn't what the holograms said that got my attention, but the tone of Bullard's voice had changed slightly into a stale, robotic voice, void of emotion. I lifted an eyebrow at this, allowing both images to approach within ten feet.

"What's going on?" Lenz asked loudly.

"It looks like a malfunction of some kind. Try to exit the room and stay powered up so you can move," I replied as cool as possible. I dared to cast one eye towards the control panel, and saw a large display flashing the number six hundred to anyone who would read. _No wonder I feel so heavy, and Lenz will struggle to get across the room even at the Super Saiyan level._

"Computer, this is Verto. I told you to stop! Return gravity level to normal!" I said loud and clear. Nothing happened, outside of a slight chuckle out of one of the holograms.

"Can't we just manually shut it off then and have Bulma fix it?" Lenz asked as her knees shook.

"Yeah, that's why I said to leave the room, move it!" I said sternly.

"What about you?" she asked.

"He is not leaving," the Bullard on the left said.

"Go Lenz," I said as I prepared to power up much further. I reached my normal maximum quickly enough, and the first Bullard charged in, punching and kicking with much more precision than before. I focused on only blocking his blows so I could keep an eye on the other one, who hadn't moved.

But he had turned towards Lenz, "And neither are you my dear!" Lenz was floored from the left side by a knee, and I know I heard a rib crack on impact. I stopped suppressing my Psi energy almost immediately and lashed out at Bullard number one with a quick burst of energy lightning. He lit up with pain as it likely disrupted his program, and he quickly faded out. Once he was gone, I locked on to the second image and summoned my sword. Bullard was kicking Lenz in the same general area on her right side many times over, and she cried out in pain louder and louder.

"Hey, in case you haven't noticed, your twin is gone!" I shouted at him. He stopped and turned on his heel, locking eyes on me instead. I held up my other hand and created another Psi sword, and Bullard grimaced.

"You cannot win runt!" he growled.

"Try and stop me then!" I dared. I tossed the second sword straight at his head like a lance, and watched it miss. Bullard dodged to his left, and I dashed after him, readying the other sword with both hands. Bullard glided across the floor quickly, clearly not being affected by the gravity at all. I wasn't so lucky, even at maximum I was struggling just to match ground speed in the severe gravity. So while he now had a speed advantage, he still knew to veer away, vanquishing his program so many times earlier had taught him that. Bullard kept gliding and shifting away from me, not risking a chance that I get close enough to end things. I patiently waited for my opportunity to strike, prolonging the chase so Bullard could not go after Lenz again. But it was a heavy strain of gravity I hadn't been through before, and it was proving a little more difficult than I wanted. Bullard didn't take his eyes off me, but did stop suddenly with a slight grin on his face. I didn't, and swiped right through the hologram at the neck. The image vanished instantly, leaving only the low hum of the gravity devices. I ran towards the computer panel and pressed the deactivation switch first. Nothing happened, and the display did not change for a few seconds, before a big red ERROR message flashed up. _Yeah, no shit._ Lenz had almost made it to the door, but in her condition it would have been very hard to open. I went to help her, knowing the chamber should shut off if the door is opened. I didn't go far before I was hit hard from behind, finding myself smashed into the wall. I growled a bit as I stood back up uneasily, and turned to see another Bullard standing there.

"Hasn't your program run long enough?" I asked.

"No, in fact, I do not think it has run quite enough yet!" he declared with a creepy grin. I heard the computer beep and suddenly several more images shimmered into view, all of them the same as Bullard, nearly twenty of them. They all began laughing at once, creating a most annoying echo that reverberated off the walls for several seconds after they were done. _Great, more copies._

"Can you see your death yet boy?" the Bullard in front asked.

"Sorry, vision's a little blurry today. All I see is a bunch of phonies made out of lights and program code. Fighting robots might actually have some meaning compared to this; at least they are real to an extent," I sneered back.

"Your wit only prolongs your pain. If we are not real, then obviously neither is this!" I was suddenly hit from behind almost the instant he finished, a direct punch to my head from one of their group. I couldn't sense him coming as it was, and now the gravity was dulling my natural awareness. I staggered to one knee and glared at the attacker, who only chuckled as he crossed his arms.

"I bet that felt real, did it not?" he asked as he bent over to look me straight in the eye.

"Shut up. You're nothing but a fucking picture!" I growled back as I struggled to get back on my feet.

"Hmph, maybe so, but what does that make you then? If this is the best you can do, I might as well end things now!" he boasted.

"Let her go and I'll show you what I can do," I said with defiance.

"Your emotional outpour is boring me. What is holding you back now? Do not tell me it is that pitiful creature on the floor?" he asked.

"I ask you to let her go, because my full power confined in this tight space will be overwhelming. I may not be able to control it completely," I said, mentally crossing my fingers. The fact was, I knew I could control myself just fine even while enraged; I just wanted to get Lenz out of the gravity before it had dire effects. And there was an outside chance of getting to the door myself if he backed off.

"I doubt it will be that much of a problem, but if it suits you, we will surround you, like so," he said. Suddenly I was encircled by all of the Bullards; each one was not even ten feet away. _Oh well, so much for that bluff. Time for a clever spin of an attack, but the sword will be too obvious. I wonder…_

"There, now you cannot possibly harm her without going through us. You did not actually think I would allow either of you to escape, did you?" Bullard asked as I was debating on what to attack with.

"It was a thought, but that wasn't what I had in mind; actually it goes a little something like this," I began as I released my pent up Psi energy. The Bullard group looked ready for anything, but stood still and watched as I gathered a great deal of Psi into my hand, concentrating it into a tight, spinning ball. I opened my palm, but continued to charge energy into it, making the ball shimmer with bright blue light that darkened or lightened the rest of the room as it spun.

"This is called my Spirit Orb. Though, this is a slightly different way of using it. Since you are stacking the odds, it's only fair that I bring this out," I said as I held the ball above my head.

"Amusing little trick, I hope you do not expect to be able to hit all of us with one blast do you?"

"I thought you were programmed to adjust to your opponent. I guess I was wrong, but let me give you a clue, you're in for a shocking display," I said with a tight grin. Instantly the group backed up a step, except for the speaker.

"You still will not be able to harm any of us," he boasted nervously.

"Yeah, I know you can self activate, but I noticed it seemed to disrupt you last time for at least a few seconds, and that's all we will need to get out of here. I hope you enjoy deletion! Because once we're out of here, your whole program is getting scrapped!"

"You talk nonsense; let us see if you can back up your words!" No sooner than he said it, I fired one streak of Psi lightning from the ball, keeping the rest back. It struck the speaking Bullard and streaked through him until he faded into nothing.

"Next?" I asked. All of them backed up further before scattering away towards the furthest walls.

"Fine, if you cowards want to go all at once!" I shouted. I squeezed the blast back into my hands and sent it out through my fingertips in various directions, striking the remaining Bullards until there were none left. I suddenly lost my breath, as the outflow of energy was catching up a bit in the heavy gravity. Realizing I only had a few seconds though, I ran for the door and grabbed the handle to open it. It felt like I was trying to push a mountain aside, and didn't even budge for a moment. After a few tense seconds, it finally turned just slightly, but not near enough to open it yet.

"Watch out!" Lenz cried out. I instinctively ducked a punch aimed for my head and saw the hologram's fist hit the door harmlessly. I rolled out of the way, eyes wide as I saw what appeared to be easily one hundred Bullards, filling up the room.

"How do you like these odds?" the front one said.

"How do you think?" I asked as I started charging my lightning blast again.

"Do not tell me you are going to try that again boy? It might deter me for a brief instant, but it is only a waste of energy!" _He's got a point, he'll just keep coming back, looks like I'll have to take this a step further, sorry Bulma._ I dropped my blast and realigned my differing energies for something else.

"Do not look so defeated boy! You play the game well; you should be honored now that it is over!"

"Well, you are right about one thing, the game is over," I said with a half grin as I powered up. The room shook a bit under the strain I was giving it now, and a few of the Bullards looked on in doubt, others unaffected. When I hit the threshold of Super Mystic, the strain of the gravity all but vanished, and I felt lighter than air once again. I closed my eyes to refocus a bit, and opened them in a tight glare at the holograms. All of them weren't sure what to make of the situation. After all, I hadn't transformed in the new chamber before.

"I do not register this transformation; it is unique," one of them said.

"I'll give you a nifty point of reference then. This will feel as if you were a real human being, getting run over by a train!" I shouted as I formed my green Chi sword and lifted off. I instantly sped across the room, spinning, stabbing and slashing at everything that registered as movement. When I turned around again, I only saw about a third of the holograms there, all of them frightened.

I allowed myself to smile for the moment, "Sorry, bad analogy, trains will at least leave something behind!" Before any of them moved, I phased in and out, hacking through twenty more of them, leaving only five spread around the room. They moved to surround me, but stayed cautious about it as I let them try to adjust to their situation. I turned briefly to the one on the right, before lifting my arm and blasting at him. He never had enough time to dodge and vanished instantly, leaving a few cracks in the floor. The Bullard from behind attempted a sneak attack, but I heard him coming and spun with sword in hand, wiping him out instantly. The last three charged all at once as I spun around. The first attacked with a punch that I caught easily while kicking up the middle to deflect the second, and slicing towards the third on the right. I missed with the sword blow, and lost focus for the moment, letting it slip away as I grabbed onto the first Bullard's wrist. I swung him around several times before letting go, sending him plowing over the other two at the same time. Just as they landed, I rushed towards them with fists glowing green, lighting all three up with several dozen hard punches for each. I stopped only when each of the holograms was showing signs of serious battle damage and were struggling to move. I didn't bother waiting and blasted two of them away with my first shot, leaving only the one, who looked on in surprise.

"Now I hope you can learn from this little error in your programming before I destroy your existence. I'm going to walk out of here on my own, and you won't stop me!" I said in confidence and I strode towards the door. Lenz had managed to get to one knee, and was using the wall for leverage.

"I guess that's why you're the teacher," she said with a humble smile. I nodded slightly as I reached for the door crank.

"Hold on!" Bullard shouted out. I turned just slightly, seeing he was standing again.

"What do you want now?" I growled back.

"There is one thing she did not tell you about this chamber. Its limitations!" he declared. I turned completely around to face him, but he didn't do much more then smile at me as I cocked a simple eyebrow that waited for an answer.

"I see I have your attention, good. You see, since you Saiyans can move so well in your transformed states, the gravity level becomes a moot point; it does not even affect you!"

"Thanks for the update moron!" I replied.

"I was not finished, and you really should listen to this part. You see, I have calculated beyond reasonable doubt what level of gravity it takes to truly ground a Saiyan like yourself, one who has transcended even the higher levels of power. And I believe that nothing short of fifteen hundred will do!"

My eyes popped open, "Lenz, go now!"

"I can't even move!" she whined back.

"Yes, your friend cannot move at her normal level now at six hundred times gravity. Even you find a slight difficulty at this level, but as you have demonstrated, it is nothing you cannot handle. I wonder though, how will you two fare at fifteen hundred? Will your bodies be instantly crushed into butter, or will you lumber around on the ground while your bones begin to break down? It will likely be an interesting display of carnage," he boasted.

"You're bluffing; Bulma wouldn't have made the chamber that powerful. And even if she did, there's no way the chamber itself could handle it!" I instantly felt a dramatic increase in the gravity and fell to my knees as my muscles burned. Lenz was flat on the ground, whimpering slightly.

"I know you felt that one, but it is only eight hundred. How about nine?" Another shift and Lenz moaned in pain while I lost my balance and fell forwards, barely catching myself with my hands. I could barely even move now, but I managed to press myself back to glaring at Bullard's cocky grin. I struggled to even breathe, the air was so heavy.

"Now you can feel it? You probably cannot even get to your feet now, though I would like to see you try!" For the moment, I granted his request, but my left knee gave out with a sickening and painful snap, and I fell to my back, cringing slightly.

"Almost made it, just for that you will get a thousand!" he laughed. My back and stomach suddenly felt as if they were trying to warp themselves into the floor or something. _Good god, why did she have to make a chamber like this?_ A piece of debris from the ceiling then fell and hit me in the chest, feeling more like an anvil had dropped.

"Even pebbles feel like mountains in these conditions, you really should not have underestimated Miss Briefs' technological expertise!" _Yeah, tell me something I don't know!_ I tried to say that, but my jaws were hurting so much that I couldn't open them very far.

"We are now at eleven hundred, since you cannot keep track of it, I will be happy to call out a number every so often. Makes your defeat seem a little more real now, does it not?" More dust and debris came from the ceiling, getting in my eyes for a brief second. _Wait a sec, that's it. Once the chamber is breached, the program shuts down. Opening the door was only one way to breach it. I bet I know another!_

I smiled slightly as I kept my eyes closed, "Looks like you overestimated things!"

"Whatever do you mean boy?" he asked.

"The gravity is tearing the chamber apart, and when it breaches, the fail-safe will kick in. You'll never make it to fifteen hundred!" I said in a painful tone. Bullard was silent for a few seconds, probably seeing what I was talking about.

"Maybe so, but you will be dead by then so it will not matter! My mission will be complete!" _Mission?_ _Oh great! Just what I needed in the middle of one investigation, I'd bet this has something to do with that._ I sensed Lenz had passed out by now, and her energy was fading fast. My own power was also fading, and I knew I had to act before relying on the chamber to fall apart first. I managed to turn my head towards Bullard, who appeared to be flickering in and out of existence. _His program can't stand up to this either, or the hologram transmitters can't, either way he won't be able to stop me._ I turned back to the ceiling and groaned a bit as I lifted both hands towards it, charging almost every ounce of energy I had.

"What do you think you are doing boy? You should save your power so you live longer! Though I am afraid it will be too late for the girl by then!" he said in a pitiful tone.

"Just watch me; we're both gonna survive this! Super Galic Gun!" The green blast erupted out with tons of force, more then enough to get past the gravity and slam into the ceiling. I heard the reinforced shell fracture and saw my blast searing through the blue skies of the outside.

"No!" Bullard screamed as he faded out. The gravity let up instantly, and I found myself sitting in the middle of the large room, with the roof completely blown off and the walls falling apart. Lenz lay unmoving off to the side, her energy still fading. I got up and hobbled over to her, trying to shake her awake.

"Lenz snap out of it!" I ordered, getting nothing in response. I could feel her life force slipping away, and knew I had to stop it from leaving. I began to channel the rest of my energy, intent on healing her when I paused for a brief second. The possibility of mutation flowed through my mind, and though Lenz had shown no signs of it yet, any more exposure could result in something bad. Just because Bulma and Vegeta had been lucky didn't mean that everyone else would. My concern for her feelings on the matter was overthrown by logic though. _Better alive in any state then dead._ Thus I drained every last ounce of power I had to keep her alive. Her ki recovered slowly, but steadily improved until her eyes snapped open. I stopped once I felt feint, and watched as she woke up and checked herself over before locking eyes with me.

"Thanks, little teacher," she smiled.

"Uh huh," I grumbled as my eyes rolled backwards. I didn't even feel the hard floor when my head crashed into it.

**Next time on DBV: As Verto is recovering and Bulma is investigating, Gohan and Videl come across strange happenings at Orange Star High. The unexpected development circles around one human girl, with a very potent ability. **

**WDG:** Human girl with potent abilities, eh? Dave you crazy little man, what have you planned now? Still, I think I have a fairly good idea of what went wrong in that chamber… But I won't spoil anything. ;)

**VB**: Little? (insert eye twitch)


	21. Touch and Go

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 20: Touch and Go**

Gohan sighed as he listened to the details concerning what had happened over at Capsule Corp. Trouble was following his friend a lot lately, about as much as had followed him in recent years. Verto was currently recovering in bed from extreme exhaustion, a twisted knee and a slight concussion. Lenz was doing fine, though she claimed it was only because of Verto that she was still breathing. It was Bulma and Vegeta's reaction that caught particular interest. Well, almost. It was typical for Vegeta to blow up out of anger, but the fact that he kept it contained to a several minor blast marks over a rural area was surprising. Bulma's reaction was one of puzzlement. Once the investigation started, she became more and more confused as to how her program may have malfunctioned. According to the computer, nothing odd had happened until the moment Verto's blast smashed through the ceiling and wrecked the place. It recorded that the gravity setting had been set by Verto to steadily increase until it hit maximum. Lenz argued fiercely against this to the angry Saiyan prince, who wouldn't listen to reason until he had blown off some steam. Gohan didn't have to tell Bulma that it just wasn't something Verto would do, not intentionally anyway. It was no secret that Verto had a habit of tearing up artificial opponents in any way, but Gohan doubted it would have been to this extreme unless necessary. Bulma was skeptical of Verto's behavior lately, but agreed for the time being. It wasn't until she discovered inconsistencies in the programming logs that she truly acknowledged it though. There were gaps of information that had been erased, such as the security cameras around the room, as well as the command log. There were lines of code wiped out everywhere, including in the hologram files. While there was plenty of evidence suggesting that the gravity level was at least close to the maximum away from the blast point, she couldn't find the programmed fail safe triggers anywhere. When she dug deeper, she found that the safety protocols were missing.

"Well that at least explains what might have gone wrong to begin with, doesn't it?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, but how? I'm the only one who has access to the holographic mainframe. And there hasn't been anyone in here snooping around, I've checked!" she replied in an annoyed tone.

"Is it possible that one of your employees is working for someone else then Bulma?"

"I suppose its possible, but why would they want to? They would just be asking for trouble!" Gohan knew she had a point; there weren't many that were suicidal like that. Even the crazies that lurked in the West City poverty sections knew to stay away from Capsule Corp out of fear of her husband. While her employees were considered brave to just be in the same building, most of them trembled in his presence.

"I don't know Bulma, fear can make people do stupid things," Gohan said.

"You think so, you ought to see this mess! Argh! It's going to take forever to clean all this up! Why couldn't he have just vaporized the whole thing and be done with it?"

"Who, Verto?" Gohan asked.

"No, Vegeta! Keeps telling me what a dumb idea it was to create the hologram-training program. It was his idea to begin with! I did all that work and he's done nothing but complain about its efficiency! Why that stubborn, pig headed…he's lucky that he wasn't in there instead!" she growled. Gohan stopped in thought; it had been just random chance that Vegeta wasn't in there. He was a man that was on a tight schedule all the time, rarely making exceptions when it came to training. And the middle of the afternoon would have been the time for his heavy workout. Instead, he and Goku had gone to the lookout for a match in the time chamber so they could fight as hard as they wanted without doing any damage to the Earth. That was their thing ever since Goku learned that Piccolo had used Shenron to remove the limitations on that room prior to Majin Buu's appearance.

"Bulma, are you completely sure you're program wasn't sabotaged by someone else? You did mention all that trouble at that temple you uncovered," Gohan said. He heard a slight gasp of breath from her, but patiently waited for an answer.

"Well, I suppose its possible," Bulma said slowly.

Gohan sensed the tension in her voice, "Bulma, tell me what's going on. Does this have something to do with that?"

"Maybe, I don't know. I'll talk to you later kid," she said, a slight tremble in her voice. Gohan grimaced slightly as he hung up the phone, there was something going on all right.

"Gohan, you're running late!" Chichi called up from the kitchen. Gohan frowned more notably, he had more pressing matters today that he was sure to be reminded about more than once in the next several minutes. Midterms.

* * *

"You sure look concerned. A little odd for you isn't it? And premature, the tests aren't until this afternoon! You always ace the midterms, along with everything else! If anything, I'm the one who should be worried. I was away from school for almost a year you know!" Videl pointed out shortly before class began as she sat perched on the table of their row.

"It's not that, I'm just a bit distracted today," he said from his seat next to hers.

"Don't tell me it's because of Verto. That kid will hold up fine. He's just a bit unlucky when it comes to trouble. At least he's taking the load off your shoulders," she replied.

"Knock on some wood," Gohan muttered.

"The last time you said that, I broke Dad's prized coffee table with barely a tap. Do you really want to explain to everyone here about how I'm so much stronger than before?" Videl whispered.

"Yeah, you are a handful," Gohan admitted.

Videl grinned slightly, "How mad was Vegeta this time anyway? I didn't hear of anyone dying by a random dimensional shift, or whatever they're calling it now," she said, glancing over her fingernails.

"More verbal than usual, though I can't say the same for the forest he blew up," Gohan replied.

"Figures," she scoffed.

"Anyway, I have a feeling that Vegeta will press the issue a little more than he should when Verto recovers. Knowing him like I do, he's going to pick a fight at a bad time. Someone will get hurt out of this one," Gohan said as he shuffled his feet nervously.

"You don't actually think that Vegeta will do anything rash do you? The kid will crush him if Vegeta pisses him off. Trust me on this one, I saw most of the action in Other World," Videl said.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, he's changed. What I saw out of him during the war was just a preview. To what end though, I have no idea. When you know who had control of me, I had my doubts that Verto would be able to win since Viro had my memories. Had that virus not been involved, it would have been a landslide despite my strength advantage. Hate to see what he could do if he truly got angry again. Enraged to the point where he loses control. I mean, if someone like me is a quiet mountain, then he is definitely a raging volcano," Gohan replied with a frown.

"Nice analogy. I think you're worrying too much. He may be a little bad ass with a crap load of abilities, but he does well. He won't go too far with Mister high and mighty, just a beating he probably deserves," Videl said reassuringly as she glanced over. She promptly noticed the few rarely vacant seats close by, namely the ones usually filled with Sharpner and Erasa.

"Hmmm, I wonder where those two are," Videl commented. Gohan glanced up from his deep thinking, seeing the empty seats.

"Well, maybe they're just running late. You know how they can be, they've been joined at the hip ever since Buu," Gohan pointed out.

"An interesting way to put it, not to mention accurate. But that doesn't write off the fact that they usually beat us to class," Videl said, looking concerned.

"And the fact that we usually are running late due to a bank robbery or something excuses us? For all we know, they might be late everyday too," Gohan suggested.

"Yeah, you got me there. Sure felt different not answering a call this morning," Videl said with a shrug. Her watch promptly beeped at her, causing the rest of the class to stare.

"You were saying?" Gohan asked with a chuckle.

Videl rolled her eyes, "Argh, never mind!"

* * *

Upon their return, Videl and Gohan found Erasa sitting angrily in her seat, and Sharpner sitting straight up with a glazed over expression. The glare she kept shooting him said enough, though no one pressed the issue just yet, despite the social science teacher lecturing about Eskimos. She avoided conversation until intermission, as she didn't want to start an uproar just yet. That didn't stop it from happening; it was only a matter of time by the look of things.

"Okay, what's wrong with you two?" Videl asked once the bell rang. Erasa snorted and cast another darkened glare at Sharpner, who sat unaffected by it.

"So, what did he do this time?" Videl whispered.

"No need to whisper, that pig probably won't even notice you. He hasn't noticed me for a few days now!" Erasa growled. Gohan glanced over towards his classmates, seeing a dull, gray-eyed stare coming out of Sharpner. It was like he was fixated on the wall and was never looking away.

"So, did he dump you or something?" Videl asked.

"I don't know! One minute he's fine and the next he's going on and on about some other chick we come to school with. But most of the time he's like this!" Erasa whined.

"Well slick, have you anything to say for yourself?" Videl asked, irritated.

"So cute. She's so cute," he said as a drop of drool spilled from his quivering jaw. Just as he said that, Gohan noticed a young red headed girl enter the room, eyes sparkling in the light. She was short and petite, wearing a plain yellow skirt cut just above the knees with a matching top. He had seen her before in the hallways, but to his knowledge she was one year younger despite sharing the same level classes. She was very bright for her age, but also very shy, especially in her first year. Though Gohan hadn't been around her long enough to engage in a conversation or even know her name. She had roughly bumped into him a time or two in the hallway before the Zerg war, and she had run away before he could even help her up. Her appearance managed to snap Sharpner out of his mental lapse, but only so that he focused solely on her instead of the wall.

"I wonder when she transferred in," Videl whispered.

"You know her?" Gohan asked.

"Only by reputation. Despite having the poorest family in the whole school, she has managed to go from least popular to high status among the grapevine. Happened while I was gone I think, but no one seems to know how," Videl pointed out.

"Well something must have changed, other than temporary location of the school," Gohan replied.

"Yeah, but she still seems the same to me," Videl said with a curious expression. Several of the male students whistled as the new arrival casually smiled and glanced around the room, looking for a place to sit. Despite having many available seats elsewhere, she chose the full row near the top of the room and stopped right next to Sharpner.

"Excuse me, but I can't seem to find my seat, can you point it out to me?" she asked in a sweet tone.

"Right there babe!" he pointed without looking, right where Erasa was sitting. The intensity of the glare she gave him reminded Gohan a lot of his own mother.

"What am I, chopped liver? Well sorry your majesty, but you'll have to find somewhere else to sit!" Erasa replied in a vicious tone.

"Oh, hello there, I don't believe we've met. I'm Ranso Teziwari," the new girl said as she walked up to Erasa and offered out her hand.

"Hmph," Erasa grunted, not returning the favor.

"You shouldn't get all tied in a knot dear. After all, it's only a game. Now how about letting me sit here?" Ranso asked with the same smile.

"Get lost, I was here first!" Erasa retorted.

"Hey! The lady asked nicely, now move along!" Sharpner barked as he stood up and forcibly pulled Erasa from her seat and lifted her into the air. Videl was on her feet very quickly, and Gohan wasn't far from it. Sharpner had an angry look on his face, like Erasa had seriously wounded him, emotionally anyway.

Erasa gasped in surprise, "But Sharpie!"

"Now now, that won't be necessary. Things don't have to get unpleasant here," Ranso said calmly as she gently graced Sharpner's arm with her hand. The blond jock set her down without a word and returned to his seat like nothing had happened. The resounded gasp of uncertainty from both Videl and Gohan spread like a plague around the room, but it didn't have anything on what happened next.

Ranso cupped Erasa's soft cheek with one hand and spoke softly, "You are obviously too tense and nervous about today's exams. There now, doesn't that feel better? You should sit somewhere less cramped!" Videl watched as Erasa's once rigid body suddenly relaxed and gave in to every word the girl was saying. Gohan glowered as Erasa picked up her books and promptly moved to a different seat without one hint of contradiction. He sensed the energy in the room shift just slightly as Ranso sat down next to a wary Videl, and he had a very good idea who had caused that shift. He couldn't sense anything overly strange coming from Ranso, but her confident smile was very unnerving. He could sense some of the thought patterns forming from Videl as the next teacher passed out test papers. Videl eventually glanced back at him with similar narrowed eyes.

"_You feel something strange about her?"_ she asked silently.

"_Yeah, she has some sort of mental power. Like you said, you don't go from ultra shy to popular overnight. The question is, how and when did she get it?"_

Videl looked down momentarily, "_Want to trail her after school?"_

Gohan stifled a grin, "_So, Miss punch first and ask questions later wants to go black ops for this one eh?"_

Videl rolled her eyes slightly at his joke, "_Damn kid is teaching you too much, though it's a nice personality quirk. But seriously, I want to know how she did that!"_

Gohan snorted slightly, "_Don't tell me you're jealous?"_

"_Hey! Well actually that would be a pretty neat ability to have!_" Videl smiled dreamily.

"_Don't go getting any ideas, I seem to recall not long ago when you thought flying was just a cheap trick!_" Gohan retorted.

"_Fine, but I do want to at least keep an eye on her. Wanna join me for the spy game? We could turn it into an impromptu dinner date!"_ Videl suggested.

"_I'll have to pass tonight, I plan to look in on Verto before going home. And besides, Goten has been bringing home dinosaurs almost every day for the past week, and Dad isn't doing the best job of damage control. Rain check?"_

"Spoil sport," Videl huffed aloud, earning the teacher's annoyed look for a brief moment.

* * *

After watching Gohan fly off on Nimbus, Videl set out to trail Ranso wherever she went. She did so by jumping from building to building through the newly rebuilt Satan City. Over half of the city was destroyed during the Zerg war, most of it by Vegeta and the rest by the combat that went on in the surrounding areas. She was still adjusting to the new streets and such, aptly named for courageous war heroes of late. Normally, she would have flown, and while that was not an uncommon sight for her lately, she didn't want to draw Ranso's attention by way of a crowd. Ranso quietly made her way through the city streets alone, only carrying her school bag and the occasional glance of anyone nearby. Videl started regretting tailing her when they hit the poverty stricken sections of town, the sections that didn't have to be rebuilt, but also were not in the best of shape. Knowing Ranso's family was poor was one thing, seeing it live and in person was another. While Videl was one of the richer students around, she didn't feel any more special than others who came from poor families. The only thing she boasted about was her ability to fight, along with Gohan's, not that anyone ever wanted to argue against that. About three blocks from the edge of town, a small cluster of thugs came out of the woodwork and also began to follow Ranso. Videl remained on the rooftops, but was content to jump down at the first sign of trouble. A few catcalls followed the girl and she stopped, with that same grin displayed all over her face. She then took off running and screaming as the thugs gave chase. Videl saw Ranso stutter to a stop next to a dark alley, and then she intentionally ran into it, right below Videl's position. The thugs cornered her, but that's where the actual danger ended. When the first one grabbed her, she remained completely calm and didn't even struggle. The thug also relaxed, a bewildered expression all over his face.

"Yo, what's wrong man?" the second thug asked.

"Please clear them out of my way, I have to get home," Ranso said sweetly, but with a deep frown. The first thug turned and smashed his friend in the face with an unannounced fist that broke the guy's nose.

"What the hell Jimmy?" The third asked as the second held his face protectively. Jimmy didn't bother answering before rushing his other partner and flattening him as well. Jimmy turned back to Ranso with an eerily similar glazed over look to him like Sharpner had earlier. Ranso barely gave him a second glance and walked past him, leaving all three punks to themselves. Careful not to move right away, Videl kept an eye on Ranso's slowly walking form while monitoring what would transpire in the alleyway next. Jimmy suddenly shook his head and looked around, as if bewildered how he had gotten there. He tried to rouse his buddies, but that ended in a short scuffle between the three, leaving Jimmy with a bloodied and confused face. Videl had seen enough, and took off quickly for Ranso, who was still within sight. Videl sudden landing scared her, but she regained her composure easily enough.

"I see the great daughter of Mr. Satan has a nasty habit of following people," Ranso sneered.

"I want to know how you did that," Videl replied straight away.

"Did what?"

"Don't play dumb! How you were suddenly able to control that guy, and Sharpner, and Erasa? How does it work?" Videl asked.

"Oh that, my little talent. I really don't know how I do it, I just say what I want after I touch them and poof, they obey. I found myself with that ability one day while at home, its pretty neat isn't it?" Ranso said proudly.

Videl remained skeptical, "It is a nifty trick, but do you have any idea what something like that could be used for? It's not something you want to be flaunting around!"

"Well, if it gets me what I want, then who's going to say no? It's not like I can control it, once I touch someone, they do what I say until the spell releases and I'm very far away, I'm not sure how far. The spell won't release until they've fulfilled my wishes. Even if they do it though, I have to be at a distance, otherwise they remain under my control and await further commands," Ranso explained.

"So Sharpner should be normal now…well as normal as he can get?" Videl asked.

"No, I told him to be my boyfriend and no one else's until I say so! You can't have him! And he doesn't want you!" Ranso shouted back.

"Clearly, you don't know Sharpner. And it just so happens that you couldn't pay me to want him, I already have the perfect guy. But going around and stealing people away from their own lives is wrong. It's wrong to make them do what you want against their will. Sharpner may be a bag of hot air, but he and Erasa were meant for each other. Release him immediately, along with anyone else you've hypnotized," Videl ordered.

"What if I don't? What are you going to do about it?" Ranso snapped back. Videl lifted an eyebrow at this challenge. This girl, no matter how out of the social loop she might have been, had to know that Videl was one of the strongest humans on the Earth. The fact that she hadn't even taken a step back since the initial stare down showed she had guts; at least while she had power over others.

"Tell me, how long do you think it would take me to beat you to a pulp? I'll give you a hint, not very long," Videl boasted.

"Humph, I'd say you're the bag of hot air!" Ranso declared as she reached out for Videl's arm.

Videl jumped back immediately, "Oh no you don't!"

"Well, it will be pretty hard for you to beat me to a pulp then if you won't get close enough to make due on your empty threats," Ranso said with confidence as she turned on her heel and walked away. A quick golden burst of energy went flying past her and left a sizable hole in a nearby brick wall. Ranso turned, stunned at this latest development.

"Who said I needed to touch you again?" Videl asked as she held up a small blast in her hand. Ranso panicked at this and started running, with Videl in quick pursuit. Ranso rounded a corner and fled into the street just as Videl was ready to fire again. Ranso tripped and fell to the concrete right when Videl let loose, missing her completely, but throwing up some debris and smoke from the road. It hadn't been Videl's intention to hit her anyway, just give her a good scare to put her back in line where she belonged. A loud horn sounded, startling both girls as a large truck barreled down the road, right towards Ranso, who was completely covered in smoke. Videl dashed in and pulled Ranso from danger as the truck skidded on through, crashing into the curb before the driver recovered and pressed on. Ranso opened her closed eyes to see a determined Videl carrying her far above ground.

"Um, thanks," Ranso said, looking away with a guilty expression. They landed on the side of the street a moment later, and Ranso looked apologetic.

"Just let Sharpner go and we'll call it even. I'll even lend you a hand in finding a real boyfriend, but not with your ability. The real way," Videl promised as she held out her gloved hand to shake. Ranso accepted it and bid her goodbye with a gentle wave. Videl flew away feeling satisfied, but somewhere down deep, her gut was telling her that something was wrong. Far behind on the city streets, Ranso smiled evilly.

* * *

"So, how are you doing?" Gohan asked.

"Well, let's just say I'll won't give you anymore crap about taking it easy with gravity training," I replied with a painful chuckle.

"I'm surprised that it held up so well. Shows how good with technology Bulma really is," he remarked.

"Yeah, a little too good if you ask me," I said, recalling the events of that day.

"I take it Korin was out of Senzu beans then if you're still hurting a little?" he asked.

"Not sure, haven't been anywhere in the past few days. I think that extreme gravity was just too much and has me all burned out until I can recover. I haven't slept this good in awhile though, maybe too good. Almost forty hours of sleep in three days sounds like too much," I admitted.

"Well, it's not completely unexpected, that is a lot of strain to put on yourself, and a concussion on top of it. Why would you want to do that anyway?" he asked.

I frowned right away, "Enough with that load of shit. I've gotten enough flak from Vegeta about it. Trust me, it wasn't intentional. And even if it was, I wouldn't have put Lenz in that situation."

"Easy killer, its just that Bulma's investigation has been coming up a bit short on all ends, though your story of computer errors does corroborate," Gohan grinned back.

"Probably because it's the truth, not a story," I said, returning the look.

"Well, at least you won't have to worry about any nasty old hologram coming back to haunt you. She said she's going to scrap the whole program," he said, which was a surprise to me. I figured Bulma would want to at least find out what went wrong, and then try to fix it. And really, it was a good training program, but something had fouled up, and I didn't want anyone going near that equipment until it was operating normally.

"It's not like there's a room to use it in anyway, looks like a total war zone after your blast," he added.

"That was the only fail safe that was left, and I couldn't exactly move real well at the time, even at full power. I didn't have time to debate the repercussions, Lenz was in serious trouble," I explained.

"No need to derive the details to me, she's gotten real defensive of you when it comes to what went on in there, so its obvious enough. It's not like you can play mental games with her head or anything," he said, suddenly looking concerned.

"Well not to worry, telepathic communication is enough for me. I had to play with my own demons for awhile if you recall, no need to mess with someone else's," I laughed. Gohan remained serious for the moment, deep in thought.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You know, it was the strangest thing today. We got to class and it seemed as though Sharpner and Erasa were breaking up over something. I couldn't tell what, until someone new came to class. Well almost new, I've seen her at school before, even bumped into her by accident once. But it was the weirdest thing I ever saw," he started.

"Not that it matters to me who tweedle dump is dating, but go on," I said with a grin.

"Well, this girl wanted Erasa's seat for some reason, even though there were plenty of spots elsewhere. Sharpner made Erasa get out of her seat, kind of pushy about it. This girl touched him once and he instantly calmed down. I thought she and Erasa were going to have it out, but then she did the same thing to Erasa and she moved without question. I know I sensed something from her, I just don't know what. Videl said she was going to check it out after school and… what's wrong?" Gohan stopped short when he saw my raised level of alertness.

"You say this girl could literally tell them what to do with just a tap on the arm?" I asked.

"Barely even that, strangest thing I ever saw," he admitted.

"Debatable, considering our history. Was she always like this?"

"That's the confusing part, she was one of the shyest students in the entire school. I doubt she could have ordered a dog around, never mind someone as stuck up as Sharpner," he said.

I sighed slightly, "So, another one."

"Another one? What do you mean?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"I have something to tell you, and you probably want to sit down for this one," I began.

* * *

Gohan left with a constant expression of shock and surprise a short while later. My telling of the potential for mutations in everyone around us was a bit much for him. Especially when he realized that he had been emitting that power for a slightly longer time than I had, which meant that more people had been exposed. He had noticed the change in Bulma and Vegeta, if only slightly, but he pointed out something else that I hadn't thought of. Who had possibly been afflicted prior to the Zerg war? His guess was anyone that had been near him for long periods of time before the Kais had unlocked my power. That led us both to only one sure-fire conclusion: Videl. Now things made sense, her increased strength and her ability to telepathically communicate were not just a coincidence. Saiyan friendship and mating bonds and whatever else had absolutely nothing to do with it other than the amount of time she spent around Gohan. Hell, that might have all been a load of bullshit made up by Vegeta for all I knew. While there was no way we could have known that ahead of time, it made a lot more sense to both of us. The strength increase from both mutation and the fact that their baby died with her during the war had been substantial; her training with King Kai revealed every bit of that. I suspected she could now communicate silently with anyone if she tried hard enough, but that was hardly the point. The mystery now was how many more had been afflicted, and what kind of abilities would they have? Gohan said he hadn't seen any other signs of strange activity at school or around Satan City, but that was bound to change if it hadn't already. Healing the planet of Viro's virus sure didn't help any. And given human kind's nature for evil, there could only be a big vat of trouble brewing if too many emerged. Once our discussion was over, Gohan departed for the newly rebuilt Satan mansion directly, wanting to know how Videl was doing now that he knew what was going on.

Predictably, once he was gone, Lenz wanted to know what we were talking about immediately. I hadn't told her anything about mutations yet, but I wanted to hold off until I had to. The fewer people that knew, the better, we didn't need the public going crazy about it. She was disappointed as usual about my lack of information, but was scared into her own silence by Vegeta storming into the room. Once he did, I sensed something coming from him that I hadn't sensed for some time. Pure, nearly unrestrained anger, and it was mostly directed at me.

"Boy, tomorrow we have a few things to discuss, I suggest you get all the rest you can. You will need it," he growled angrily.

"That's just fine with me," I glared back. He left the room with the same intensity, showing he still blamed me for the gravity room incident.

"What are you going to do?" Lenz asked.

"What do you think I'm going to do? He just dropped a challenge to my face," I said simply.

"Oh sweet, you two are finally going to spar?" she asked, excited.

"No, we're going to fight," I replied.

"What? For real?" Lenz sounded shocked.

"You saw the look on his face, he's still pissed at me over wrecking his precious gravity chamber. A quote "discussion" means beating. Well, he'll have to push pretty hard for that; I'm not in a great mood either. It might be his pride kicking in or something again, hard to tell when he's still stewing about something a few days later. Funny, you wouldn't think we were still capable of the occasional rough match after all this time, but some things never change," I said, smirking slightly.

"He's not going to push so hard that someone could get hurt, is he?" Lenz asked with a concerned expression.

"Hard to tell, I haven't seen him that angry with me in a while. I wouldn't worry though, we just need to work a few things out," I answered as I turned and headed for my room.

"But what if he does push it that far?" Lenz called out.

I turned and gave her one sharp look in the eye, "Then I'll deal with it!" I could sense that her apparent concern never wavered even after I left for bed.

* * *

**Interlude 20.1: Meeting**

Once Verto was asleep, Lenz promptly left the Capsule Corp grounds. No one bothered asking her where she was heading in the late hour, since it likely involved heavy drinking considering her track record of late. Tonight was slightly different though. She took to the ground, slowly running out of town and into the nearby forests just north and east of West City, trying to stay out of sight until she arrived at her destination. The entire time she had a sneaking suspicion that she was being trailed, but she always had that feeling whenever she did this. _I can't believe I agreed to continue this subterfuge crap. Bad enough doing it around Frost all these years. Now it feels like I'm betraying family._ She arrived at a small clearing the woods a few minutes after entering, and scanned the area thoroughly before stepping to the middle of it.

"I'm here," she said softly.

"Are you now? You are late tonight," a feminine voice answered from the trees, sporting a British enunciation.

"Sorry, I was held up. Complications at home," Lenz replied with a slight bow.

"Whatever the case, I don't have reason to believe that punctuality is one of your strengths," the voice responded with a hint of distaste. Lenz frowned but let it go for the moment, as the woman from the shadows was not waiting for her excuses.

"What do you have to report?" she asked.

Lenz took a deep breath before speaking, "The holograms are destroyed, just like you said would happen. Bulma already said she wouldn't rebuild the program after seeing what a disaster it turned out to be. Vegeta hasn't been too happy about it, and it looks like he blames Verto all the way. He was very extremely exhausted afterwards, more than I've ever seen before. But now I'm worried, Vegeta challenged him to a fight tomorrow, probably a real one," Lenz explained.

"Hmph, typical Saiyan. Always starting a war with someone just because he can't control his anger. As usual, he has picked the wrong target," the mystery voice exclaimed.

"I'm not so sure about that, Verto is still pretty tired from the other day. And I haven't seen those two go at it before so I can't really compare them. Sure the kid has cool tricks, but the prince is such a master at fighting," Lenz said thoughtfully.

"You haven't been around the both of them long enough to make that assumption yet girl, do not presume to be an expert on the subject. You still have much to learn! I doubt that will affect the boy at all by the time they fight, hell he's probably ready for that egotistical Saiyan right now!"

Lenz scoffed slightly at this, "Well it would sure help if you would tell me what this is all about rather than keeping it a secret!"

"Keep what a secret?" a sharp male voice snarled into the air. Lenz gasped in surprise, but didn't have to turn around; she already knew who was there. The other shock was the other ki signature that popped up just above her, and she looked up to see Piccolo dropping down and landing behind her, next to Vegeta.

"You were followed?" the voice asked.

"I didn't know! I kept my energy completely hidden and I kept checking back to make sure, I'm positive they weren't there before!" Lenz shouted back.

"Oh please girl, with the Namek's ears, I doubt it would have mattered even if we hadn't seen you leave. Besides, you seem to be a bit out of practice in the whole spy game. Now who is your accomplice, that's what I would like to know!" Vegeta said with a victorious grin.

"Reveal yourself!" Piccolo growled. Lenz looked back at them, and then back to the shadows, unsure of what to do.

"I only reveal myself to those who I deem worthy," the voice answered. Vegeta's grin faded, but was quickly restored when his palm lifted towards the forest ahead.

"Come out, or I'll force you out!" he ordered.

"I wouldn't suggest doing that," the voice replied calmly.

"And why not?" Vegeta chuckled. A very slight whooshing sound filled the air, and there was instantly a dagger leaning against Vegeta's back, right between the shoulder blades.

"Because you would miss," she said. Vegeta gasped but didn't dare move, while Piccolo was trying to figure out what had just happened. He did recognize her though.

"It's you!" he proclaimed. Leira snorted slightly and backed off a step to give Vegeta his breathing room.

"You can go home girl, I'll settle things with these two," Leira said sharply, motioning Lenz to fly away quickly.

"If you think you're off the hook girl, you can forget it. You might as well stay for this!" Vegeta growled.

Leira's glare deepened, "No, if you want answers, you'll get them from me and me alone. She can go!" Vegeta huffed slightly, but didn't seem to care either way; he had his new target in sight.

"Well, now that you've come out of hiding, perhaps we can learn what you want on this planet. You are no human," Vegeta said.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, former Saiyan prince. It's such an amazingly dull talent you possess. But, with the current situation on this planet, I doubt you will be able to tell human from alien with anything other than looks before long," Leira replied, pushing another one of Vegeta's buttons.

"Is that your way of saying you wish to die?" Vegeta asked, completely ignoring the second part of her statement. Piccolo picked up on it though, and stepped in before things got difficult.

"What do you mean by the current situation for Earthlings?" he asked.

"So, not even the former Guardian has noticed yet. Very well. Verto and Son Gohan have power and abilities far beyond normal Saiyans. This you know, what you may not know is that exposure to this uncontrolled power will cause adverse effects to those around them. No one is immune, at least not humans or Saiyans anyway," Leira began.

"You are speaking of the mutations?" Vegeta asked directly.

"Mutations?" Piccolo asked, stunned, as this had been the first time he had heard about it.

"I prefer to call them anomalies, but that is correct. Their powers have not only driven back your most dangerous enemies, but have also begun to change the entire evolutionary cycle here on Earth. The Kais couldn't possibly advise you on this matter because their ability to see the future has been clouded by their own actions. Ironic isn't it?" she grinned.

"I thought they had mastered their new powers by now, they can certainly control it!" Vegeta claimed.

"That really depends on your definition of control. And they are far from mastering it. They are still both amateurs in the art of using Spirit power," she replied.

"While I agree that they probably still have much to learn, that doesn't explain how they can use Chi energy so well," Piccolo said.

Leira snorted at this as well, "Spirit energy may not be that strong compared to Chi, but it's certainly just as potent, if not more so. You have to understand that they are probably more adept at using Chi because it is so similar to life energy. Spirit power, or Psi energy as they call it, doesn't cause as much exhaustion when used correctly. Since Saiyans are more or less ki generating machines by default, it would certainly be difficult switching from one to the other all the time. Verto appears to be better at generating Psi than Gohan is, thus why he can maintain balance much easier, plus his age. If Gohan's hidden power had all been released at a younger age, he would enjoy the same advantage. Spirit power tends to be stronger at a younger age, at least when its still mostly untapped that is. But, that's beside the point. Novices that use Spirit power so regularly on a planet like this one can significantly alter those around them. I trust that you, Vegeta, have noticed the effects by now," she explained. Vegeta rubbed his left shoulder in thought, recalling how he nearly had lost it not long ago.

"That may explain the odd happenings on Earth, but that doesn't explain who you are and why you are here," Piccolo pointed out.

"Quite right, but my involvement here is limited. I will tell you this though; some very interested parties will be watching Earth from now on. I warn you once, most of them are on a higher level then the Supreme Kai," she explained.

"What do they want with us?" Vegeta growled.

"Oh it isn't you they are interested in. They've seen enough failures like yourself," Leira remarked, popping a few of Vegeta's veins almost instantly.

"Calm down prince, you still have a great honor bestowed upon you. The stories that have passed down as your Super Saiyan legends are true to an extent," she said calmly.

Vegeta froze in some sort of realization, "You mean, all of it is true?"

Piccolo glanced at him, confused, but Leira continued anyway, "A lot of it has been muddied and modified throughout the years, but the core of the story remains intact. I highly doubt that the version you know will be very accurate, I should know, I was there," she said with a slight bow.

"Not the mysterious past bit again," Piccolo groaned.

"You will probably find out everything when it is your time to know. It isn't yet. Whether he tells you or not is completely up to him, but I do not recommend it," Leira said sternly.

"What about the boy then? Why are you using the girl to spy on him?" Vegeta asked, snapping back to a familiar subject.

"I am not allowed continuous contact with him during my mission, only isolated encounters at most. She is nothing more than a messenger of information for me. As far as he goes, you must allow him to walk his own path. He is still rather young and we have chosen to approach the situation cautiously. That being said however, you may continue as his guide and teacher at your leisure. It is after all, your right. However, know that he will need his own room to grow, and soon," Leira replied, getting a nod out of Vegeta.

"Why do I feel as if I should know you from somewhere?" Piccolo asked once Vegeta was quiet.

"You are referring to the time I spent on this planet shortly before Kami was appointed Guardian. Kami was training and competing with Garlic at the time, and it may be a difficult thing for him to recall. Let's just say your former master called me in for favors. Pray you never find out why," Leira said vaguely. Piccolo bit his lip, he still wasn't sure who she was, but now at least he had an idea as to why he knew her at all.

"What about the girl and her people? We were given explicit instructions regarding that. Not telling the boy is becoming difficult to morally handle. He will be very – upset, if we wait too long," Piccolo spoke before notably pausing in dread. Leira sighed a bit, as if she wasn't expecting that particular question yet.

"He'll probably be upset about it anyway. This will be a very trying time for him without worrying about that. It is out of your hands now," she said nonchalantly as she spun on her heel and walked back towards the shadows.

"So, do you still need the time chamber tomorrow?" Piccolo asked once she was gone. Vegeta didn't even turn his head to acknowledge his question as he watched the shadows.

"I'm not completely sure about it now, but there's only one-way to test the boy. An all out battle. I have to see everything he can do. If I die in the process, so be it," he replied as he stared into the darkness.

"He won't go that far Vegeta," Piccolo claimed.

"Then I'll make him!"

**Next time on DBV: Vegeta pushes Verto during their fight in the hyperbolic time chamber, bringing out some of his ferocity. Their fight eventually threatens the safety of Earth, and a new complication arises.**


	22. Turmoil

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 21: Turmoil**

Vegeta and I left somewhat early the following morning, heading straight for the lookout in silence. I didn't even look at him the entire time, though I could feel his glare more than once. He had elected to wear his armor today, though it was likely for some sort of symbolic reason knowing him. His anger towards me had apparently increased for reasons I didn't know, unless it was constant seething like he was known to do. Piccolo awaited us at the top, alongside a nervous looking Dende and Popo.

"How long do you expect this is going to take?" Piccolo asked as a bead of sweat ran down his face.

"As long as necessary. You may witness but you may not interfere in any way," Vegeta replied with a slight grunt. He didn't bother waiting for Popo to guide us there, though it was hard not to know the way by now. Once inside though, he finally turned to face me directly.

"We will fight seriously this time. If you truly feel that you can stand on your own two feet, you will have to get by me to do it. This is as much a test for me as it is for you. I suggest you fight me with everything you have, because if you don't, you will die," he stated before walking straight out to the white void. Piccolo entered the room just as he was finishing and carefully shut the door behind him, somewhat wary of what was going to happen. _Great, one of these. But doesn't he know by now that I'll beat him easily?_ _One well placed offensive move and its over. Oh well, might as well get this over with._ I slowly followed him out, energy levels rising towards maximum as I adjusted to the gravity. I noticed Vegeta was barely following suit as he locked eyes with me. I sensed something different now, relaxation. _He's been fuming for days, and now he's calming himself before a fight? Talk about an oxymoron_. I knew at that point that something was up; this was more than just some random test of ability. I had thought it was possible that he wanted to test his passive ability to recover, but somehow I doubted it. He had ample time to do that in the last few weeks. I waited for him to initiate the action, but found myself waiting, and waiting. He appeared to be the calm of the approaching storm for once, not riled in the least, and not even powering up.

"So, what are we waiting for oh king of patience?" I asked mockingly.

"We are waiting for you to grow up, though that will take plenty of time at this rate, even in this room," he replied coolly.

"Please, enlighten me, lord of the short," I frowned. The anger I expected unleashed itself, but not in the way I thought.

"You are pathetic, boy! You have destiny at your very fingertips and refuse to grab it! You have the power to change everything around you, and yet, you deal with the minor problems of a backwater planet! You and your soft heartedness constantly spell doom for these humans. It amazes me how you manage to put up with it!" _Ah, the good old rile up the kid speech. Nice try._

"If you are trying to piss me off with your views again, you're failing," I said.

"Maybe so, but it isn't me that can't even keep a good woman satisfied enough that she'll stick around," he said with a thick grin as my eyes narrowed sharply. _That was below the belt._

"You're just lucky that I even allowed that to happen. You would have been much better off without her around, maybe your damned power would have been useful when we really needed it. Instead, your emotional baggage held you down and you were captured. Then we had to go on a wild chase through space just to find you. And what do we find, an insane kid who can't tell friend from foe! Oh yes, you may have learned plenty of new tricks ever since getting control of yourself, but it still required the loving arms of a weakling female! Once your soft heart returned on planet Auir, I doubted our chances of victory. The Overmind used your weakness for emotions against you, and by sheer luck it failed. A cold and focused warrior wouldn't have fallen to those desperate attempts of assassination! Killing her should have been child's play!" he shouted. I shut my eyes and attempted to shut my ears as well. I didn't want to hear what he had to say next, but I knew it was coming.

"I find it amazing that while you were dead, you managed to stave off many enemies while juggling with not one, but two females. The second even weaker than the first! You are truly lucky that someone hasn't taken true advantage of your position yet. The girl should have been dead several times over at the rate she's going while around you. For all you know, she could be another assassin from one of our enemies. Her timing and positioning has been nearly flawless in that regard. Why send in a trained warrior when you can just send in cannon fodder? Even better when the target trains her himself, so soft that he can't recognize a threat. Maybe you would see that if you weren't suckling on those overly large breasts of hers. If it weren't so pathetic to witness, I'd do the job myself. What, nothing to say? No witty comeback or remark? Does the truth sting that much? Or does your fondness for the girl simply dull your senses into impairing your judgment. Quite typical for you brat!" he said with a scornful tone. I glared at the ground as he spoke, barely keeping my motion to a flinch.

"Are you done yet?" I growled as I shifted my glare to him.

"I haven't even started boy! Don't try the badass punk routine with me; you're talking to the king of bad! Taking matters into your own hands is something I've honed to perfection. Taking in soft hearts and helping the weak is your talent. If we hadn't needed more warriors at the time, I would have never allowed them to return with us! As things are, I also wouldn't have allowed the two of you to remain so close for so long!" he snapped.

"Then why did you? Did you get some sort of twisted pleasure in watching me deal with her loss? If you knew it was coming, why didn't you step between us beforehand?" I shouted back.

"Because I knew you would disobey, that's something else you're good at! Add in that you were thinking with the lower brain instead of the one attached to your neck and you have the perfect recipe for foolishness. She had you by the tail and everyone knew it, just like any other woman in your life! To my knowledge, the only woman you haven't completely surrendered to was that android bitch of a babysitter, although I'm sure you would have at some point. You allow yourself to be poisoned and weakened by inferior beings, just so you don't feel isolated and alone! You may not realize it, but whatever instincts brought you to life certainly won't allow you to hang on to it. Your pathetic emotions have gotten you into much more trouble than they should have! I'm shocked you're still not wetting your bed. You require such coddling its laughable! On top of that, you can't even man up and face a woman! Is the Rotian girl to become your mother as well as your eventual mate? I imagine it's only a matter of time before you're doing her all sorts of favors and slave work! She's got you eating right out of her hand, or something else! I wonder what will happen when you come across a woman who actually has quality and standards, rather than just another little whore…" Vegeta continued, though I never gave him a chance to finish. He was sprawled out several feet away with a bleeding nose from my first hit.

"If you want to insult me all day, then do it! If you want to have fight with me all day, then do it! But do not speak about Fasha or Lenz in such a way," I warned.

"Struck a nerve did I?" he chuckled as he got to his feet.

"If having compassion is a bad thing, then tell me, why am I the superior fighter?" I asked.

"Nothing about you is superior, except your strength. It's only a temporary position, I assure you. At the rate I'm gaining, you will be nothing again soon enough!" he boasted as he slide into a power up type stance. I sensed the lie from his energy, thus giving me the answer. _As I thought, he was only trying to rile me up. His true pride in my abilities hasn't changed, he just wants a good fight and he was trying to win the mental battle first. Well, half that mission was successful, I actually want to kick his ass now._ _He wants to see if I'm worthy, I'll show him who isn't! _

"If you're done trying to get me angry, can we go ahead and get this over with?" I said with a calmer tone.

"Why? Are you so anxious to nurse off that girl that you're giving up?" he snickered. I smashed his face with a straight forearm shot half a second later.

"You can drop the insults, you've already pissed me off. If you wanted me to fight you seriously, you earned it about two minutes ago. I just don't feel like dragging you out of this room, never mind the flight home," I retorted. He wiped another burst of blood from his nose and spit out the rest as he dropped his grin. His power level finally started to rise meaningfully as he hit Super Saiyan level quickly.

"Then by all means boy, show me that you are worthy!" he challenged as he waved me on. I dashed towards him with a fist pulled back, and the next several minutes became a blur.

**Interlude 21.1: Specter **

Piccolo allowed his eyes to go out of focus as he observed the battle between Vegeta and Verto. Despite his current level of power, he still struggled a bit to watch. Keeping up wasn't a problem, watching the level of brutality that Vegeta was trying to unleash was. Within a few minutes, Vegeta had transformed again to the first ascendant level, because anything lower would have been suicide against his protégé. At his base level, Verto could keep up with a normal Super Saiyan for hours, or end it with a few well-timed attacks. Against an ascendant Saiyan, his enhanced senses kept him just a step ahead of Vegeta's clearly superior speed and power, all without losing energy. Vegeta would charge in, hoping to use his advantage to press Verto into drastic measures, while Verto would dodge most of the assault, only blocking when he had to. Piccolo had wondered about Verto's afterlife training, especially upon hearing that it was Dabura who trained him. He was expecting a relentless bout of offense that could crush Vegeta before he knew what hit him. After the first few attacks that Verto had made out of anger, it seemed certain. But instead, Verto was completely on the defensive, barely even trying to attack back. Piccolo had to blink a few times just to make sure he was watching the same fighter that had nearly overwhelmed a stronger Viro-Gohan with shear force. Vegeta's punches to the head and chest were all dodged, and any kicks he brought were easily blocked by Verto's forearms. Vegeta's energy flickered with frustration as he attempted to overpower several of his blows, only to watch Verto evade them easily, though some only by a hair's width. Several different points of the dangerous dance were highlighted not by the fantastic dodging, but by the openings that Vegeta was leaving once he missed on a powerful blow. Verto would be standing still after each one, waiting for Vegeta's next move.

Piccolo's eyes widened when he realized what was going on. The tables had been turned, and now Vegeta was getting furious and wasting energy while Verto remained calm. To do this against a weak fighter was one thing, doing it to an ascended Saiyan, never mind Vegeta, was another. Piccolo managed to crack a tiny smirk at the boy's antics. He may not win the verbal war all the time, but giving the impression that he wasn't taking Vegeta seriously would drive the Saiyan prince up the wall. The only thing missing was the actual taunting, and he simply didn't have time for that. After watching Verto pass up an opening more than a dozen times, Vegeta suddenly halted mid punch when Verto phased out and swung around to fire a small ki blast at another vanishing Verto. When the boy didn't reappear right away, Vegeta stood up straight and cocked his own smirk.

"Outmaneuver me runt? Think again!" Piccolo recognized the bluff attempt, trying to tempt Verto into breaking his stride. Maybe even to trade blasts to weaken his position so that Vegeta could get the drop on him before he realized it. Time after time in his early training, Verto struggled with reading his opponent's attacks and mental errors. Any amateur could throw a devastating punch or a powerful blast and he excelled at that, but pure defense and counter attack was a weakness against stronger foes. Piccolo drilled Verto with mental training whenever he could, but being around Vegeta enough would dull anyone's ability to think logically. That was no longer the case. The trials and training he had gone through had eliminated it. To Piccolo's eyes that weakness was not only gone, but had become a strength. Verto's mastery over pure energy and offense had set him apart as slightly reckless and effective, but this new barrage of techniques and defense had made him a complete fighter. The pure firepower that he could create coupled with a smart mind and a rough edge of awareness. And that's what Vegeta wanted out of this from the onset, to see everything he had so he could test it. Once the prince had been satisfied with his performance of close quarters combat, the fight would get a little more explosive. It was there that Piccolo knew that Verto's offensive ability would overwhelm Vegeta, and even the prince himself likely knew it. Vegeta's other purpose for coming here was to test his recovery rate in combat. It may have been inadvertently given to him by fate, but he wasn't going to waste it.

"Come on boy, stop piddling around and give me the fight that I know you can provide!" he shouted. Verto reappeared some thirty paces away with his arms crossed. They didn't stay that way, and glowed lightly with random color as he dropped them to his sides.

Vegeta fired first with a strong ki ball meant to plow Verto over. Verto lifted off and evaded while it streaked past and blew up harmlessly. He charged one of his own and allowed it to spin in his hands before returning fire. Vegeta joined him in the air, but had to fly away quickly when Verto's blast hooked around and homed in on him. Vegeta picked up speed before throwing a small pop shot in efforts to disrupt Verto's concentration. Piccolo saw Verto's eyes barely flinch before that blast fizzled out barely two feet away by way of a blue spinning energy shield. Verto's hand stayed up, making his homing blast pick up speed and zero in on Vegeta. An audible growl came from Vegeta as he turned to face it. He held out his hands to catch the blast, and then flooded it with his own ki, turning it over to his control instead of Verto's. Piccolo eyed Verto's unmoving form carefully, trying to figure out what the boy would do when his hand suddenly glowed blue and crackled with lightning. Vegeta's eyes lowered, but he conspicuously hesitated as he tried to ascertain what Verto might actually do to him. Vegeta elected to quickly launch the blast and dash away quickly while the blast rained down on Verto. Piccolo was expecting something very explosive, but only saw Verto's hand go up before a blue Psi blade shot out of it and deflected the blast into the ground harmlessly. Vegeta landed with a slightly surprised expression, but still one of caution._ Smart move kid._

Verto may or may not have had ample time to hit Vegeta with his lightning move, one that the prince clearly knew about. What impressed Piccolo was that Verto did not needlessly waste his effort and energy by showing off his Shock Cannon attack. Whether Vegeta knew of it or not, Piccolo didn't know, but at the very least, Verto had not shown his opponent a hidden move that probably wouldn't have hit anything besides air and eardrums. Piccolo managed a smile, Verto was showing discipline as well. As interested in Verto's new set of talents as he was, he would rather see a fighter that wouldn't take unnecessary chances. Since Vegeta was literally dying to see most of his attacks, that likely wouldn't continue.

"At least try to hit me with something I haven't seen before!" he dared. The sword remained at a ready position for a brief moment before vanishing back into Verto's hand, which then went to his forehead. Piccolo recognized the attack even before he began charging it, but quickly noticed it wasn't quite like his own. Instead of Verto's two fingers being together, they were split apart. The index finger was glowing bright gold while the middle was glowing blue. Though he couldn't sense it, Piccolo recognized it to be Psi energy. The other modification was that Verto was not channeling the power into a blast yet; he was holding a different charge in each finger. Even though it was lower in power than it could have been, Piccolo knew that it had to be stressful to the fingers and hand to embrace power like that and hold it there. Other than a slight shaking, Verto didn't appear to be affected by it, or he just wasn't showing it. Vegeta stood ready for whatever this was going to be, but Piccolo could tell he was going to dodge as soon as it was fired.

Verto drew his arm back and lined up with Vegeta, "Spirit Beam Cannon!" he shouted as he fired. Instead of a screw shaped beam, Piccolo saw two small beams wrapped around each other like a chain, one gold and one blue, both leading into a pulsing green tip. Vegeta didn't budge, and if anything, he seemed bewildered as the beam came towards him. Piccolo knew what it was, the amount of power Vegeta sensed from at least the ki portion of the beam wasn't even close to being enough to do much. Vegeta brought his hand up to block it with a slight grin, until he saw Vegeta lock eyes with Verto. Piccolo shifted his eyes back to Verto as well. The boy was not smiling by any means, and his deadly determined look said enough, that attack was not to be trifled with. Vegeta seemed to understand it and fired his own massive ki blast as quickly as possible at the coming attack. Right at the point of impact, the twin beam exploded into a huge bright green Chi ball that wiped out Vegeta's attack and stormed towards him. The amount of energy that Piccolo sensed from the attack had suddenly tripled and overwhelmed Vegeta's feeble attempt to cancel it out. Vegeta barely dodged the blast as it exploded at his feet, sending him tumbling through the air briefly before he landed off balance. Piccolo's ears were filled with the sound of explosion, but could faintly detect a whooshing sound. Vegeta was too busy watching the fireworks to notice, and was plowed over by Verto's kick to the head. Vegeta hit the ground, only to flip upward to send a quick blast at another Verto afterimage. The normal white lighting of the room returned as both fighters stared each other down again, though Vegeta was now much more cautious of the patient Verto, who remained deadly still.

Piccolo glanced at the spot of the void where Verto's blast had hit, seeing a sizable black burn mark there, and it didn't show any signs of fading. Remembering what Verto and Gohan had told him about their initial training in there during the Zerg war, he was very concerned around what that might actually mean. As far as he and Kami knew, there was nothing about the room that should even take damage, other than the door and small living area that had been constructed around it. Popo had never mentioned anything either, and he had probably been at the lookout longer than anyone. Though he did recall a conversation between Kami and Popo about the room that ended with hesitation. Piccolo's train of thought was interrupted when Vegeta's power level went through the roof, charging one of his favorite attacks at either side. Piccolo's eyes widened when he realized that Verto was between them, giving Vegeta a clear shot at him and the door should Verto elect to dodge.

"Do not fire that Vegeta! Look where you're aiming you fool!" Piccolo shouted. Vegeta glanced up just as Verto turned his head, but grinned sharply and continued to power up as his hair lengthened notably.

"Shut up Namek!" Vegeta growled as his power increased and darkened the chamber. Piccolo realized what he was trying to do immediately, trying to pull Verto into a situation where he would have to show his true power. It was dirty tactics, but effective, as green and gray smoky waves of energy pulsed off Verto within seconds. Bright silver light erupted and for a brief second, outshined the golden ki of Vegeta before simmering down and concentrating into Verto's Super Mystic form. With both hands glowing green, Verto's power matched Vegeta's quickly before rising just a bit further. The ground shook violently under the weight of their emerging power, and it was apparent to Piccolo that neither would hold back this time. Though as powerful as Vegeta's blast was becoming, Verto remained completely calm just as before.

"Show me what you've got boy! Final Flash!" Vegeta roared as he brought his hands forward. Verto's right hand came up and brandished a glowing green sword this time. Piccolo frowned at the continued tactic for the moment, thinking it wouldn't be enough this time. The sword brightened and became very charged with Chi energy, enough that a flowing and darker green flame surrounded it as Verto held it with both hands. He swung forward and struck Vegeta's beam with full force, and the giant rush of ki energy nearly came to a dead stop against the might of the enhanced Chi sword. A small crackle of lightning broke out between sword and blast, but didn't last before Verto pulled back just slightly before pressing forward again, stopping its forward motion. The only problem was that if he moved, it would go barreling into Piccolo and the exit. Piccolo knew that Verto had ways of dealing with this problem, but Vegeta had already moved away and stood at the large burn mark on the ground with another blast ready to go. This one was much smaller in size and power, but it had a purpose. He fired it and struck his own attack, causing it to pulse slightly as Verto's eyes widened a bit. A large golden explosion blinded Piccolo and Vegeta to Verto's actions, but Piccolo had felt a slight power drop. When the blast cleared, Verto was still standing in its place with his arms in a guard position, a green glowing shield surrounded him. Some of Vegeta's attack had gotten through in time though, showing where Verto's clothes were torn up as well his arms and face. But it hadn't been enough to do much damage.

_Quick,_ Piccolo thought. He hadn't believed that Verto would have been able to conjure his shield that fast in that situation, but there it was. Vegeta's satisfaction flooded the area in the form of a slight chuckle.

"You were extremely lucky to get through that one. Go ahead and let me know when you've had enough brat!" he laughed. Verto's arms lowered as his aura flashed on, making Piccolo forget about any power drop he might have sensed.

"You want it all, I'll show you all!" Verto announced as he dropped back into a charging stance. Piccolo recognized what the attack was going to be this time, as he was sure Vegeta did as well by the time the green ball swirled into view. Verto didn't waste much time and fired his Super Galic Gun quickly, not going for the full charge like he might have done before. Vegeta jumped into the air to avoid it, getting a bit of a flight boost out of the explosion. Verto charged after him quickly, intercepting Vegeta and punching for his head. Vegeta caught his fist and threw him aside, turning and gliding backwards as Verto recovered and gave chase. Vegeta's grin tightened as he led Verto around the area before firing a quick blast to disrupt him. Verto batted it away without looking, and caught up with his teacher in a hurry. Vegeta took a shot to the chest before catching Verto in the right side of his body with a hard knife-edge chop. Verto backed off as he grimaced and held his side, appearing to be protecting that area as if it were injured. Vegeta jumped all over the chance and attacked furiously, trying to hit the same weakened area as fast as Verto tried to guard it. Dozens of punches and kicks were thrown at the younger warrior as he tried to defend them. Verto appeared to be struggling to keep up after the initial burst, but Piccolo sensed otherwise when his power did not drop. Vegeta didn't appear to be noticing as he managed to hit Verto lightly in other areas, giving the impression that he was winning. After getting off a lucky punch to the chest, Vegeta powered up a much harder shot, meant to be the deciding blow.

"It's lights out boy!" he declared. Verto's energy came alive suddenly from his glowing hand, and any weakness that there might have been was utterly gone when he suddenly rushed up to Vegeta with his right fist drawn back.

"Super Galic Fist!" The air around the two fighters turned bright green for a brief second before Piccolo found Vegeta plunging towards the ground and hitting hard. His stomach looked like raw meat after the blow, and his power dropped considerably as his hair shortened once again. Piccolo chuckled slightly; the kid had lured Vegeta into a false opening off his own mistake, and then had flipped the course of the battle completely. Whether Verto had gotten hit on purpose or not, Piccolo wasn't sure. It was also possible that in his higher form, his senses weren't as sharpened compared to his normal form, but in reality it didn't matter. Vegeta struggled to get to a sitting position as Verto dropped out of the skies and landed before him.

"Have you had enough yet?" Verto asked as Vegeta glared up at him, wincing at the pain he felt.

"It won't be done until you've crippled me boy!" Vegeta growled as he fired a sudden ki blast, point blank. Verto dodged it easily, but was unprepared for Vegeta to rush him from a sitting position, laying a knee into his chin. Verto was momentarily stunned, and was hit again when Vegeta smashed his forearm into Verto's body. Verto bounced off the surface as Vegeta caught his breath. Piccolo scanned both fighters thoroughly, and while Vegeta appeared to be drawing off reserves to bolster himself at Super Saiyan three, Verto's power wasn't fluctuating as much as he thought it would. Whether it was a result of his training or not, his body was either taking the punishment without much trouble, or his power was passively shielding it from heavy damage. Piccolo wagered that it was a little of both. Verto slowly got to his hands and knees as Vegeta remained motionless. When the boy stood up, he wiped the blood trickle from his mouth, spitting the rest before shaking his head slightly in dismay. Vegeta slid back into his stance, waiting for the attack.

"Come on boy, you said you would show it all to me! Where's the rest? Or is that your limit?" he asked. Verto snorted by reaction and walked forward slowly, his left hand charging up a blast this time. Vegeta readied himself for it, but Verto only walked forward with that same determined expression, slowly charging the blast as he did. It suddenly turned bright blue and white in color before flashing briefly, filling the air with zapping sounds before settling down and shimmering silently. Vegeta looked at it with slight dread, but still didn't move. Piccolo's eyes narrowed, _The Spirit Bomb?_

"Something new boy! Don't you think I've been around Kakarot enough to know that one?" Vegeta grinned.

"Maybe you think you do," Verto replied. Piccolo thought that Vegeta would be able to handle it easily; the low amount of power coming off of it couldn't have threatened Nappa, never mind him. At the same time though, he knew something had to be up for Verto to even bother if he wasn't going to go all out with it.

"Spirit Bomb!" Verto shouted as he merely lifted his hand and let it go. The blue-white blast moved very slowly towards Vegeta compared to everything before, and Vegeta already had his counter blast waiting, an attack much stronger than the bomb.

"Big Bang attack!" Vegeta's attack smashed into Verto's and held steady for a brief moment as Verto continued walking forward. Piccolo couldn't understand why he would let himself get hit, until he saw that his attack was not only holding the Big Bang ball at bay, it was absorbing it. Since both attacks were light blue in color, Vegeta hadn't noticed for the moment, until the bigger attack abruptly vanished and the smaller one was still moving forward, though much faster when Verto pushed it ahead with his energy. Vegeta's eyes went wide, but he dodged aside from the Spirit Bomb. Verto maintained control of the bomb and turned it around, sending it streaking towards Vegeta again. When Vegeta dodged this time, he stopped right above the charred surface. Verto's battle cry only previewed his bright green sword coming out of the sky, straight down at Vegeta's head. Vegeta barely got away and Verto struck the center of the burnt ground, his sword piercing down into it for the moment as he held a kneeling position. Verto got up and grinned brightly as Piccolo tried to figure out what Vegeta had been so afraid of.

"That was your blasted Feedback technique wasn't it?" Vegeta shouted with a sour tone. Verto's grin didn't fade, but his sword did for the moment as he stepped towards Vegeta again. Piccolo's eyes immediately locked onto the ground behind Verto though. His sword had left a distinct breach in the burned area, and there were reddened cracks emerging from it. From the ground, a small trickle of what appeared to be lava came out, along with a purple smoke began to rise out into the air as Verto walked away from it, unaware.

"So, where's the next fancy move hot shot? You haven't used that damned lightning yet!" Vegeta grunted.

Verto's grin vanished for the moment, "I haven't had a reason to use it, don't tempt me," Verto warned as he stepped to within a dozen feet. Piccolo didn't even watch their next scuffle; the breach in the ground had taken his full interest. The purple smoke that had emerged was beginning to flood a broad area before it darkened in color. For a brief moment, Piccolo had a dreadful flashback of Majin Buu's regeneration ability, but this was clearly different. Sounds of battle covered any noise that the purple smoke cloud might have been creating, but the dark feeling of it was frightening to Piccolo's mind. Silence quite suddenly filled the area as the two Saiyans had finally noticed and halted their battle.

"Hey Namek! What in the blazes is that?" Vegeta shouted at him. Piccolo didn't answer, and Verto grew wary of what might be coming out of the breach. The small amount of lava had hardened and was not progressing any further, but the smoke was now streaming out from the void, filling the area with darkness.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Verto muttered.

"It's just a little smoke boy, you shouldn't assume another crisis with just a fire!" Vegeta growled at him.

"We should leave, whatever that is, its not just smoke," Verto suggested as he backed up a step.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're just trying to get out of fighting me!" Vegeta roared as he turned away from the shadow cloud. Piccolo's eyes only got wider as the cloud suddenly condensed into a purple aura and a blackened figure emerged beneath it. A dark power signal hit his insides, filling him with fear. He wasn't able to measure the energy he felt, but it was darker than he had ever felt before. That in and of itself was saying something.

"That is a Chi signal. But its evil," Verto pointed out.

Vegeta snorted at this, "Afraid of a shadow now brat?" The black figure stepped out of the breach, and a brief shadow stuck to the ground before following it. The figure had on some sort of light armor by what Piccolo could see, but he wasn't able to tell much past that. He did notice an equally dark circular blade at the side of this newcomer, along with a dagger. Piccolo saw two large pink eyes open and blink sharply before settling themselves on Verto and Vegeta.

"Humans," it bellowed. Piccolo was able to make out an older feminine voice, but the eerie low tone drove shivers up his spine.

"Not quite, woman!" Vegeta grinned. The blackened head snapped towards Vegeta, and if Piccolo could have actually seen her whole face, he would have seen a deep glare.

"Look boy, you managed to free another female from her troubles! When's the wedding?" Vegeta laughed.

"I… hate… humans!" the shadow said.

"I like this one already kid!" Vegeta chuckled again.

"You will all perish!" she shouted. The blackened figure then vanished in a poof of smoke. Piccolo tried to track her, but couldn't detect where she might have gone.

"Wow, your shortest relationship ever!" Vegeta laughed again.

"Please, tell me you're smarter then that," Verto replied coldly.

"You've succeeded on making me laugh too hard to fight anymore! I suppose we'll call it a draw! Can you conjure up anything else with your tricks? That shadow was rather creative!" Vegeta continued to laugh.

"That wasn't me!" Verto raised his voice. A loud screech suddenly filled the air, and Piccolo found himself staring at the shadow woman face to face. She was much larger up close than he thought, taller than even him and he found he had to look up just a bit to stare into her cold pink eyes.

"Let me out of here!" she said in a calm tone. Piccolo felt the pure malice of her voice though, and suddenly knew why Popo was hesitant about the room. A brief flashback of Kami's memories led him to a conversation about it.

"_Tell me Mister Popo, about the hyperbolic time chamber. If I'm ever to make use of that dimension, I must know everything about it,_" Kami began.

"_Well Kami, it is a very hazardous environment that can change from hot to extremely cold in very little time. The air is thinner the deeper you venture into the void, and the gravity is ten times that of Earth's. Only at the entrance are you safe. Also, the rate of time moves swiftly inside. Where one minute may pass out here, nearly six hours pass in the chamber. If you were to stay for a whole day, you would experience an entire year inside_," Popo explained.

"_Is there anything else I should know? I'm sure that I might find that chamber useful for training and solitude_," Kami said.

Popo paused for a moment, drawing Kami's deep stare before continuing, "_Only two may be inside at the same time. And a person cannot stay in the chamber for more than two whole days. If that were to occur, the door would disappear and you would be trapped for all time!_"

"_That is unfortunate. There are many times where I wished to have extra time to consider my choices and decisions. The solitude of such a room would have assisted me greatly. Very well, since that is precious time to be used, I shall not waste it,_" Kami decided.

"_A very wise choice Kami_," Popo agreed with a slight frown.

Kami had caught on very quickly though, "_Is there something about the room that you are not telling me Popo?_" he asked as he sensed deception.

"_Understand that I am bound to obey obligations any of the previous guardians, including your mentor, Kami. He made much more use of the hyperbolic time chamber than he should have done, though it was necessary at the time. I am not at liberty to say what might have happened in there Kami, but know that it was for the good of mankind. No Kami, there is nothing in there that should be any problem to you or anyone else_," Popo finished. Piccolo frowned in dismay, that statement had now proven false.

"So tell me, Kami, is that lousy guardian still haunting this station? I would enjoy a few personal minutes in his audience! After locking me away for hundreds of years!" the blackened lady said with a slight sneer. Piccolo's ears perked up to only one chilling voice, but he sensed three dark powers instead of one now, and managed to lean over to see an identical pair before Vegeta and Verto. It also bothered him that this woman knew him, or at least part of him, at one time or another.

"If you mean the one before me, no. He passed his position on before he died," Piccolo answered, somewhat truthfully.

"I see, then my revenge must be through other means. Since the old coot cannot do anything about it now, I might as well take full advantage of the situation!" she laughed.

"What are you talking about, what revenge?" Piccolo demanded.

"For me to know, its too bad you won't be able to witness it!" she proclaimed. Faster than he could trace, one of her arms lashed out, and Piccolo's stomach erupted in searing pain.

* * *

"Look boy, she's a big one. Remind you of anyone?" Vegeta asked as we stared down the replicas of the female creature that had appeared.

"Shut up," I groaned. They were both quite large, a little taller than Piccolo by my estimation. I could only guess that this was a split form of some kind, but I wasn't sure what this creature's next move would be. The air was filled with dark intent, but it didn't seem to be directed at us. I had already assumed that my power had done this. After all, Gohan and I had lightly breached the void once before, though not to this extent. I hadn't thought much of it when my blast had only scorched the ground, but when my sword pierced the exact same spot, oh boy did something happen. No one had warned me about what might have been in the time chamber, though there was a chance that no one knew either.

"If she wasn't so damned ugly, she might make a decent Saiyan," Vegeta chuckled.

"Odd thing to say, since you really can't see her body at all. Maybe she is very attractive underneath, you don't know based off first glance," I reminded him.

"Ever the optimist. I'll be sure to let the girl know that you've fallen for someone else," he cracked again. I rolled my eyes at his constant barrage of jokes in my direction. I could hear this newcomer talking to Piccolo about something briefly, but we were far enough away that I couldn't make it out. Piccolo didn't seem too happy about this, but at the same time, confusion filled his energy. All of a sudden, fear welled up inside him, and the creature lashed out with her dagger, stabbing Piccolo's midsection with it. Piccolo cried out in pain before slumping to the ground. _This isn't good. _

"Well, she doesn't appear to like Nameks either. Looks like a keeper," Vegeta grinned.

"That leaves you two, what will I do with you?" the dark figure in front of Vegeta asked. The third one in front of Piccolo had vanished, leaving only the two before us. Piccolo was still very much alive, and I knew all we had to do was give him a few minutes and he'd be back on his feet.

"I'll tell you what you will do, woman! You will get on your knees in front of royalty before I dispense with you!" Vegeta threatened, though he kept his smirk nice and wide. I continually scanned this shadow creature over and over, picking up the same dark Chi signal. It was low in power, but there was something very misleading about it. I felt energy coming off her weapons too, but in a slightly different spectrum so to speak. Rather the dagger and circular blade were intertwined with her power or not, I wasn't sure, but they were not normal weapons to be sure. She had been focused on Vegeta, but I felt her gaze shifting to me from both forms.

"You, boy! You are the one who broke my prison and freed me. For that, I thank you, and for now, you will be spared!" she said in a slightly softer tone, but still full of hatred.

"Spared? You've got to be joking woman! What makes you think you are even in our league?" Vegeta asked. She barely gave Vegeta a look before vanishing again, this time only one form appeared, just a few paces away from Piccolo's prone form. I didn't bother waiting for a go signal and chased after her with Vegeta trailing behind me.

"Tsk Tsk, so much wasted destructive potential. Looks like I did you a favor Kami," she noted as I landed. I instantly activated my Chi sword, filling it with energy just to be safe and intimidating at the same time.

"Yes?" she asked without turning.

"Why did you stab Piccolo? If you have unresolved issues with him, you may take them up with me!" I said sternly.

"Put your blade away before you hurt yourself, I have no quarrel with you, or even him. I'm very grateful to you in fact, but don't get in my way," she warned.

"What do you want then?" Vegeta asked as he came up from behind.

"Think about it little man, what would anyone locked up in here want? Freedom of course!"

"Just how long have you been in here?" I asked out of curiosity.

"To be truthful, I have no idea. I stopped keeping track a long time ago. But it's probably been the equivalent of thousands of years, give or take a few. Cut off from the world, floating in nothing. I would occasionally see flashes of energy from different people making use of this place, but never enough to see much other than that," she murmured sadly.

"Why were you locked up then? And who did it?" I asked again.

"A mystery for another time, its my business now and no one else's. As for who locked me up, he's long dead by now," she said, aggravated.

"Why did you stab the Namek then?" Vegeta asked.

"Oh you mean lizard boy here? Simple, he was in my way," she said, not sounding the least bit remorseful. I then grasped my sword with both hands and held it up, ready to charge her.

"Didn't I tell you to back down? You and I have nothing to fight about. And as I said, I am very grateful to you boy, do not force me to kill you so soon!" she threatened again.

"Ha, like you could beat him! Maybe you've been locked away for too long to realize when you are outmatched! My youngest child could wipe the floor with you!" Vegeta boasted from next to me. I cast a confusing eye up at him, hoping he didn't actually suggest that his baby girl should get anywhere near this dangerous creature.

"Fool! One does not need overwhelming power to be effective," she scolded.

"Really, try me then! You'll be dust before you learn otherwise!" Vegeta challenged.

"Back off Vegeta, you shouldn't fight her," I said. I had a really bad feeling about this creature, and it only got worse the longer I was around her. Her power might have been low, but even if she only caught Piccolo off guard with her attack, it was enough to keep him down. Piccolo was stronger overall, by far. The fact that he was still not moving surprised me, but he wasn't dying either. There was a good chance he was trying to gather his thoughts and was playing possum.

"You should listen to your young friend here, he is obviously far more intelligent than you," she chuckled.

"Shut up witch! Or feel my wrath!" Vegeta shouted, holding up his hand to blast her. I pulled down on his arm, seeing what she was standing in front of.

"Let go boy, or you'll be next!" he growled as he pulled free.

"Then at least think, your aiming right at the door. Do you really want to lock us in here forever if you miss?" I whispered.

The creature overheard anyway, "Interesting, so there was a fail-safe sort of magic put on the door as well. Let's see how effective it is!" She reached out, and a bony, wrinkled hand emerged from the shadow form. Other than her story, she didn't sound or feel like someone old and decrepit. But being locked behind a shadow aura would probably hide that pretty well. When she grasped the door handle, an eruption of energy surged out of it, shocking her hand mildly. She didn't make any sort of sound regarding pain, just shook it off and stepped back.

"I see, which one of you gentlemen will open the door for me?" She asked as she turned to face us.

"Now that is amusing, asking one of us to open the door for a bitch like you!" Vegeta snorted.

I sensed an immediate flush of anger from her, "Do not continue your rude comments towards me! I will not tolerate them!"

Vegeta laughed right away, "Or what? You ugly excuse for a woman! You shouldn't be such an angry bitch, your period should have ended eons ago!" The creature vanished with a loud whoosh, and there were suddenly three versions of her surrounding Vegeta, one of them facing me.

"Am I supposed to be scared by a little illusion trick?" he laughed. I sensed differently, there were three clear-cut signals coming from them.

"Believe what you want to little man! You'll be dead before the day is over!" she claimed.

"Stay away from him!" I said as I powered up my sword just a bit more. The shadow in front reached out for me, but stopped just short as I stepped backwards, the shadow aura still engulfing her hand.

"I told you to stay out of this kid, or you'll do something you'll regret!" she said as her dark energy surrounded her.

"You'll have to do your worst to stop me then!" I shouted as I dashed forward and thrust my sword towards her stomach. As my Chi sword passed her outstretched hands, it breached her energy field and started to vanish. And then Vegeta cried out in pain. I stopped when I sensed my energy was next to him, and glanced over to see a green sword poking out from one of the other shadow forms, sticking right through Vegeta's side. I pulled back right away, and the other sword vanished. I stared in shock at the image before me, she had somehow redirected my attack from her to Vegeta.

"I told you not to, but now you learn the hard way. It's a shame! You won't be able to harm me without hurting your friends!" she claimed as all three forms marched back to the door, "Now open the door and I will leave you in peace!"

"Don't you dare let her go boy!" Vegeta growled as he spat up blood to go along with what was dripping out onto the ground.

"I don't have to let her do anything, without one of us, she can't escape," I said with a slight frown as I stepped towards Vegeta. I knelt down and poured energy into his wound as I kept an eye on the shadow forms.

"Don't waste your power on me!" he groaned.

"Shut up, she's not going anywhere. Besides, she's already proven that it would be useless to stay at full power," I said as I powered down to normal form.

"Quit being a fool boy!"

"Humph, now he smartens up, a bit too late little man! And by the way, it appears I won't need your help after all!" she declared.

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully. My answer opened the door a moment later, and a shocked Mister Popo stood there shaking.

"Oh my goodness! Mercurial!"

"Hello, fat man! Glad to see you remember me after all this time!" she growled.

"How did you escape your prison?" he asked.

"Ask someone who cares, I'm leaving this damned place!" she laughed.

"Over my dead body!" Popo said as he attempted to shut the door. The shadow images of this Mercurial reformed into one and vanished briefly before rushing past and reappearing out on the lookout before Popo could even budge.

"Go boy!" Vegeta pushed me back towards the door, though I was already flying in that direction. Popo was still in the process of shutting the door, he clearly didn't realize she had gone through already. The door nearly closed before I burst through it, knocking Popo on his ass and splintering the magic door. I scanned for Mercurial, and saw her wave a bony hand at me before jumping off the lookout. I rushed to the edge to follow, but saw nothing but clouds, sensing even less.

"Popo, what the hell was that?" I shouted at him. Popo whimpered a bit as he stayed on the ground, a stunned expression glued to his face.

"That, was a creature that should not have left this place! You have no idea what you've done!" another feminine voice answered for him. I glanced over to see Leira standing nearby, her own dagger in hand.

"Why do I get the feeling that you have something to do with this?" I asked.

Leira frowned, "Your instincts serve you well, but I am only involved to clean up the mess. And it's likely to be a big one," she replied.

**Power levels:**

**Verto: 311,000,000; Super Mystic: 622,000,000**

**Vegeta (SS2): 478,000,000; Super Saiyan 3: 587,000,000**

**A/n: For those that need it, Mercurial is another word for volatile. Appropriate isn't it?**


	23. Shadow Hunter

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 22: Shadow Hunter**

"I remember you," Popo said of Leira, who was busy scowling at me.

"I would hope so. After all, I assisted your previous guardian in trapping that creature. I would have hoped that he would have found a way to destroy her before keeling over, but I guess that would have been too much to ask," she scoffed.

"What was that thing, may I ask?" Dende asked as he finished healing Piccolo and Vegeta.

"Yes you may, she is a dangerous creature that came to power several hundred years ago. Her original origins point to being an Earthling, but…" Leira began.

"There's no way that thing is human!" Vegeta interrupted.

"Ahem, I never said that she was or wasn't. Now mind your tongue for the moment and we will determine such things," Leira snapped at him. To my surprise, Vegeta kept his answer to a mild grumble. As long as I had known him, he had to have either tremendous respect for someone to back off like that, or not a chance in hell at winning the argument. Only one person truly fit into the latter category more than half the time, his wife. _Considering the spat we just went through, his self-control must have improved ten fold in the last several minutes._

"Do you have something to add?" Leira asked me, seeing my staring at Vegeta's silence.

"Not right now, continue," I replied as calmly as I could.

She beamed at me for a brief second before moving on, "As Popo said, her name, or at least her name now is Mercurial. She was at one time a warrior like the rest of you, hell bent on protecting human kind and the earth. I believe she was a student that reached these training grounds at one point as well, correct?"

"Yes, very gifted," Popo stuttered notably.

"Her past is irrelevant, what is she now?" Vegeta cut in again.

"Her past has a lot to do with this actually. A unique but tortured soul. She was the daughter of both a highly skilled assassin and the granddaughter of a uniquely talented witch, thus the source of her powers. She was widely known for taking down several warlords in the past, but she went on one mission too many for the former guardian," Leira continued.

"So, Kami had her running chores?" Vegeta asked.

"No, Kami was not guardian yet, this was before his ascension. The former guardian before Kami was in charge then. She was doing jobs for him before Kami reached the lookout," Popo explained.

"That explains when, but what about the rest. You said she went on one mission too many?" I asked.

"Good, you are paying attention for once," Leira remarked with a tiny smirk to my scowl.

"Get to the point, I'm in a bad enough mood," I said.

"Very well. There was one dark lord she had not conquered, one that would eventually rise to compete with Kami for the guardian throne. His name was Garlic," Leira said.

"Great, him again," Piccolo muttered behind me as he got to his feet.

"Not exactly. Garlic had been very discrete about his evil actions around that time, for obvious reasons. The former guardian was busy and sent his apprentice to investigate the murder of a local ruler since traces of dark energy had been left behind. She followed a trail of clues to Garlic himself, but he had been waiting for her, and in true Mayko fashion, banished her to another dimension. Several years followed, and while we do not have the answers to what happened to her, we do have a theory. She eventually found a way to escape, but her time in this particular void had left her with deformities and had broken her will to live. After a time, she had finally snapped and gave in to whatever might try to devour her. I can only guess that a wandering demonic apparition found her and consumed her, granting incredible longevity along with unnatural ability. The near limitless power corrupted her soul once she had been broken, and the good person she once was vanished. She became what I would call, a Shadow Hunter. A creature of darkness with incredible abilities not meant to be seen by mere mortals. When she returned, she was an agent of evil, bent on taking revenge on Garlic, who had just been banished to his own dead zone by the former guardian. Mercurial was enraged by this, and blamed the guardian for robbing her of vengeance. She lured him out by plaguing the other Earthlings with her madness. She found that she could hide from him and everyone else in the shadows, and then she could possess others if she wished, though this would give away her position. She would gain the knowledge, memory and any added abilities of her hosts until she left them, though she usually retained anything important. She started wars on Earth just by possessing others, turning peaceful nations against each other just for her own amusement. Once confronted, the guardian found that her new abilities were far beyond his own, as you might have noticed," Leira explained, pausing for a moment.

"Let me guess, everything he did to her was deflected into others," I said.

"You're spot on today young one. That was one of her favorite tactics. Thus it was also why I was called in. The guardian needed an expert in the use of raw spirit power in order to both contain her and destroy her. Containment was a slight problem, and destroying her is a lot harder to do than normal. I think I have you to thank for that," she pointed at Piccolo.

"Why me?" he frowned.

"Technically, Kami. You might be having trouble with your memory of that particular event, as it was very painful for Kami. I'm not sure which set of dragonballs it was, first or second, but whichever had given her eternal life," Leira said with a very deep frown. Vegeta and I both turned to Piccolo, who looked stunned to say the least.

"I have no memory of such an occurrence," he said simply. I detected no lie from him, but that didn't mean anything at this point.

"Wait a second, another set of dragonballs?" Vegeta interrupted as he stared at Piccolo. The elder Namek only grimaced and remained silent.

"Most likely a flawed set that has hopefully been disposed of. Anyway, as I may have said, Mercurial can possess people. She has to expend a great deal of energy and willpower over those who are strong willed and thus she usually chose weaker minded targets. So while Kami was either under her influence, or being affected by someone else she controlled, she got a hold of those balls and made the wish. Her power was considerably effective against all comers, but her age was beginning to catch up with her, thus why she did it. It took a long amount of time before the guardian and I were able to lure her back up to this platform and trap her in that chamber. Obviously you will need to find a different location if you are to trap her again, or you will have to destroy her. Shadow Hunters are notorious for being able to bend shadows to their will, and use dark, evil energy to redirect the forces of light. That is why your attack didn't work. Their presence alone is a drain on the life around them, and their weapons are usually coated with a spectral energy designed to drain her victim's life force while they suffer from nightmares. Luckily for you Namek, she didn't leave it in long enough. Be cautious, and good luck!" Leira said with another unnerving smirk.

"That's it? Good luck, try to stop an all-powerful being that can't be killed? Don't you have some sort of suggestion on how to accomplish this?" I asked.

"Yes, move swiftly. The longer Mercurial goes unchallenged, the stronger she will be. She has the ability to build up her power by taking energy and matter from humans. I estimate that she had to use most of her energy to escape once you breached her prison, but it will not take long for her to regain it. Once that is done, her more, advanced, abilities will return," Leira said, pausing to get the point across.

"Okay, let's try this again. How do you suggest we contain her if we can't kill her?" I asked again.

"There are a few ways that this can be done without my help. One of them he knows," she pointed to Piccolo, "The other is to get her back in that time chamber and destroy the door to trap her for all time. I don't suggest the latter since you may need that chamber again. And there are ways to destroy an immortal being, if you look hard enough," she explained vaguely as she gave me a slight nod.

"And that would be what?" Vegeta asked.

"That would be thankfully out of your hands, Saiyan prince," she said as she turned away.

"Argh! Just give me a reason!" Vegeta threatened, but made no move towards her past a shaking fist. As usual, he hadn't missed what she said, but she already knew how to clear it from his mind with just the right insult. _That must have been some sort of signal to me, but what the hell could I do to kill an immortal being?_

"I don't suppose you could clue me in on what I would know about trapping this particular creature?" Piccolo asked.

"Let's put it this way, you were once trapped in such a way before," Leira noted.

Piccolo's eyes widened for the briefest second, "Oh, that way. Just what I wanted to do, honor _his_ legacy!"

"Will you two stop speaking in riddles and tell me what the hell you're talking about?" Vegeta demanded.

"The Evil Containment Wave. Roshi's former master Mutaito developed it. It was used to contain, me, or in this case, my father, for as long as the jar I was trapped in wasn't breached. He died by using the wave, but probably because he couldn't handle its power output. At a previous world's martial arts tournament, Kami used it on me, though I succeeded in reversing it and trapping him instead. It's a very effective move if it is done correctly, but the timing has to be flawless," Piccolo explained.

"And you think this will work on that creature?" Vegeta asked.

"Only if we can both hit her and then trap her inside some sort of sealed container. I should be able to materialize what we need," Piccolo said.

"Fine, let's go do some hunting!" Vegeta grumbled. I didn't move as I locked eyes with Leira.

"Well?" I started.

"Well what?" Leira asked with an odd grin displayed.

"Come on boy! It's obvious she won't be up to the challenge!" Vegeta shouted from the edge of the lookout.

"I still want to know why you are here, and why you keep coming into my life! And I know that you were referring to me in the book of Killing Immortals for dummies," I said sharply.

"Killing Immortals for dummies? I can't say I've ever read that book," she said, feigning ignorance.

"You know what I meant! Out with it!"

"Well, promise me that you will only use it as a last resort. That attack is dangerous to both you and the victim. There is a reason it is forbidden. But always remember this, sometimes the best way to fight evil, is with another kind of evil," she said with a scornful glance. I stopped and stared at her in slight disbelief.

"What the devil are you two talking about? The Namek can use that containment whatever wave since he is the only one of us who knows how to use it! A chance to prove his worth past being a bystander for the last several years," Vegeta growled as he pulled me by the arm. I followed him, but looked back briefly. Judging by the look Leira had been giving me, she wasn't talking about that at all. I glanced down at my right palm, specifically at the light scarring that had appeared not long ago.

I sensed Leira's concern flood through my mind all the way off the lookout, leaving me with one simple statement: _"Things are not as they seem, be careful!"_

* * *

Gohan had noticed a slight change in Videl when he visited her after seeing Verto the previous night. It wasn't much, and while her attitude and energy appeared normal enough, he couldn't hear any of her thoughts. As sporadic and random as that was at times, it was odd to hear silence. She denied it completely even when he brought it up, but while he wanted to believe her, his gut feeling just didn't go away. One hardened stare at him when he was leaving was enough to warn him of something amiss. He went home wondering what had happened during her outing, feeling guilty that he hadn't gone along to at least witness it. His feeling didn't go away during the night, if anything it intensified. The flight to school the following morning was one of his longer flights, despite arriving in town in significantly less time than usual. He did not immediately sense Videl's presence, which was extremely unusual since next to Buu she stuck out the most. Not to mention he could always feel her through their bond. He flew towards Satan mansion with haste to make sure that nothing was seriously wrong.

"Sorry Gohan, Videl has already left for school, I'm surprised you didn't see her on the way. She only left a few minutes ago," the maid reported.

"Was she acting a little strange overnight? I have this feeling that something is terribly wrong," he mentioned.

"No, nothing unusual for her, which isn't saying a lot. She isn't like most girls after all," she said.

"No need to remind me of that. Thanks anyway, I'll have to catch up with her at school then," he said before leaving.

-

Gohan cautiously entered his classroom and spotted Videl almost immediately, sitting in her usual spot. Rather than getting a cheerful hello, he received only a deep glare.

"Was it something I did?" he asked. Videl didn't answer, and kept her glowering glance going as he took his seat. Behind Videl, he spotted Ranso Teziwari again, seated right next to her with a bright grin on her face as she stared forward.

"Videl, what's wrong?" Gohan tried again.

"Shut up! You make me sick!" she spat. Though Gohan had no idea what to expect, he certainly didn't see that response coming.

"Ranso, what did you do to her?" Gohan asked directly this time.

Ranso turned in her seat, "Why Gohan, what makes you think I did anything to your precious girlfriend?"

"Because she doesn't act this way. And she's been different every since yesterday, I know you have something to do with it," Gohan replied with a serious tone, one that drew a few whispers.

"Come now, what could a little girl like me do to her?" Ranso asked as she gestured to herself. Gohan considered his answer, after all he didn't want to frighten his classmates. At the same time, if Ranso could control Videl in any way, that meant she had access to Videl's strength and power. He wouldn't be affected by it, but that put all the other students in danger.

"What do you want?" he asked instead.

"Come now, I know you're incredibly smart. What would any girl my age want? Fame, money, power, and love. As you can probably tell, I can get the first three on my own. Guess which one I want from you?" she smiled slyly. _That all but confirms it now, how do I disrupt her control? _

Gohan cleared his throat, "You can't make people love you Ranso. That isn't love, that's just control. Now let Videl go!"

"I'll let her go, if you agree to be my boyfriend. And of course eventual husband!" she replied. Gohan stared at her like she was crazy, _Even if I wanted her, I couldn't live with myself. Videl would never want me to do that._ Gohan considered his options if he accepted and then backed out later, once Videl was released from her spell. A lot less people could be hurt that way, and considering the anger radiating off Videl at the moment, the offer was tempting. Her ki was swelling with hatred, and it looked like she could go off at any second. As he was weighing his options, Ranso got to her feet and stepped towards him. Gohan jumped up and away, landing on the top table in front of several stunned students.

"You really shouldn't bother running, you won't be able to get away!" Ranso declared as her grin suddenly turned much darker. All of a sudden, three students grabbed Gohan's legs, all three trying to drag him downwards. Gohan shook them off carefully, but turned back into a direct fist from Videl. Gohan went flying into the wall, but got up quickly, staring down Videl. All around them, more and more students moved towards him, all of them with that same glassy-eyed look that clearly stated they were not in control of themselves.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I will defend myself!" Gohan warned as he released some of his power. Several students were blown backwards by this, a few being strung out across desks and chairs, as they never knew what hit them. Videl was unaffected, but had started to power up a ki blast in her hands.

"No Videl, don't!" Gohan shouted.

"Masenko, HA!" she fired point blank. The bright golden flash exploded off the wall once Gohan dodged, taking the corner of the room with it. Gohan had quickly repositioned himself to shield everyone from the blast, but that didn't keep the entire room from suffering damage. Once the dust and smoke cleared, the classroom now had a new skylight, and Gohan's school clothes were in tatters, but he was otherwise unaffected.

"Be careful! That could have hit me you know!" Ranso shouted into Videl's ear. Gohan's eyebrow went up in realization, _Well, she doesn't have as much control as I thought. Still, with Videl so enraged, she's not likely to be in much control of herself. Must be a passive thing once she cast her spell on her. I've got to reverse this and disrupt her control, but how? If only Verto were here, then he could use that feedback move. Wait a sec, that's it!_ Videl's fist connected with Gohan's face while he was lost in thought, and even as he left another hole in the wall, he still didn't show many signs of being hurt. Ranso stepped closer to get a better view, trying to figure out why Gohan wasn't moving even though he looked fine.

"Come on, get through," he grumbled.

"Are you giving up finally or what?" Ranso asked.

"Damnit, why did they have to fight today?" Gohan mumbled again, ignoring her.

"Get him!" Ranso ordered. The mob of students led by Videl then rushed towards Gohan, who leapt out of the wall and landed in the front of the classroom, forcing everyone to turn around to give chase.

"Okay, let's see here, very low energy, Psi power only, I got it!" he said, drawing one hand back as a small blue ball filled it.

"Surely you wouldn't fire on your classmates, you might kill them if you do!" Ranso warned as a drop of sweat went down her cheek.

"Feedback!" Gohan shouted as he fired his blue blast right at Videl, who went flying backwards and crashed through a table.

"Huh, that wasn't supposed to happen. Maybe it was too strong," Gohan noted.

"Why you!" Videl growled as she crawled out of the table debris. Gohan frowned; _I should have learned this one properly from the Protoss. Verto and Vegeta have got to be out of that time chamber by now, unless they beat each other up so badly that they're both unconscious._ _No, that can't be right, I feel them flying around west of here. Then why isn't Verto responding…unless he's so focused on something else that he's blocking any telepathic contact without realizing it. Well, its probably very important if they're flying that fast. Great, that means I'll have to figure this one out on my own._

* * *

"Argh! How the blazes are we supposed to find that bitch if we can't sense her?" Vegeta growled as we flew through the air. I shook my head slightly, his patience had run out a long time ago and it had basically turned into a meltdown, without the usual explosion. It still amazed me that it hadn't run out on Leira, but that appeared to be just a one time thing now. Piccolo grumbled a bit, he was sick of Vegeta's complaining as well.

"Well, if we can't sense her out, then we'll have to find her with our other senses, just like the androids!" Piccolo suggested.

"Don't lecture me Namek!" Vegeta barked back. I rolled my eyes and declined to jump in. I focused instead on what Leira had been saying, specifically what Vegeta and Piccolo hadn't heard. _Things are not what they seem, what the hell could she be talking about? And is she speaking of this shadow creature, or me? God I really hate not knowing things ahead of time anymore, it sure made things easier. Not that a vague speech is any better. Guess I better get used to both._ I felt Piccolo's gaze shift to me, and I stared back with an eyebrow raised, wondering what was going through that head of his. As Vegeta took the lead and kept mumbling incoherently, Piccolo spoke silently.

"_So, what was she talking about?"_ he asked.

"_What do you mean?_"

"_You know what I mean, she basically told us that you had some sort of new attack that is forbidden. Does this have something to do with why you got into trouble a few weeks ago? When you broke into the afterlife after I warned you not to?"_ I gazed downward for a brief moment with a twinge of regret.

"_Come on Piccolo, you know I had to do it. That prick wouldn't have stopped murdering people in that town,"_ I said, not making eye contact.

"_Well that's all in the past. Whether it was the right thing or not is up to someone else to decide. I want to know what she is talking about, what attack is forbidden?"_ His question stumped me for a moment as I looked him in the eye. I had figured he was going to chew me out eventually for going against his word, but that didn't appear to be what he was after.

"_Is it necessary to do this now?"_ I asked as I glanced at Vegeta for a brief moment.

"_Stop stalling kid, I know you better than you think. If you have something that is dangerous to those around you, you had better tell me now! I already know about the strange mutations!_" he shouted over the airwaves.

I grimaced at his words, but complied, "_It's something that Dabura taught me in case I needed it. Maybe it's just a demon thing; the Kais certainly didn't approve of it. It's a very specific way of attacking that should only be used as a last resort when death alone will not do, or isn't possible. I had already killed that bastard Freddy and thanks to Babidi, he kept coming back for more. I was just so angry that I couldn't think of using anything else. Probably should have finished the wizard off while I was at it,"_ I said, glancing at my right hand for a moment. The light scar tissue seemed to catch Piccolo's attention even more so.

"_So, what does it do?_" Piccolo asked, his tone much lighter. I eyed him again, though judging by the way he looking at my hand; he was probably wondering what I had felt at that time.

"_Something terrible. He may have deserved every bit of it at the time, but I don't ever want to use it again if I can help it. He's gone forever now, I doubt even the dragon could bring him back, to the afterlife,"_ I thought angrily. Piccolo nearly lost focus on his flight, but recovered before Vegeta noticed.

"_So he no longer exists, in any form?"_ he asked.

I nodded as I pushed my anger aside, "_But that isn't the worst. Deep down, somewhere, I think I liked it._" Piccolo's nervous stare bore through me for a long time after that.

-

We flew around for nearly an hour before we first sensed it. In a desert town near Baba's place, Mercurial had either struck, or had used her power to possess someone. Piccolo and I had locked on to it right away, but Vegeta was still trying to pinpoint her shadow energy trail.

"We shouldn't split up unless necessary for this. I don't think we want to be caught off guard and without help," I suggested as we approached.

"Agreed," Piccolo replied while Vegeta snorted and looked away. It was a small town thankfully, but a few of the buildings were very narrow, providing plenty of shadows to hide in. Predictably, that was where her energy trail was coming from. But when we arrived, we saw only a slumped figure leaning against the wall. He was normal enough for a human, very broad size build, but his face didn't match. I felt his life fading even as we landed; his face was rapidly wrinkling up as his hair starting to turn gray before falling out.

"What's happening to him?" Piccolo asked first. I rushed over and saw some sort of imprint around his face and neck in the shape of a hand, outlined in purple.

"He's aging, much too fast. He'll die if we don't do something," I said.

"Go ahead and try to save him, see if it matters," a voice said from behind. We spun to see Mercurial's shadow aura vanishing around the darkened alley walls. In the blink of an eye, her signal was gone, and so was the man on the ground. His skin merely deteriorated into dust and his bones fell apart, leaving only clothes on a pile of dirt.

"Where'd she go this time?" Vegeta asked as he approached the spot where she had just been. I scanned around the immediate area, but found nothing. I broadened the search, and suddenly found it quite a ways away.

"No way," I muttered.

"What is it boy?" Vegeta barked as he turned.

Piccolo had found it too, "She can teleport great distances it seems!"

"And suck the life out of people," I said as I stared at the remains.

"Just like Cell could. This might be a very difficult hunt, and we may have to suppress our powers," Piccolo suggested. Miles away, I sensed more lives fading, and very quickly.

"I'm not doing that blasted hiding crap, we won't be able to move fast enough to do anything about that witch!" Vegeta roared.

"I do agree with you Piccolo, but Vegeta's right. We've already seen what that creature can do, we can't delay in stopping her," I said.

"So be it, let's go," he replied.

-

About five minutes later, we came close to Mercurial signal again in another town. It was larger in size than the previous one, and also more chaotic. To say that a full panic was in order, didn't do it justice. People were running around in circles. Police were running around in circles trying to contain them. A few riots had even broken out; it was just full chaos in a nutshell. How this had broken down already made me wonder what we were truly up against.

"What the devil happened here?" Vegeta asked, intrigued as we floated several hundred feet above. I scanned and found Mercurial's shadow signal inside another human, one that was throwing objects at police. Whether that human was tasered or just knocked down by a nightstick, I wasn't sure, but he did go down. I sensed Mercurial's signal suddenly jump again, to one of the cops. This cop pulled his gun and started shooting into the crowd, dropping several of them. If the place wasn't going nuts before, it did then. Other police were trying to stop the possessed cop, while rioters were either running, or charging the police again in anger. The fighting suddenly stalled though when Mercurial's next apparent victim ran through the streets, wearing only a birthday suit and emitting that same energy signal. It resumed again once every man in the area tried to take advantage of the alleged victim and ended up starting another riot for a different reason.

"She's toying with them," I said, fist shaking slightly. The signal finally stopped, and a new figure appeared on a rooftop, laughing her head off. I swooped down and landed on the same roof, staring her down. Her image had changed though, now she was slim, young and athletic, with flowing black hair and a matching figure to the one who had just streaked through the area. The only difference was that she was now clothed in a light black top with cut off sleeves and matching pants. Both her weapons were attached around a utility belt that was barely tight enough to stay on.

"Now that was fun, I haven't done that in years!" she laughed, in a younger but identical voice.

"Why have you done this?" I asked, seething.

"Because I wanted to. Sorry to say, but you three are a bit slow. I've already drained enough to restore my youth, looks and power! I was just having some fun with the crowd while I was waiting. I'm ready to pick up where we left off if you wish," she said with a slight bow.

Her statement confused me, "I thought you wished for eternal life, how would youth be a problem?" I asked.

"Oh, you know about that do you? Well it is a very good question, but its kind of intimate knowledge," she said with a dark grin.

"How ironic boy, you're very intimate with the ladies. But I will take care of that myself," Vegeta said as he landed, though it didn't quite sound like a joke.

"Kinky, but I'm afraid I have no interest in little men who don't know when to give up. I'll make this quick since you let me out of my prison," she said as her hands started to spark with dark, purple energy. I could sense Vegeta tense up, his power was already dangerously close to exploding outwards, but her latest statement pushed him over.

"It's time you learned who you're dealing with little girl," he said as his blue aura turned gold once again.

"Please little man, enlighten me," she dared. The roof around us started to shake and crumble as Vegeta powered back up, shattering it when he reached his goal.

"I'll show you!" Vegeta shouted, transforming to Super Saiyan and charging in immediately.

"Vegeta, don't!" Piccolo called, far too late. Mercurial stood ready, energy gathering in her palms. _She's going to counter him with some sort of blast._ Vegeta flew in and punched, hitting nothing but air, sending all that air rushing through the streets with just the force of it. People screamed as the wind knocked them down, and even sent a few tumbling painfully away. I didn't see her actually move, but could sense her reappear just to the right, far enough to not even be affected by Vegeta's energy. Her attack finished, and Vegeta barely had time to turn in realization.

"Bye!" she said. Her attack rushed out of her hands, a small comet-like blast of purple. It didn't feel strong enough to even scratch Vegeta, but it did feel like very focused energy. Vegeta had turned to face it, but was sent flying into the mesh of buildings nearby, smashing through them. Mercurial slowly stepped towards the edge and peered over. I sensed Vegeta was alive, but was stunned and disoriented. _Yeah, its obvious that she doesn't need extreme power to be effective, she has enough of it._

"Not bad, very few creatures can withstand one of my Shadow Bolts and still be alive, never mind moving after getting hit," she admitted.

"Try it on me then," I challenged. I already had my power ready to either cancel it out, or deflect it with my sword, but I didn't want to reveal that just yet.

"That would be cruel. That strong man might have withstood it, but a child couldn't survive it," she turned away. I took the chance and rushed forward, blocking her path by phasing in and out.

"Becoming young again must have warped your brain. You clearly forget, I'm stronger than him," I warned as I stared up at her tall form.

"And just as stubborn apparently, very well boy. Since you don't know when to leave well enough alone, I'll show you something very special," she said, spreading her arms wide. She brought them together above her head as I powered up, though staying in normal form this time. Mercurial began to concentrate her power again, this time into a larger ball of purple that began to catch fire. I stared at it wide eyed as she laughed crazily, her purple fireball literally melting away the rooftops and super heating the air around us. _Great, what is that going to do? _

"Shadow and Flame!" she shouted. Her ball of flames and power soared into the air, swirling and pulsing as it rotated around. Suddenly, below me and all around the city, bright yellow flames shot out from the dark nooks and crannies, incinerating everything in the way. Every little spot of shadow or darkness had suddenly come alive and caught fire. _She can turn shadows into fire? _The flames soared into the air, coming in contact with the ball and combining with it, creating a bright yellow and black sphere of death that didn't look like it would tickle. I didn't bother wondering what would happen next, and raised both hands to charge up my Psi shield.

"Good luck, you'll need it!" she laughed as her ball dropped towards me. _Great, how the hell do I stop this one? Whether I can take on the attack directly is clearly unknown, and I can't let it detonate right here either._ The shadow-fire ball struck my energy shield, spinning its way forward. I could hear Mercurial laughing nearby as it grinded towards me from less than ten feet away. I cringed and hunkered down, adding energy as I did in hopes to somehow deflect this thing before it went boom. The fireball suddenly stopped all forward momentum, and spun opposite my shield's own direction, sitting there and flashing dangerously.

_Only a few seconds left, gotta send it upwards, otherwise it could take out the whole town and everything in it!_ I sent out a carefully powered push of Psi, aimed at pushing the fireball into the atmosphere. By pure good luck it cooperated, and blocked out the sun with its bright flashes as it soared into the air, darkening the skies. As I expected, it broke down and began to explode, but the reaction was something completely different. As the fireball blew up, nearly a hundred smaller bolts of yellow and black rained out from it in different directions, several directed right at me. I quickly formed my shield again, deflecting them off easily. As they bounced off, they prompted exploded, tearing apart the building I was on and blinding me. I sensed the other ones doing the same, and kept my shield up as I shut my eyes. I felt the heat increase, and also felt the life leaving the town as screams of terror surrounded me. I opened my eyes once the screaming stopped, and found myself floating above ground zero. All around, the remaining buildings were on fire, and several spots of ash dotted the streets, all with traces of life leaving them. Piccolo was down nearby, not moving and in tatters, but still alive. Vegeta was still buried under rubble, but also alive. The skies remained dark, and Mercurial was floating where she had been before, dark grin plastered all over her face, and eyes blacker then night were staring me down.

"That, was a real demonstration of power kid. I suggest you leave me be if you don't want to join those pathetic worms I just stamped out!" she warned. I was still so shocked and stunned from the attack that I couldn't manage more than a quiver of the lip. It had been awhile since I had seen such an evil act laid out in front of me. Gruesome murders were one thing, genocide was another. Mercurial blew me a kiss and vanished promptly, reappearing far away once again. The screams echoed through my head a few more times before I finally gave in to them.

"You fucking bitch!" I whispered as my energy lashed out at the air. I kept myself from transforming on the spot, but the air and nearby ground wasn't spared from any lightning strikes, not that there was anything left to destroy. I heard Piccolo and Vegeta stirring, but didn't bother to wait. I had to catch her, and quickly figure out how to kill her. Piccolo's plan with the Evil Containment Wave wasn't an option anymore. I quickly locked onto Mercurial's power signal far to the north and blasted off in pursuit. _I'll get you for this! I'll use all the power I have if I have to!_

* * *

"Feedback!" Gohan shouted, plowing Videl down again with another blue Psi blast. The effect was stunning, but not enough to do more than that, and Gohan was frustrated again.

"What are you doing?" Ranso asked, confused. Gohan didn't answer, but at the very least she hadn't figured it out either. He had been running around the school, being chased by hordes of controlled, crazy students and constantly attacked by his own girlfriend in the process. Needless to say, there was a lot of property damage going around. Gohan knew he could end it all easily by powering up, but that just wouldn't be right in his eyes. In the back of his head he also realized that trying to knock Ranso out brought the risk of coming in contact with her. He knew nothing of her control ability, and decided it best not to try it. The entire time he had been trying to figure out the Feedback technique that Verto was so good at. He silently cursed himself for not learning it from the Protoss when he had the chance. He had settled for training with his father and grandfather while Verto seemed to do almost nothing besides meditate. He remembered the results all too well; it usually involved him being sidelined. It wasn't entirely his fault, the Dark Templar Zeratul didn't think he would be able to handle the same focus and training that Verto had gotten through, but Gohan had doubted that very much. When they had first unlocked their Psi energy, Gohan couldn't do much more than fire a blast and move faster, giving him instant transmission. He had treated it as a resource for more power and speed, and it had granted just that. It augmented his already extreme power, but it didn't provide him with anything he didn't have before. He couldn't even try to focus it into a sword without burning up a room beforehand. Maybe Verto just had a natural talent for it, he wasn't sure, but he knew that it couldn't be that simple. Things had changed since then, anything Verto could do, he could do, he was certain. Viro had demonstrated that to him, he had to have the capability the whole time and just wasn't aware for it.

_Damnit, I can do this. Now what did Verto do in our fight that was so different?_ Gohan asked himself as he dodged students and ran for the door. He recalled Verto summoning two smaller versions of the Spirit bomb during that fight, but they had been Chi powered. _Why did he do that though? _Another memory flashed through him, one where he and Verto were dueling with energy swords, and one of the bombs had gone right through Verto and turned his sword white for a brief moment. _That must have been the feedback effect. The two techniques must be one in the same, or at least similar enough to substitute one for the other. The Spirit bomb tends to be more about damage, but both affect evil. I've never used one before…wait a second! What did Dad say that one day when we fought Vegeta? _

"_Bounce it back Gohan!_" Goku thought out to his son.

"_What, daddy?_" Gohan thought as the bomb approached him.

"_Bounce it back! Clear your mind! That ball can't hurt you if you don't have evil in your heart!_" Gohan recalled being able to deflect the spirit bomb without a scratch, due to having no evil thoughts or intentions in his heart.

"That's it!" he said happily as he rushed through the door and then floated into the air. Only Videl would be able to get to him in the air, and that's exactly who he wanted. Soon the whole school poured through the doors, mobs of angry students and teachers, all directed at him by Ranso's mind control. Videl and Ranso soon joined them, Videl rising through the air, snarling as she did. Gohan calmed his mind, smiling warmly with thoughts of his family and friends as he charged the Psi ball in his hands.

He didn't even open his eyes when he took aim, "Feedback!" He heard Videl groan as his attack struck, and sensed her falling through the air, being filled with painful energy bursts at the same time. He rushed down to catch her, earning a kick or two when he did, and setting her down to suffer in her own anger as white lightning streaked through her over and over again. Ranso stopped in stunned silence now that Videl was down, and the enraged students backed off.

"What did you do to her? Your own girlfriend?"

"I stopped her from hurting herself and others, as I will do to you if you force me," Gohan warned.

"Get him!" Ranso shouted. The mob of students rushed towards Gohan, who didn't bother hesitating this time and powered up just slightly, sending out a ki wave that knocked them all down. Ranso also fell to the ground, but quickly backed away, running for the door to the school.

"Stay away from me!" she cried out as she ran.

"Just a minute ago, you wouldn't have said that," Gohan replied calmly as he followed her inside. Ranso didn't have much of a lead on him, but did call upon the help of a teacher with a metal chair in hand. The chair broke in half upon striking Gohan's hard head, and he responded by chopping the teacher lightly to knock him out. Ranso kept running, but there was nothing but hallway ahead, and a clear shot for Gohan.

"Feedback!" he fired again, the white ball flying through and hitting Ranso in the back. She fell to the ground as a few energy strands circled through her, and Gohan instantly sensed a different feeling in the hostile crowds outside. He emerged from the high school to find several hundred tired and confused students. Videl was staring at her own hands as he walked up, offering a hand to her.

"Gohan? What happened here?" she asked.

"It's a bit of a story, what do you remember?" he asked.

"Just being really angry with you for some reason, I still don't know why. Felt like I was dreaming, but I feel sore all over like I was Vegeta's punching bag for a week," she groaned.

Gohan winced, "Sorry about that, I didn't think I had hit you that hard. Let's just say that mind control girl had something to do with it!"

"She didn't make you do anything, weird, with her, did she?" Videl asked as she stared into his eyes.

"Nah, she never got close," Gohan grinned. His senses were suddenly alerted by something new though, and he turned to stare at the distance, where he sensed a dark power clashing with a familiar one.

"What is that?" Videl asked.

"It's Verto, he's fighting someone powerful, but I don't know who, and, oh god," Gohan suddenly dropped as a sick feeling hit his stomach.

"What was that? Is he okay?" Videl asked again, though sensing the disturbance coming from the distance.

"I'm not sure, I just felt a lot of people suddenly die. And they suffered; it wasn't instant like Buu or anyone else we've faced. I've got to go," he replied, standing up.

"Yeah, I will too!" Videl said.

"No, stay and look after everyone here. This isn't a normal foe," Gohan ordered as he rose up took flight. He sensed his father's presence near Piccolo as Verto was streaking away angrily, and quickened his pace.

As Videl and the other students tried to put together what all happened, no one noticed Ranso creeping away. She was hobbling a little due to being weakened, but she managed to limp a steady pace towards a limousine parked on the street. She opened the door and got in, turning to face the man sitting across from her.

"You were supposed to bring someone else along," he said.

"Sorry, but he was a little too hard to handle. I never got close enough and then he did something that shut my power completely down. It was some sort of energy blast, but it felt different and it didn't hurt me like I thought it would. I think whatever it was is gone, but it did reverse the effects of my power. Do you want me to try again?" Ranso asked.

"Not right now, we'll have another day for that Saiyan half-breed. Right now we have a different plan in mind, in which you will play a very important role. Your previous duty of capturing mutated humans will continue, but we have a few bigger targets now. You'll have another chance at the Saiyans," the man explained.

Ranso nodded, "Yes Doctor."

**A/n: This is a public service announcement reminding you that most of what you think you know about this story may have just gone flying out the window and replaced with a new, up to date version. Have a nice day.**


	24. Mercurial's Arsenal

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 23: Mercurial's Arsenal**

"Vegeta! Answer if you can hear me!" Goku called out as he rummaged through a few piles of rubble. He had sensed what was going on and teleported to the scene shortly after Verto had blasted off. He only had two Senzu beans with him, but that was enough for his downed friends.

"He should be around here somewhere Son. That thing we were fighting only hit him once," Piccolo said as he dropped his heavy weights, or what was left of them.

"So, whoever did this is that powerful?" Goku asked with a serious tone.

"Yeah. It was a little misleading, but she can definitely handle the likes of us!"

"Is that what Verto is chasing then? I only sensed a dark power for a brief moment before his energy blocked it out. Can you tell me what we're up against?" Before Piccolo could answer, one of the only buildings left suddenly exploded with golden light and an anguished scream.

"Where did she go?" Vegeta shouted down as he rose from the depths.

"Vegeta, calm down! We'll come up with a plan first!" Piccolo called back.

"Go ahead then! Proceed with your planning! You can let me know what you came up with after I rip her to pieces!" Vegeta roared as he blasted off in Verto's direction.

"It still amazes me that a fighting genius is below all of that stubbornness. Sometimes I wonder how," Piccolo noted before sighing slightly.

"I sense Gohan coming here, so you can fill us in at the same time. But tell me one thing, how was it that somebody could take a Super Saiyan down, and I could barely sense it?" Goku asked, confused.

"It is a very evil power Goku, one that isn't focused on pure strength like we are used to. But that doesn't make her any less dangerous. To top things off, she's supposedly immortal," Piccolo added.

"As in, a wish to the dragon?" Goku asked in shock. Piccolo only nodded grimly.

"But, when? We would have known!" Goku claimed.

"It was before our time Goku, that is all I know for sure. Your son is here by the way," Piccolo pointed out as Gohan flew into view.

"So, what can we do then?" Piccolo hesitated to answer, but then held up his hands and concentrated his energy. A large jar with red symbols materialized in his hands, one that he handed to Goku.

"But this is…?" Goku started to ask.

"Yes, it's just like the jar I was trapped in long ago," Piccolo replied with a deep frown.

"The Containment Wave! Of course! But are you sure you can pull it off on this fighter?" Goku said as Gohan landed.

"If there's anything I've learned over the years, especially from you two, it's to never underestimate those who are desperate and determined. We have a lot of ground to make up; I'll explain our little problem along the way!"

* * *

I sensed Mercurial occasionally continuing her attacks against the people as I followed her trail. She was moving in a somewhat straight line, all the way to the north and slightly east. She came much closer to West City then I would have preferred, but didn't even bother to make a pit stop. I could only assume that she was playing a game of cat and mouse with me, and unfortunately the mouse could teleport over great distances. I couldn't quite tell if she was getting any stronger or not, it didn't seem like she was trying to charge up as much as elude me. Every time I got close to wherever she attacked, she vanished again, and she was barely leaving her mark. It wasn't like when we had caught up and found her toying with humans. The most I even spotted was one downed human on a rooftop or in an alleyway. I also sensed Goku and Gohan joining up with Piccolo, and Vegeta following me, but I had to beat them to this one. Her weak Shadow Bolts were enough to knock Vegeta out as a Super Saiyan. No matter what her other attack did, her first move made the bigger impact on me. The second had only pissed me off once I realized what happened. _I had the impression that someone using Chi could be beaten by someone like Vegeta or Goku, at least if they were stronger, but perhaps I was wrong, as was Old Kai. Vegeta wasn't even in the same league as her, and he should have been faster and stronger by far. It's possible though that it is just so concentrated that it makes any other attack seem like nothing. It's kind of like me and my own power, focus and nearly anything can be done. She's already proven she can at least hang around in a fight, or probably even win since I have no real idea how we might stop her. But why is she leading me on this wild chase? She must be looking for something, or someone. Doesn't matter, I have to stop her._ _My full power was thrown aside like it wasn't there, but Leira mentioned that they might have stopped her last time using Spirit power, meaning Psi energy only. Wouldn't be the first time I guess. _

Mercurial's trail continued all the way up towards North City, where it stopped dead in its tracks not far away. I flew faster, catching up within a few minutes and finding her hovering near a small town among tall, snow covered mountain peaks. The way she was positioned though, I could only guess that she had been waiting for me.

She didn't react to my sudden stop, only grinned, "Well now, look who's back for more. Where are Kami and that idiotic muscle head?"

I floated closer with a deep glare, "You should hope that I'm not done with you by the time they get here, bitch!"

It was Mercurial's turn to frown at me, "Alright then kid, I've turned you down for long enough. Since you're so eager to die, I will oblige!" Her hand sparked for barely a second before another purple comet flew out of it. Being powered up kept me ready for it, and I quickly formed my blue Psi sword, batting it aside with a long sweep.

"Argh, you shouldn't be able to do that!" she growled.

I glanced back at her carefully, "You're being presumptuous, just as I was when this started. Don't assume you know everything there is to know about me just from a clash or two. Technically we haven't gone even half a battle yet!" Mercurial attempted to calm herself, barely succeeding,

"You are a student of higher forces, and I can see that now. I thought I sensed something amiss when you deflected my attacks earlier, but it seems combining your Spirit power with your physical power had somehow blinded me to it. I should have realized that you possessed an impressive amount of Spirit power and could use it separately. My mistake, don't let it be yours," she suggested.

"I doubt you have to worry about that, you dried up ugly hag!" Mercurial's anger resurfaced and she fired off more of her Shadow Bolts at a high rate. I phased out to avoid them, watching closely as they impacted one of the mountains and tore it down. She turned and fired another, which I smashed back at her with my sword. A large sphere of light purple surrounded her and blocked it, canceling out the Shadow Bolt with nothing more than a few sparks to show for it.

"That won't work young fool, you see, I also know a few things about our kind of power. Creating a permanent, protective shield around myself protects me from all attacks, including my own. I highly doubt that you can generate enough focus and power to break it, though even if you could, you would regret it. It takes little to no energy away from me, and would take nearly all of yours. That is your only warning, you may proceed with your flawed efforts!" she warned. I allowed a quick glance to the south and west, where I sensed the others coming from. _She sure is confident, enough to give me that little tip. Just have to keep her guessing so one of us to drop the big one on her!_ I slid back into stance, holding my sword in one hand and a ki blast in the other.

"And what do you plan to do now?" she asked.

"Just testing a few theories, like this one!" I said, firing the blast. It turned into smoke upon hitting her shield, little to no fluctuation in either her energy or her posture.

"Come now kid, you're smarter than you act. I know I don't have to point this out by now, but physical power alone cannot stand up to my abilities. And anything involving physical power can be redirected and used against you! It is futile to resist!" she declared. _Well now, isn't she informative? Must be that immortality talking, thinking she's unbeatable. Thanks for clearing that up though. Ki alone won't work, and Chi has a risk of being turned back on me. That means I have to rely solely on my Psi energy. But I don't think I can generate enough power to break that shield. Though there's always the chance she's bluffing about that, none of us have had a good crack at her yet. Guess I'll have to find out the hard way._

"For someone so eager to fight, you sure are taking your time kid. Not so sure you can beat me anymore are you?" she asked.

"Just planning my next steps carefully,I wouldn't want to scar your wrinkled face!" I replied. Sparks lit up the air around her for a brief second, showing me that she angered from rude comments very, very easily. She might have looked young, but she was still feeling at least some of her age.

She suddenly smiled, "Just for that, I'm going to make sport of this!" She tugged her circular blade off its place at her waist, and held it up for a moment.

"This blade will be your doom, and I feel the need to warn you again, it will follow you until its job is done!" I frowned at this, but held up my blue sword in response, challenging her silently.

"Your energy blade might be able to hold it off, but it will not stop it, no matter what you do!" she announced. As she held it, her dark, purple energy enveloped it, creating a glowing and shimmering purple disc. _What is this, a Frieza remake?_ She said nothing more, and hurled the disc right at me. I prepared to stop it myself with my sword, but the odd prickling at the back of my neck told me not to do that. I dodged aside as it stormed through the air, before turning when it had gone well past, and swinging back in my direction. I dove towards the ground, let it catch up, and then switched directions quickly and headed straight up. The blade stopped and turned around again, giving chase. I shook my head at this game and changed direction, heading right for Mercurial instead.

"Oh, look who has a plan. A truly foolish one I might add!" she declared as she pulled her disc towards her, hot on my tail. _Well it wouldn't be the first time a foolish plan worked!_ I flew towards her full speed, firing a quick ki blast and phasing out. Smoke clouded her shield and the disc flew in. A loud and large crackle of energy popped through the air, probably causing a few small avalanches nearby. When things cleared though, Mercurial was still in place, and still in one piece. Her spinning blade was trying to cut her shield, but failing miserably.

"As I said, my shield protects me from even my own assaults. Good try though, stupid brat!" _I should have figured. Looks like I'll need a different approach to this._ Mercurial waved her hand forward, and the disc was heading my way once again. I clenched my fist for a brief moment, releasing a sizeable ki blast in an effort to overpower the disc. The golden ball didn't stop when it made contact, but to my surprise, it split in two, and then into many smaller energy balls that dispersed. The disc had smashed right through and kept on coming. _She wasn't bluffing about Ki energy having no effect._ I glided downwards slowly, allowing the disc to catch up before holding up my hand, dropping my sword and generating my Psi shield up to ten feet away. The disc collided with it and then spun against it, sending sparks and small lightning bursts into the air around it. I gathered a small force of energy and added it to my shield before throwing it into the blade, attempting to knock it off balance. It worked, and the disc was thrown aside, dropping towards the ground, still glowing with sparkling, purple Chi. I glanced back up at Mercurial, who didn't seem phased by this at all. Her hand suddenly shot up and grabbed at empty air. My eyes darted to the blade, which stopped dead in the air. Mercurial's hand then shot out and up, like a backwards version of a slashing attack. The blade turned a little lighter and pink in color, before blasting towards me like it suddenly had a serious speed boost. I powered up my energy shield a bit more in caution, flinching slightly when it hit. The effort behind the disc was clearly stronger this time, and I could feel my shield was struggling just to stay in place. I attempted to throw the blade off course again, but before I could act, another surge of energy came from Mercurial, two of them actually. I didn't see what she was doing, but one of the surges was clearly aimed for me. The blade suddenly sliced right through, and my shield completely collapsed. I barely managed to duck out of the way and blasted off, the blade in hot pursuit once it turned around.

_Holy crap, what a strong disc! Frieza's version is nothing compared to that!_ I summoned my sword again when the disc picked up more speed, turning to bat it away. Another sudden rush of dread filled me as the shadowy energy got close, and I got out of the way instead. _What is going on; it's like I feel danger coming and I hesitate and run away instead? I can't be like that; I have to stop this thing! Maybe her shadow power is playing tricks with my mind in order to make me weak!_ When that thought hit me, I stopped and turned to face the disc with all seriousness and concentration. It felt like Mercurial's energy was all over the place, and I shut it out, focusing my own power instead. My sword brightened and enhanced as I poured power into it, becoming much thicker and brighter with a thin blue Psionic flame licking the air just around it.

"This is the end for you kid!" I heard her shout from below.

"No, it isn't!" I declared, charging the purple disc as it flew towards me. I met it with a hard sword slash, barely slowing it down as it flashed with power. I managed to dash aside and spin before it could change directions. _Here's my shot, I have to take it!_ I powered up my sword even more before throwing it end over end, right at the disc. Just as the purple disc stopped, my sword smashed into it. A bright purple and blue flash went off, but faded quickly, with Mercurial's purple blade falling. But as I looked closer, I saw that only purple colored smoke was flowing off of it, and it was actually splitting in two as it fell. I sensed Mercurial's frustration from across the way, perhaps she fancied that circular sword. I flew back down to face off with her again.

"Game over witch!" I said, holding up my Psi sword again.

"Only for you!" she growled. I lifted an eyebrow in question as her shadow aura flowed into view again. Suddenly, I felt something just behind me. I spun to see another Mercurial looming over me from just a few inches away. _Ah crap, she split again! _I attempted to slash at her with my sword, but found I couldn't even move, and could only watch as she grabbed my wrists and avoided my blue blade. Painful energy surged through me for a brief second before any and all sound suddenly vanished. My energy sense also clouded up and I couldn't feel anything besides myself. I opened my eyes to see that I was hovering in the air, just above ground level in a darkened part of a forest, surrounded by an even darker purple colored bubble. I could move again, but only a foot or two before brushing against its solid surface. _It's some sort of trap! _Mercurial was standing just outside of the bubble and placed her hand on it. Her voice filled the trap, though her lips did not move.

"_I'm not quite finished with you kid, so I trapped you in my Shadow Bubble. You intrigue me. Don't bother trying to escape from this one; no matter how much power you have, you won't be able to do it! I might have a use for you later, so you can sit down here in solitude while I take care of unfinished business with your friends! When that is done, well I guess you'll find out the hard way!"_ She removed her hand and her voice was gone, and she vanished just as quickly. I punched the solid energy surface, getting no results. I pushed ki energy outwards to try and break out, but that didn't do anything either. _Duh, physical power won't do much good! Let's see how my sword does._ My blue sword didn't even stretch out two feet before it stopped and split off a few inches across on the bubble's surface. I stopped and saw barely any smoke coming from the impact point. _Shit, how the hell do I get out? Maybe I should try to reverse its effects._ I refocused quickly and brightened the whole bubble with white Psi.

"Feedback!" The ball burst into tiny dots upon the surface, doing even less than the sword. _Son of a bitch!_ I sat down and tried to think my way out of this trap as golden flashes went off from above. Past the tree canopy, intense gold explosions were going off, and judging by the intensity, I could only guess that Vegeta was behind it. I still couldn't sense anything past the bubble, and I sighed in slight defeat. I was going to have to wait this one out. _This is bullshit! I really hate waiting._

* * *

Vegeta picked up the pace and sweated nervously when he sensed Verto's Ki vanish. His initial reaction faded though once he thought things over. _No, the kid can't be dead; I would have felt him go. He just suddenly vanished. Must be some trick by that witch to trap him!_ Vegeta approached the mountainous region quickly, but somewhat cautiously. He hadn't been able to sense a whole lot of Verto's last clash with Mercurial, only the random fluctuations of her dark power and an occasional flash from Verto himself. Not being able to sense all of Verto's power all the time always bothered him a bit, but nothing could be done about that. Sparring with him at full power always alleviated that somewhat, but ever since the Zerg Wars, he couldn't easily predict every move he made anymore. That particular fact now concerned him, it appeared that Mercurial was the same way. Despite the evil power she possessed, he could sense quite a bit of it. Whether it was all of it or not he wasn't sure, but it didn't matter to Vegeta anymore. She hadn't used much against his supposedly superior power, and it had knocked him out. _If not for my new ability to recover, I might have been knocked out for hours before anyone found me. This woman must be dealt with, and I have a feeling that only the boy will be able to do it. That containment thing Piccolo was talking about sounds too simple, too easy, and too risky. Immortal or not, she must be killed!_ Vegeta's face perked up when he spotted the floating figure ahead, her arms crossed and her grin wide.

"What did you do with him?" Vegeta shouted as he stopped in midair.

"What did I do with who?" Mercurial asked, feigning ignorance.

"You know full well who woman! Where's the boy?"

"Around here somewhere. I put him in timeout because he was naughty. But if you would like to play some more, all you have to do is ask!" she replied coolly. Vegeta's already golden aura burst into flames and ki lightning before settling down again.

"Should I take that as a yes then?" she asked.

"Prepare yourself! The real battle begins!" Vegeta announced as he held both palms forward and glowing.

"Please, don't hurt me little man!" Mercurial said in a mocking manner.

"Don't be absurd! I'm not going to hurt you; I'm going to kill you! Take this!" Vegeta shouted as he rapidly fired off ki blasts by the dozens. Mercurial only held up her hand, and Vegeta sensed her power flaring again. He didn't stop firing in spite of this however. A large square field of purple energy formed ahead of her, and then dotted yellow as his blasts rained in, all of them coming to a dead stop against it.

"How the hell…" Vegeta started to ask when he felt another power surge.

"As you can see, I can play catch very well. Can you?" Mercurial asked with her hand still raised. Another screen of Chi emerged from her hand, and rushed forward to combine with the first one. As it did, a few of Vegeta's blasts flew off of the screen and back towards him. Vegeta barely dodged them before staring back at what was easily hundreds of his own energy blasts, all of them fluctuating.

"Good luck avoiding all of them!" Mercurial declared, and released. Her screen of shadow vanished, but Vegeta's blasts all flew back at him at lightning speed and frightening accuracy. Vegeta might have dodged the first few, but he couldn't keep up with the full storm of them, and was hit over and over again. Out of what were over two hundred and fifty blasts, only fourteen hit the grounds nearby right before Vegeta dropped into a forest clearing. Mercurial followed him and remained hovering above the ground, allowing him to recover.

"Nice try little man, but as you can see, your little light shows are fruitless against me!" Mercurial stated, content to let him get up. It took a moment before Vegeta even moved, but as his mouth dripped blood, he pushed himself to his knees and then to his feet. His body was battered and bruised, but his will to press on was unaffected.

He wiped some of the trickling blood off his chin and spit the rest out, "It'll take more than that to keep the prince of Saiyans down!"

"Then I suggest that you get ready. You will see more now that we've come to the last minute of your life!" Mercurial grinned.

"Even if you take me down, you won't win today! We're going to crush you!" Vegeta boasted as he sensed three descending power signals.

Mercurial's eyes darted to the skies, "Oh, more reinforcements then! How interesting." Vegeta didn't bother waiting and charged after her when she looked away. His punch impacted her shield, alerting her to his presence. He punched and kicked like crazy, smashing the shield over and over and not getting through. After several seconds, he became a simple blur of violence, but it was all for not. He was so caught up in beating up her shield that he didn't bother to notice a rather large Shadow Bolt forming between her hands. As soon as Vegeta stopped swinging, she fired, point blank. The bolt threw Vegeta off the shield and flailing backwards as Mercurial chuckled at his efforts. He suddenly flipped up, both arms charging up and brought together, releasing his ki.

"Final Flash!" Mercurial stopped laughing for the moment, but wasn't even phased when the beam smashed into her shield, and then flew off into the distance, blinding everyone. Vegeta gasped for breath as he barely hovered in the air, frustrated.

"Vegeta! Let us help you!" Goku called up from the ground.

"Do what you want clown, just as long as you stop standing around!" Vegeta shouted back. Goku, Gohan and Piccolo were more than surprised at the answer, considering how Vegeta liked to fight. Vegeta managed a slight grin in between painful heartbeats. _Well, it's not like I'm winning anyway._

Goku powered up on the ground, considering going all the way to level three after watching Vegeta struggle, but held back for the moment.

"Piccolo, how close does she have to be to use the wave?" he asked.

Piccolo wasn't entirely sure, "I don't know, but a lot closer than this. Try to get her within a hundred feet at least. Gohan, hold down the jar while your father takes his turn with Vegeta. I don't want to send you up there unless necessary, there's always a chance the jar will tip over during the attack, it tends to be quite windy," Piccolo suggested. Gohan nodded and knelt to hold the jar as Goku lifted off. He met up with the battered Vegeta quickly, and stared down Mercurial.

"Oh look, another fighter has joined you. Not like it matters," Mercurial said with all confidence.

"You just keep thinking that, witch!" Vegeta grunted back. Mercurial grinned slightly, gathering another large shadow bolt. This one seemed to take longer to charge, and neither Super Saiyan was sure why. She launched it, but it came towards them much slower than before. Goku didn't take a chance and glided to the side, far from it. Vegeta however only dodged aside a short distance away, barely missing it. The shadow bolt then stopped in mid air, causing Vegeta to turn in wonder. It just sat there, spinning, and he couldn't tell what Mercurial was planning to do. It suddenly started fluctuating rapidly, and he decided it would be best to move. Just as he started flying away from it, it exploded, and multiple smaller bolts flew out in every direction. Both Goku and Vegeta were able to avoid the few that came their way, but in the process, they lost track of Mercurial. Goku looked frantically around the skies, finally catching sight of her, right behind Vegeta.

"Vegeta! Look out!" he called out, far too late. Just as Vegeta turned, Mercurial's glowing purple hand lifted up, and a shower of lightning bolts erupted from it. Vegeta's anguished scream blocked out any other for miles as his body was turned into a sizzling purple mesh for a brief moment. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough that Vegeta passed out in the air, and then promptly fell to the ground. Goku dove down to catch him, only to be picked off by another Shadow bolt. He spun completely around from the impact and managed to recover in the air, but he clearly felt the blow as Vegeta's body vanished into the trees and smashed into the ground.

"Oh man, she's got amazing power!" Goku mumbled. Goku heard a feminine clearing of the throat right behind him and spun to see a shadow bolt in his face. To Mercurial's surprise this time, the bolt went right through him, and his image faded.

"Nice dodge!" she said as she spotted him to her right, "Since muscles there has had enough, maybe you or Kami can provide more entertainment for me. I'm feeling a little frisky today. I suppose that's what happens when you're locked up for thousands of years!"

Goku scoffed at this, "I won't let you hurt anymore innocent people! This ends now!" he shouted as his aura exploded into lightning filled flames before flying straight at her. He phased out several different times when her Shadow bolts came at him, but kept coming. Just as he got close enough to strike, her lightning storm filled his vision. He quickly teleported away, and his eyes shot open when he saw her dagger flying at him. Goku glided backwards from it, he saw Mercurial charging up more Shadow Bolts to fire at him. Goku teleported out of the dagger's path again and reappeared below Mercurial. Just as he flew towards her though, swarms of Shadow Bolts erupted from her shield. Goku blocked against it, and was pelted over and over again, ripping his clothes and drawing blood in multiple spots.

"Father!" Gohan called up from below.

Piccolo sighed; things weren't going well, "She can predict our movements too easily. Gohan, you'll have to help your dad! Be very careful as she can redirect attacks back at you. Lure her this way if you can so I can use the wave. If you see an opening, take it with full power! We can't afford any life threatening mistakes though!" Gohan nodded and stood up, charging up his power quickly.

"Guess I better take this up a notch then, she won't give me anytime in combat for this!" Gohan said as he powered up all the way to Super Mystic.

Mercurial paused in her assault when she noticed Gohan's transformation.

"Another one, interesting," she muttered as Goku crept up from behind. He managed to mask everything about his approach, but her ever-present shield stopped his next sudden charge, and he hovered in place, waiting for her next move.

"Stand aside you insignificant bug. This one wants to try his hand now and I intend to let him!" Mercurial suggested as Gohan's bright silver aura filled the air. Gohan promptly vanished, and Mercurial's eyes lit up in surprise when she found a green sword smashing into her purple shield. The shield started sparking and shimmering in multiple places before Mercurial seemed to add more effort into defense. With a wave of her hand, Gohan was thrown off after a few seconds, before a bright white blur plowed into the shield again. Mercurial recoiled from the impact, but gathered another shadow bolt and fired immediately. Gohan phased out again just as Goku attacked her shield from behind. Mercurial missed Goku on the next shot, who also vanished. She felt them out, sensing Gohan to her right and Goku to her left. She took note that she was directly in between them.

"Father, let's try what we've been practicing!" Gohan called out, getting a nod out of Goku.

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work!" she claimed. Both father and son pulled their arms back to charge their trademark attack.

"Kamehame…" they both chanted together. Mercurial felt something was a bit off; their blasts weren't taking shape yet their power levels were signaling that they were.

She chuckled slightly though, "Let me guess, a double shot so I get caught in the middle? Nice thinking, but you'll both have to do better than that!" Goku fired his blast, but discontinued it right away, and moved back into his stance. Mercurial smiled as she turned to face it and let her shield deflect it into the skies. She turned back to challenge Gohan's blast, only to see the younger fighter was gone. Her eyes went wide as she heard the distinct whoosh right behind her. She vanished promptly just as a very large blue blast went by, and she reappeared right behind her attacker. To her great surprise, it was Goku standing there, waving as his form turned dark before a bright green light that was barreling towards them. Goku vanished, and Mercurial's purple shield flickered back on as Gohan's Super Kamehameha plowed into it. She groaned as the blast pushed her through the air, but she quickly powered through it and managed to stop, her shield sparkling wildly as it struggled with Gohan's mighty blast. Mercurial's eyes widened in surprise as her shield started to bend towards her. She barely had a moment before it broke through, and her whole world erupted in green pain.

Gohan panted slightly as their confusing attack paid off. Mercurial was hit directly by the beam and was currently falling to the ground, torn to shreds. She hit hard, bouncing just slightly before settling on the grass, not budging an inch.

"Great shot son!" Goku called out with a thumb up.

"Yeah, but I don't know. It seemed like she wasn't truly trying yet. I think we got really lucky on this one," Gohan said as he floated towards the ground.

"All that time trapped in the time chamber must have weakened her body then!" Goku suggested. Gohan nodded as he landed, seeing that Mercurial was suffering from multiple wounds that were gushing. Just as he approached the fallen woman, she started to move.

"What the?" Gohan started to ask. Mercurial pushed herself to her feet slowly as her wounds started to close up and stop bleeding.

"She used the Dragonballs to become immortal Gohan! We can't defeat her like that!" Piccolo reminded him from afar. Mercurial turned around to face Gohan with a deep scowl on her face.

"You should listen to Kami, because he's right. I'll give you credit though; that was a rush that I haven't felt in a long time. If not for that wish, I probably would be dead after that shot. Since I can't die and see the afterlife, I'll gladly send you in my place. I'm through playing around!" she declared as large bursts of dark energy started flowing around her. Gohan winced as the evil energy flooded the area, and backed off as Mercurial's battle cry filled his ears.

"I don't like the feel of this," he muttered aloud. He felt her energy all over the place, as if she was standing in dozens of places at once.

"Say goodbye!" Mercurial snarled as her hand lifted up, glowing with a lighter purple, slightly pink attack. A large display of lightning shot out of it, aimed for Gohan. He quickly phased out, teleporting into the skies next to Goku. Mercurial growled at this and lifted both hands, charging up much more power this time.

"I can't feel anything other than her power; she's blocking everything out!" Goku said.

"Dodge this one you maggots!" she challenged. Lightning filled the forest clearing and the skies above it spanning nearly half a mile in diameter. Gohan was able to transmit out of the way once he found a clear spot, but spun around to see that Goku wasn't able to follow. Gohan watched in horror as Mercurial's lightning assault closed in on a hopeless Goku, shocking him over and over again. His eyes widened as Goku's expression became a blank stare, one no longer showing any pain. He promptly fell to the ground as his hair turned black again, and Gohan felt his father's ki dropping just as rapidly. He rushed down to assist, only to be cut off by another lightning burst, one that didn't hit him, but did block his path.

"I think you should worry about yourself right now before you make a foolish mistake. I don't think you want to turn your back on me again boy!" Mercurial suggested as she suddenly appeared right behind him.

"What do you want from us?" Gohan asked as he frantically stalled for time. He sensed that Goku wasn't dead yet, but his ki level was dangerously low.

"Nothing, I have all I need from this pathetic planet. Be glad that you've lasted this long, not many do!" Mercurial frowned back before lifting both palms above her head. Shadow energy swirled into another purple ball, and Gohan glided backwards carefully. He intended to adjust his position so that she wouldn't fire at Goku, Vegeta or Piccolo. He didn't know where Verto was, but he didn't have to time to wonder. Mercurial followed and turned accordingly as one of her hands dropped to her side.

"Unless you want more of these bystanders wiped off the map, I don't suggest you try to outmaneuver this one. I might get an inkling to take all their lives now, just for the hell of it!" Mercurial warned.

"Gohan! Watch out!" Piccolo called up. Gohan watched as her attack suddenly caught fire, still drawing in energy as it did.

"Shadow and Flame!" she shouted. Gohan's sensed lit up all around him as the forest suddenly turned into a burning blaze, with most of the flames funneling towards Mercurial's attack. _What kind of attack is this?_ He thought, as hell literally seemed to rise out of the grounds. Mercurial's swirling ball of energy now had orange-yellow flames churning through it, and Gohan felt the heat starting to burn his skin.

"Gohan, get out of there!" Piccolo suggested.

"There's no where to run! Now die!" Mercurial shouted as she tossed her attack at Gohan. Gohan knew he had to get further away before facing the attack, and seeing as there was a town not far away, he chose to blast off. Mercurial kept her attack on him as he circled around to the south and east, making it move faster to catch up with him. Gohan stopped once he felt he was a safe distance, and fired a quick Chi blast to disrupt the shadow-fireball. The blast didn't even slow it, bouncing right off. Gohan crossed his arms to block, knowing that if he chose to run again, Mercurial might send it elsewhere. The swirling ball started flashing rapidly as it spun towards him, and Gohan's eyes narrowed in uncertainty. A sudden burst of energy slammed into his sides and he turned his head in reaction, seeing Mercurial's hand raised and smoking not far away.

"Enjoy your last ride!" she said as she vanished. Gohan's attention went back to the shadow and flame ball, which suddenly became very deformed, as it was about to explode. Gohan lowered his guard just slightly as it collapsed. Just as it did before though, hundreds of smaller fireballs flew out of it, charged with the same shadow energy. Gohan backed off a step before knocking away the first several. They blew up at his sides, clouding his vision. He didn't stay blind for long, as the rest of the attack came down at him with frightening speed. Gohan fell out of the sky with the bombardment, hitting at ground zero from what looked like a massive bomb followed by a napalm strike. After a few seconds, Gohan realized he was still alive, but could barely take a breath. He crawled out of the crater he left, seeing that for at least a good half-mile, there were no more trees standing. The forest beyond that was completely on fire and falling apart. Gohan coughed hard, spitting up blood onto the burnt wasteland. _Broken ribs, not good. _

"That's enough!" Gohan said as he blasted off again. His flight path wavered a bit as he charged back towards Mercurial's floating form; his power was starting to fade.

"Well, that's disappointing. I thought I had put enough power into that one for sure. Better luck next time then," Mercurial laughed as she shook her head.

"There won't be a next time!" Gohan growled as he drew his arms back again, green Chi shimmering and spinning into view.

"Go ahead; give it everything you've got kid! See if it does you any good!" Mercurial challenged as her aura flashed into view, spreading her energy outwards again.

"I don't know if it will, but at the very least, you're going to feel this one! Kamehameha!" Gohan shouted, firing a massive green beam more powerful than his previous one. Mercurial smiled and turned her shield back on just in time to block against it. It struggled, just like before, and she held on as she focused her energy to its point of impact. Gohan sensed something strange, but he kept his effort going. All of a sudden, it felt like there was a blank hole in the middle of Mercurial's shield, and his Super Kamehameha was plowing right into it. He suddenly sensed another hole forming nearby, and his own power was about to erupt from it. Gohan panicked when he sensed someone right in front of it.

"No! Piccolo!"

**A/N: Next time on DBV…Ah hell! That's just wrong and I know it. It just doesn't feel right to end the chapter with such an evil cliffhanger for the umpteenth time. I know you readers would really hate me for putting you on the edge of your seats like that again only to wait for the next update. Fine, I'll keep going for now and find another cliffhanger to leave you on.**

* * *

With the only light in the form of the battle above, I tried to think my way out of the trap I was in. Nothing had worked so far, and I had tried blasting, Feedback, my sword, and just plain powering up. The most that happened was a minor burn mark on the shadow bubble. Only a few minutes had passed since I got stuck, and Vegeta had already gone down. I couldn't see anything specific after that, but judging by spectacle of colors in the sky, I could only guess that it was getting very dicey. I sat down and thought things over, replaying my reckless errors a few times over and thinking up counter attacks while I had the time. Soon after, I noticed a darkened figure jumping through the forest. Had the bubble not been there, I might have been able to tell who it was, but it was all for naught. The shadow came closer, within reach of the bubble before stopping. A blast went off close by, revealing the curvy features of Leira, who had a deep frown on her face. She placed her hand on the bubble and spoke just as Mercurial had done.

"_I see I was wrong to think you could handle this!"_ she said scornfully.

"You threw us to the wolves, literally. How was I supposed to know about all of the things she can do?" I retorted. Leira's long red hair seemed to stand on end for the briefest of moments before settling down to her neck again.

"_You didn't. I admit I didn't think she would be able to regain her full strength so quickly against you and the others. I have to ask though, why didn't you use your full power on her?_" she asked. Her eyes were piercing through mine like daggers, but it felt like a legitimate question.

"Well, after she threw my sword back into Vegeta, I didn't think it would do any good. She's proven she can redirect all ki attacks and anything involving that can be thrown back as well. I haven't gone back to full power because of that risk, and Psi energy alone seemed to be working until I got stuck in here!" I replied, head down.

"_Good, you've caught on to that little weakness of hers. For your information, she can be hurt and overpowered by your full power, but it runs the risk of being redirected, so it's not advised. Just be glad she's still in a human form, otherwise we might've really been in trouble here,"_ Leira said.

My head shot up at her words, "What the hell do you mean by that?" Leira though had taken her hand off of the bubble, and didn't hear what I said. She drew her dagger and must have charged it with energy, as it turned mostly white with swirls of other colors mixed in. She then drove it into the bubble, and it cracked around the tip of the blade before shattering into dust, freeing me. My senses returned immediately, and I felt Mercurial all over the place with only Gohan and Piccolo still showing up. I knew Vegeta had gone down, but I couldn't sense Goku now either.

"Goku and Vegeta are all right, but they are out of this battle! I'll help keep your friends out of danger so you can fight without distractions. It would be best if you can stun her long enough for Piccolo to use the containment wave. Killing her will prove too difficult now!" Leira suggested.

"Is that what you meant by being glad she's still in a human form?" I asked.

"Not now Verto, do not speculate at a time like this! You had better save the Namek!" Leira suddenly pointed out as a massive power erupted from both Gohan's position and Piccolo's. Suddenly, clear as day, I could see a shadowy void opening up right next to Piccolo, who apparently couldn't feel it yet.

"Oh shit," I said as I blasted off towards his position, powering up as I did. Piccolo noticed the blast just as the area darkened, but was frozen in surprise. _Damnit, I'm not going to make it!_ I stopped short and fired a quick beam to deflect it, nearly taking Piccolo's shoulder off at it blazed past him. I wasn't quite lined up with the blast to struggle with it myself, but as long as I kept it at bay, Piccolo could avoid it. My small gold beam crashed into the larger green one that was spinning into view, and barely even held.

I kept the effort going to buy time, "Piccolo, stop standing around and move it!" I saw him trying to take a step when his leg didn't even budge. Near the ground, ghost like hands were reaching up from the dirt, holding him down. I glared up at Mercurial, who was obviously behind it.

"I guess I'll do it myself!" I called out as I powered up fully, turning my small beam green once I transformed. I let my own power build up before throwing it back into Gohan's blast.

"Super Galic Gun!" My power surged through and pushed Gohan's back into the shadow like void and I glanced upwards to see he was still floating, but no longer discharging any energy.

"_Gohan, get out of the way!"_ He looked downwards to see what was happening and dove downwards once he realized that he was in the line of fire. Our combined beams surged out from Mercurial's general area and blasted across the darkened skies before leaving the atmosphere harmlessly. I sighed lightly and powered down purposefully, Gohan's mistake had almost cost us all, even if he hadn't known about it.

Gohan landed next to Piccolo and sank to one knee, "Thanks Verto, that was too close. I couldn't tell what she was doing till it was too late!" he said in between breaths.

"Incredible, I didn't realize she could redirect a blast that powerful," Piccolo said, sweating slightly. The shadowy hands that had held him to the ground were gone, but their intent was still stinking up the air.

"Nothing's impossible anymore," I replied as I began to rise into the air, carefully suppressing my ki.

"That was impressive little boy! Not only did you manage to escape my Shadow Bubble, but you also saved Kami's life! That one there is stronger than you, but from what I've seen, you are clearly ahead of him in every other way!" Mercurial called down.

"Shut the hell up!" I snarled back.

"Easy kid, she's trying to get under your skin again," Piccolo warned.

"I see you can't take an honest compliment very well. Must have gotten that attitude from that pitiful little man that I dropped earlier!" she shouted again, clearly referring to Vegeta. Her words, combined with Piccolo's, gave me an idea though and I forcefully calmed myself and took a deep breath.

"Piccolo, be ready with that containment wave. I'll signal you telepathically when its time," I ordered.

"You can't be serious! You're going to fight her alone again?" Piccolo asked, shocked.

"I almost had her before she caught me with a trap that I wasn't expecting. I know I can get her into an unguarded situation again, she will have to focus on me entirely," I explained.

"I'm not sure the wave will even affect her!" Piccolo claimed.

"Leira still thinks it will, so she must know something we don't. She's helping Goku and Vegeta at the moment," I pointed out.

"It took the full force of my Kamehameha Wave to break that shield, and that was when I had caught her off guard. You can see how much good it did!" Gohan mentioned.

"The containment wave doesn't depend on power though, does it?" I asked Piccolo.

"No, you have to know it to be able to reverse it to stop it. The user just can't miss," he replied. I scanned Mercurial's power for any fluctuations, and noticed that she was expending a lot more energy now than she had been before.

I cracked a small grin, "Well, you got her to burn up a lot of energy by the feel of things. She may be able to survive everything we throw at her, but that energy will run out eventually!"

"Be careful Verto; you will have to fight flawlessly, and that would be difficult against anyone this powerful, never mind someone like her!" Piccolo said.

"Yeah, I know. I think I can force her into making her own mistakes. Let's just say that dirty mouth of mine is going to come in handy here," I said as Gohan shook his head.

I rose to Mercurial's altitude before starting up what would likely be a suicide to anyone else. "Hey, you punk-bitch! Why don't you stop being such a fucking chicken shit and come face me head on! Stop hiding behind your little shield and fight like you mean it! Or do we have to wait for all your fingernails to dry before I break them all?" I could hear Mercurial's growl filling the air the entire time, but she didn't budge. _Well, it's a start! Not overly creative but I haven't got time to think up insults. Let's see how long it takes before the dam breaks._

"What's wrong you ugly ho? I thought you were going to grant my death wish? All I've seen is cheap tricks to keep me out of the way. I would tell you that you don't have the nuts to fight me, but we can all see that! Or are you really hiding something after all?" I barely saw the purple energy form before it smashed into the side of my face. It felt like Vegeta had punched me at full power, and judging by the blood that was filling my mouth, it did the same damage.

I kept my cool though and cocked a bloody grin, "Struck a nerve? It must be that time of the month again! I'll bet that was fun to deal with for thousands of years in a cramped space. Gives me a headache just picturing it!"

"Shut up twerp! You know not what you face!" she finally answered, very angrily.

"Well come on then Misses All and Mighty! Oh I'm sorry, I meant to say Miss. There's no way any guy would go for such a crusty old hag like you!" I considered backing off when the air around us started sparking randomly, mostly around her.

"Your eyes are clearly not working correctly, or you're just blinded by overconfidence. I have regained my youth and beauty!" she answered, gesturing to her slender form.

"It's purely cosmetic. You're still older than dirt on the inside and you know it. How was the stone age anyway?" I asked. Mercurial's power was starting to build up to the point of explode, but it still felt like she needed another jab before she would snap.

"Have you said enough yet, or are you ready for me to destroy you?" she responded with a vile tone.

"It must suck to look in the mirror now. To know that without taking it from other humans, you are so ugly and old that no one could ever love you again! And you have to live with that thought, every, single, day! For eternity!" I said.

Purple energy exploded out from Mercurial as she roared in anger, "I'll make you pay! I've seen your weak compassion for these humans! So much potential and you care about their useless lives! I'd vomit if they weren't so easy to kill! Take that small settlement over there! Let's see if I can get them all in one shot!" she growled, lifting her palms upward again. I frowned slightly, in retaliation to my words; she was using her anger against the people.

"Leave them out of this! Your fight is with me!" I said, crossing her path.

"Not to worry, they will be out of this, as soon as they are out of my sight! Be gone filthy wretches! Shadow and Flame!" she called out. _Great, this one again. I hope my idea works._ Her shadow ball quickly powered up and caught fire, which seemed to be the signal that brought in the searing fire from the shadows around. I focused a small Psi ball into my hand, condensing it over and over until it felt cold. _If this doesn't work, I won't be able to stop it from hitting the town. God I hope I'm right about this one!_ Just to be sure, I increased the amount of energy that was swirling in my hand as Mercurial's attack finished.

"Say goodbye to those ants!" she declared, throwing her ball. I arched back and carefully waited for the right moment before tossing my ball into her attack.

"Psi Freeze!"

"Huh?" she asked as I did so. My cold blue ball crashed into the side of her shadow-fireball and it instantly glazed over. I sensed the energy ease down and the fire inside completely fade as the ball simply fell to the barren grounds. It shattered on impact, leaving ice shards and just a bit of the shadow energy behind, but nothing more. Mercurial was simply stunned at what had happened, her lip was actually quivering.

"Wow. No one has ever stopped that before. That's seriously impressive work," she managed to say.

"The only thing that's going to be impressive now is my foot up your ass here in a minute you fucking whore!" I shouted at her, letting my anger spill out again.

"Then let's finish it, I'll gladly fight you on your terms if it will shut that rude little mouth!" she challenged.

"About time!" I replied and flew towards her. She did the same, and I pulled back to let her have it in the face. I hit nothing but shield and felt a sudden burst of lightning go through my arm when I made contact. _Damnit, should have known._

Mercurial allowed herself to grin and stay in place while she egged me on, "Come on kid, you should be able to break this if you can stop my best attack! Show me you're not just a waste of space like all these others!" My sword flashed on and I charged it up like a cannon before swinging into her shield. Bright white sparks flew off her shield, and Mercurial was actually pushed backwards by my first swing. I angled myself above her and slashed downwards as hard as I could. Her shield barely held, but I kept pushing against it, forcing her downwards as I saw her shield starting to bend at the impact point. Piccolo was in an odd pose below, and judging by the way we were descending, he had about as perfect a shot as he was going to get.

"_Piccolo, get ready!"_ He didn't answer, but I felt a small power build up and his hands flashed with green energy. It wasn't the standard ki energy he used though; it was Chi. I felt Piccolo straining, so it was obvious that it wasn't an easy move for him to pull off. I poured power into my sword and pushed harder, and her shield nearly broke until she descended further. Before giving chase, I pulled back and charged up a Psi blast with one hand, intent to drive her into the ground for the final attack.

"Final Shine!" The blue beam smashed her protective shield and pushed it and her into the ground below. She was recovering just fine though, and judging by the power flashing from Piccolo, I didn't have but a moment. _Damnit, I've got to break that thing; time to take it further then. _With sword in hand, I charged up to full with Psi only, and then went further.

"Kaioken!" My blue power exploded, and I sent it all into my sword as I flew towards the ground. I struck her shield, and it didn't even try to give this time. It simple cracked apart a lot like her fireball did, and she looked at her hands in true surprise just as she heard Piccolo's words.

"Evil Containment Wave!" A very large green beam rocketed out of Piccolo's hands and straight at Mercurial. I backed off to let Piccolo do his thing, watching as Mercurial jumped to the side to avoid it. The wave might have been difficult to handle, but it seemed that Piccolo could adjust its path without a problem, and bent it towards her easily. Mercurial looked to be unsure what to do, until she turned towards me. I was standing by, sword off and breathing hard from the Kaioken channeling, but the truly horrible look in her eye told me I had missed something. She had a thick smile on her face suddenly.

"Now, you're mine!" She promptly teleported to my position, well within arms reach. _Crap, not again! _Piccolo was already changing directions without realizing where it was going. I felt slow and paralyzed just like before, but then she bent down and wrapped her arms around my midsection. A surge of energy hit my insides and for a moment, I could only see a deep red color before everything went black. The surge only lasted a few more seconds before I managed to move. But the place I was in was no longer a burnt wasteland. I found myself laying down, staring at blue skies with fluffy clouds passing over. I sat up and looked around, seeing long green grass and a few small trees with apples growing on them.

"What the hell?" I asked aloud. I heard someone's throat clearing and I immediately stood up, dropping into a careful stance when I spotted Mercurial.

"Where the hell are we?" I said, as calmly as I could. Mercurial only blinked sharply at me, as if she was just as surprised as I was.

"Answer me!" I yelled this time.

She winced slightly before sighing, "Sorry, you must be someone from the outside. My name is Kara, and I've been waiting for someone like you. Welcome to my mind."

**A/N: Oops, I did it again. Another sudden change! So, what's going to happen now? All I will say is good luck figuring this one out.**

**WDG: **You evil bastard…

**VB**: Win!


	25. Tale of a Blackened Soul

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 24: Tale of a Blackened Soul**

"We're in your mind? Dare I ask how I got here?" I asked, confused. Kara didn't answer for a moment, as if she was trying to clear things up in her head, but it seemed to pass very quickly.

"Ah, because I was trying to possess you. Well, not me exactly, but we'll get to that," Kara said. I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure things out. She looked exactly the same as before, but the lack of that evil shadow aura seemed to bring out any and all features that weren't so bad.

I shook my head slightly, "I'm confused; I thought you were trying to kill me?"

"I'm not who you think I am, kid. That creature may look like me, but once split, we are very different. He saw that you might have the potential to be much greater than me, and by the way, you do. So he tried to switch hosts, but I stopped him in time. For now he's trapped out there, unable to affect us here. I intervened because I wanted to examine you myself. By the time he realizes what happened, it will be too late!" she explained vaguely.

"I'm still lost here. Maybe we should start over. I heard that you were once human and you were banished by a demon named Garlic. Then you came back evil and wished yourself immortal. But you don't seem to be the same way now. I realize that looks can be deceiving so I'll warn you once; don't try to trick me. I've fought you enough to know how evil you are!" I replied.

Kara sighed again, "Too smart for your own good. I should probably start at the beginning of all this!" The area around us flashed white for a brief moment before we were standing in a park complete with a swing set. There, a tall woman with similar features as Kara was pushing a swinging child, who couldn't have been in grade school yet.

"That's me in the swing when I was about five years old. Those were probably the happiest days of my life. The woman pushing the swing was my mother," Kara explained.

"She seems nice enough," I said.

"Yes she was. She was the daughter of a witch who was particularly gifted when it came to influencing the minds of others. Compassion was mother's strong suit, and she had several unique mental abilities that she developed over the years. One of them was the ability to share feelings of any kind, to make others feel the way she did. It was usually a quick transfer, so anyone under that spell didn't realize why they were suddenly feeling that way for some time. Most often she shared happiness, and closed herself off in anger. She could also read people's minds just by touching them, their entire memory fed to her in a flash, thus she could naturally tell what a person was like just by touching them once. I miss her," Kara said sadly. The park flashed white and changed again, this time to a small training ground with multiple obstacles. A slightly older girl was running and jumping all over the place, climbing rope ladders, crawling through mud and throwing daggers at a target. A slim man in his thirties was observing, but not saying a word to her until she was done. He clicked a stopwatch as she run up to him.

"Three minutes and twenty seven seconds Kara. Very good!" he said.

"Aw, I thought I had you for sure this time!" the younger Kara pouted.

"Well, trim about thirty more seconds off and you will. But always remember, real combat moves at a much faster pace than the training course. And being one step behind could cost you everything!" he warned.

"Yes Daddy!" young Kara nodded as they both left the area.

"This is a few years later. As you can see, that was my father, a very accomplished martial artist and part time assassin. My mother refused to let me train until there was an attempt on my life as payback for a crime lord my father took down. He had many mercenaries on his tail after that one, trying to cash in on the bounty put out on him. Once mother gave the go ahead, he trained me for two straight years. Of those two years though, I think he was only around for three months. He would disappear for several weeks, saying it was a very important mission that he was going on. He used to always give us details, but never again after that. It seemed like he would only stay long enough to see how much I had improved, show me something new or different, and then he was gone again. We had no idea where he actually went since all his contacts were in the dark as well, but I understand why he never told us," Kara continued.

"I can relate. I've been through similar things," I said.

"Yes I know; I went through your memories before bringing you here," she admitted.

I looked at her with alarm, "How? And when? I would have sensed something like that!"

Kara smiled, "Maybe, if I hadn't inherited my mother's ability, and if you weren't in the heat of battle. Like I may have mentioned, the transfer is nearly instantaneous. I got your whole life story when we joined minds, so don't worry. Though I must say, we've led similar, chaotic lives. Luckily for us, Vang can't do the same!"

"Vang?" I asked.

"He is the demon that I've been, entangled with for some time now. We'll get to him in a little while, first, how I found him,' Kara said, frowning.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be painful to watch?"

Kara's expression lightened just a bit, "I've gotten over it, but it still hurts to think about." The scene flashed again, showing a teenaged Kara carrying a bag of groceries towards the same house.

"Hey Mom, they were out of pork this time, so we have extra potatoes!" she announced as she walked into a kitchen. No one answered, and a bewildered Kara frowned at this, setting the bag down and examining the room. She spotted a feint drop of blood on the ground, and then another when she moved to the next room. A trail of blood soon developed as she followed it with a face full of dread, leading straight to a bedroom. The walls were damaged in the hallway, clear signs of a struggle.

"Mom?" she whispered, her hands shaking as she grabbed the door handle. The door creaked open, and there was her mother, lying in a bloody wad of sheets.

"No, please no!" Kara whispered, shaking her mother's body and getting no response.

"Mom!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and dropped her knees, crying loudly. A loud clanging sound drew her attention to the open window, and she rushed to it. On the ground, she spotted her father lying face down in red grass with a white piece of paper lying on top of him. Kara leaped straight from the window and landed next to him, sending the paper into the air. She grabbed it and read what was written.

"_I'm sorry that I can't be here Kara. I love you and your mother with all my heart and I always will. I must go now to keep you both safe, take good care of her!_" Kara crumpled the paper into a fist as she finished it and saw a large hole in her father's chest, pointing out that someone had ripped out his heart.

Kara finally spoke after a few sad minutes, "I was devastated, but at the same time I didn't understand how it could have happened. My father had always written that kind of note and left it in a place where I would find it whenever he had to vanish for awhile. I had learned long before then about the bounty hunters and had even fought a few of them. But bounty hunters had to take him alive for the reward, and none of them had ever been able to match him to my knowledge. The most he would ever get was a small cut; it was like the man was bulletproof. I searched for a few years for any evidence of my father's whereabouts, and that led me to the Guardian's lookout!" A fast paced batch of memories followed, showing Kara meeting Popo and a tall robed old man who was probably the previous guardian before Kami. Then training progressed with only Popo for awhile, and then back on Earth, running some sort of random errands. Everything from picking up groceries to tearing up crime bosses was done. As things progressed, Kara got older, taller and visibly stronger.

"As you can see, this is several years after I reached the lookout. Apparently my father had once been his apprentice and requested that I follow in his footsteps. I trained hard over those years and reached a level of strength and technique that surpassed him. I began using the pendulum room at the lookout to try and figure out who had killed my parents, but the furthest I got was that it was some sort of monster. The guardian was very strict about letting me near the room, knowing what I would do if I ever found out. Little did I realize, he was allowing me to track down the monster on one of my missions, and destiny literally fell into my lap," she continued. The adult Kara, dressed in all black, was leaping over a very big wall before landing and moving through the grounds of a stronghold. She mowed through several human sentries and then many random creatures of unknown origin before reaching a throne room.

"Surrender Garlic, I know it was you that assassinated the king!" she shouted. The throne spun around, showing a tall, red skinned creature with pointed ears and a few spots on his head.

"Oh, you caught me! Whatever shall I do? The errand girl is going to hurt me!" he laughed.

"Mock me all you want freak! It won't change a thing, and you will never take over the Guardian's position!" Kara claimed.

Garlic grinned, "Oh but I will. You see, there is only one person on this miserable planet that knows I was responsible, and I'm looking at her. I'm afraid you won't be leaving here to tell him about it!"

Kara scoffed at this, "Good luck stopping me then. If it weren't such a cowardly act, I'd leave right now and let him deal with you. Come to think of it, that's a really good idea; watching you squirm for awhile would be quite refreshing! On the other hand, I can do that myself. You know full well that you won't take me down as easily as all the others you've killed!"

"I don't have to foolish girl! Besides, your father said the same thing to me. I was only trying to ensure you and your mother's safety. You remember what happened on this very day a few years ago?"

Kara was seething before Garlic even finished those words, "It was you!"

"Poor little soft hearted humans, so weak! All I did was offer to make you my disciple. I saw the potential in you, far beyond your father's! I offered full shelter and protection for your entire family and all prices on his head would have been gone. All he had to do was hand you over and serve me instead of the Guardian. But he would have none of it, how stupid of him. So I decided to take matters into my own hands, and paid him a visit while you were gone. I'm sure you remember how that ended!" Garlic laughed. Kara already had a bright white aura billowing up around her, but Garlic was unfazed by it.

"If you must know, your father went first, like it mattered. He couldn't stand to see his precious wife die, so he offered up his own life in exchange. It didn't matter, they both died in the end. He went first when I ripped out his heart, and then I decided to have a little fun with mommy dearest. I wonder if you are like her in any way. Oh the things she could do!" Kara had gone past the point of enraged, and was done listening. She rushed at Garlic, who only chuckled and dropped into a defensive stance. When his muscles expanded and his skin turned blue, I thought I was going to see a horrible beating, but that wasn't quite the case. Kara avoided the huge fist aimed at her, flipped out her dagger and threw it at his head. Garlic cringed in surprise and dove out of the way. Kara chased him down as he rose off the floor, charging up a blast in his hand. He fired as she skidded to stop, but to his great surprise, she knocked it straight back at him easily. Garlic was stunned by his own blast, and barely had time to register the dagger that was flying towards his chest. He managed to step aside just enough that it didn't go through the center of his body, but it did pierce his shoulder. Kara was already running towards him, with a fist drawing in blazing white energy, but she stopped short when Garlic started laughing again.

"Is death funny to you?" she asked.

"No, but I don't intend to die today. You won't either, yet. But you will spend eternity in your own personal hell!" To Garlic's right, a purple tinted void opened up, and it started sucking in everything around it at a high rate. Kara's eyes widened and she took off for the door, looking back at Garlic as she reached it. His toothed smile continued, and the strength of the vacuum increased. The room shook apart and got sucked in along with half of the stronghold. Kara ran for all she was worth, trying to put some distance and some walls between her and Garlic. The portal expanded as she got outside and close to the entrance, and Garlic floated next to it, laughing his sick head off. She reached the property line and turned around to face him, though it was much harder to see where Garlic was now. She barely held onto the cracking wall as she tried to get the last word in.

"This isn't over you beast!" Only Garlic's laughter could be heard and Kara shook her head at him as she turned around. Just as she did though, another strong looking demon swooped down and grabbed her as he flew straight towards the void. Kara tried to shake him, but by the time she did, they were surrounded by purple darkness. Once the pull of the void vanished, she spun the demon around in mid air and beheaded the demon with one knife hand swoop. When she turned around though, Garlic was waving at her through a closing hole, and she was trapped inside.

"I think I hated him most for that cowardly act. Killing my parents like that was bad enough, but refusing to face the music robbed me of my vengeance!" Kara said angrily.

We were quiet for several more minutes as we witnessed her next set of memoirs. This revolved around her life in the Dead Zone, which turned out to be a wasteland filled with random creatures that attacked her daily, trying to prolong their own lives. She struggled to find food and shelter, and over time her clothes deteriorated. Most of the time, any creatures she killed then became her food, but she never stayed in one place very long.

"For months I searched for a way out of that damned place. And everyday, I grew more desperate and weaker. Very rarely, I found someone with half the compassion I had and we traded information, but that only happened a few times. One day, probably over a year in there, something got lucky and caught me off my guard," Kara said. The scene changed to show a sleeping and dirty Kara, and as she opened her eyes, a large beast was charging at her. It appeared to be a large small dog like creature that had an eerie similarity to a Zergling, only with more teeth than it needed. Kara was barely able to react as it took a bite out of her leg. She kicked it off just by reaction and attempted to get away limping, but the blood drove the creature mad and it charged her, sending both it and her over a cliff, into a ravine. The creature flew just a bit farther and fell into a dark valley that didn't seem to have an end. Kara bounced off one ledge and managed to grab hold of another. She barely pulled herself up to a sitting position, leaning against the rock. Her left arm was limp and broken, and the bite wounds on her leg were gushing blood. Days and nights passed, and Kara never moved from the same spot, slowly dying.

"I had always camped near that huge ravine because it was usually deserted. I hardly ever spotted a beast around there, at least not one that big. Guess I paid for that assumption. I knew that it had to be the end. Imagine my surprise when someone actually showed up!" Kara said as her vision body suddenly looked up. A slowly rotating cloud was descending towards her. It had a bit of a vapor at its rear, but its head was a deformed skull with black eyes.

"Why are you here?" it asked, bearing a deep, grumbling voice.

"Bad luck, what about you?"

"The same. Would you like the chance for revenge?" it asked.

Kara glanced at the vapor like it was on drugs, "And how would you know that I want revenge?"

"Because you have that defeated look in your eye!" it claimed.

Kara chuckled, "You have no idea how badly I want revenge. Unfortunately, as you can see, I'm in no shape to even consider it. Just leave me to die in peace on this ledge!"

The vapor rumbled, "Now that would be a waste of your talents. What would you say if I told you that I know of a way to escape this place?"

Kara managed to crack one more smile, "I'd say point me in that direction, maybe I can hobble there!"

"There isn't a simple entrance or exit to this place; portals have to be summoned from within to escape. I have that capability, but I have to have a corporeal body in order to perform the ritual! As you can see, I don't have one!" the vapor explained.

"My my, and let me guess? You want to use mine now that I'm injured and unable to resist, right?" Kara asked with a slowly darkening glare.

"I can possess you, but that would do me little to no good because I would have little to no access to my powers. It would have to be a complete merger and I cannot merge with a host without their consent," the vapor admitted.

"Hmph, well you're out of luck then. Get me off this ledge and I'll reconsider!" Kara said, looking away. The air around her suddenly turned dark and cloudy before she found herself leaning against a large boulder, back on top of the plateau.

"Okay, how did you do that?" she asked the vapor before her.

"It's an ability of mine, one of many that you would gain by joining with my essence! I have the power to manipulate shadows to my every whim, granting a nearly unlimited power supply. Since I lost my body, I've become very limited with what I can do. What is your decision?" it asked. The scene faded out and remained black as Kara was glaring out into nothing before turning away from me.

"So, you joined with that thing?" I asked.

"Eventually. Being stuck in that place was motivation enough. For what it's worth, I still regret it to this day. That was Vang by the way, and he used to be some sort of powerful demon in whatever realm he was from. Very limited access to his memories prevents me from knowing anything more than that. When we joined, I acquired the bulk of his powers added to my own. I shouldn't need to tell you that he was more powerful than anything I had come to know at that time," Kara explained further.

"Yeah, that much is obvious. So how did you escape?" The area flashed back to the dead zone, where Kara was glowing in dark purple Chi energy with her hands raised. A hole suddenly emerged from the skies, revealing a lush green forest and she fly through it, closing the hole behind her. The first thing she did was fly back towards what was left of Garlic's fortress, but there was nothing left there besides ruins and debris. Once she established that he wasn't there anymore, she took off for the lookout. There, the robed Guardian was training a Namekian with a striking resemblance to Piccolo. I could only guess that it was Kami, though I couldn't tell if it was before or after the split. The guardian's head shot up upon Kara's arrival, clearly surprised to see her.

"Kara? How did you escape from Garlic's trap?" he asked.

"In my own way. Where is he?" Kara asked, though her tone of voice was clearly taking on the volatility that I had become used to.

"Who?" the guardian asked.

"Don't be such an idiot. Where is Garlic?" Kara asked.

"I'm afraid he is no longer here. He gathered quite a large force and attempted to take the lookout. I trapped him and his horde in a Dead Zone just like he did you, poetic justice if you ask me. I've been training this lad here for some time now since your departure..." he stopped when Kara growled in rage and promptly blasted a large hole that went right through the lookout.

"Oh dear," Popo muttered as he dropped his watering jar.

"Calm down Kara! What I did was for the best! You must see that!" the guardian urged. Kara's head snapped to attention and she glared at him with a new seething hatred.

"Don't call me that! Kara is dead! My name is Mercurial! And if I can't have my revenge on that bastard, then you will suffer the consequences!" Mercurial promptly vanished into thin air once she said her peace, and the scene shifted back down on Earth. I got the full and ugly version of the consequences, though Mercurial seemed to be doing it more for her pleasure rather than to spite the guardian. Random murders that involved life draining wasn't the only skeleton in her closet. Several times she possessed a ruler of a nation or two, drawing them into pointless border wars. Sometimes though, it wasn't the ruler she took over, it was his wife or mistress, or Mercurial posing as one. She didn't bother shielding me from seeing her seduce multiple victims, only to kill them in the heat of the action.

"I'm not particularly proud of all that," she said after what seemed like ten to fifteen different instances of what could be considered date rape.

"Nor should you be. Was Vang just trying out your body or what?" I asked.

"It was both of us in one. I wouldn't have done that on my own, but all of my inhibitions were stripped away when we joined. It was kind of like having a split personality, only in this case there were two different beings feeding it. Sort of like that fusion trick your friends can do, and Vang was definitely the dominant side," Kara explained.

"Well at least we answered one question about you, leather or lace," I joked. Kara actually managed to chuckle at that, but things quickly turned serious again when I was shown a vision of Mercurial approaching Kami. No words were spoken, but Kami was paralyzed by her shadow storm before she clasped his head and muttered something that I couldn't understand. Kami's eyes glowed purple for a brief moment, and the scene changed to Kami handing over all seven dragonballs before he simply passed out.

"So it's true after all! You can't die!" I exclaimed.

Kara snorted slightly, "There is a loophole around that. I learned it from Vang since he wanted to make the wish. Having to bear a human body's life span was difficult for him to accept, but he knew that it was the only way to stay alive long enough and find a better host. We'll discuss that soon." Mercurial went back to the lookout right away, but it wasn't just the Guardian waiting for her.

"And she definitely prefers leather," I muttered as the image of Leira came into view.

"I take it you know her pretty well then?" Kara asked me.

"Barely. She's butted in on my life as of late, and hasn't necessarily been a big help either, though she seems to have her moments. Maybe this will help in understanding what she wants," I replied.

Kara seemed hesitant to answer, "This is the first time I was truly defeated badly by an opponent, at least since I merged with Vang."

"This should be good then," I said anxiously.

"Actually, I really didn't know what hit me until it was too late," Kara admitted. I stared at her in surprise for a brief moment until the action started.

"I suggest you surrender and come peacefully. You have no idea what you are facing girl!" Leira warned.

Mercurial scoffed at this, "Is that so? Why is it I don't believe you?" Mercurial promptly fired off several of her Shadow Bolts, all of which Leira avoided, but the lookout flooring didn't. Mercurial lost Leira in the smoke and dust, but found her again when she fired a green blast, easily bounced by the shield.

"Try again girl!" Mercurial laughed. Leira did exactly that, holding out her hand and revealing what looked like a sword handle, without the sword. She grimaced for a brief moment before her energy shot through and conjured an energy sword just like mine. But this one was much different then mine, its color was more like a swirl of every color, but was mostly a light gold with multiple different hues shimmering through it.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Mercurial laughed as her hands glowed again. She fired off what seemed to be an endless barrage of Shadow bolts, but it was Leira's action that surprised me. Her sword lengthened into a long whip that started to slash and rip through the air at her command, creating small energy surges and bursts. This canceled out every single bolt, and Mercurial gasped in surprise. She charged up her Shadow and Flame attack next, and Leira flicked her energy whip to stab into it, creating an electrical display before the flaming shadow ball dispersed harmlessly. Mercurial vanished and reappeared directly behind Leira, her charged palm not three feet away when she fired. The pink storm of lightning surged out, but was instantly stopped by Leira's energy weapon, which was now a sword again. Mercurial backed off a few steps as Leira walked slowly towards her, a look of pure contempt on her face. Mercurial raised her hand again, but this time was only reinforcing her shield, which glowed and sparked with thick shadow energy. Leira swiped at the shield once, and after a moment it shattered. Before the shocked Mercurial could even react, Leira had chopped her in the neck and she was down and out just like that. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in a deep dark pit, with the white sky of the time chamber directly above her and the guardian casting some sort of spell. The pit closed up and she was trapped in darkness, slowly growing older as time moved on.

"Well, I figured she was good, but I didn't see all that coming!" I said of Leira skills. A brief image of Leira shimmered into view, only this one stayed in place and slowly spun in mid air.

"I have a feeling that she is here for more than one reason. My imprisonment was one thing, but being involved with you is something entirely different. We just happened to cross paths by chance. But, I am slightly confused at what she did to me," Kara said.

"Why's that?"

"Despite my sensing abilities, even those combined with Vang's, I couldn't tell what kind of powers she was using against me through that weapon. It was like it was on a whole different level than even yours. Ever since then, I've felt an opening gap between Vang and I, like he was ready to be rid of this merger as soon as possible, and she had a lot to do with it. Whether it was her actions or not, I still haven't been able to figure out why exactly, other than basic theories of course," she explained before pausing and gazing at me.

"What?" I asked as I cocked an eyebrow.

"Only one thought has repeatedly gone through our combined minds ever since that day, and that is how Vang's powers are weaker coming from me. He wants a new, more powerful body, one that can truly handle the kind of power he has hidden deep down. Rather that is you or someone else, I still don't know. I can only imagine what he was like before he lost his body and got trapped in that damned void!"

"Can you tell me about that then?"

Kara frowned in frustration, "Believe me, I've tried to find out. Only brief, feint images come from him about that, and I can't make any sense of them. What I do know is that something truly terrible could happen if he were ever to regain his true powers. The ones I inherited are bad enough, but from what I've felt, there would be a substantial difference!"

"So how should we proceed then?" I asked.

Kara stared directly into my eyes with a rather fierce look, but hesitated before speaking, "The only way to do this and prevent Vang from inhabiting someone else is to kill him while he's still inside me!"

"You mean, kill you both at once?" I asked carefully.

"Precisely."

"I won't do that. There's got to be another way; maybe we can lure him out first? You said that he could only merge with someone who is willing to join him! No one nearby should be willing to do that!" I argued.

"No, Vang said that to me. I really don't know how accurate that statement was. Even if it is true, he can still possess others. And don't forget that he can use the shadows to hide and teleport through. You'd be searching the whole world for him and you would never succeed if he didn't want you to. Trust me; it's the right thing to do. I've lived long enough!" she claimed.

I stared at the ground for a few seconds before glancing back up at her, "But you wished yourself immortal?"

Kara smiled for the briefest moment, "To be specific, immortality only applies to the living body. Without a soul to inhabit that body, it is just a lifeless shell!"

My eyes widened at this, "You can't mean…"

"I mean exactly that. I saw it in your recent memories, so I know you have that capability. You must destroy us both to end this!" she said.

"No, don't ask me to do that! You're innocent in all this; I can't and won't do it!" I retorted. Kara knelt down to look me in the eye and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"I know it's not fair to ask you. But there is no one else that can carry out this task. And I am hardly innocent in all this. I may have been extremely influenced by Vang, but I still did all those evil deeds willingly. I welcome death!"

"There's got to be something else I can try before we resort to that. Maybe my feedback technique can stop or at least stall him?" I suggested.

Kara shook her head immediately, "Forget that. Vang cannot be harmed by positively charged energy. It was something that happened when he merged with me. It went along with how physical energy can't do anything against his power, and it seemed to evolve more so with me. Your spirit energy is the effective weapon, but you must lash out with your anger and rage. Sometimes you simply have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few in this situation! Again, I'm sorry for that!" she said, gripping both of my shoulders tightly.

I shook her off and backed up a step, "I couldn't live with myself for doing something like that to someone who doesn't deserve it. Are you absolutely sure that we can't figure out something else. Maybe we can use the dragon for something, or try to dip into more of his memories?"

Kara sighed in clear frustration, "No. I told you that already! And trying to use the dragonballs is too risky; we cannot delay! I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm going to say it anyway. This is the reality of the universe; some beings simply have to be killed, even if it's for the wrong reason. It's a chaotic and messy circle of life, and it's the world you've gotten yourself into. I know it isn't pretty, but you will just have to deal with it, or you can just give up and let it be destroyed!" I dropped to the ground and held my head, deep in thought. She was right and I couldn't deny it, yet at the same time, I didn't want to face it.

"Come on kid. I know you can do it! There's a darkness buried within you that feeds it, a raging storm just waiting to be released! You simply have to rely on it! Sometimes the only way to destroy an evil like Vang is with another kind of evil!" she said softly. I glared back up at her with a slight tear coming from my eye, but I wiped it away.

"Yeah I get that, but what about after that. What good does it do to destroy one evil person only to give rise to an even worse one?" I asked angrily.

Kara was taken aback by my question, "You've killed before kid, and this situation is no different!"

"Yes it is! I've only used that attack once and it was a last resort type of thing against someone who truly deserved it. And when I started it, I nearly lost control and blasted the wrong person, who was only trying to stop me for my own good. It was liberating, and to be honest, I don't know how I regained my control, but I don't intend to be in that situation if I can help it. It's not that I can't go through with it, it's just…" I stopped, picturing in my thoughts what might happen.

"I see, you're afraid of losing control again aren't you?" Kara asked with a knowing look.

"If you've seen my memories, you know that a majority of my abilities rely on self control. Without that control…it could get very bad. That's not someone I want to become!" I said defiantly.

"You're speaking of your time with that species called the Zerg, when you supposedly became someone else for a short time," Kara beamed.

"Yeah, that's right," I replied, recalling a few ugly moments.

"I don't think things are clear about that particular being," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I stood up.

"The so called dark side that you banished, well that can't be accurate. And I know you've heard something like this before; perhaps you simply didn't understand it at the time. Everyone has light and darkness inside of them. Without both, it would be impossible to find a balance. You believe that he was a manifestation of darkness built up over time, and I don't agree. You weren't even present, thus you didn't make any of those decisions. I think that it was something else put into your mind at some point and it merely fed off any negative feelings you had. Like a split personality, but different since it seemed to have its own soul," she explained.

I was amazed at hearing this, "The Overmind must have put it there then, if it wasn't there to begin with!"

Kara looked thoughtful, "Maybe," She paused in deep thought for what seemed like hours before she spoke again.

"Enough about that. I'm willing to look into other ways for now. This will obviously be too difficult for you to handle emotionally; there are too many conflicting thoughts in your mind!" she said in distain.

"Thanks, the preparation time for that attack would have cost us badly anyway," I said.

Kara's eyes opened a little wider, "I saw your memory, and it didn't take that long to do!"

"Maybe you just didn't see all of it. I fretted about using it for several days before I actually did, and it still took awhile before the actual time came," I replied.

"Just curious, how long would it have taken?" Kara asked. I narrowed my eyes slightly, as I recognized that she wanted the information, but I knew the attack wasn't going to come out as long as I didn't want it to.

Kara seemed to be reading my hesitation, "I'm not going to do anything to you Verto, and I certainly cannot separate from my body to control you like Vang could if he got a hold of you. And I wouldn't be able to use your powers anyway, as I'm not familiar with them!"

I relaxed a bit, knowing that she was probably right, "The setup kind of depends on me I guess. When I used it the first time, I had already worn myself out. The, person, who told me about it said that I had to use up most of my Ki energy first."

Kara looked confused, "Why would you have to burn up all your physical power? The attack has nothing to do with it?"

"I don't have to use it all up, just a little more than half. It's because if I don't, I'll likely transform when I get mad, or at least the energies will mix together, and then it wouldn't work the way I want it to. Even though Chi is incredibly potent, it seems to have different properties than raw Psi energy when it comes to certain effects. And since that is the case, when I transform while angry, I'll calm down for the most part and focus, it's almost a habit by now due to training. Transformations happen to Saiyans that are strong enough and angry enough as it is," I explained.

"Ah, that form that allows you to combine physical and spiritual powers at will. I understand now; it would have proven a bit difficult if that were to happen. Thank you for telling me how fruitless that would have been," Kara admitted.

"I can control the transformation and have been able to for awhile now. But extreme anger triggered it to begin with, well sort of. It's almost automatic when I get mad enough now, thus why I would have to be worn down physically before hand," I explained further.

"I see," Kara said, suddenly frowning.

Just as she did, I felt suddenly weak and my head started to spin, "Speaking of tired, what the hell was that?"

Kara looked concerned, "What's wrong?"

"I just feel dizzy and exhausted all of a sudden," I replied.

Kara paused in slight surprise before her mouth fell upon, "Vang must be trying to take over your body again, or he's draining your life force to take you completely out of the picture! Take my hand, I should be able to separate us and at least interrupt him!" She held out her palm with a worried expression, and I hesitated before taking it.

"But what about…" I started before she cut me off.

Kara reached forward and grabbed my own hand quickly, "There's no time!" Nothing happened right away other than a slight glow around our joined hands. She looked very sad all of a sudden as she gazed into my eyes.

Her other hand brushed through my hair for a moment, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked, as my breath seemed to get short.

"For forcing your hand!" she said just as a massive wave of dizziness shot through my head. Everything went black as I held onto my head, trying to keep it from flying off my neck. For a brief moment, all I could feel was a pulsing pounding headache, and the bright light only added to it. _Bright light?_ I opened my eyes and saw that I was lying on the ground, staring into the clouded skies. I sat up and looked around, spotting Mercurial, who was glaring at her hands like she tried to stab herself. What I saw behind her though snapped me out of my dizzy spell. There lay Goku and Gohan, bodies smoking and unmoving.

"What the hell happened?" Mercurial shouted towards me. I slowly got to my feet and spotted Vegeta a little further away, lying face down in a pool of blood. I suddenly felt very aware of the situation, shortly before I felt my own rage bubbling up.

"You…you killed them?" I asked.

Mercurial looked confused, but managed a sly smile as she ran a hand through her messy hair, "Yes, while you were sleeping I decided to have a little fun! Pity they couldn't last any longer!" My bubbling rage came to the surface at my command, and all I could see was red before settling in and locking onto Mercurial's shadow energy. I felt myself losing it, and I let it happen. _It must have been a trick all along, she'll pay! _I didn't want control anymore; I just wanted her dead. I lifted my hand and saw red Psi energy crackling around it, my own aura had turned deep red as well as I felt this new raw power surging through me. This wasn't my charged up Soul Blazer attack, I had to be focused enough for that. But it felt just like it; it felt good, so good. Somehow I knew it would feel even better once I got rid of this insane, possessed woman who killed my friends. Just setting eyes on her again turned my stomach several times, and I soon got tired of it. I could still hear Mercurial laughing, despite the perplexed expression on her face.

"You…I'll kill you! Arghhhh!" I shouted as I charged in.

**A/N: Yeah, that's right. We're going to a violent, angry place next time on DBV. **

**WDG: **You're still an evil bastard… Hmm, why do I feel so repetitive?

**VB**: Because you usually are.


	26. Rage

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 25: Rage**

Gohan stared hard into the odd sight. _Nine minutes._ That was about how long had passed since Mercurial and Verto had stopped moving. Both of them were still enshrouded with dark red energy that felt like Verto's Psi power, but was so much darker. Goku and Vegeta had woken up within a few minutes once the activity stopped, though they were both exhausted and sore. The strange woman named Leira had been standing near Piccolo, discussing what might happen next. Gohan was too focused on the raging red energy of Verto to notice most of the conversation until Vegeta blew up again. Not surprisingly, this happened within seconds of him waking up.

"Woman! What the hell is happening?" he bellowed, announcing his presence.

Leira barely noticed his outburst, "Something necessary I'm afraid. When those two start up again, I suggest you three stay out of it. The Namek will handle the containment wave when the time is right, and only then!"

"What the hell is the supposed to mean?" Vegeta roared again.

"It means that things are about to get rough around here. Is that clear enough for you?" Leira retorted. Vegeta grumbled and didn't answer while Goku tried to figure things out for himself.

"What is all this weird energy they're giving off? I can't sense it too well, but I can tell it's very dark, almost evil," he said softly.

"It feels like Verto's Psi energy dad, but at the same time, I just know it can't be!" Gohan replied.

Leira turned her head to them, eyes fully narrowed, "Rest assured Son Gohan, it is his spirit power you are sensing, all of it. There's a part of him buried deep that greatly enhances his energy when he's extremely enraged. This is not unlike the way your Saiyan blood reacts to the same conditions, but this isn't something that he can just find and use at will, not yet. If this happens like I think it will, do not stand in his path until things settle down; he most likely won't be in complete control of his actions!"

"That doesn't make any sense woman! He's been angry plenty of times before and this has never happened!" Vegeta argued.

"True, due to circumstance. But you will see the bulk of it very soon. He partially learned how to tap into it from the self-titled demon king Dabura. He believes it's just a very potent attack that he can control ahead of time, but in reality, it is the key to something else altogether. It is generated by focused anger and rage that darkens his spirit energy into an unstable power source. Any contact with any of his energy based attacks can be very bad when he is like this," Leira explained.

"So is he able to kill in a single blow or something?" Gohan asked carefully.

"Much worse than that I'm afraid. If one of his attacks pierces the body at a vulnerable point and remains in place for as little as half a second, the victim's soul begins to burn," Leira replied with a cryptic voice.

"What?" all four fighters shouted at once.

"You heard what I said, and trust me, I am not exaggerating. The amount of power used in the attack and the strength of the victim will determine how quickly this happens, if it does. If the core of the victim's body is struck hard enough, death will occur, whether it be quickly or slowly. If it is a limb or other extremity, they will feel unimaginable pain. It is possible to hold back enough that any damage is inflicted onto the mind of the victim, and thus the person would survive. What mental state they would be in is a different story, but I would not wager on anything functional. However, the chances of him holding back in that state is minimal, so I wouldn't even consider that to happen. When enough power is used, the soul could burn up almost instantly, you will be able to tell by the amount of activity upon their eventual death!" Leira explained further.

"So this is what he was like when he broke into the afterlife?" Piccolo asked.

"Nearly, he wasn't quite to this point yet. He still had to completely focus his rage. I don't expect this time will be the same," Leira said.

"But Mercurial is immortal. She can't die!" Piccolo pointed out.

"Incorrect. Immortality doesn't cover souls, only their physical bodies. If Verto is able to destroy her soul, she will die. Hopefully he does it quickly," Leira said with a serious tone.

"Why would it matter?" Vegeta asked.

"Because Mercurial is possessed. There is a demon soul that is generating her powers. If Verto finishes the job fast, the demon will die along with her. However, if he is too slow, the demon will be able to escape, and we cannot let that happen. Thus why I needed you to use the containment wave, you don't want that thing floating around this planet unopposed. It would be able to hide from us all and we would never find it again if it doesn't want us too!"

"Something doesn't fit with all this," Goku chimed in a moment later.

"What is it?" Piccolo asked as he glanced at Leira stern glance.

"Well, couldn't we sense Verto's ki when he did this before. Any angry Saiyan would get the attention of everyone nearby who can feel power levels!" he pointed out.

"Not only that, why wouldn't he just transform?" Gohan asked, "When he's that angry, he should transform instantly. And anytime I transformed out of anger, I could calm down very easily once I was used to it. I know he's the same way."

Leira snorted slightly, "Ordinarily yes, due to his high ki level and Saiyan blood. In a situation like this, that form will also act as an instinctual inhibitor no matter how upset he may get. He wouldn't completely lose control of himself. But that will not be the case this time, I promise you!" A sudden power change in the area grabbed everyone's attention, but only Leira appeared unaffected. Verto's aura was glowing partially silver again, but it seemed to be much brighter than usual, like he was powering up something big.

"It's nearly time," she said.

"His energy is draining!" Goku exclaimed.

"To be expected," Leira said calmly. Vegeta glared at the ground for a moment, deep in thought before he came up with something.

"Oh of course! So that's why!" he barked at the air.

"That's why what?" Goku asked out of confusion.

"That's why he wouldn't fight me with his full power that day, before the Kai dragged him back to us. He knew he had to wear himself out first to do whatever you're suggesting he's going to do! I figured he was just pouting over all those humans that had been killed and had lost his drive. His power is leveling off to a similar level that it did that day!"

Gohan nodded, but felt something else, "His Psi level is rising rapidly!"

"Yes, I suggest the four of you do not dare to move unless you have to save yourselves from what we are about to witness. Verto may not be able to stop himself from taking action upon you! During the initial stage of this, he may even see or hear things differently!" Leira warned again. Verto's silver aura turned blue for a moment before a bright flash went off, and both warriors went flying backwards. Mercurial managed to stay on her feet and skidded to a stop, smoke coming from her burned hands like she had grabbed onto a hot iron and never let go. Verto laid flat for a moment before getting up and glancing around.

"What the hell happened?" Mercurial shouted. Verto's eyes darted straight to Goku, Gohan and Vegeta, and he reacted almost instantly, but his reaction wasn't what they thought would happen. His head turned instantly to Mercurial, who was stunned into silence.

"You…you killed them!" he said, his voice barely a whisper.

Mercurial cocked her head in confusion, "You must be losing your wits kid. Now how did you manage to block me out? I'm interested!" Red smoky waves started flowing around Verto's body, and his expression had gone from shock to anger in a heartbeat. In very little time, the red Psi energy became a thick and rapid flowing aura, and all of Verto's hair stood up on end, but remained black. His eyeballs vanished next, but the whites of his eyes turned red and started to glow. Gohan had seen this before when he was charging up with Kaioken, but his eyes had been glowing blue in both normal and Super Mystic forms. All of a sudden, the Psi energy being emitted smashed into him and nearly knocked him over. Both Goku and Vegeta were also struggling to stay on their feet, and Piccolo was crouched down, holding onto his containment jar. Mercurial's shield seemed to protect her, but she still felt the force of this new power. Only Leira was unaffected aside from her hair and clothing waving about.

Mercurial actually looked concerned now, "What is this?" she asked.

"You…I'll kill you! Arghhhh!" Verto shouted as he charged in. He rushed in with full force and crashed into her energy shield and tried to push further even as he stopped.

"I don't know what your issues are kid, but you won't take them out on me!" she boasted. Verto's red aura brightened suddenly, and the shield fluctuated a lot like it had earlier. It didn't take but a few seconds before it cracked apart. Mercurial couldn't even react before she was floored by a hard punch that nearly took her head off and sent her sprawling.

"Well, that's a first," Gohan noted.

"He broke through with just one charge?" Goku asked.

"Is that the Kaioken technique he's using?" Piccolo added.

"No. It's the effects of this deep pool of spirit energy. The source is very deep within him and in his enraged state it's just as potentially evil as she is!" Leira pointed out. Verto didn't wait for Mercurial to recover, and chased down her flailing form, giving her a rough knee to the stomach before bashing her into the ground.

She coughed up blood when she hit, but managed to smile, "So, one of you isn't a complete waste after all! But you can't kill me! I can't die!" She got up and charged up a larger version of her Shadow Bolt and fired it quickly. Verto batted it back with his bare but red glowing hand. Enough distance was set between the two that Mercurial got her shield up in time to block it, but smoke and dust clouded the area between them. Gohan saw Verto rush into the smoke cloud and plow right through Mercurial with his shoulder, breaking what was likely several ribs at once. It was like he didn't even notice the shield at all. Verto kept moving ahead with Mercurial nearly impaled on his right shoulder, and flipped over as he grabbed hold of her body, throwing her back into the ground. He was standing in front of her within the blink of an eye, and his fist was crackling with energy as he backhanded her in the face and she fell to the ground. Verto didn't move and waited for her to get up, only to see her vanish briefly before reappearing next to the tree line, floating in mid air.

"You're starting to annoy me boy!" she growled as she spat out some blood and rose higher into the air. Her palms went straight up and a large shadow ball swirled into view again. Verto started walking towards her, his expression cold and empty. For a moment, Gohan thought he was simply on autopilot, except for the angry look in his eye.

"You had better stop! Unless you want another batch of humans to be incinerated! Let's try that city over there!" Mercurial stated as she turned to the direction of North City. Verto was already in her path at the same altitude. The glow from his eyes had faded, and his pupils had returned, but they were red now instead of blue. Gohan sensed a very slight drop in his energy, but it was almost negligible.

"You shouldn't bother; you'll just waste your energy! They aren't worth the effort and I don't give a shit about them anyway!" he replied in an eerily calm but scratchy voice. Everyone in the area looked shocked to hear him say that, except Leira.

"I can't believe he just said that," Goku cried out.

Vegeta managed a grin, "He's probably just bluffing Kakarot, and it probably won't work anyway!" Gohan and Piccolo both grimaced, as they had felt some sort of certainty about those words. This new Verto didn't seem to care. The Z fighters weren't the only ones dumbfounded by this defiant statement. Mercurial hovered in the sky as her attack started to catch fire, stunned at his demeanor.

"You're bluffing! Just trying to scare me! I know you'll stop it!" she claimed. Verto didn't respond and stayed in the air. As her attack finished, Mercurial took a good long look at Verto's glaring face. It was almost emotionless, except all that incredible battle rage bouncing around in the air.

"I guess we will see your true colors soon enough! Will you dodge and attack me with my guard down, or will you stop it and valiantly protect them? I'll make the choice easy for you by intentionally missing!" Mercurial suggested.

"I wouldn't worry about them if I were you. Your shield cannot protect you from me anymore. Rest assured, if you miss, you _will_ regret it! The same happens if you attempt to hit me! It would be much simpler for you to give up, I'll make your death quick if you do," Verto offered. Goku and Vegeta both looked surprised by this calm control he was showing now, but Gohan felt differently. _He means it. He's regained control of himself, but it's like he is a whole other person. Whatever compassion that normally holds him back is gone,_ Gohan thought as Leira glanced over towards him for a brief moment, nodding. Mercurial wasn't sure what to make of Verto's declaration, but seemed determined to prove him wrong.

"She has to attack him directly, otherwise he's going to eat her alive!" Vegeta surmised.

"But does she know that?" Gohan asked.

"We're about to find out," Leira replied. Mercurial seemed to figure it out and launched her fireball straight at Verto, backing off to the ground as she did. Verto's right hand slid across his body as if he was going to try and knock it back with a knife hand slash. Instead, his Psi sword emerged; only it was deep red this time. The shadow and flame ball was blocked by the sword, but kept spinning into it, pushing Verto backwards and towards the ground. Once he got within a few feet of the dirt, he expelled more energy and stopped all momentum. The fireball began to fluctuated, signaling detonation, but then it promptly started to shrink away. Gohan saw Verto's sword glowing a brighter red before it turned purple and orange.

"What's happening?" Piccolo called out.

"He's absorbing her attack!" Gohan explained.

"Impossible!" Mercurial shouted in disbelief. All of the attack was absorbed into Verto's red sword, which in turn began to flow out with random bursts of shadow and fire energy. Verto remained in position, but lowered to the ground and started focusing on the sword, holding its power out in front and away from him. Gohan felt another surge of energy from him before the sword lost its shape, and then blasted outward in a thick, flaming beam. Mercurial's eyes shot open as it rushed towards her, and dove to the side, barely dodging the beam as it ripped into the nearby forest. The beam could be seen even as it moved through the trees, flash burning everything in a half-mile wide path of destruction. It didn't stop until it moved up the side of a mountain and roared into the skies and space above. Nothing but a burnt path of dirt and rock remained, and all of the snow on the mountain was gone. Mercurial watched all of it happen and got up slowly before turning back around. Verto was already there, sword in hand. Mercurial lashed out in surprise, letting loose a storm of purple lightning. Verto's red sword flipped up and caught it all at a safe distance from his body, and then he started pushing back. Mercurial's lightning burst turned slightly red and reflected back into her, striking her head, arms and legs. She screamed in pain as this happened, but she didn't let up on her attack, which made it worse. Her face began to burn and wrinkle, filling with deformed scars as her hair turned gray and fell out. She gasped loudly and stopped channeling her attack, and Verto paused and stepped backwards. Her well-defined body was ruined and smoking all over. All her muscle mass was gone, and her skin was sagging and wrinkled badly wherever exposed.

"What have you done to me?" she shrieked and panted as she looked at her wrinkled hands.

"You should have surrendered when you had the chance. Now, you'll die slow!" Verto growled as he held his sword at the ready.

She managed a weak laugh, "Go ahead then! See what happens! When you realize you can't win, I'll gladly make you suffer just like this! Every moment for the remainder of your short life will be filled with pain! And then your friends, I'll make sure they all die before you do, it will be absolutely delicious making them suffer while you can't do anything about…AHHH!" Mercurial suddenly screamed louder than before as Verto plunged his bright red sword into the right side of her chest. He kept his hand on the sword for a moment before letting go and backing off two steps.

"What is this power? No! What did you do?" Mercurial shouted. Verto didn't answer as black smoke slowly began to rise out of both the stab wound and out of every natural opening of Mercurial's body.

A sudden purple stream of it emerged from her eyes just as she screamed again, "Get out of my body!"

"Huh?" Gohan and Goku asked when this happened. The purple stream of smoke started to reform itself into a small cloud-like vapor with dark eyes.

"It's the demon! Now Piccolo!" Leira shouted.

"Evil Containment, Wave!" Piccolo shouted as Leira held down the jar. The large green beam shot out of Piccolo and smashed into the darkened cloud before turning back around, carrying the demonic essence with it. Piccolo's control of the beam kept it turning tight circles in the air before he cast his hand down towards the jar, and the demon was carried into it with the beam. Leira slammed it shut once the move was complete, and Piccolo sagged to his knees, breathing hard. Gohan turned his eyes to Verto, who didn't appear to be affected, but a closer look revealed salt water coming from his eyes. He turned his attention to the fallen Mercurial, who was still smoking, and he knelt to her side.

His bottom lip quivered just a bit, and his expression lightened, "Why Kara?"

"There was no other way. I've lived a fuller life than most, and I don't want an afterlife. I'd rather be nothing; god knows I deserve it," she admitted. A distinct sniffling sound came from Verto, and streams of tears ran down the side of his face as Kara's body continued to emit black smoke. Gohan sensed Kara's life fading very quickly, and felt the need to step closer, only to be held back by Leira's glare.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way. Hopefully you won't ever have to do that again. Thank you Verto, for giving me my peace. I hope you…" Kara said before fading. Gohan had suddenly lost the sound of her voice and so did everyone else. Whatever she said in her final seconds, only Verto heard. A large puff of smoke emerged, and all life that Kara had left went with it. It rose into the air and slowly broke apart. Verto watched it go, openly weeping without much sound. Once she was gone, he didn't even look at the body or his friends. But he did set eyes on Leira, and for a moment, his angry aura reappeared.

"You could have stopped this!" he shouted. Leira didn't answer immediately, nor did she even move. It was like she was frozen in place by his glare.

"You don't know that Verto," she said calmly.

"Bullshit, I saw it! She showed me her memories and I saw you beat her easily in the past!" Verto claimed. This got the Z fighters' attention; and all of them stared at Leira in realization to what may have happened.

"You don't understand how dangerous and powerful that demon was. What you faced was nothing compared to his true power! This had to be done! If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not acting fast enough and taking the demon out along with her!" Leira said, her voice rising. Verto's glare didn't lose any of its intensity, but he suddenly seemed unable to speak. Then he blasted off into the distance, his red aura slowly turning back to a dull gray as he did. No one said anything for easily a minute, but all of them wanted to follow.

"Leave him be! He needs time to get through this, a few hours minimum. Any contact now could reawaken that evil power before he's able to bury it again!" Leira warned again.

Piccolo held up the jar that the demon was trapped in, "And this?"

"I'll take that. He's going back to where he belongs," Leira said as she took the jar from Piccolo, "For what its worth, I'm sorry for what he had to go through, but it was for the good of this world and many others!"

"So, that girl was innocent before she was possessed? She was never corrupted by anything, was she? Did that creature orchestrate all of this? Or was it you?" Piccolo asked with a scornful look.

"You sent us on this wild chase with no idea what to expect, but I'm willing to bet that you could have stopped this at any time! The boy claims that you could, and if that is the case, you have burned up any kind of allied ties to us!" Vegeta growled a warning.

"You forced Verto to murder an innocent person to stop it without trying something else! For what, to make him learn to tap into an evil power he has buried within? You made things worse than they already were!" Gohan shouted at Leira.

"I thought you were here to help, but obviously I was mistaken! Leave now!" Goku said sternly. Leira seemed taken aback at their statements, but merely shrugged it off.

"None of you understand anything!" she said as she walked away with the jar, vanishing into the remaining forests.

* * *

"You're sure that he had nothing to do with this?" Bulma asked into the phone.

"I wouldn't doubt it, but from what I can tell, he doesn't have the resources to unleash something like this so soon. There is something on the horizon, but I'm positive this wasn't it. His agents were all over the place trying to track down whatever this was and collect any samples they could. The only thing they found was a mutilated woman's body on in the middle of ground zero, and there was nothing about her that was unusual, according to the police report anyway. The only thing odd they noticed were the searing burns covering her body, and the one in her chest that likely killed her," another feminine voice answered.

"Alright, keep an eye out Erin. You don't want to be pulled into this any deeper," Bulma warned.

"I want this dirt bag gone as much as you do. I'll call you tomorrow," Erin replied as she hung up. Bulma sighed as her computers stopped picking up the unstable power signals. She had been monitoring things from Capsule Corp ever since she had first picked them up. A few of the power signals she knew to be her family and friends, but the unstable energy that was bouncing around out there made her very uncomfortable, even if she couldn't sense it herself. Bulla had continually cried during the crisis, though had stopped a few times for a nap before she started up again. Bulma knew they couldn't be out of the woods yet though. Her scanners had picked up a second source of unstable energy, and it matched Verto's unique power signal. She had no idea what that could have meant, but it did register as something different then what she had seen before.

"Anything yet dear?" Dr. Briefs asked as he entered the room.

"I haven't heard anything, but I'm still picking up all of the power levels I'm familiar with. That strange, chaotic one has vanished, so I can only assume that they defeated whatever it was. I can't shake the feeling though that something terrible happened out there. I guess I'll have to wait until Vegeta gets back. I sent Lenz out to meet up with them, but judging by the way they've scattered it may not be quite over," Bulma said, looking hopeful.

"Don't worry too much dear; you've got Goku and Gohan out there as well. They can take care of themselves," he assured as he departed.

"Dad?" Bulma called before he could get far.

"Yes?"

"Do you think it's possible that whatever this was could have been engineered?" Bulma asked, mentally crossing her fingers.

"Well, I'd have to analyze the data more thoroughly. But judging by the power output that fried half my satellites over North City, I'm guessing no," he replied.

Bulma's eyes widened, "Only the North City ones?"

"A few were taken completely out by that battle, but others were overloaded during it. I couldn't tell you how that happened without retrieving them. Could you ask Verto or Gohan to head up there and bring one back down? It will take several days to get the proper equipment together along with a trained team otherwise," he suggested.

"I'll see if they're up to it," Bulma said, a pure look of dread displayed as she turned back around. _Damn, that's not good. I won't be able to monitor Cash as well without those. Guess that'll be on the to-do list tomorrow._

"Bulma sweetie! You have a few visitors!" Bunny called from further down the hall. Bulma promptly shut off her main display and turned to get up as Bulla started to cry again.

"Miss Briefs, are you in there?" a voice called.

"Yes, come on in," Bulma said as cheerfully as possible. A young brunette, probably somewhere near seventeen years old, entered the room, bearing a corporate office type of look. Her hair was tied back carefully, and she wore a button down shirt covered by a black business coat. Behind her, an even younger red head followed, bearing a yellow skirt and matching top. Bulma eyed the bruise on the side of her face, but didn't indulge just yet.

"I'm sorry if we're interrupting anything," she said as she glanced around the room, wincing about when Bulla's screaming got louder.

"Oh, no. Just thinking about getting my daughter a fresh bottle. What can I do for you?" Bulma asked as she turned to tend to Bulla.

"We are doing a school paper on the restoration of West City after the Zerg war. Since Capsule Corp had a lot to do with that, we're wondering if we could ask you a few questions?" the brunette asked.

"I suppose we can arrange something then, do you mind waiting a few minutes in the lobby before we start? Bulla's crying is enough to make your ears bleed," Bulma claimed as her daughter continued the harsh noise.

"Sure, that would be swell," the red headed girl said as they both followed Bulma out of the room. Bulma really didn't want to talk to anyone outside of her family right now, but she had too many questions swarming through her head. _I'll have to drill Vegeta and Verto about what happened when they get back. Maybe it's time I filled them both in about what Cash might be up to. First things first though, give the high school girls some boring information about construction._ Bulma placed Bulla in a lobby made crib before settling down in a chair across from a couch that both girls sat down in.

"Can I ask your names before we start?" Bulma asked as she held out her hand. The red head's hand came out first and Bulma felt something strange from the handshake, but didn't say anything.

The red head smiled widely when their hands made contact, "My name is Ranso."

The brunette placed her hand over Bulma's trapped hand, "Kati Fushi, Cash."

**Power levels**

**Verto (Psi only): 311,000,000; Enraged: 500,000,000**

**Mercurial: Capable of 650,000,000**

**A/n: Dun dun dun! **

**WDG: **Twist and turn, twist and turn. Be careful you don't go off the road. :P

**VB**: If I do go off the road, I'm taking all you fuckers with me! Down in a blaze of glory!


	27. Coping with Morality

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 26: Coping with Morality**

It felt odd to be taking in such a view. The bright sunshine over a lush green valley complete with a gentle blue waterfall that fed the river and split the valley in two. The sun sparkled off the water's surface, but not in a blinding way, just very subtle. It was calming, but in a way, it also made me suffer. What I had done to Kara, after what she showed me, it just felt so wrong. She might have been right in the long run; killing her might have been the only way to take care of that demon. It didn't make me feel any better though, and the worst potential part was that I had hesitated in the final moments, not finishing the job fast enough. I felt lucky that Piccolo had sealed Vang away, because once Kara came to her senses, all the guilt I felt over her came flooding back in. It had been several hours since Kara died, and I was still teary eyed. I almost wanted to outlet for my anger, and every sign in the world pointed to Leira. She had lied to me; I was sure of it. I didn't care what other secrets she had, even if they concerned me personally. I also didn't care that she might have been trying to help, in her own odd way. I just wanted her out of my life. But judging by what Kara had said to me, that wasn't going to happen.

"_Thank you Verto for giving me my peace. I hope you find yours in the end. That girl, Leira, is the key. I don't know how I know, I just do. The feelings I've shared with you should disperse within a few hours. You will be able to trust her; and you must! For the good of this world! Farewell!"_

Kara was right about one thing, my anger had passed, right past the levels of loathing and hatred. I didn't see how I could possibly trust Leira at all, knowing that she could have at least taken some sort of action. Throwing us into that situation just plain sucked, but watching on as I was forced into killing an innocent person in all this, it drove me to a new level of ill. Watching her soul burn up and knowing that I had done the deed, it was beyond sickening. I glanced back over the beautiful land, allowing it to sink into my mutilated spirit. It was soothing, even if it only lasted a few more seconds. My senses picked up on Goten and Trunks running around down there, disturbing random creatures in the process. There was a high human signal chasing them around, and not having much luck. It could have been anyone stuck with babysitting duty, but I didn't care to join in, and I quickly suppressed my power. I sat down and started to focus on Kara again, but elected to revisit what she had shown me about her previous life, before it was destroyed. It felt remarkably easy and real to experience, as if Kara's emotional transfer had also included memories. Several images flashed through my mind, without any control over them. All of them focused on Kara and her parents, every positive moment. I felt like I was floating in a pool of positive energy after awhile, and it was so refreshing that I just fell backwards and soaked it in. I stared up at the clouds as they moved about in the sky, and I felt dizzy. The sky turned strangely orange in color. Another image of Kara's mother flashed by, standing over as if I was really Kara lying on the ground. I knew she had to be facing Kara directly, but it felt like it was me instead. But when she spoke, her voice had an accent that I recognized.

"What you are experiencing is a temporal distortion of reality. It should pass relatively soon," she said. I blinked sharply, and the sky turned blue again. The figure of Kara's mother shortened, her hair turned red, and her eyes black. Her figure also tightened and enhanced in certain areas, and I realized that I had been hallucinating again.

"Are you alright?" Leira said, with what might have been genuine concern. I frowned deeply as anger returned; she was the last person I wanted to see now.

"Fine. What do you want?" I asked.

"You can't lie to me or yourself Verto. How do you really feel?" she asked. I thought it was a stupid question, but I truly didn't know how I felt anymore. I had just been through the emotional roller coaster from hell, and somehow I felt normal. When I didn't answer, Leira knelt down to one knee, looking me straight in the eye.

"Why, why did you…" I started to ask.

She put a single finger to my lips to silence me, "Why isn't important. I know you don't want to trust me anymore, and that is your business. I won't force you. After what happened today, what I put you through and how neither one of us had control of the situation, I don't expect you to ever see me in the same light again. For that I'm sorry. Do your best to regain control of your emotions and stop any inner turmoil you are suffering from. You will need too as there's a difficult road ahead. You will likely be severely weakened for the next several days, so keep your activity to a minimum, or more serious side effects may occur. This deep power of yours will be very taxing each time you use it, so be cautious. I'm going to leave you be for now, just like you wanted. But know that I won't ever stop watching out for you, even from a distance. If you ever need me for anything at all, just call out my name. I'll be there; I promise," she said as she stood back up. The air around her started moving and my vision distorted as she held her hand up. I thought I saw a warm but sad smile coming from her, as if she was saying goodbye. I blinked sharply again and shook my head a bit, I still felt weird. It was only for a split second and then I regained my focus. When I did, she was gone. _What was all that about?_

As the sun started to descend in the skies, I tried to figure out what I had just seen. First I had been swimming in Kara's memories like they were my own, and then somehow my thoughts flashed to Leira. It had to have been my imagination playing tricks on me; Leira had never felt so warm, so kind. She was always cold and demanding. At the same time, her words felt sincere. Ironically, when she vanished, so did all those warm feelings, and the frigid air of reality seemed to blow over me. When it did, all of Kara's memories and feelings vanished, just as she said they would. _Hell of a daydream._ I suddenly sensed a powerful presence coming closer from behind, but once I recognized it I didn't bother to look.

"Haven't you moped around enough boy? Maybe you should go cry it off in that girl's arms. Oh I'm sorry, she's gone now! Get over it!" Vegeta barked. I inhaled a deep breath and exhaled just as sharply. There were many things that I wanted and probably needed to hear in that moment, even from him. But that wasn't it.

"Leave me alone," I replied as calmly as possible. My ki had flared though, and knowing Vegeta, that had likely been what he wanted.

"Make me boy! Take those angry feelings and put them to good use! Or else go find someone's shoulder to cry on! Since that possessed girl is dead, maybe the Rotian will suffice. You're practically attached to her bosom anyway!" he laughed.

"Don't you think you've been beaten enough today?" I snapped back.

Vegeta scoffed at my answer, "It wasn't me that let that beast out; that was you! Haven't you been warned enough to watch yourself with your reckless power displays?" I felt myself slipping again once his words were heard; slipping back the place I had been a few hours prior. Vegeta was trying to piss me off again, and it was working. _Push through it with my brain, not my gut! Don't let instinct dictate how the rest of this goes!_

I sighed as I forced the burning rage back down, "No, but it was you that wanted to fight so badly today. It was you that couldn't stop pushing for your precious full round fight. One that you would have lost if it hadn't been interrupted. You got your wish in the end, now please, leave me the hell alone!"

Vegeta growled a bit before adding in his usual smirk, "You can stay out here all night for all I care boy! But it'll take more than your tiny words to get rid of me! That girl's death was necessary and you know it. Down deep, demon or not, she was a cold, heartless bitch! One worthy of being exterminated! Have some pride, because you certainly don't have much of a spine!" My effort to shut down any gut instinct vanished with just one of his usual insults, and I felt that red power surging through me again, making me feel stronger again. _No, not like this! I won't allow myself to do that again, he doesn't deserve it that much. He's just trying to help in his own twisted way!_ Even as Vegeta continued his grin at my slight lightning display, I managed to see him the way I used to. A proud father figure, wanting the best for me. An honorable man, protecting his family and the entire planet without a second thought. My raging red Psi became as calm and as blue as the river below as I started to simmer down.

Vegeta's grin subsided for a moment, "You and your stupid human bred morals that always hold you down! You're pathetic!" I grimaced, he was still asking for it. _Okay, I don't care what that was supposed to really mean in his world._

"Sorry, but I'm not letting that work again!" I said as I rushed forward and knocked him flat with one powerful blow to the head. My fist was glowing blue again, and I had hit him as hard as I could. A pain-filled, shocked expression remained on his face for several seconds as he passed out. I sighed heavily and sunk to the ground, worn out from the hellacious day.

"Well there's something you don't see everyday," a voice said from the side. I jumped up, startled and in a ready stance. Out of all the people I thought it could have been, I wasn't expecting the former monk. I hadn't sensed that anyone else was there, but I was still so messed up mentally that I probably hadn't noticed.

"Hey buddy, I heard what happened. You alright?" Krillin asked. Krillin wasn't dumb enough to pick a fight like Vegeta had, and I managed to calm myself down with that knowledge.

"That depends on your definition of alright. Who sent you up here?" I asked.

Krillin chuckled, "Let's just say that Goku is a little too naïve for man to man discussions like this. And by the look of it, Vegeta is either too stubborn or unwilling. Probably both. Gohan told me what happened, well the quick and ugly version anyway. He figured you needed someone to talk to, someone who wasn't there."

"I don't need anyone to talk to. I prefer to be left alone. Let me deal with this in my own way!" I suggested with a raised voice.

"I've seen how you deal with problems in your own way, and I'd rather not be sleeping next to Vegeta tonight. You may deny it, but deep down, I know you want someone to talk you through this. Flying solo might work in a battle, but not now,' Krillin said.

"How did you find me anyway? I was keeping my power suppressed all the way till now," I pointed out.

"Sorry kid, but I've been able to sense you nearby for awhile now. It's hard to miss when someone is in emotional turmoil. I admit, I couldn't pinpoint your location exactly, but after watching the twin terrors for a few hours, I was looking for an out. And if you truly wanted to be left alone, why pick a wide-open spot on a cliff edge? It just screams for attention!"

I let that thought settle for only a brief moment, "I could make it impossible to locate me. Fly into space or something."

Krillin stifled a frown, "Yeah, but running away from your problems doesn't fix anything. And somehow that just isn't your style either. You're smarter than that." I nearly caved when he said that; he was exactly right. I had been beating myself up pretty badly, but having Vegeta show up wasn't exactly anger management at its best either.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Come on, let's go for a walk. I'd rather not be here when he wakes up again," Krillin suggested. I nodded slightly and we strolled down the hillside. Krillin allowed an awkward silence for only a few seconds, but soon began talking again.

"I didn't get every detail from Gohan about what happened, or what you went through. But I can see that dealing with this particular crisis wasn't easy on you. Go ahead and tell me about it. I may not be the most understanding human on this planet, but I can listen as well as anyone. Talking it out usually helps rather than keeping everything bottled up," he suggested.

"Well, I'll warn you, the details are uglier than you heard. I'm still trying to figure out what truly happened myself. It started like any normal fight against a dangerous villain. But then, just when I was getting the upper hand, it came screeching to a halt. And she showed me her memories. Why? I have no idea. If she truly wanted me to kill her off for good, why show me that. She was innocent before being possessed by that evil demon. If she wanted me to kill her and the demon at the same time, all she had to do was wait long enough. I was getting pretty close to that point. Instead, she showed me her life story, and I pitied her. I just couldn't go through with it, do you understand that?" I asked.

Krillin stared at me with a curious expression, "I have a - decent idea of what that might have been like. I remember struggling with doing the right thing when it just feels wrong, several times. You're not alone in that one," he said.

"Really? You've had to kill an innocent person before?" I asked, finding it hard to believe.

"It's been put in front of me; I never said I did it. The decision was still just as big and potentially bad in either direction. Let's just say it involves my wife, back when Cell was chasing her around. I had the chance to shut her down and kill her, preventing Cell from reaching his final form. And I just couldn't do it. Even though my lack of action backfired, everything worked out in the end. Can't say the same thing about the other time, but it hasn't been all that bad, yet," Krillin said, glancing back at the hill.

"And which time was that?" I asked.

"When I had the chance to kill Vegeta. I had him cornered when he was at his weakest. I was beaten and out of energy, but that didn't matter. I knew Yajirobe's sword would be enough to finish him before he could get away in his ship. Just as I got to him, Goku begged me to spare him. I thought he was nuts; I just knew there was no way that I could let him go. No way that he would ever become a good guy like Goku thought he could and never threaten us again. Now look at him!"

I glanced back with him, sensing that Vegeta was still out cold, "That depends on what you consider a good guy."

"Yeah, there are some days that I regret it. Part of what makes us human I guess," Krillin said, continuing down the hill in silence.

"I don't think it's a good comparison. I'm on the opposite end of that decision. I did something that I can never take back. I can't ever fix it. Can you say that you've ever done that before?"

Krillin stopped, "No, I can't say I have. Maybe that's a difference that will stick between us, but it doesn't matter kid. I know you'll make the right choice, even if it feels wrong. We all have to face that at some point in life."

"What really sucks is that I almost enjoyed it," I muttered.

"Gohan mentioned that you weren't yourself. He said it was like you lost control and were unaware of what you were doing up until it was over, or did I hear wrong?"

"That might have been how he saw it, but he's wrong. I _was_ in control!" I said with feeling behind it.

Krillin's eyes opened a little wider, "Wow, that's pretty heavy."

"Well, I wasn't aware of it at first. That possessed girl showed me her life story, and then asked me to kill her so the demon would die too. I refused, several times. I didn't think she could force me to do it, but as it turns out…" I trailed off as the weight of the events hit me again.

"It's okay, don't bottle it up. You can let it out," Krillin said with a reassuring tone.

"There's an evil power inside me that is linked with my Psi energy and she found it. I thought it was just a focused attack that I learned from Dabura, but it was more like opening a locked door that shouldn't have been touched. Sure wouldn't be the first time. Apparently that power doesn't work as long as my Ki remains stable. I guess my Saiyan power actually blocks it out, until it's too low. She forced the demon to drain it I think, somehow, someway. She used some kind of telepathic technique on me when I wasn't aware of it. It was some kind of emotional merge, so she could share any feelings she had with me. Three guesses what that might have been," I said, pausing for Krillin to figure it out.

"So you basically pulled a Gohan and went crazy?" he asked.

"I think it was worse than that. I think her little spell did something else and made me hallucinate for a few moments. It might have been her feelings overriding mine, I'm not sure. I saw things that weren't there and heard things differently too. When I came to, I saw Vegeta, Gohan and Goku lying dead on the ground. When that happened, it was like someone threw a switch in my mind, and that monster came out. Once that monster came out, it was like I couldn't stop myself until whoever pressed the button was dead. I just didn't care about anything else. I even gambled human life, and apparently it didn't come across as a bluff. And for some strange reason, I liked feeling that way. Shortly after that happened, I saw that everyone else was just fine, but it was too late. It felt good to let that side of me out with no inhibitions to slow me down. No resolve, no cares, just me and a victory," I explained.

Krillin let out the breath that he had been holding, "Wow, that's a little intense."

"Makes me sick, losing control like that," I growled.

"You shouldn't punish yourself too much for this," Krillin said.

"Yeah, but what if it happens again? I could become as bad and dangerous as whoever I'm fighting! I'm just so angry all the time anymore!" I argued.

"Maybe, but I don't think you're a bad person. In fact, I know you're not. You've just had a lot of bad things happen around you. What you're doing now, feeling guilty, that sets you apart from someone like Frieza or Cell. They could never feel anything like that!" Krillin replied. I stared at the ground, knowing he was right about it.

"Feel better now?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little," I admitted.

"Come on then, let's get you home," he suggested.

I hesitated just as Krillin lifted off, "I'd rather not go home right now. Being around Vegeta again today could stir the pot some more."

"Fair enough, I imagine he'll probably be pretty angry once he wakes up. Come stay the night at Kame House then. We'd love to have you over, and the ocean air should help you relax!" he suggested. I wasn't too sure about the choice, but it wasn't likely to be the very first place someone checked for me.

"Okay."

* * *

The screech over the phone was deafening to me even though I was outside on the beach, I couldn't imagine what Krillin's ear felt like, even if it was out of concern. I knew exactly who was on the phone, so I didn't bother asking. While the conversation went on and on, I worked on suppressing my Psi energy, the kind that was evil, or at least that's where it had come from. Once I did, I felt even more tired than before, it was like that was all I had been going on for the past few hours.

"Calm down Bulma, you can tell Vegeta to stop blowing up random cars now, Verto's over here. Nah, he can stay here until things simmer down. He's still a little upset about it, but he's calmed down. Yes, we have enough food, alright, bye Bulma!" Krillin said as he hung up. I waited patiently out on the darkened beach, letting the roar of the sea drown out everything else as Krillin walked back out.

"Thanks," I said simply.

"Don't mention it. I'm actually surprised that this didn't happen sooner, knowing Vegeta and how he likes to push people around," Krillin replied knowingly.

"In a strange way, I am too. Maybe I was just used to him not trying to completely mess with my head everyday. Whatever though, where's Eighteen and Marron?" I asked, changing the subject deliberately.

Krillin grinned slightly and nodded, "Probably out shopping, albeit a bit late. I think Master Roshi went along." Krillin suddenly frowned at that thought.

"Maybe I should watch for a bald head with a beard whenever a bird flies by." Just as I finished that sentence, we both picked up on a few presences approaching at decent speed, along with the sound of a hover car.

"That must be them now," Krillin noticed. I saw the lights coming towards us, but they were swerving pretty badly.

"Oh baby! Gimme a kiss!" an old voice called out. Krillin smacked his head as we both saw Eighteen driving the car, and Roshi trying to feel her up.

"Get off me you fossil!" Eighteen shouted back.

"Honey, slow down!" Krillin called out. Eighteen either didn't hear him at all, or was too busy kicking Roshi out of the car. He bounced off the water a few times and went down with a victory sign. Eighteen was still shaking her fist at him just as the air car came barreling onto the island. Eighteen gasped and stomped on the brakes. The car stopped, but her daughter didn't. The forward momentum combined with no seat belt threw Marron from the car and straight towards the side of the house. Neither Krillin nor Eighteen could react in time, but I did. I caught Marron gently, barely two inches from what would have been serious injury for such a fragile child. Eighteen was the first one there when I lowered us to the ground though.

"Marron! Are you all right? Do you hurt anywhere?" she asked. Marron looked confused as to what happened as I set her on the ground.

"I feel fine Mommy, can we have dinner now?" she said.

Eighteen sighed with relief and nodded, "Sure." Krillin gave my back a minor clap as I glanced back at him.

"What?" I asked.

"That's how I know you're a good person," Krillin replied. I managed a smile and nodded warmly and took a step towards the house. A good meal was exactly what I needed now.

* * *

**Interlude 26.1: Leira's Cryptic Message**

* * *

Vegeta stalked through the same dark forest he has visited the previous night, extremely angry about multiple things.

"Woman! Show yourself!" he bellowed.

"You're late!" a shadow behind him said, slowing revealing itself to be Leira.

"Don't dictate when I'm to be somewhere. I'll be there when I damn well please!" Vegeta shouted back.

"Fair enough. So, how is he?" Leira asked.

Vegeta's mood didn't improve any, "The boy has turned away from me. Whatever you did to him, it had better be undone!"

"Save the orders, because I had little to do with what happened today. Verto will return to you when he's ready. I doubt it will be very long, but at least try to have some patience."

"That's not good enough woman! Your ridiculous test released something inside of him. It made him crazy and more powerful at the same time!"

"Once again, you're pointing your finger in the wrong direction! Whether I was responsible or not, and I wasn't, it doesn't matter. That buried power is part of who he is; you can't deny that," Leira replied calmly.

"He's unpredictable now! I will not tolerate that!"

"That's probably a good thing. You'll have to deal with your feelings on your own. He will not be here forever. Sooner or later, you will have to let him walk his own path," Leira said.

"Even if that path leads to his own destruction?" Vegeta countered.

"You don't know that, so don't pretend to. Verto hasn't changed as much as you think. Ever since he first showed up at your door he has been the same, and I don't expect he will change."

"Are you blind woman? He is a completely different kid now!" Vegeta claimed.

"No, he isn't. Just different in your terms as his eyes are slowly opened to the world around him. The only real change has been physical. What he chooses to show you from the inside hasn't changed at all. If there has been any truly bad influence in his life, then I suggest you address that issue yourself. Start with a mirror," Leira said with contempt in her voice.

Vegeta's eyebrow went up, "Surely you're not suggesting that I had anything to do with his emotional problems?"

"You tell me. The kid no longer has a true parental figure in his life. He obviously looked to you and your mate to provide that! And don't give me the argument about his true age! That is irrelevant! "

"I know that woman! I've always looked after the boy's best interests!" Vegeta said.

"Was that before you became aware of his potential, or after? Admit it Vegeta, all you've done is obsess about this new power of his. Always trying to figure out each and every ounce of it since you don't have it yourself. And the more you dig, the larger the monster you will create! You've done it to him before, and now you're doing it again. Only now he's fighting that killer instinct that he picked up from you!" Leira raised her voice.

"That's ridiculous! All this pacifistic training is just making him lose his edge, the one he used to have!"

"Oh really? Haven't you wondered why he holds back on you now? Why you have to keep jabbing and insulting to get any real effort from him?" Leira asked.

Vegeta scoffed, "His soft feelings make him that way!"

"Wrong again. You might still believe that compassion will be his undoing, but you're the only that does. He doesn't need you to look over his shoulder all the time anymore, not that you really cared what trouble he might get into as long as you weren't nagged to death about it. When he was weaker and still inexperienced, he might have needed that harder edge to carry him along. Now though, he has surpassed you in nearly every way and you can't stand it. He holds back out of both pity and fear of hurting you. He may not admit that, but it is the truth, even if he's doing it at a subconscious level. If you're so jealous of his power, maybe you should go back to what you always did. Try to improve yourself and surpass him. It won't work, but it would certainly be better than wasting your time trying to get the better of him now!" Leira explained.

"You don't know what you're talking about woman!" Vegeta growled back.

"Ha, and you do? How has it been being fourth best? All those battles that you couldn't make a real difference in, just being an overly annoying bystander. How much of your pride will you try to salvage?" Leira asked.

"Shut up!" he shouted.

"Answer the question."

Vegeta paused notably, but didn't dodge, "My pride has endangered this planet over and over again. I do not intend to let it get that way again. Nor do I want the boy to repeat the same mistakes I have made. There, are you happy?" Leira stared at him, confused for a moment before laughing a bit.

"In some strange way, that actually made sense with the point I was trying to make. See how hard that was? Now just let him get out from your shadow and things will work out for the best. Let him do things his way, you will have to eventually rather you like it or not! One other thing, I suggest you allow him to rest and relax for the next few days until his power returns. He will likely be extremely weak until he recovers. That means no training or fighting, and very little stress would help as well. There may be added side effects if he does not take it easy," Leira added. Vegeta grumbled but didn't answer immediately.

"Was there something else you wanted to add to this delightful conversation?" Leira asked. Judging by the way he glared at her, she doubted that he even regarded her previous warning. Vegeta's energy settled into a remarkably calm aura around him, but he didn't let it go further before it vanished again.

"Well?" Leira asked, amused.

"A few things. First of all, why the hell haven't you aged a day since I first saw you?" Vegeta growled.

"You first saw me a few weeks ago, even humans don't show signs of aging in that small amount of time," Leira replied calmly.

"You know what I mean. I'm talking about the day that Frost should have died, back when I was a child!" Vegeta said in a much louder tone.

"You remember that?" Leira asked, stunned.

"I remember how much of a fool I was for believing this seemingly lost woman dressed in full battle gear. You were the one who told me where he was when that experimental mine went off. Being the stupid child that I was, I rescued him! Then he betrayed me to Frieza. If there's one lesson I learned from that ordeal, it was don't trust anyone!" Vegeta explained.

"I see, I thought that maybe that was too traumatic for you at the time. What were you, about fourteen Earth years?" Leira asked with a sly grin.

"Sixteen. But it's all irrelevant now," Vegeta grumbled as he stared at the ground.

"As usual you didn't have a true grasp of the situation and still don't. Even if you did, you would probably still be enemies. What other questions do you have?"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed even further, "How long will you wait before you bother to inform him about the girl, specifically her people? I know you're in on that mess, so when will it be?" Vegeta asked. Leira's frown was immediate; she hadn't been expecting him to go off topic like that.

"I don't know."

"Really? I doubt that," Vegeta claimed.

"You're right; it is a mess. But it's a part of a much larger mess than you realize, and I will say no more about it."

"Fine. You're about as informative as a Kai anyway. Lastly, how long do we have?" Vegeta asked, his teeth clenched. Leira saw the danger of answering directly and chose not to.

"What do you mean?" Apparently that didn't help; Vegeta's hair was gold before she even finished.

"Don't play me for a fool! There is obviously a reason you took the containment jar away before any of us could so much as look at it! And don't tell me that demon can't come back and kill us all!" Vegeta roared.

Leira's face quickly tightened to a serious glare, "That is not your concern, prince."

"Bullshit! Anything threatening this world is my concern!"

"Well, it soon won't be. For by the time Vang returns, I seriously doubt that you will be here! If everything happens as I expect it to, you and everyone on this planet will be gone! It's happened before, and there's no reason to think it won't happen again!" Leira shouted back.

Vegeta's face melted to shock, "What?"

"You understood me just fine. This meeting is over; I knew it would be a mistake trying to reason with you of all people. I'll simply contact someone else next time. Enjoy what time you have left Vegeta, because it isn't as much as you think. And don't bother trying to prepare for the unknown; it will not do you any good! For the threats facing you are much closer than you realize!" Leira retorted before promptly vanishing. Vegeta stood there with his mouth gaping open, trying to make sense of what she had said. As it dawned on him that he still didn't know what might be coming, his face shifted to determination.

"Don't count the prince of Saiyans out of anything woman! I will defy whatever destiny you believe I will meet!"

* * *

Leira turned towards the skies from miles away, watching Vegeta fly off. She took off in a different direction and flew that way. It felt silly to her to even bother telling Vegeta not to prepare, she knew he would. _Some things just never change for Saiyans, especially not that one. _She passed the battleground left behind from Mercurial and Verto and slowly descended, but went a little further and landed at a cave nearby. The entrance was hidden by what was left of the forest, and she walked inside without even a torch. Once she was in complete darkness, she turned and found a path waiting for her. At the end of that path, a dark blue bubble added partial light to the room, barely enough to see much more than the cave walls. Leira could see the image of a cave room inside of the bubble, only it was on the other side, in a very different place. Beside it lay the jar that Vang was sealed in. She picked it up and sighed slightly before opening the lid. Smoke poured out before Vang gathered himself and hovered in mid air, staring at her.

"We had a deal, demon. I trust you didn't forget that?" Leira asked with a dark glare.

"Being trapped for thousands of years makes you reconsider your options. I decided not to do your bidding until we renegotiated!" Vang replied coolly.

"And just what do you have to negotiate with? You were supposed to take one of the two subjects out of the picture! You didn't even try to do your job!" Leira growled up at him.

"I am not stupid, wench! That brat would have destroyed me in my weakened condition, and that was not in the agreement. I simply got lucky when sweet little Kara elected to help him, and I bided my time. If you want me to do the deed without a trace, you must allow me to regain my original powers. For that, I will need someone much more powerful than she was!" Vang countered.

"Verto must meet his destiny! In my careful calculations, only two things, in this case people, can stop that from happening! Thus you must take one of them out! I've calculated that one must be present, but not the other, and it happened more or less the same in either situation. I've already solved the dragonball problem, so whoever it is won't be coming back once they are eliminated! But we must hurry before the timeline shifts again!" Leira claimed.

Vang had as much of a perplexed expression as he could manage, "Time shifts?"

Leira nodded, "There's been several now. Some I have made, and some have been made to sabotage my efforts. I suspect that an inside party is involved, only someone who knew directly of the mission. That is why we must make haste before it unravels again! I won't be able to stop it again before a chain reaction occurs!"

"Just how many years have you been on this mission now?" Vang asked.

"Five earth years," Leira frowned.

"Pathetically short for you to start panicking. Just what is your hurry, o' loyal servant of the elders?" Vang asked, a large toothy grin opening up.

"They're not the elders, only those who pose as them. The older Guardians have twisted that lie for millions of years to keep the other side in check. You know that," Leira chastised.

"I always wondered why they seemed to grow vulnerable with time. If that's the case…where are the elders?" Vang asked.

"No one knows where they vanished to. There are many theories that they simply died peacefully, and that they have chosen a different path and are watching from a different place. One far closer to the action than we realize," Leira warned.

"Perhaps they are, maybe they're not. We all know where one of them is though. Locked in his tomb in the first realm we invaded," Vang noted.

"Precisely, and this is why I need your help. The war will begin again. I must have time to prepare him, and whoever is causing these timeline changes is screwing that up. Go on through and you'll see what I mean. Verto might be the one we need to bring it to an end for good. They won't be able to stop us anymore!" Leira pointed out vaguely.

Vang scoffed, "He isn't that powerful."

"No he's not and I doubt he ever will be. But none the less, he will be the key to ending it once and for all!" Leira admitted.

"In that case, I should hurry. The masters have waited long enough for our results!" Vang said, turning around. He flew straight into the blue sphere and vanished. Leira managed a slight smile, _Soon, brother, soon!_

**A/n: The pot stirring begins… Alright, maybe I've been stirring the pot for oh…quite awhile now. Better question, whom is Leira talking about when she says two subjects? And yes, there will be a poll for that one. I'll even allow two selections for that. **


	28. Weak

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 27: Weak**

Somehow, someway, I managed to fall into the deepest sleep I could remember. Krillin's theory about the ocean might have been right, because despite Roshi's antics and the noise they created, I didn't even flinch out of slumber once I was out. The gentle roar of the waves and the breeze that came with it damn near put me in a coma. They had put me in the guest room after dinner, and I had just collapsed from the hectic day. I wasn't sure how long I had slept, but I knew it had to have been just after sunrise before I woke up. Even as the sun peaked through and shined through my eyes, I barely felt it. It wasn't until I heard the floor creak that I even became aware of my surroundings. It had been loud and very close, and I quickly detected a hidden presence in the room. I had been so relaxed that I didn't sense anyone come in. Whoever it was could hide their energy almost flawlessly, and since I was still facing the window, I elected not to make any sudden movement. I sensed a hint of mischief and wickedness coming from this presence, and a feint hint of a breathing pattern. The person crept closer, obviously intent on catching me off guard. _Fat chance of that. Whoever this is already messed up! _

I suppressed my power just slightly, trying to give off the impression that I was still sleeping. The mystery attacker paused when I did this, but continued anyway. I locked on to the energy signal when it came closer to within five feet. I clenched my right fist around the blanket I was under, ready to throw it onto my opponent as a distraction. The floor creaked again, and a very subtle curse slipped out, barely the volume of a whisper. I shifted just slightly by reaction, and an aura of caution filled the air. I grimaced at my instinctual mistake, now whoever this was either knew I was awake, or that I was about to be. The caution passed after a minute, and the mystery presence crept another few feet closer, now just on the edge of the bed. I heard a slight hint of a beeping noise, and I suddenly felt winded; my suppressed ki literally vanished. _Uh oh, it's another one of those ki restriction devices. Whoever this is came prepared. _I quickly took note that my Psi energy still felt incredibly depleted from yesterday, damn near zero. I could still feel everything around me to an extent, but I could tell it wasn't going to be much more than that. Whoever this was had me at a serious disadvantage. I could feel the attack charging, no doubt that it was coming from overhead angle. I considered using my astral vision technique to solve this mystery since that took hardly any power. But I knew that any energy output against an unknown threat that was this close was foolish to try, as were any sudden movements.

As I quickly went through my options, I heard the figure whispering, "Finally, my revenge!" _Oh god, who the hell could this be?_ I had a sinking feeling that it was someone I had seen very recently, and a twinge of fear filled my heart. I could feel a hand slowly reaching for my shoulder, which told me that whoever this person was, they were definitely going to look me in the eye first. Just as I was preparing to announce my awareness, the hand grabbed my shoulder. The blanket went over my face headfirst and closed me out for a moment, and I was suddenly being pinned to the bed by someone very strong. A hand went to my mouth in the blanket-covered darkness, but it felt surprisingly soft.

"Get off me, or you'll regret it!" I shouted. Alarm filled the intruder and my blanket went flying off, and the sunlight blinded me for an instant, and that was the only opening this person needed.

Smooch

My eyes shot open when a pair of blossoming lips found my own for a good two to three seconds. The closed eyes just beyond my nose opened to reveal sparkling blue orbs and a sly grin under a sloppy mesh of violet hair that dangled just past the neckline.

"Gotcha little bro!" Lenz snickered. _Why am I not surprised? _Lenz had apparently come prepared for the whole beach routine, because aside from a very loose teal t-shirt, there was little else on. I frowned and attempted to throw her off, but that barely even made her flinch.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" I shifted slightly and shoved against her, hard. Nothing happened, and the force behind her pin increased as she leaned down, her face within inches of mine. _What the hell? I'm much stronger than her even on a level playing field! _

"A little more difficult now isn't it?" she asked with a deep grin.

"Lenz, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Making you my prisoner! Kind of hard to say no if you can't budge me!" she claimed. I cocked an eyebrow up at her, wondering just what she was going to do next with her kinky routine. I gritted my teeth a bit, letting out a low level growl that would have scared a lion. Lenz's smile faded and she left off just a bit, but didn't get up from her straddled position.

"Get off me; that's your only warning!" I said. When she didn't heed it, I slipped past her grip and punched towards her face. To my great surprise, she caught it with ease and smirked evilly.

"Trying to hit a girl? I thought you didn't do that! No matter, you're too slow! Not such a tough guy anymore are ya?" she asked in a mocking manner. That's when I spotted the flashing wristwatch just below her left hand.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Nifty isn't it? It isolates a single ki signature and suppresses it from that user only. No one else is affected by it, all you have to do is use the scanner with a DNA strand, like a hair, and it does the rest. But you have to be within fifty feet or it doesn't work, which really sucks. It's based off Protoss technology I think. Bulma made it last night and let me try it out for the first time; I'd say it works really well. I should keep this thing on. We wouldn't want to let a cutie like you run off and get yourself hurt!" she explained. She forced her fingers to interlock with mine and pushed my arm back into the bed, holding it there. Once she explained it, I suddenly didn't feel as rested and relaxed as I was before. In fact, I was quickly feeling up to testing how fast that red power of mine could come out if I tried. Conjuring up some true anger posed a slight problem.

"Awe, what's wrong? Does little Verto feel weaker now? Good, maybe he'll finally learn that he can't escape the awesome power of a real woman! I know your Psi energy isn't working today, so don't bother trying to bluff me. You've been a naughty boy, and you have been skipping your lessons! I'm the teacher now, and you are the student, but you may refer to me as Mistress!" Lenz said, swaying suggestively as she did. _Great, a new invention and a power trip to go with it. _

"Lenz, I really don't feel up to this shit today, so stop," I said as calmly as possible.

"I'm the older one here, so what I say goes! Admit that you've been a bad boy and take your punishment! Then I'll let you go!" Lenz ordered, badly feigning an older voice.

I glared back up at her with all seriousness, "And what would that _punishment_, be?"

Lenz giggled, "Since this is the first incident under the new order of things, I'll let you off with only your studies!" I rolled my eyes slightly, but judging by her energetic mood, she was going to try and put me through something while she had held that bracelet to hold over my head. "Aren't you going to ask me what they are?" she asked, throwing in that sweet and innocent voice that didn't fit her at all.

"Fine, what are they?" I asked, not truly caring.

"Ahem, I believe you forgot something," Lenz said, gesturing to herself.

"Argh! What are my studies, _mistress_?" I shouted deliberately, causing her to frown for just a brief moment. I started to consider letting out what Psi energy I had to shock her unconscious, but there wasn't enough to get much more than a spark. She shook off my rudeness, and then gave me a grin that had nothing on prior versions.

"If it isn't obvious enough, runt, maybe this will help!" She drug one of my pinned hands up by the wrist, holding tight so I wouldn't slip out. She squeezed just slightly until my right hand was fully spanned, and then pulled upwards a little further, until it made full contact with her ample chest. My eyes shot open in surprise and her grin subsided just slightly, down to only a moderate one. I tried to pull away, but without any more strength, I couldn't budge.

"No Lenz, not like this!" I begged.

"Well, you wanted to know what your lessons were. You really should have known what was coming by now, I've given you enough of the signs. Besides, a sprouting young prodigy like you needs education in the needs and desires of women! Especially of one much stronger than you!" she claimed, "What shall we start with?" Just then the door creaked open, and the last person in the world that could possibly do anything about this stood there, eyes slowly widening as he became aware of things. And oddly enough, I knew he would be able to draw enough attention away from me.

"Oh! Hot Mama!" Roshi declared with his cry of delight. He raced towards the bed and Lenz took her pressure and weight off me. I slid out from under her as she rose enough to deflect Roshi's flying tackle. Roshi managed to grab hold of her shirt at the shoulders, trying to move elsewhere while he had the chance. She threw him into the wall, where he collapsed in happy and dazed heap. Half her shirt went with him, and the other half fell completely off. The blue colored bikini she had on underneath didn't hide much of anything, and probably only covered about ten square inches worth of total space. Roshi might have been knocked silly, but his nose still bled at the sight of her, though I couldn't really blame him. Lenz stood up off the bed and turned towards me, with nothing between us but the bed and only the open window behind me.

"Well, I hope he liked the view. Probably the best one he's had in awhile. What do you think?" she asked, posing slightly.

"Uh…" I stuttered. _Dammmmn, I thought Eighteen was hot in a bikini._

"I'll take that as a compliment! I figured I'd try your colors for a day. Green with blue underneath is your style after all!" she said, encouraging me to stare, not that I needed it. "Tongue tied little brother?" she added. I managed to nod a few times as I looked her up and down.

"Good, now where were we?" she asked. Someone else entered the room, clearing their throat. Lenz turned enough for me to spot Eighteen standing at the door. She took one look at Lenz and then Roshi, and came to her own conclusion.

"I see he didn't bother waiting for you to even take a morning swim. That looks really good on you Lenz, but don't you think it might be showing a little too much?" she asked.

"Why bother worrying about how much is showing when all of it soon will be?" Lenz replied as she turned back to me. I could see that Eighteen was clearly struggling not to laugh. I backed up, coming to the wall within a few paces.

"What's the matter kid? Don't you want to learn something else besides fighting techniques?" Eighteen chuckled.

"I know enough thank you," I answered.

"I beg to differ little man! You couldn't have been with Fasha that much! You aren't reacting like you should to a body like this; even at your young age there should be something!" Lenz stated, looking down towards my waistline.

"Sorry if I have better than average control," I said cautiously.

"A little stimulus should take care of that!" Lenz came one step closer. I didn't bother waiting for the next step and dove out the open window, landing in the sand. I turned back and saw Lenz staring out, her grin returning.

"You can't get away from me slave!" she called out. I didn't have to turn around to know how fast she was chasing. Surprisingly, she elected to go down the conventional way, through the house. I took the chance and ran for the edge of the island, hoping it was far enough away from the ki restriction device. I felt a spark of energy hit me just as I touched water, and I quickly blasted off. Within seconds I felt my senses returning, and a large power erupted behind me, giving chase. I almost lost concentration though when I compared it to my own; it was the strongest power I had felt in a long time. To be specific, I hadn't felt anything this comparably big since my first days of training with Vegeta. Before I could even look back, my power faded again and I started to fall. Just as I would have hit water, Lenz swooped down and snatched me out of the air. She held me up to look me in the eye, my body squeezed against hers. Judging by the familiar grin, she wasn't done with her fun. Her energy started glowing around us and she suddenly turned Super Saiyan. Her flight speed increased exponentially and she started turning loops in the air, spiraling around and around frightening speeds. There wasn't anything I could do; it was like she had suddenly gotten drunk with power and I had lost all of mine. I got severely dizzy from all the spinning and got lost in it, though at some point she held me up by only the ankle. It only got worse until she suddenly dropped me in the sand again. I couldn't even stand up to try to get away, and elected to crawl instead, only to be stopped by a very strong foot when she stepped down.

"Looks like I win, runt! Time to collect my prize!" she declared as she knelt down, one hand with a firm hold on one of my legs and the other going elsewhere.

"Lenz, please. Not this way!" I pleaded.

"You're saying no again. You know how much a mistress doesn't like it when her slave tells her no! And this one really doesn't like it. Let's change your mind!" she said. I shifted and squirmed as much as possible as I felt her hand slinking up the back of my leg and then around towards the front. She suddenly stopped and pulled me around, face to face. She laid another wet kiss on my forehead and stared back at me warmly. Just as I heard a click towards my right, she started laughing.

"Just kidding! Gosh that was fun!" I heard another distinct click coming from the side, and glared sharply when I saw it was Krillin holding a camera. Lenz held up the dreaded bracelet and pushed a button on the side. It beeped once and my ki energy suddenly came back in full. My senses also returned, and now I sensed two huge powers nearby, but only Lenz and Krillin were there. Sensing their quiet energy was like having a tremendous weight constantly pushing me to the ground. _Leira mentioned being really exhausted, but it's like I'm not even here. Both of them feel like mountains, and I'm just a fucking pebble. _

"Now there's several for the scrapbook," Krillin said, holding up several photos.

"Did you get the shot of him trying to crawl away? Or how about the one where I had him dangling while upside down?" Lenz asked, grabbing a hold of both of my hands.

"I got the crawling one, you were going way too fast for the other shot!" Krillin exclaimed.

"Well, I guess we better have a do over then!" Lenz said as she turned back to me. I yanked my hands away, a little easier this time.

"Easy Verto, we were just having a little fun with you. I personally wanted to go the practical joke route, but then Lenz showed up and it was just too perfect with how far she's willing to go. You needed it to be honest!" Krillin explained.

"Sure did, he's so cinched up that it'll take me a month just to massage it out of his shoulders!" Lenz claimed as she stood up and gave me a little more space. I shook my head and barely managed my own annoyed grin.

"You kinda had me going there for awhile. I was starting to think you had gone drunk with power or something. In a strangely horny way," I said.

"Well, I wasn't completely acting. Damn old man spoiled the surprise though. I wanted to go a little slower on revealing this package!" Lenz admitted as she posed again.

"Love to stay and torture you some more kid, but I have a trainee to look after today. He should be getting done with his morning exercise any minute now," Krillin said as he looked out over the ocean. I sensed a weaker signal approaching and then spotted someone swimming towards the island, and a few large shark fins following behind quickly. This one was closer to Master Roshi's power level, maybe a little lower.

"Damnit, I hate these things!" the mystery person called out. When he got to the shoreline, I noticed that he had a feather or two tied around his head, along with a large turtle shell strapped to his back. When he got to his feet, I saw he had tan skin and was wearing many Indian style trappings. I suppose that was appropriate since he was an Indian. I wasn't sure how old this guy was, but he only looked to be fifteen or sixteen at the very most. He was tall and muscular as well, but still weak overall.

"Master, I'm ready for my daily lessons! Oh," the newcomer suddenly spotted Lenz, and like anyone his age, he was awestruck.

"Verto, Lenz, this is Maize. He is the son of a friend named Upa, someone me and Goku met when we were kids. He sought out Master Roshi a few weeks ago for training, but I felt that I needed to handle it personally. It'll give Master Roshi some much needed rest; he's not as active as he used to be," Krillin explained.

"Depends on your definition of active," I said before Lenz could.

"Pardon me Master Krillin, but I thought it was because your wife said you had nothing better to do?" Maize asked.

Krillin promptly bashed him on the head, "You keep quiet about that! You're making me look bad!"

"My apologies Master!" Maize bowed in shame.

"Well, at least he's built well enough. Bet you're a real lady-killer," Lenz said, drawing a blush out of Maize.

"Ahem, I believe we have training to attend to. I'll see you two later," Krillin said, throwing down a capsule that revealed the air car. Maize didn't move at first, and was caught in a trance when Lenz started to sway her hips a little.

"Maize! What is the number one thing I told you?" Krillin asked impatiently.

"That we don't study martial arts to attract women!" Maize recited within a second.

"Very good, now start practicing that and get in the car!" Krillin ordered. Maize rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as Lenz gave him a suggestive wave. Maize ran and jumped in, excitement pouring off of him as they drove off.

"Hmmm, nice body. I must have scared him off with these lethal weapons," Lenz claimed as she held them up.

"Yeah, he was many things, but scared wasn't one of them," I snorted slightly.

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?" she asked with a beaming glance.

I returned it, "Hardly. I hope you brought extra clothes, otherwise Roshi is going to have nosebleeds all day!"

"Actually, I don't. I planned on spending the day out in the water with you, nice and relaxing!" she said.

"Is that why you brought the bracelet? So you could _make_ me relax?" I asked with a scornful glare.

"Easy little bro, I only wanted to use it as a last resort, knowing how you are. Our little prank was all I planned to need it for, and it's only a prototype, so Bulma didn't want me to try it out for long. It only has about seven minutes of power left anyway, sorry to disappoint you. I think you were starting to enjoy being the weak one for once!" she suggested as she crossed her arms.

"Only in your fantasy world," I replied.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure I felt some sparks coming off you. We still have seven minutes, we could see what happens!" she dared to say. I answered that by giving her my cold hard stare and said nothing.

"Spoilsport," she said as she popped a lid on top of the device. _Funny thing is it probably wouldn't matter; she could literally kill me with a look as weak as I am now. _Then she dumped out what appeared to be a few small hairs as she took the bracelet off. I sighed with a bit of relief and sat down in the sand, gazing out over the tranquil ocean. She knelt down behind me and grabbed my shoulders. I jerked a bit by reaction, until she gently pressed down.

"So tense. Will you at least let me grind these kinks out? You're so knotted up that you might actually break apart! You need to relax!" she said.

"I have been relaxing," I retorted as she started massaging.

"No, you've been sleeping. I'm talking about taking it easy. At least for a day or two. No training, no stress, just let it all out and take a load off! It's the best prescription after going through a traumatic experience. I'm not going to deal with an uptight little runt who can't simmer down for even a few minutes. Bad enough that the prince is like that!" Lenz said.

"I suppose you want me to talk it out with you too? You always want to know every little detail after all. And there's always the chance Vegeta put you up to it. Trying to dig at my soft heart again," I said.

"Actually, Prince Grouchy didn't want me to come out here at all. But since he said to keep an eye on you in your weakened state and didn't want to do it himself, I volunteered. Then he can't complain when I force you to come home later, and don't even try to argue your way out of that one!" she warned.

"What would be the point of that?" I asked.

"Exactly. I don't really care what happened. I heard about it, but what's done is done and I'm sure you've had enough to think about. Besides, I find your soft heart to be very appealing," she replied as she started grinding my shoulders and back. I turned my head and stared up at her, causing her to pause.

"Who are you and what have you done with Lenz?" I asked.

She gave me her own eye roll and smiled before continuing, "It doesn't really matter that much does it? It's all in the past; let's focus on having a nice day with no stress! If this isn't enough, we can try and convince Eighteen to let you have some booze! Maybe an aphrodisiac or two to loosen you up!"

"No this is fine. You don't need any help as it is," I replied.

She hugged my shoulders and nibbled on my ear for a moment as I brushed her off, "Glad to hear it!"

"A little lower please," I said as her hands went down around my sides, "Not that low!"

* * *

I felt remarkably looser after Lenz was done turning my back into hamburger a few hours later. She kept passing the suggestion of a full body massage for free, saying I needed it everywhere. I kindly passed; she didn't need any more motivation. Eighteen had cooked up a whopper of a lunch, which was destroyed in little to no time. Roshi was knocked out at least a dozen times while Lenz and I were eating. The sight of Lenz in her bikini along with the scent of food seemed to revive him a lot faster. His last charge came when Lenz was suggestively going through ice cream, so Roshi got a chocolate smear on the side of his face to go with the bruise.

"I appreciate the attention, but honestly, can I kill him yet?" she asked.

"Oh someone actually wants you now and you're saying no?" I said.

"I'm picky." she replied.

"Lies," I muttered.

"We're keeping him around in case he's got a lot of Zeni stashed away. In which case, I would like to collect and buy a bigger house. Maybe I should threaten to castrate the brainless fraud a few times and get him to cough up some dough," Eighteen said.

I stifled a laugh, "Maybe the porno industry makes so much off of him that they consider him a sponsor. I guess Lenz can be the advertisement!" Lenz had her slapping hand up and ready as I prepared to duck, but the attack never came.

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult," she said, slightly confused.

"I say insult," Eighteen said.

"Yeah, but if I hit him for it, I'll knock his precious little head off as weak as he is now!" Lenz pointed out.

"Thanks for the reminder," I grumbled.

"By the way, Bulma called while you two were enjoying yourselves. She said you got a call from someone, but didn't say who it was. They left a number for you to call, so you can use this phone," Eighteen explained.

"Must be important. It's not like I get fan mail," I said.

"That reminds me. Since the old man probably doesn't have many brain cells left for today, I should go beat up Hercule for money instead. That bum still owes me for having to put up with Buu for a day last week!"

"Let me guess, you ran out of candy?" I asked.

"Within a few seconds. He actually ate the entire fridge, hardware included. I'll take Marron with me so you don't have to baby-sit. I don't need the old nuisance teaching her anything!" Eighteen said as she went upstairs for her daughter. I waited until they both left in the air car before I bothered looking at the number left for me.

"Let's find out who this is then. As long as it isn't a telemarketer," I said as I dialed the number and put the phone on speaker mode.

"What's a telemarketer?" Lenz asked, curious.

"I told you what a salesman is right?" I asked as Lenz nodded, "Well this one is even worse. It's an extremely annoying person that calls people all the time, usually trying to sell stuff over the phone. They also tend to call at the worst times as well, such as dinner, or while your sleeping sometimes. And then there's the other bad habit they have, sharing your telephone number with other telemarketers. It's a never ending cycle!"

"Maybe you should trace the line back to the source and put them out of business!" Lenz suggested.

"Awfully tempting, but they do tend to cover their tracks. Anytime they actually give you a return number it's usually someone else on the far end of the world that you can barely understand," I replied as the ring tones started up.

After two rings, a woman picked up, "Hello?"

"Hi, my name is Verto. I'm returning a call and was given this number," I said as pleasantly as I could. I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end, and the lady sounded like she was a bit edgy.

"What's the code? Or else I'm hanging up now!" she asked.

Lenz mimicked my single raised eyebrow as I answered the best I could, "What code? I'm just returning the call since I wasn't at home. This was the number I was given!"

"I called Capsule Corporation this morning. And I was looking for someone with the initials DMT. I was told that no one with those initials even lived there!" she claimed. My eyes went low in a hurry, and the look on Lenz's face was full alert and screaming for an explanation, but I picked up the phone instead, turning off the speaker. The odds were that she would hear most of the conversation anyway, but I didn't want whoever was on the other end to know that. There was only one person on the entire planet that knew that particular set of initials in full and only because I told her what it was.

"DMT? How do you know about that?" I asked.

The lady sighed with what seemed like relief, "Sorry Verto, but I needed to know it was you. I have been working with your mother for a while now on a certain, project. And there's such a high chance of discovery that we don't start off any discussion without a pass code. She didn't want to involve you or her husband until she had to. Since she didn't answer the last pass code correctly, either her phones have been tapped, or she's been compromised!"

I glanced at Lenz, who only shook her head and whispered, "Everything is fine at home."

"I highly doubt it's the latter, but I wasn't sure and we agreed on what to do in that situation. She said that you could help me if she wasn't available and that you would probably have that kind of reaction to those three letters. May I ask why that is?" she asked.

"It's, sensitive information. This has something to do with Dr. Cash doesn't it?" I replied with a question of my own.

"Please, don't force me to discuss this over the phone. Come to North City and meet me at the corner of sixty-fourth and Walnut in two hours time. That should be plenty of flight time for you."

"Sixty-fourth and Walnut in two hours, got it!" I said, mentally jotting that down.

"Thank you," she said before she hung up.

I could feel the firmness behind Lenz's glare before I even saw it, "Vegeta said no heavy activity today or tomorrow. Don't make me put my foot down!" she warned.

"It's just a meeting Lenz; it's not like that takes effort," I assumed. Truthfully I didn't know, and there was a good chance that Lenz wouldn't accept it even if I did.

"It better be just a meeting! Or else I'll chain you down to the bed! Need me to fly you there?" she asked.

"If there's anything I can handle without you today, it's flying!" I said, this time confident.

"Well just in case, I'll go with you. I'm supposed to keep an eye on you anyway. You wouldn't want to fall without someone to catch you, which would probably hurt. And then you'll have some hot nurse looking over you all the time…" Lenz paused mid thought and grinned. I could already picture the nurse's outfit on her.

"Lenz, it really isn't any of your business," I claimed. That was definitely the wrong thing to say.

"Not my business? Well too bad runt! Babysitting you is my job until you're better! That means where you go, I go! What are you going to do little man, tell me no?" she shouted. I was mentally pinned there, and we both knew there wasn't anything I could do about it.

"Just put on some clothes and we'll call it a deal," I suggested.

"Hmmm, I wonder if Eighteen has anything in my size?" Lenz pondered as she walked towards the upper rooms.

"I seriously doubt it," I muttered.

"Oh here's something! A little small though, I thought she was better equipped then that!" Lenz shouted down. I shook my head slightly as Lenz bounded down the stairs in a very tight set of jeans and a black vest with a hint of red hidden below.

"Hmmm, I better not breathe until this stretches out, this tight little number will burst open if I don't! It's only a thirty two B!" she moaned.

I rolled my eyes, "Stop whining, it's better than nothing!"

"Nothing _feels_ a lot better on me though. I don't like feeling restricted," she noted.

"As I've noticed," I snorted.

"Yeah, let it all out baby!" Roshi shouted again as he dove towards her from the stairs. He promptly became part of the wall an instant later, but the black vest ripped open, revealing red lace underneath.

"That's a little better, but you missed the targets again!" Lenz said, disappointed.

"Just grab a jacket or something!" I said in exasperation.

"Alright! We'll see how much of a traffic jam I can cause this time when I do flyby flashes!" she exclaimed happily. _Why me?_

**Power levels, which are only for reference this time.**

**Verto (severely weakened, ki only): 20,000**

**Krillin: 26,000,000**

**Lenz: 57,000,000; Super Saiyan: 177,000,000**

**Maize: 120**

**A/n: Been awhile since I wrote a mostly humor chapter. Hope most you laughed as much reading it as I did writing it.**


	29. Eavesdropper

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 28: Eavesdropper**

Lenz and I arrived at North City and landed on one of the taller buildings near the meeting site a few hours later. I had opted to fly in first and then go low to find the right street corner. It was nowhere near XS Cash's main buildings, which were pretty much all of the downtown districts. Instead, the intersection was more towards the outskirts of town; the tall building we had landed on was the only skyscraper for a few miles. There was little to no activity below other than a few people walking around, maybe a car or two.

"Lenz, stay here," I ordered.

She looked insulted, "Why?"

"This person doesn't trust anyone else right now. She probably doesn't even trust me yet, and it will be easier to gain that trust if I go in alone. She may not show up if she sees you land with me," I pointed out.

Lenz looked agitated, "It's a girl?"

I blinked sharply, "Yeah, who did you think it was on the phone, some guy pretending to be a girl? Or maybe his secretary?"

"Well, I know humans like to disguise their voices over the phone systems when they are trying to be sneaky. I saw it on one of Bulma's mystery programs. Of course one of them wasn't really a mystery, just a girl trying to surprise her mate into meeting her somewhere. Could you imagine my surprise when that mate turned out to be another girl after all? I totally didn't see that coming! I mean I could see why, they were both really hot and…" she rambled until she saw my lower lip twitch and curl just slightly.

"Take this as an extremely good lesson; television won't do your brain any good," I retorted as calmly as possible.

"Well what else am I going to use to learn about this planet more? Humans constantly contradict themselves!" Lenz claimed.

"Tell me something I don't know," I muttered.

"I've only had three true lovers in my life and none of them were as cute as you! That's something you didn't know! Want to know anything else? We can make a game out of it! You know, pass intimate information back and forth, and get to know each other even better!" I managed to keep from blasting her on the sight for that, not that it would have done anything.

"I don't intend to play any damn games," I growled lowly.

She pretended not to hear it, "What was that human game I heard about? Truth and daring or something like that." This time I did blast a portion of the roof clean off, which focused her attention again.

"What is your problem?" she asked.

"Lenz, not now. Your little games are only going to be a distraction," I said.

"Little games? Maybe you should check the mirror again. I play big games; you are the one that plays little games. Let me know when you want to move on, I'm willing to show you the rules and ropes. Maybe tonight?" she grinned. _Why do I get the feeling that I'm fighting an uphill battle here?_ I thought as my fists wrapped up.

"This is serious business Lenz, not one of your fantasies!" I claimed.

Lenz snorted slightly, "A little too serious if you ask me. You're supposed to be relaxing, not adding to your stress pile! Try laughing once in a while, it helps! If you want truly beneficial but still serious business, I'm your girl, where and when?" My eyes narrowed, but not out of anger. _Is she deliberately distracting me? Normally she would have been going into curious mode awhile ago. Is she trying to keep me out of something?_

"Lenz, what is going on?" I asked carefully.

She glanced around as if I should have known the answer, "As far as I can tell, you were trying to get me to leave and I was trying to get you to relax. You take this saving the day business way too hard. Can't someone else take over for a day or two?" she asked. _Ah, so she's just trying to join the cause, should have known._

"Well here's a little truth for you. This person I'm meeting has been working with Bulma on spying around here. It has something to do with who tried to kill us in that frozen temple. Does that drive your interest enough?"

"Barely. How long will this take? You should seriously consider a nice afternoon nap. I'll take one with you if it helps, whatever makes you feel most comfortable!" she exclaimed. _Okay, I give up._ I sighed heavily and turned around to look towards the ground, seeing if there was any sign of the person I was looking for. While I didn't know what she looked like, I figured it would be obvious enough once I got down there.

"Well, how long will this take? It's rude not to answer a question. We need to think about getting back home soon," Lenz said.

"I don't know how long it will take. Probably a lot less once you stop asking," I replied.

"Hey! I'm just looking out for you little brother, no need to be so antagonistic!" she declared, looking a little unsure about what she said suddenly.

"What's wrong, that word too big for you? Shouldn't have said it," I suggested.

Lenz's face scrunched up now that I finally won a round, "Remind me to smack you one real good later! In fact, I think I'll do it when you're done with your precious little meeting! I'll be back soon after I find myself a new look and if you aren't here, oh it's going to get ugly! I promise that I'll beat you till your black and blue all over!" she warned as she powered up and blasted off. It was enough of a showing that it knocked me down, but I felt a little better once she was gone.

* * *

I descended to the ground quickly, and walked two blocks further along Walnut Street to Sixty-fourth. There, only three people were even present. One was sitting on a bench and wrapped in a cloak. The other two were men in suits and sitting directly across the way. All three watched me walk up, but none made a single move until I approached the bench.

"Thank you for coming Verto," the cloaked person said. Her voice matched the one I had heard over the phone, so I assumed that this was the contact that I was looking for.

"First things first, what is your name?" I asked.

"Keep your voice down!" she rasped, probably to keep whatever she was about to reveal between us. The suits didn't look to be in any hurry, but were whispering to each other back and forth.

"My name is Erin Sullivan. I work for one of the local ZTV stations," Erin said as she unveiled her hood. She was a young blonde woman with a few freckles dotting her face.

"Mom hired a reporter?" I asked in slight disbelief. _This has got to be a cruel joke._

"I kind of volunteered. I heard that you two had been in town a few weeks ago and I phoned her to inquire why. I was already working on a story for Flandal Cash and I asked her what she knew about him. It kind of took off from there, but only after I revealed something to her. It's something that only I can do as far as I know, and I've had it ever since that crazy virus broke out and nearly killed us all!" _Oh great, another mutation._

"So what kind of ability is it?" I asked.

"How did you know it was a special power?" she asked, astonished.

"You're looking at one of the two people that are likely responsible. What can you do?" I asked again. Erin hesitated and looked away towards the two men.

"You see those two? They're following us, well me specifically. Once you're gone, they plan to kidnap me, I heard them talking about it. They were instructed to watch until they identified who I was meeting out here, and then make a move. They are considering when to move right now, they think it might be a sham since you're just a kid," she explained.

"You can hear them from all the way over here? What is it, telepathy?" I asked. I immediately thought otherwise since I should have been able to sense something like that. With Psi energy depleted though, that might not have been the case.

"Not so loud. I can hear almost anything from a long ways away, up to a mile or so as long as the noise level is above a whisper. I heard you and your girlfriend talking on top of that building, a little young for that aren't you?" she wondered.

"Not your concern. Do you recall your situation before that virus outbreak, were you doing anything specific that might have done this?" I asked.

"How could I forget, I was blind!" Erin admitted.

"But you can see now I take it?"

"Yes, perfectly. I wasn't always blind though, which may have something to do with this. Back when the Zerg invaded, I was on assignment with a group of marines. We were under attack and one of the soldiers had tossed a grenade that got knocked off its intended target before it blew up. The shrapnel scorched my optic nerves, and I was told that I had permanently lost my sight. As you might have heard, people that are blind often develop enhanced senses in other areas, specifically scent and hearing. Bulma told me that your ability to heal was likely what repaired my eyes, but she didn't mention anything about what might have enhanced my hearing sense. At first every little sound was deafening, but I eventually learned to focus and control it. I still have a problem with loud noise though. Upon learning about my ability, your mother asked me to spy on Dr. Cash," she summed up.

"Well, sorry about the extra package that came along with healing your eyes. It's not something I can control and any, adverse effects appear to be random and sporadic," I replied, trying to keep the word 'mutation' out of the conversation.

"Do you know how many have been affected so far?" she asked.

"Is this on the record?" I countered.

"No, I'm just curious. I would think that I have a right to know," she fired back.

"Sorry. Let's just say that I've never had a deep fondness for reporters. Especially the pushy ones, get my drift?" I answered with a serious glare.

"I can't say I blame you, some of us do just about anything for a story."

"To answer your question, I simply don't know. I thought that maybe it only affected those around me that were exposed several times over and over, but I'm pretty sure I've never met you before," I said.

"I think the closest we've ever gotten was when I was covering the last world tournament, but we weren't there long, damn cameras blew up!" she claimed. I chuckled slightly, unable to keep it in.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing, just a joke that reminds me of. We should probably get down to business before those two get bored. What did you find out?" I asked.

"A lot of things. Cash has been pulling in a lot of resources, using his brother's money and power. And he's been doing military style testing of some kind at a secret lab," she began.

"Do you know where this lab is?" I asked before she could continue.

"It wouldn't be much of a secret anymore if I did. I can only find out what my ears have been able to pick up. Here's what I know. First off, it is harboring alien technology. I haven't even heard of half of the things he has stashed away, never mind what he may have developed with that technology!"

"Protoss equipment. He must have snatched some up in the wake of their departure," I assumed.

"Quite likely. He's called in experts in the field of robotics and biotech to confer, but as far as I know, they are not working directly on whatever projects he has hidden!"

"How can you be sure about that?" I asked.

"Because a lot of those scientists have met their untimely deaths within a few days of visiting North City. Nothing has directly pointed back to Cash from a police standpoint, but who's going to believe a reporter that finally got back on the job from being blinded? There have been mysterious disappearances and sightings over the past month or so. Most of them have been of a randomly shaped creature prowling the city at night. So far, I've heard three different descriptions of this so-called beast. One is pink skinned with spiky armor, another is green with red spots and large teeth, and the last one is yellow with a very big body. I haven't heard anything about the last one lately," she continued.

"That must have been what attacked her and Vegeta down in the temple," I said.

"That would be a good bet, Bulma perfectly matched its description to whatever your dad killed down there," Erin added.

"He's not my dad," I muttered back with a frown.

"Oh, then how is it that…" she started to ask before I cut her off.

"It's not your business, please stay out of it!"

"Oh right, sorry. Well anyway, I believe that these robotic monsters are actually prototypes. Of what I have no idea, but it's got to be big. Some sort of weapon I imagine, given some of the things that Cash industries has been buying up. I might not be so worried if that was the only problem," she said cryptically.

"What else is he doing?" I asked, irritated.

Erin looked frightened now, "They've been abducting people under the guise of psychiatric treatment. People with abilities like me. The disappearances don't just cover scientists and other minor figures, not anymore!"

"What about known fighters?"

"That's what worries me even more. Members of your group are mentioned a lot, but Bulma said that no one is missing or has encountered anything strange, even while in the area. It's as if you are at the top of the list, but are virtually ignored," Erin said, confused.

"It's possible that Cash and his cohorts have realized that trying to take on even the weakest fighter will prove difficult. If that robot was indeed sent to bring in Vegeta, then they likely know how hard that is to do."

"I don't think it's as hard as you might believe it to be. There's a reason I tried to meet with you instead of Bulma, even though she was home. When she answered, I immediately told her the secret pass code in the form of a question, and she not only didn't answer correctly, she acted as if she had no idea what I was talking about. I think your mother has been compromised. I may be overacting and we can find out soon enough if her phones were just being tapped, but I just have this awful feeling that something may have happened to her," Erin explained.

I stared at her hard, but sighed heavily, "Well I doubt anyone would be that stupid. I won't rule it out because stranger things can happen, but if anything was wrong at home you can bet that Vegeta would know pretty quick. There haven't been any huge explosions as far as I know, so I'm guessing that everything is fine. You can come see for yourself if you want," I offered.

Erin looked relieved, "Good, I'd like to get the hell away from here. I have no desire to be next on their list, and it looks like I already am!"

"No problem, I'll take you back to West City right now if you want. No one would dare get near Capsule Corp as things are, especially not after I let Vegeta in on this," I said with a slight grin.

"Bulma said that she was keeping everyone out of the loop on purpose, are you sure that is a good idea?" Erin asked.

"If we don't know the location of the secret lab, then home is where he will likely stay until he does know. All we have to do is find out before he does…or I can play guard duty and let him have fun. Since we don't know what exactly we're dealing with, I don't think option two is the best idea. He might blow more than one place off the map," I suggested, imagining Vegeta trying to hunt down a lab with an unknown location.

"Sounds good, now we just need to do something about my two escorts," Erin nodded towards the two suits.

"No problem," I said as I got up and walked their way. I made it a point to hold one hand behind my back as I got closer. They didn't make much of a move until I got there, and then they stood up to loom over me.

"Excuse me, but I have something for you," I said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Buzz off kid, we're busy!" Agent number 1 said.

"Oh, it'll only take a second. I promise it'll knock your socks off! That nice lady that you're following sent it over; you wanna see?" I asked as I held out my fist, still enclosed.

"What is it kid?" the second agent asked, leaning over. _Too easy._

"This," I said, before tapping him in the temple. He flew back a few feet and crumpled against the wall. His partner had enough time to reach into his coat for what was likely a firearm, but didn't get much further then that when he smacked the same wall a moment later.

I brushed some dirt from my hands as Erin walked up, slightly impressed, "Piece of cake!"

"We should hurry, but before we go, I need to retrieve a classified file that I have hidden away at my apartment. It doesn't disclose the location of the lab, but there are construction blueprints and contacts listed inside. It's basically everything that I've been able to gather from documentation. It should prove useful," she suggested. My ki senses suddenly went off as the concrete started to shake just slightly.

"What is that?" Erin asked as she tried to keep her balance.

"I don't know, get down!" I ordered. A long crack opened up in the road and went directly between my legs and further beyond. Whatever it was producing it was coming from below me, I could feel that. And it didn't feel all that powerful, but I wasn't in good shape to argue. A figure popped out of the sidewalk, and a long rope seemed to follow it, trailing back to under my feet. _Uh oh, time to move!_ I jumped into the air and moved aside slightly, and the rope like object flew out, glowing gold and sparking wildly. As I moved to see how long it was, it suddenly bent and flew backwards right at me. I caught it, only to receive a very hot flash through my hands before its energy streaked through my whole body a few times. I dropped to the ground, hands smoking as I landed. I turned back to the new presence, and the rope like object retracted back to him and vanished into his flesh. _Must be some sort of electric tentacle._ The creature was dark green in color with reddened spots and was baring large teeth just as Erin described. It was also only interested in her at the moment as it stomped forward, eager. I fired a blast that smashed into its shoulder, taking the beast's attention away.

"That was rude. Now what the hell are you supposed to be?" I asked.

Its answer came out as a groggy growl, "Ki…Shi…Me!"

"Kishime, got it. Now I have something to leave on the gravestone. Let's get this over with," I dared with a beckoning hand. Kishime roared at me, but didn't move for the moment. I managed to crack a smirk, but figured since the creature didn't make the first move, that I would take advantage. _I shouldn't take any chances; I'm far too weakened right now to play around too much. If one of these things was enough to push Vegeta a little, even without his energy, then who knows what this one might be like. That shock tentacle didn't exactly tickle either. I'm going to be slower at this level as it is. I shouldn't use any energy attacks if I can help it, but if I have to, make it count._ I took the chance to power up to full, topping out a little faster than I would have liked. Once my aura displaced again, Kishime leapt into the air before turning and dropping towards me with an outstretched punch. I waited patiently before quickly blocking it with my forearm and jabbing with my other hand. Kishime suddenly vanished just as I did, his body turning colors just as he did. I quickly found him up in the air and flew towards him a few seconds later, but he vanished again when I got there.

"That's not an afterimage is it? You had better stay and fight; teleporting will only get you so far!" I warned. The robot looked like he was waiting to spot an opening, so I stepped forward and slightly left, intentionally leaving my right side open. Kishime teleported again and reappeared exactly where I wanted him to, only a few feet away. Panic filled his face when I turned to him and punched his face hard. _Hmmm, he had enough time to get away instantly, I wonder why he didn't?_ Kishime's power signal winked out again when I chased after him again, this time reappearing behind me again. I turned around and sped after him as fast as I could, and this time I literally saw his body start to change color before he teleported again. I locked on to his power signal and followed it with my ki sense. I felt a tiny fluctuation in it that lasted just a few seconds before it returned to normal. _Ah, it takes just the briefest moment to concentrate and another two seconds to recover. I can make use of that little weakness if I guess just right. _ Kishime looked eager to continue and attempted to come up from behind again. I ducked his kick by a hair's width, countering with a strong uppercut. He vanished again, reappearing behind again to punch at me. I turned and dodged aside, this time faking my counterattack while charging a small blast. As expected, Kishime teleported, and I turned straight around and fired. The small ki blast caught Kishime in the shoulder and took part of it completely out. Kishime got up, holding it in pain as he growled back at me.

"So you're programmed to feel pain? Good," I frowned as I fired another blast. Kishime got away from this one and reappeared on a building ledge with both arms held out. His power fluctuated in a different way this time, as if he were trying to power up. The muscles on his arms bulged just slightly before the veins popped and then came right out of the skin all over his arms. They slithered and snaked together, forming two tentacles like the one before, both glowing golden._ Back to this move, gotta be careful._ Kishime launched his first tentacle at me straight, which I dodged just as he swung the second. I phased out when I saw it coming, moving towards him as quickly as possible. He stood unaware just as I slowed to take his head off, only to miss when he teleported again. I had barely turned around before one of the shocking snake arms hit me in the gut. The extreme electricity surged through instantly, causing my insides to burn as the tentacle wrapped completely around. I attempted to pull the extended limb off, but the instant I touched it, my hands went numb and I couldn't move them. _Damnit! _I forced down the urge to scream and attempted to power out of the hold, but Kishime's tentacle wouldn't budge. I had lost control of flight by then, but his appendage was keeping me airborne. I winced in pain as I glanced down towards him, though he was shifting attention to Erin, who was backing off. His other tentacle moved towards her methodically as she tried to get away. I blocked out the pain as much as I could and focused a blast, but the constant shock got a little disruptive during the process. Kishime didn't seem to notice, and continued toying with Erin, who could only crawl away. I fired the blast the instant I felt it was strong enough to do some damage. Kishime noticed the incoming blast, but only stood in surprise as it flew towards him. I had a pretty good idea why, moving or teleporting again at least had a chance of releasing me. At the last second, Kishime jumped to the side and the blast blew a hole in the concrete, missing completely. He snarled up at me as I quickly prepared two more with both hands. He stopped chasing Erin, and the other tentacle rushed upwards, wrapping around my arms and upper body this time. My energy quit flowing to my hands and I was trapped.

_Damnit, unless he lets me down, I won't be able to counter attack him. I have to power out of this to get loose, but I'm at max now! Where's Lenz when you need her? _I attempted to search for Lenz's power signal, but I couldn't feel anything certain with the surges of electricity hitting me periodically. Kishime grinned just as his tentacles flashed brighter for a moment. A huge painful surge hit me again, and this time I did scream. I bit my tongue by accident as I tried to tough it out, but it didn't seem like Kishime was going to let up anytime soon. _Fine, time to get stupid and desperate again!_

"Hey freak!" I shouted down. Kishime let up for just a moment to hear me.

"Last chance to surrender!" I declared. Kishime laughed like a maniac, not believing me.

"Have it your way! Kaio-ken!" The intensity of the painful shock increased several times over for just a moment, but then I felt my arms and body loosen. The tentacles were burning up from my power surge, and I regained control within a few seconds. Then I felt it, a huge surge of energy from within. I wasn't sure what kind it was, but it was a lot more than I was currently able to use, and much more than a simple Kaioken burst should have allotted. I gazed down at Kishime, who was shaking in surprise. I rushed down at him, barely missing when he teleported at the last possible moment. I quickly found him a short distance away and charged at him. His body turned colors again, but I caught him with a power kick before he could vanish. I kept going and bashed his face with a hard backhand before backing off and rising into the air. Kishime bounced off the surface once and landed in an awkward position as I drew one hand back, charging it up with the finisher.

"Final Shine!" My green beam blew the bio-fighter to pieces, showering the area with the nuts, screws and whatever other small parts survived. I landed, falling to a knee instantly as I powered down. I could feel my energy plunging out of my control as by breath got short. _Shit! I'm getting even weaker! Why the hell is this happening?_

Erin ran up and leaned down in concern, "Are you alright?"

I gazed up at her as I panted hard, "Just a little, tired. No problems here…" My head hurt for a brief instant when I smacked the concrete. The rest of it was a blur.

* * *

Erin Sullivan gasped as Verto passed out, and checked his vitals to be sure. His heartbeat remained very fast and he was still breathing hard, but that was all. She grabbed both arms and dragged him off the road, depositing him on the bench. She sighed in slight relief until she spotted something glowing underneath his torn blue shirt. Curiosity got the better of her and she pulled the shirt up, revealing a very big scar on his right side. It was glowing both red and blue intermittently. She saw smaller scars around his body doing the same thing, completely in tune with each other. It was as if there was a large lamp shimmering under his skin, only it was deeper than that. She spotted that same intermittent glow coming from just under his eyes lids. She reached up to check there as well, but a powerful wind suddenly blew through. Erin fell backwards as a pair of boots landed. She scrambled to her feet, spotting the taller, lavender haired Saiyan named Lenz. She was wearing a blue dress that was struggling to stay on her chest, but the rest fit rather snugly to her muscular body and was blowing around just above her knees. Erin didn't think the scowl on her face went with the dress, even if the bright purple lipstick did. Erin couldn't feel energy levels by any means, but just the sight of Lenz was enough to make her tremble right now.

"What did you do?" she growled.

"It wasn't me! A biofighter attacked us and he fought it off. He blew it to bits and then he just dropped! I swear it's the truth!" Erin claimed. Lenz's glare lightened just slightly as the breeze kicked up again, blowing her hair all to one side. A storm was moving into the area, and lightning flashes went off in the clouds along with the stiff breeze.

"Who are you?" Erin dared to ask.

"You saw something specific about him didn't you? What was it?" Lenz retorted.

Erin gulped, "Just that he has pretty big scars for a kid. Must be from all the fighting right?"

Lenz closed her eyes briefly before glancing in another direction, "Right." Erin slowly stepped away until Lenz turned her attention back to her with intense eyes below her violently swirling hair.

"Where are you going?" Lenz asked with a vicious tone.

Erin filled with fear, "I have to retrieve documents from my apartment. I'll meet you in West City; I hope he feels better by then!" With that said, Erin ran away as quickly as she could while Lenz stood in the breeze, allowing it to whip around her. Once Lenz felt that Erin was gone, she bent down and ripped Verto's shirt open. There, she saw the glowing scars turning from red to blue and back again.

"What is happening to you little brother?" Lenz murmured. A sudden spark of energy alerted her to someone else's presence. The wind stopped abruptly as a loud clap of thunder assaulted the area. Rain came pouring down in buckets and continued as Lenz turned her eyes to the shadows. There, she spotted another woman wrapped in tight fitting leather.

"What do you want?" Lenz snarled as Leira walked up.

"You should try to point your anger in the right direction girl. Your affection for the boy is clouding your mind, of course that might be an improvement. As for what I want, nothing right now. I'm keeping an eye on him, especially while he's in this pitiful state. You would think he would know better than to use the Kaioken technique in such a weakened state. It figures that Vegeta wouldn't bother to keep watch incase he got into trouble. So disappointing. But maybe this will be for the best," Leira said as she shook her head.

Lenz looked away, "Actually, I was doing that. I only left him alone for a few minutes!"

"As you can see, that was too long. He needs rest and a lot of it. If you can't hunker down and enforce that, then I will have to take matters into my own hands," Leira scolded.

Lenz's eyes lit up with intensity again, "You stay away from him!" Leira paused as she stared into Lenz's eyes, as if she were trying to solve a puzzle.

"Do not let him out of bed for at least two days. No matter what he says otherwise, he should not be under any undue stress or physical activity. He may argue, in fact I'd bet on it, but he will notice that he's going to end up weaker than a baby before long. It's an expected side effect to the power he unleashed against the demon he fought yesterday. It will only get worse if he keeps this up, so don't let him. Do you understand?" Leira asked. Lenz didn't answer, but did nod just slightly, never taking her eyes off the fiery redhead.

"If anyone can get him to relax, I imagine you can. You may notice a few other problems over the next few days, this is to be expected. He may not be able to function without assistance, nor even talk. You may have to force him to sleep, so be prepared for that. Since I can't count on Vegeta, I'm trusting you to care for him. Do not let me down. You cannot let this get any worse, because he could die if you do. He has to deal with some of this on his own. When he's better, you'll know. Stay out of his way when that happens! You can play bodyguard until then!" Leira grinned as she finished. Lenz still didn't answer, but nodded as she stared off to the side.

"What is it girl? You usually have such a passionate aura around you?" Leira said, amused as the rain continued to pour down. Lenz still didn't say anything, but Leira thought she saw a slight hint of a tear running down the side of her face, mixed in with rainwater.

"This is hard on you, seeing him like this?" Leira asked.

Lenz nodded slightly, "At first, I thought, great! He can finally come down to my level and see how it feels. But after seeing his reaction through all my teasing today, seeing him stay strong even though he was drastically weaker, I realized that I was the weak one. I wanted to take the reins today, do all the hero stuff while he got to stand off to the side, make sure he didn't get hurt for once. And I let my stupid obsession over looks get in the way. All morning I was crawling all over him because I knew he couldn't stop me for once, I could do whatever I wanted to him. I wanted to get him to appreciate having me around, maybe then he could trust me enough to get closer. And look where it got me, I was so single minded that he almost got killed! No wonder he doesn't trust me!"

"Don't punish yourself too much girl, he may not tell you, but he loves you, more than you know," Leira smiled slightly.

"How could he possibly like me at all? He ignores me and talks down to me all the time! Even when I have him at a disadvantage he's still smarting off, trying to get the last word in like he has to win every stinking argument! He's had to save me all the time when I get in trouble, and somehow he escapes death no matter how big of a pickle he's in! I've got to be the biggest pain in the ass of all time!" Lenz cried out.

"So tell me, if he doesn't love you, why does he bother to come to the rescue?" Leira beamed.

"Probably just so he doesn't have to hear about it from Vegeta. The stuck up king himself," Lenz grunted.

"Don't be so deluded. Maybe he says things negatively for a reason, as if he's trying to tell you something about yourself. I'm sure if you didn't try so hard to get his attention, he would lighten up a lot. Hanging all over him is more apt to push him away, unless that somehow got through to him more than once," Leira suggested.

"You really think so? I mean that's the only way I've been able to get anyone's attention for a long time," Lenz said sadly.

"I'm sure of it. Fasha did that to an extent before, trying to get him out of a shy mood as you have been. Due to his Saiyan blood, it sort of worked for a time, but only when they were separated for a long time did he truly love her at all. If you don't believe me, that's fine, but I'll promise you this Lenz. Verto is just as capable of evil actions as he is good ones. He can fill his heart with pure malice, or he can fill it with his love for his friends and family. Which one of those do you think he feels for you?" Lenz didn't answer, but managed another nod.

"That's a good girl. He may not admit this either, but he will need you soon, more than ever when he recovers," Leira said as she turned around and started to step away.

"Why? Will this happen again?" Lenz asked in surprise.

"Not after he comes to terms with it. It's his own doubt and guilt that is clouding most of his power, and thus gradually weakening him. I suspect he can push through it, but it's your love he needs," Leira said as she turned around with a big smile.

"But I want to fight along side him, as his equal, not someone he has to protect all the time! That's the only way I could truly be happy with him! Make him know that his efforts to train me weren't for nothing like Vegeta keeps saying!" Lenz said with a concerned expression.

"I suppose that depends on you then girl. How far are you willing to go for love?" Leira asked.

Lenz's eyes lit up, "As far as I have to!"

Leira walked back to Lenz and held up her hand, "Let me see your palm. And close your eyes as well, this may feel a little strange!" Lenz nodded and embraced her hand with Leira's and closed her eyes as she felt a warm energy flow through her. Leira's eyes widened as she felt an interaction that she didn't expect. Lenz groaned just slightly as white light engulfed the area before settling. Both women felt drastically weaker, but only Lenz showed it. Leira still had a stunned expression on her face, but quickly shook it off when Lenz came to her senses.

"What did you do to me?" Lenz asked as she crawled back to her feet.

"My apologies, I didn't intend to scan you that deep. I'm sorry to say that you don't have the hidden power to stand as Verto's equal. That isn't to say there isn't something there, waiting to be unlocked," Leira said reassuringly.

Lenz's face fell, "Ah well. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised. Being a Super Saiyan is still a pretty good accomplishment."

Leira nodded weakly, "You should get him home. Being out in this rain probably doesn't do him any favors."

"Thanks for at least confirming that. To think I actually thought I could keep up with him. He's too special for that though. I guess a sidekick roll isn't that bad; pull his ass out of the fire when I have to. At least until he's grown again. Boy that's gonna be fun, take care," Lenz grinned as she picked Verto's limp body up and blasted off into the distance. Leira watched them go and then hobbled back to the dark alleyway she had been in. She slumped down to the ground as water poured down the front of her face.

"I can't believe this. Out of all people, it had to be her," Leira groaned as she stared up into the sky. Lightning promptly crackled across the sky as Leira sat in the pouring rain, alone. _Damnit! I only meant to release her dormant Saiyan strength, if only I had known what she was! My calculations were completely off again, and that means that this planet is doomed, even sooner than last time! And now I've gone past the limit of changes allowed in the timeline. They'll send an agent to investigate, which will only make things worse. Well screw the Guardians; they wanted my help no matter what I had to do. From here on out, it's all or nothing!_

* * *

Erin Sullivan hurried into her messy apartment and rummaged through the piles of papers that were strung all over. As the storm outside got worse, the wind blew through her window, scattering everything around.

"Damnit, where is that file?" Erin shouted.

"Are you looking for this file?" a voice asked. Erin was startled as she spun to see a young red headed girl standing there, holding the very folder she was looking for.

"Ranso, how did you get in here?" Erin asked.

"I'm just like you Miss Sullivan. Talented, eager to please, and desperate. You should keep the things you steal in less conspicuous places. Finding them can actually be hard when you know not to hide them under a mattress! I'm sure Doctor Cash will be very disappointed in you after granting you that gracious interview you wanted so badly. Such a poor way to repay him," Ranso said.

"I thought for sure you left North City for good after you escaped from his clutches!" Erin claimed.

"Escaped? Why would I run from a kind man like Doctor Cash? I'm helping him achieve his goals! We all are, and you should too!" Ranso said sweetly.

"His goals are to ruin this world and everyone on it! Can't you see that, or has he brainwashed you that much?" Erin asked.

"Brainwashed? Bear in mind whom you are speaking to. It just so happens that he and I see eye to eye on several things. This is an ugly, corrupt world now. He intends to fix that, and it will start by getting rid of those who oppress him! You should join us!" Ranso suggested as she stepped closer. Erin jerked back by reaction, knocking over a few chairs and books in the process.

"I won't be a slave to a little psycho bitch like you!" Erin claimed as she pulled a gun from her coat pocket.

"I thought you might say something like that. My friend behind you thinks otherwise!" Ranso said with a grin. Erin spun right into the arms of a larger security guard, who disarmed her easily and held her down in a chair as Ranso came closer. Erin spit at her, hitting Ranso in the cheek.

"That was mean Miss Sullivan. Why do you hate me so much?" Ranso asked as she tilted her head slightly.

"Multiple reasons, let's start with the way you control people. What you and Cash are doing is wrong, and I won't be apart of it!" Erin shouted as she struggled in the security guard's grasp.

"That's where you're wrong. It's already too late for our enemies, as it is for you! It turns out that Doctor Cash doesn't want your services after all!" Ranso claimed.

Erin frowned, "They'll stop you; I know they will!"

Ranso's grin returned, "Oh really? I don't think so. We've already sewn our seed into their ranks. By the time they realize it, it will be over! As you well know, Kati is very good at her work!"

Erin's face lit up in dread as Ranso stepped to within inches, "So that's how you did it!"

"And now, we share our last moment together, my dear Erin," Ranso said as she grasped Erin's lower lip. Erin's body instantly stopped struggling and simply froze in a daze. Ranso leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips, slowly letting them separate before she turned away.

"You were always one of my favorite reporters to watch, it's such a shame. Let's go, she can let herself out," Ranso beckoned as her guard followed her through the door. Erin stood on her feet and walked to the window with a glazed over look on her face. She opened the window, not even blinking as the wind driven rain got into her eyes. Erin stood there at the window, as if she was waiting for something. Outside, the storm continued to rage, leaving partially flooded streets below. Ranso and her guard walked out of the building under the cover of an umbrella. The shorter Ranso glanced up once before getting into a parked car and riding off. Erin crashed into the ground a few seconds later.

**Power levels**

**Verto (weakened): 20,000; Kaioken burst: 800,000**

**Kishime: 15,000; Shock Tentacles: 22,000**

**A/N: Don't you just love a good mystery storyline? Add in a nice and sadistic villain or two to go with it. Well get ready, we're taking another strange trip, next time that is.**

**Oh what the hell, I'll leave one. Next time, Verto is sedated just as he discovers a problem at home, and he is forced to confront some of his mental problems in a strange dream. Meanwhile, Bulma is not feeling like herself, and the others begin to notice. What is wrong, and how will this affect what is to come? You can guess, you can click away, or you can wait to find out. Either way, it's coming at you, starting next time on DBV.**


	30. Persona

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 29: Persona**

Up on the second floor of the Capsule Corporation home building, a figure stirred from slumber. A whole twelve hours had gone by since he had passed out, and that had been a long ways away.

"Man, how long was I out?" Verto muttered as he held his head. His hand found a sensor attached at the temple on the right side. He glanced around, seeing that he was indeed in his room, but his bed had been replaced with one that would be more suited to a hospital. Also more suited to a hospital was the IV plugged into his wrist. He immediately checked below the sheets, sighing in slight relief to see that he had pants on, though they were blue pajama pants instead of his normal green. His shirt had been removed though, and there were more sensors attached all over his chest. He yanked the sensors off, which made the heart monitor go crazy as he sat up in bed. He double checked the IV, but saw that it was only saline fluid being pumped into his system. He considered ripping that out, but figured that it might have been there for a reason. He attempted to get out of the bed, but his legs buckled immediately and he fell to his knees in surprise. The door flew open and a beautiful girl with violet hair and a blue dress was at his side right away. Verto glanced over her attire briefly before letting her help him to his feet.

"Nice look. Were they out of nurse outfits this time?" he asked.

Lenz ignored him, "You shouldn't be out of bed yet!"

"How long have I been out?"

"The rest of yesterday and all night. About twelve hours I think," Lenz shrugged.

Verto shook his small head slightly, "I've slept enough then. Where's Bulma?"

"She's probably busy. She said she'd come by later, _after_ you've rested some more! Back to bed with you!" Lenz said sternly, pushing Verto to a sitting position.

"Lenz, you can't make me lie in bed all day to play one of your games. Bulma and I need to talk right now! It's bad enough that I didn't get a chance to after fighting that robot! This seriously can't wait!" Verto claimed.

Lenz didn't budge, "Back in bed little brother. Now!"

Verto folded his arms, "No. I'm not staying in here all day and you can't make me!" Lenz became a bit flustered by this reaction. She wasn't sure about his Psionic power, but she knew his Ki level was depleted. If current events held true and steady, he was about as strong as a normal human, maybe more. Lenz put her hand on top of his head and shut her eyes for a minute as he stared up, trying to figure out what she was up to.

"Dare I ask what you're doing?" Verto pondered.

"Sorry," Lenz said, clocking him in the side of his head before he could blink. Verto blacked out immediately, and Lenz carefully repositioned him back in bed and tucked him back in. This time though, she placed his arms in the restraints that were installed on the sides. They were only leather, so it wouldn't take a fraction of his true strength to break out, if he had it in him.

A single tear ran out of Lenz's eye, "It's for your own good; I'm sure you'll understand." She then went to work putting the sensors back on his body and double-checking his saline bag before sitting down in a nearby chair.

Bulma entered the room a few minutes later, "The alarms went off downstairs, is everything alright? Let me guess, he only got out of bed?" Lenz nodded but said nothing.

"He just can't avoid running himself into the ground can he? Oh well, if you want to go train or eat, I can keep watch for a little while until he settles down again. Or we can just give him something to help him rest," Bulma suggested. Lenz stared at her for a moment before nodding again.

"Try not to worry Lenz; I'm sure he'll get better and pull through. Even Super Saiyans can fall under the weather if they don't take care of themselves," Bulma pointed out. A loud screech from downstairs got their attention, and it kept going for several minutes.

"Oh shoot. Lenz, can you go feed Bulla while I administer this. Since he's Saiyan, I probably need to give him enough sedative to knock out an elephant just to start with!" Bulma said. Lenz didn't say anything and left the room as Bulma pulled out a very large bottle of blue colored fluid.

"I don't know what she sees in you kid, or what you see in her for that matter. Probably just as brainless as any other. Oh well," Bulma mused. Verto stirred just as Bulma was injecting the blue into his IV.

"Where's Lenz?" he barely managed to whisper.

"Tending to the baby for me while I do this. You're going to take a nice long nap," Bulma said with a warm smile.

"Why would you send Lenz to calm Bulla down? You know she can't settle a baby down, unless…" Verto paused. Bulma noted that his heart rate increased by an impressive amount suddenly.

"Unless what sweetie?" she asked.

"Uh, nothing. Hey, did your contact ever get here?" he asked.

"What contact?"

"The one you've been talking to, the reporter from North City. The one you didn't tell me about! Her name was uh, Sullivan I think!" Verto explained.

"I don't know who you're talking about kid. Maybe she hit your poor little head too hard and you're imagining things!" Bulma said with a frown.

Verto promptly changed the subject, "What the hell are you giving me?"

"Just a little something that should keep you nice and docile for a few days," she grinned.

"A few days? But we've got things to do, a mystery to…solve!" Verto murmured as the sedative reached his brain.

"Too late for that I'm afraid. Now be a good boy and sleep for me. I have a lot of work to do and I don't have time to baby-sit a sick boy! Bye bye!" Bulma waved as Verto's eyelids drooped shut and he slumped down. Once he was out, Bulma injected his IV two more times with sedative just to be sure. She grimaced when she saw his heart rate had barely dropped to a normal level, and his eyes flickered rapidly.

"Tough kid," she commented as she opened the bag of saline, which was nearly empty. She glanced towards the hallways for a moment before taking her bottle of blue and dumping it all into the IV bag. She waited until it started dripping into his wrist before she relaxed any at all. Verto's heart rate slowed way down, and the rest of the monitors also lowered significantly in activity.

"That should take care of you for awhile," she said before leaving the room and heading for her lab.

* * *

Back downstairs, Lenz was trying to feed Bulla, who wouldn't stop screaming.

"She just won't stop! I thought she was done teething!" Lenz cringed as the noise was becoming unbearable.

"Sometimes it can last awhile. I'll take it from here," Bulma said. Bulla's crying got even louder and more intense than before, and it wasn't long before Vegeta showed up, holding his ears.

"Damnit woman! Can't you calm that brat down yet?"

"I'm working on it!" Bulma said as calmly as possible.

"Well, work harder! You're paying too much attention to your silly projects and not enough to the brat! We'll all be deaf if this keeps up!"

"Well then smart-ass, how about you try? You're her daddy after all, take some responsibility!" Bulma shouted as she handed Bulla over to her father. Bulla's tantrum subsided within seconds, mellowing down to a mild whimper. Vegeta's eyes weren't quite as wide as Lenz's, but they were pretty close.

"There now, that wasn't hard was it? She just wanted her daddy! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got things to do!" Bulma exclaimed as she sat down at her desk. Vegeta's eyes narrowed to normal again for a brief moment while he stared at his wife.

She felt the stare and turned around, "What?" Vegeta passed Bulla over to Lenz, who took her nervously.

"Where's my food woman?" he asked.

"You'll get your precious meal when I fucking cook it! Otherwise you can just have the dry rations again!" she screeched.

"Then get on it woman!" Vegeta barked.

"Fine!"

"Come on girl, we've got training to do!" Vegeta ordered. Lenz moved to put Bulla in her laboratory crib, but Vegeta stopped her.

"The woman doesn't need any distractions; you can bring the brat along!"

"So now you finally spend some time with your daughter? What's the occasion?" Bulma snorted.

"If she can walk, she can train!" Vegeta said with a smirk as he and Lenz left with Bulla.

"Figures." Bulma scoffed as she turned around. Unknowingly to her, Vegeta's smirk flipped upside down and he briefly bared his teeth before leaving the area.

The phone rang a few minutes later, to which Bulma picked up angrily, "What?"

"Is now a bad time Bulma?" Chichi asked.

Bulma sighed with relief, "No, just the usual."

"Another round with Vegeta eh? I'm still wondering how you two hooked up," she admitted.

"Yeah, me too. What did you need?" Bulma asked impatiently.

"Would it be alright if Goten stays over there for a few days? Gohan is staying with Videl anyway. Me and Goku kind of want some time to ourselves."

Bulma rolled her eyes just slightly, "Yeah that's fine I guess. It would keep Trunks and Vegeta out of my hair!"

"Thanks. So how's Verto?" Chichi asked next.

"Sleeping soundly. Had to force some sleep aid into him this time!"

"Well, hopefully he gets better soon. So what has Vegeta been bugging you about?"

Bulma frowned at the spree of questions, but let it slide, "Nothing major. Bulla was just having another tantrum. You know how he hates that noise. I thought her teething phase was over but maybe not. Can you believe this; Vegeta is actually spending time with her as we speak!"

"Wow, that's a change. Can't imagine what he would do to stay interested." Chichi said with genuine surprise.

"Probably just train train train, just like usual! He hit me with the 'if she can walk, she can train' routine!"

Chichi gasped, "She's already walking? Wow, that was really fast! Gohan and Goten were barely crawling at that age! Wasn't it just last week that you mentioned she was starting to crawl? I'll bet you'll have another Super Saiyan by the time she's four!" Bulma's eyes shot open and she dropped the phone in surprise. She whirled around to her desk and brought up her array of security cameras throughout the compound.

"Bulma? What was that noise?" Chichi asked faintly. The video feed cycled through several locations before stopping at the old gravity room. Inside, Vegeta was punching at the air and Lenz was helping Bulla take unsteady steps. Bulma sighed with relief and picked the phone back up.

"Sorry, I slipped and dropped the phone. I should let you go; I imagine the walking appetites need to be fed soon. Talk to ya later!" Bulma said as she hung up. She took a deep breath as she leaned back in her chair, holding a vial of unmarked black fluid. She grimaced as she swished it back and forth; _this is a lot harder than I thought it would be._

* * *

**Interlude 29.1: Mental Turmoil**

* * *

My eyes snapped open almost as fast as I had closed them. Something literally felt different about the room I was in, but everything looked normal enough. I scratched at my wrist by instinct, but noticed that the IV plugs were gone. _Maybe I'm better now._ When I looked again though, I saw that there wasn't even a scar or band-aid there. Saiyan or not, it still had to heal like any other wound. My clothes were also back on, normal teal-green and everything. I got out of bed slowly, just in case, but my legs felt as sure and steady as ever. The first odd thing I noticed though was that the entire room was various shades of gray, the carpet, the bed, everything. _Okay…_I shrugged it off and left my room, seeing the same thing in the hallways. I knew that Capsule Corp had been painted primarily blue and gold on the inside just like the original, so unless there had been a new paintjob while I was out, something wasn't right. When I came up to the lobby, I spotted a large red pool of blood with a trail leading away. _Uh oh._ I searched the nearby area before following the blood trail to a broom closet. Opening it, I found Trunks lying there, battered and bloody, and the only source of color around.

"Man, this really sucks! Not enough power, can't face him!" he mumbled.

"Face who Trunks?" I asked. Trunks didn't answer, and slumped to the floor a moment later. _What the hell is going on? Is this another crisis, or am I only dreaming again?_ I heard sounds coming from further down the halls and moved that way cautiously. I broke into a run when I heard some commotion coming from the old gravity room. There I found Vegeta, training hard like he had a fight coming up.

"Hey! Your son has been attacked and he's out cold! Lots of blood," I hinted.

Vegeta stopped punching his shadow and looked over briefly, "Keep it down. I have to train everyday! Tomorrow might be the end!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted at him.

"I'm too weak, must get stronger! Those scumbag losers must be defeated!" he claimed before continuing his routine.

"Argh!" I growled in frustration as I left. I heard more sounds coming from the kitchen this time and went that way next. This time it was Goku and Goten, ripping apart plate after plate of food. _Well at least that's normal._ I saw Chichi over by the stove, cooking more of their dinner. When I saw the food though, it looked incredibly bland and lacking of any color or taste. It didn't look like Goku cared, nor did his son.

"Remember son, we have to eat to keep up our strength!" Goku reminded Goten.

"Yay! I love food!" Goten claimed.

"If only I could cook good food, this is barely edible!" Chichi said in disgust.

"Maybe another bad guy will show up and cause trouble! Oh boy, I can't wait!" Goku pronounced. I stood there and stared, stupefied while they carried on like I wasn't there. _Has everyone gone bonkers, or is it just me?_ I left the kitchen and headed back to the lobby to see if I could do something about Trunks, but not only was he gone, so was all the blood! Instead, I spotted Gohan and Krillin chatting away on the sofa. I couldn't quite tell what they were saying yet, but it seemed normal enough with the rate of laughter coming from both of them, especially Krillin. Just as I got within a few feet, Gohan's watch beeped.

"Great, there's another one!" he said with a frown.

"What is with our luck? Is there some villain manufacturing plant that just spits them out one by one?" Krillin asked.

"Maybe we're just a testing ground to make sure they all work. Hopefully I'll be back soon!" Gohan replied as he opened the door to a world of gray.

"Try not to die out there! You might have some angry women on your hands if you don't come back!" Krillin remarked with a grin.

"No promises, just keep everyone inside. They probably aren't strong enough to survive this one either!" Gohan said as he closed the door.

"I swear, the guy needs to settle down and live life for once. I wonder how he manages this with little to no enjoyment. Must be rough not getting any!" Krillin shook his head and sat back down. I turned and spotted Lenz on the other side of the room, and she looked timid to be honest. She didn't have on anything flashy or revealing either, just a normal enough blue outfit.

"It's so hard to tell people how I really feel! I don't want to hurt them or give them the wrong idea though. I want them not to bother me, but I don't want to be alone either!" she said out of nowhere.

Krillin popped up at this, "I told ya that you needed to get some action! Just tell her you love her; she'll probably do the rest. Sounds like a fun night!"

"I don't need that kind of attention, I'm not that kind of person!" Lenz exclaimed.

Krillin scoffed at this, "We all know that isn't true. Deep down somewhere, there's a ready and willing side of you waiting to come out again. Get past that shyness and guess what? Bow chicka bow wow!" Krillin had clearly been speaking to Lenz, but he was staring at me when he finished. He sat down again without another word, and I chose to leave the area and go elsewhere. _Someone please cue the twilight zone music._ I didn't hear anything going on from the other direction, but that didn't mean much right now, so I headed for Bulma's lab. On the way, I passed by a single open door with a light on inside. I found Videl there, standing in front of a mirror.

"Alright, this is it! I've got you this time! Bring it on; I'll crush you with one finger! I don't need any help!" she said to the mirror. I stood at the door for a moment to see if she'd notice me at all, and she didn't.

"I don't need a stupid disguise; what's the point? It's uncomfortable, it gets in the way, and they'll figure it out eventually!" she declared. _Okay, back away now, proceed to another crazy location._ I continued down to the lab, where I spotted Bulma in a white lab coat and glasses on. She appeared to be testing different chemicals at her lab table. Around the room were all kinds of papers hanging up, many of them just simple sticky notes. I even recognized some of them to be formulas that I knew from basic math class. Most of them I didn't though, and a lot of them had danger signs stapled to instructions.

Bulma quite suddenly shrieked with delight, "Yes, I've done it! Finally I've created a formula that stimulates hair growth in older, bald men!" I wanted to just faint and get it over with, but the sheer shock kept me from doing it.

"Isn't that called Hair club for men?" I asked.

Bulma turned and looked down at me in surprise, but it didn't last long, "Yeah, but this one actually works! You look a little lost; can I help you find something? Or maybe someone?"

I glanced around carefully, "Why is everyone acting so strange?"

"How so? This is how everyone around here is. What you see is what you get!" she said simply.

"That's wrong in ten different ways. Everyone is acting completely different from normal! Something has to be off here!" I claimed.

"Well, I don't feel any different. Are you seeing something different with me?" she asked as she bent down. I gulped slightly when her shirt dropped slightly at the neckline, giving me quite a view. I forced my eyes up to look into hers.

"Well, the glasses for starters," I stammered.

"A lot of smart people wear glasses. What's so strange about that?" Bulma asked.

"That's just a stereotype though. I know for a fact that your eyesight is just fine!" I said with a slight grin. _Got her, no way to counter that one!_

"How can you be sure just by looking at me? You don't know without being my eye doctor. And even if he says I'm fine or not fine, he could be lying!" she countered. I blinked sharply as she gave me the same curious stare I had a moment ago.

"Yeah, never mind." I muttered.

Bulma stood back up in slight pride, "Wanna help me figure out cold fusion?"

"I'll pass on that," I said, dazed from what I just heard.

Krillin suddenly ran into the room, "Did you hear? Lenz wants a Halloween costume! She should go as a blonde! Get it?" he laughed.

"That was so bad that I'll let her slap you upside the head when she is a blonde!" I replied with a scowl.

"Maybe you'd have better luck if it were actually funny," Bulma suggested.

"Come on! Give a guy a break! You think you can do better?" Krillin dared me.

I snorted slightly, "For certain."

"I should hope so! I'm as smart as you are and look at me now!" Bulma exclaimed.

"How can that be right?" I asked back.

"Just by paying attention. It's what you always say isn't it?"

"In this case, I doubt it's that simple. And as far as being at the same level of intelligence as you, well it's not a debate I'm gonna win!" I replied.

"I was just about to say that! Wow, you're good! Teach me sometime!" Krillin begged.

I stepped carefully past him, "Maybe later. Right now, I'm going to go this way." _Holy crap, what the hell was all that?_ I kept going down the same hallway in the same direction, trying to distance myself from the craziness. I spotted Piccolo floating halfway to the backdoor.

"Hey Piccolo, have you noticed anything weird going on?" I started.

Piccolo's left eye popped open, but promptly shut, "Shhh! I must maintain focus, mustn't be distracted!"

"Never mind," I said as I walked on by. _Maybe I just need some air before I deal with whatever this is._

* * *

I opened the door to the back of the grounds and stepped out into a field of light green this time. The sky was about as blue as it could get with a few spotty clouds. I heard a dog barking close by, and spotted it sitting with a small boy under a tree. Something was off with the ground around them though; it was totally white in color in a perfect circle surrounding the tree. The kid didn't notice me as I walked up; he was too busy hugging and kissing the small dog, which only wagged its tail happily. The dog had mottled fur of mostly black with trims of brown and white on its legs. The kid had slightly chubby cheeks and an underdeveloped body for his age, which looked to be about seven or eight years old. His shoulders looked a little lopsided, the result of what was likely a neck injury when he was younger. When he looked up though, I froze completely when I saw his face.

"Hi! My name is David!" he said cheerfully. _Um…how do I answer this one._

"Don't you mean Dave?" I asked.

"Nah, I don't like that name much," he said. _You have got to be kidding me. If I'm not dreaming, just fucking shoot me now!_

"Uh, nice dog," I said, still dazed at all this.

"Yeah, she's real sweet. I got her away from an abusive family. They were really mean to her and stuff. I want to take her over to Granny's, she'll love her!" David said. I bit my lip just slightly, because it all sounded too familiar.

"Yeah, I'm sure she will," I replied.

"You're one of those really strong fighter guys aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"I wish I was that strong! I could fly around all day, fight the bad guys, save the world and stuff. I'd be super strong and wouldn't ever have to worry about anything!" he declared. _Except being incredibly naïve. I can't believe I was ever like that._

"You can look at it that way, but you really have a lot more to worry about. Bigger things, not just when dinner is," I said with a slight frown.

"Oh, I didn't think it was that hard. You make it look so easy!" David claimed.

"Nothing is ever easy or simple for me anymore."

"What makes it so hard? Do the bad guys give you that much trouble?" he asked.

"On occasion they do. They might not be as strong, but strength is not everything like some people believe. Some have special powers that make things difficult, others are just very crafty and smart. Some are both," I explained.

"Like that lady in black, the one with the red hair and sounds like she's from England? I don't really like her!" David said with a stern face.

"Believe me, I know how you feel. I haven't had many reasons to trust her, never mind like her."

"I think she's really a very bad person." David retorted.

"She might be. It's tough to tell, but she's certainly not on my favorites list," I said with a very slight smile as I sat down next to him. The dog sniffed my leg in wonder and then settled down and let me pet her. The younger me looked like he had a question or two in him; he had narrowed eyes pointed elsewhere while appearing to be deep in thought.

"Why do people hurt other people so much? Why can't they all be friends?" he asked.

"Probably makes too much sense; can't do it that way," I blurted out.

"That's what the bald guy says. I just don't understand it sometimes," he said with his head down.

"If only things were that easy. Sometimes different people have different opinions. Various ways of doing things and such," I explained.

"Even if they know it's a bad thing to do?" David asked. The innocence poured off him like a powerful aura; there was definitely a reason I was here.

"Unfortunately, it's just the nature of things. We all have good and bad inside. It's which one we choose to use that matters," I answered.

"But what if you meant to do a good thing and it ended up bad later on?" he asked next.

"That's always a potential problem because we can't see the future. We can't see what will happen with each individual choice. I choose to deal with problems as they arise, not what may or may not happen."

"So what do you do if you have to do a bad thing that actually helps everyone?" _This gives new meaning to taking a test that you aren't prepared for_. _The series of questions is hitting pretty close to home though._

"I try to hope for the best," I replied hesitantly.

His frown was immediate, "You didn't answer my question."

"It's tough to do something that you feel is wrong, knowing that it could hurt someone or worse. It's like scolding a puppy when she chews something up or craps on the floor. You don't want to hurt her or shout at her, but then she may never learn," I explained. Judging by the confusion on his face, that didn't do much.

"Okay, bad analogy. Imagine she's getting old and she's not so playful or even active anymore. At that point, she's like an old person. Add to that some sort of problem she has, like a bad hip or a brain tumor that can't be fixed. Would you let her suffer with it, or would you have her put down?" I asked.

David looked horrified, "You mean kill her? No! I couldn't be so mean to a dog, I love her!"

"So you wouldn't. Then you let her suffer in pain all the time until she finally passes naturally?" I didn't want to put that particular scenario in front of him, but it felt necessary. He wasn't sure how to answer that one either, but he did threaten to cry about it as he held the dog snugly.

"See why it's tough to do the right thing? Even if it's for the wrong reasons. It's okay to feel bad about it, actually that's probably a normal thing; means you aren't a bad person on the inside," I explained further.

"I guess so," he said. _Did I seriously just teach myself a life lesson?_ I thought as I shook my head slightly. David looked like he was on the verge of a subject change anyway.

"Hey, did you meet that pretty girl with the purple hair?" he asked suddenly.

"Who, Lenz?"

"Yeah her, I like her a lot. She's really nice. I wish she would come around more often. I like talking to her. I think she is kind of like having a big sister around," he said.

"Or a little one," I muttered.

"Not really, I don't think she likes dolls and stuff," David claimed.

"Well, they all like different things. And sometimes, well actually a lot of the time, they change their minds. Just when you have them figured out, they throw you a curve ball!" I said.

"I think I like her enough that I'll ask her to marry me when I'm older!" David said. I promptly face faulted, though it was long overdue by now.

"It's a little too soon to consider that don't you think? Plus, do you even know what marriage truly is, all in all?" I asked, a little unsure of the answer I might get.

"Yeah, you and your wife live together, have kids, kiss and hug a lot. And argue about money I think!" he said thoughtfully. _Surprisingly accurate_.

"Maybe you should wait and make sure she's the one for you. You can't have known her that long anyway," I suggested.

"How come she looks at me so weird sometimes? Like she's hungry or something. She's not going to turn into a nasty witch and try to eat me, is she? I don't want to be a meal!" David wailed.

I sighed loudly, catching even the dog's attention, "I'm sure it isn't that."

"Maybe she just wants my sweater then. She'll catch a cold if she doesn't put more clothes on; at least that's what my aunt always says to me. It hasn't been very nice outside lately anyway," he said.

"She might stay warm just fine, maybe she's just warm blooded and gets too hot in clothes," I said as I smacked my forehead. _Oh god, I can't believe I just said that. To myself no less!_

"I don't know. It's like she's about to go swimming all the time," David said.

"Yeah, in a manner of speaking," I replied carefully. He paid more attention to the dog for the next several seconds, allowing me some relief time before he struck again.

"Maybe you should marry her," he suggested.

My eyes shot open even wider than before, "No, that's okay."

"Well, she loves you a lot, I can tell. You're kind of mean to her but not all the time; I know you really like having her around too!" he claimed.

"Do you even understand the concept of love?" I asked.

"I think so, but I still don't see how babies are made from it. I mean, I never see any storks flying around anywhere and I know that new mommies get sick for a while before the baby shows up. Mom and Dad didn't have any other kids so I don't really know. Do you know how it works?" _Oh no, I'm not discussing the birds and the bees with myself, no way!_

"I'm sure you'll find out when you're older," I said. His face scrunched up slightly, but not up to crying level. I wasn't sure what he was going to ask next, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good.

"I don't get it. How is it you know this stuff and I don't? I'm a part of you aren't I?" he asked.

"Wha…well in a manner or speaking," I replied. _Okay, this just took another wacky turn._

"That's what the smart lady in there says. We're all a part of you, like sometimes you're her, sometimes you're me, and sometimes you're other people!" he claimed. _I've heard of split personalities, hell I've gone through it, but this shit is just crazy! Is this seriously how I see the others? No it couldn't be, must be something else. _

"Do you happen to know how I got here? How I'm interacting with you?" I asked.

"No, I bet the smart lady knows though, or she'll tell you to figure it out by yourself, it's what she tells me a lot!" he said.

"Let me rephrase that, how do you only know certain details about my life and nothing about others?" I asked again.

"The smart lady thinks it's only when you are us that we can remember stuff. I don't really understand it, but I know I can remember what you were doing anytime you were being nice to someone, or anytime you were very sad because someone went away. Like that girl who needed help and you had to kill her. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. You don't want to be bad like that, just like I don't. I think that's why the pretty girl likes you so much. You can be so strong and so tough, but nice at the same time. I don't like feeling sad though, please don't make me feel that way!" he said. _Goddamn he's long winded, just like I was and still am sometimes. So all these people are manifestations of my personality, in several smaller pieces. None of them have been overly negative though._ I glanced around and saw that the grayed area only extended to a certain point before it turned all black and slightly red.

"What is over there?" I asked as I stood up.

"The bad people live out there. They are really mean to everyone, please don't go there!" David begged.

"What are they gonna do, kill me?" I snorted slightly. When I turned away from him though, I was literally looking into a mirror.

"If you know what's good for you, you won't cross the line," my double said. His clothes were all light blue with hints of gray, and he bared a very concerned expression with lightly glowing blue eyes.

"I'm obviously here for a reason, and I doubt it's to meet everyone and say hello," I replied.

"Fine, but you may only go as far as the border; I won't let you cross the line, not now!" he said. I nodded at this and walked towards the edge of the compound, where the gray ended and the black began. There, standing on the other side of the line, was another version of me. This one clearly had a different taste for things, as he was wearing a crimson colored gi with a black undershirt. He was a lot bigger though, in full adult form, but his eyes were red.

"Finally. We need to talk," he said as I walked up.

"I'd say so," I replied.

**A/n: Is it too obvious to say that writing this chapter felt a little odd?**

**WDG: **I dare guess it'll get even stranger later. Long live inner turmoil, neh? You put yourself in quite a spot; good luck writing the next one, or two, depending on how far you want to take it. :p

**VB**: Conflicting thoughts for the win!

**Next time on DBV: Verto confronts both his good and dark sides, forcing them into a compromise when they realize that someone is trying to kill him in his sleep. Meanwhile, Vegeta corners Bulma about her erratic behavior, but things take a turn for the worse when it becomes obvious that Bulma is not who she says she is. Vegeta is forced into a hopeful gambit when she springs her trap.**


	31. Virtual

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**A/n: Starting off with where everyone was, there will be three different versions of Verto speaking. The positive side will be labeled "Good" and the negative "Dark", and this will remain with normal Verto's point of view for the moment.**

**Chapter 30: Virtual**

My two doubles spent several minutes glaring at each other, neither batting as much as an eyelash nor saying anything. Only the clear wall between sides appeared to keep them from each other's throats. _I didn't realize that I actually struggled with my emotions like this._

"So, either one of you want to tell me why I'm here?" I asked first. My apparently Good side didn't answer, just growled at his opposite.

"You're here because you need to be. You have shunned your dark tendencies and you have to embrace them to get your powers back." the Dark version of me said.

"That's not true! He's done fine without you!" Good shouted.

"Yes, until he started using his rage more effectively to take out souls. That unlocked a great deal of Psi energy that was dormant, all of it in fact. Every bit of spirit power that he would have if he were full grown can now be tapped. Since his body can only handle a certain amount of energy at one time, his ki must be suppressed or drained to access it for now," Dark explained.

"Quit talking as if I'm not here; I hate that," I warned.

Dark stifled a slight grin, "Yeah, well you're not the only one."

"Aside from that, are you saying that negative emotions are the only way I can access my Psi energy now?" I asked.

"Only the portion that surpasses your current state, not including the Kaioken technique of course. When you used that soul burning attack for the first time, you started to tap into it. Dabura likely knew this would happen, which is why he warned you to use up or suppress your physical energy beforehand. It comes from… let's just say a very unstable source within you. I don't have specifics because frankly I don't know for sure. Keeping your ki down and powering up in this way is difficult, but doable," Dark added.

"Alright, I'll come back to that in a moment, next question. Is there another Bulma over there, doing weird experiments?" I asked.

Dark chuckled and nodded, "Smarter than the other actually, but also a little on the wicked side. She likes proving others wrong all the time with basic facts; it gets annoying. Do you understand everything I just said?"

"Now I do, but why am I so weakened now? I've been so angry ever since dying. Granted it hasn't been an easy time for me either, but if what you say is true then why am I having this kind of problem now?"

"That's true, you have been very negative, but not to a serious extreme like the other day. For the answer to that question, you should ask him," Dark said, pointing to his counterpart. Good didn't respond, but he did have a sad look on his face.

"Your morality is holding back your power. It's at an unconscious level now, thus where this wall also came from. Being so pent up probably doesn't help your cause from here either," Dark continued.

"Liar!" Good accused.

"Call me something else; that one is getting old!" Dark fired back.

"I'm willing to listen to both sides here; I've got nothing better to do until I wake up! Now then, I don't understand how this could have happened. I mean, I regretted what I did, but I didn't think it was this bad," I argued.

"When you cracked the barrier to your deeper power, you not only slipped out of balance with your energy, but also with your emotions. Easy as that," Dark summed up.

"Don't listen to him! He only wants to hurt you and other people!" Good declared. _Why do I get the feeling that I'm the moderator of a political debate? _

"Well, I can see which one of you is more rational, at least right now. What he said made sense, now what do you have?" I asked.

Good hesitated, "It's wrong to kill off others for good. I understand that sometimes we have to cross the line and take lives to preserve peace for the good of everyone else, but souls? They'll never have an afterlife or punishment or anything, not even memories. They'll just be nothing!"

I sighed, "I share the same opinion obviously, or I wouldn't be here."

"You have to come to terms with this simple fact: some people are simply beyond redemption, and some can come back more than once. We've seen it far too often now, with Freddy, with that demon Vang and many others. Even if it's all a last resort and even if it feels bad or wrong, you have to be prepared to make that call. You don't want someone else to make it for you, like last time. Personally, I think some of Kara's influence is still with you, you weren't like this after Freddy," Dark noted. I was staring at the ground at this point, along with my more positive side.

"Yeah, well Freddy deserved it; Kara didn't. I missed, remember? I got so damned carried away that I fucked it up!" I admitted.

"Your conflicting emotions helped in that department if you recall," Dark said, glaring deeply at Good just like before. None of us spoke for several minutes afterwards, letting the dust settle so to speak.

"I'm ready to fix this problem; I have things to do. Correction, _we_ have things to do!" I added. Dark nodded, but Good was still hesitant.

"I still don't think it's right to let him back into your life! Nothing good can come out of it!" he mumbled.

"And then letting everything else fall into darkness and despair because it feels wrong? Is that such a grand choice?" Dark asked. Good shook his head slightly, with several teardrops leaking out.

"Sometimes you have to give up what feels good to you to help others. Needs of the many and all that," Dark suggested.

"For someone that's supposed to be all of my darkest thoughts and feelings, you sure seem pretty mellow. You really don't seem all that bad," I pointed out.

"There are some similarities between us; it's not all black and white. For example, I'd say your most righteous thoughts come from this side, even if they are in a negative way. Other than that though, look around on this side of your personality for awhile, and that opinion would probably change, guaranteed!" he replied with a smug look.

"Is that why you're an adult and he's not?" I added.

"Well, you know your own thoughts. Would you really want a kid to manage all of them?" he retorted.

"I guess not. Maybe I should have a look around there before deciding how I should handle this, unless there's a better alternative?"

Good wasn't very enthusiastic, but did nod, "I guess that would be best." Suddenly, the ground started to shake and the sky started to flash randomly from black to white, to black again.

"What the hell is going on?" we all said at once. Out of the blue, my head ached like someone was trying to split it apart with a sledgehammer.

"What's doing that?" Good asked as he held his own head in pain.

Dark was on the ground, but still managed to get his head up, "It must be something on the outside. Were you injected with anything?"

"Wouldn't you know if you're me?" I fired back.

"I'm not the suspicious one here smart-ass!" Dark growled.

"It was something blue to knock you out I think, but that had to have been hours ago! This must be something else!" Good suggested.

"Must be that imposter Bulma!" I exclaimed.

"Imposter Bulma?" Dark asked as he winced from the headache.

Good nodded, "That reporter wasn't specific about how she might have been compromised. But after not listening to a thing we said, acting way out of character and purposefully knocking us out, it's pretty much cut and dry! She must have popped us with something that might be mentally damaging!"

"Maybe I can fix this with positive Psi energy then, just like half of the other issues we've been through. After that, I can play it cool until I can reassess everything, then I can make a move! But I have to have my power for this, got it?" I asked.

"Got it!" both agreed. I punched the clear wall separating light from dark, and it shattered on impact as the ground kept shaking.

"By doing this, you have to realize that once your power comes back, so does everything else. That monstrous force hidden within you can easily come back if you let it. You will have to deal with things on the fly without much time to think it over!" Dark said.

"That's going to be difficult if you're going to confront this crazy doctor; who knows what he's done! It would have been better to examine everything here before you continued, but you don't have time. And we won't be able to help you once you leave this place! You may not even remember this dream," Good added.

"As long as I don't go nuts again unless absolutely necessary. I don't care to revisit that and lose my compassion," I replied.

"And believe me, it won't be pretty. I don't think I'll be able to pull you back this time; there are serious control issues there," Dark warned.

"Wait a sec, you pulled me back? I don't understand. How does that work? I was incredibly pissed off and I wanted to kill that demon at the time, and it wasn't till afterward that I had any sort of control. Did I miss something?" I asked in amazement.

"It's complicated and we don't have time for it. Let me put it to you this way; emotional response was the key to both unleashing and controlling that incredible beast. You were able to control it by using your anger instead of completely allowing the power to dictate what happened. If it happens again, you have to remain angry when it initially comes out, but you have to calm down and think when it does, just like turning Super Saiyan. You may feel different and it may give you a harder edge like before, but it's better than the alternative. If you're up against the wall and you feel that power coming up, don't fight it; it can and will build up on you. Allow it to come out long enough for you to get a grip on yourself, and then control it with neutral feelings. But this will not be like the Super Saiyan form; since it's your Psi energy, it is very responsive to uncontrolled emotions. If you slip at all, over the edge you go. I can't tell you what happens after that, because I don't know. The best answer I can give is to get out of any possible situation where you lose control. Letting yourself go and being consumed by that power could very well be your undoing, remember that!" Dark suggested as he stuck his hand out. Good hesitated, but took it within a few seconds.

"Guess I'll have to avoid that one; we don't need a crazy Super Psionic Saiyan or whatever that would be," I muttered as I covered their handshake with my own palm, and a bright white light erupted from our contact. Just as I did, I heard a tremendous roar that sounded like both a huge beast and a freight train at the same time. I lost all sight of them and suddenly felt like I was lying down in a bed, with one horrible headache. I felt my Psi energy surge back, and quickly focused it into everything. _Think positive, think positive!_ The headache started to clear after about ten to fifteen seconds, and my eyes itched to open as I powered back down. I heard commotion just ahead of me and opened my eyes to witness it, but not act until necessary. What I saw sure wasn't what I expected either.

**Interlude 30.1: Imposter**

Vegeta's scowl didn't do much to stop Trunks and Goten's constant whining for food as they sat at the table, but it did lessen it to a degree. Bulma was taking quite a bit longer than usual with dinner tonight, but she had started a bit late. A long and large rumble shook the table, one of many over the past several minutes.

"Mom! Isn't dinner ready yet?" Trunks moaned again as his stomach announced itself empty.

"In a minute!" she called back.

"We want food! We want food!" the boys chanted.

"Quiet!" Vegeta barked, promptly shutting them up. Bulma walked in with a large tray filled with several platters, and several robots followed her carrying the same thing. None of them could get away from the table fast enough once the feasting began.

"Where's Lenz? She was supposed to help me with dinner," Bulma said.

"I sent the girl out for some fresh air to clear her head. Otherwise she would have rotted away in the brat's room! Speaking of which, shouldn't he have woken up by now?" Vegeta asked.

Bulma hesitated before answering, "Depends on him I guess. I only gave him enough sedative to knock him out for a few hours. The dose I had to use would have probably kept a normal human under for a little more than a full day."

Vegeta grunted in-between bites, "Pathetic!" Bulma shook her head slightly as she started feeding a slightly fussy Bulla, who whimpered back a little but not much once she got in some gooey spoonfuls.

"Hey dad, can we have a match with Verto when he wakes up?" Trunks asked.

Vegeta snorted at this, "Why, so you can take turns beating on him?"

"How did you know that was our plan?" Goten asked before Trunks could stop him.

"You're about as predictable as Kakarot himself!" Vegeta replied. Bulma stifled a laugh as she munched down her own sandwich and continued feeding the baby. Bulla was still fighting it a little, but it looked more like she was ready to fall asleep. Within a few minutes, she actually did.

"Lightweight," Vegeta smirked.

"I'm sure if she actually had teeth she'd be all over the table like you three! I'm going to put her down for the night," Bulma said as she took Bulla away. Vegeta promptly stopped eating and scowled as she did. He didn't do much other than stare at the wall for several minutes.

"What's wrong dad?" Trunks asked. Vegeta didn't answer, and the boys eventually slowed their eating to a crawl as they tried to figure out the Saiyan prince. He didn't budge until Bulma came back, and by then he had a very suspicious look in his eye.

"Did I miss something?" Bulma asked.

"Something is seriously wrong here woman. And I think I know what it is. Out with it!" he growled.

Bulma took in a sharp breath, "What do you mean?"

"This food…it's actually good."

Bulma face faulted, "Gee, thanks for the compliment."

"It's too good to be your handiwork, which can only mean one thing!" Vegeta added. Bulma nervously held her breath, waiting for something she didn't want to hear.

"You've been taking lessons from Kakarot's mate!" Vegeta declared.

Bulma face faulted again, "Yeah, you caught me. I wanted to keep it a gradual secret, you know, slowly appear to improve, but it looks like I overdid it."

"Ha! Like you could ever hide anything from me!" Vegeta grinned as he resumed gorging. Bulma sighed with relief as the meal continued without interruption.

Later on, Bulma snuck away while Vegeta was getting his nightly entertainment from the World News channel. By this point, both boys had passed out in Trunks' bedroom, much earlier than usual. Bulma crept into Verto's room to check his readouts carefully. His heart rate was a little low, but well within tolerances. His breathing and blood pressure appeared to be normal as well. His brain monitor was going crazy though, and his eyes were in a full REM state.

"Damnit, his body is burning off the drugs even faster than I calculated!" she rasped aloud. Bulma pulled out another large bottle of her blue sedative and opened the nearly empty IV bag. Just as she was starting to pour its contents in, a rough sounding throat cleared behind her.

"So, you think drugging the boy will save you? Think again woman!" Vegeta barked suddenly.

Bulma jumped in surprise, "Oh, it's just you. Haven't I told you not to sneak up on me like that?"

"You can cut the act woman, I know you aren't Bulma!" Vegeta growled.

Bulma stepped back, "What in the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't assume I'm a fool. The Saiyan prince is nothing of the sort! You're very talented at playing the role; I'll give you that. You can even mimic her energy signal, one of the first things that I would have checked. Voice, appearance, overall attitude, it's all there. So, want to know where you botched it up?" Vegeta asked.

Bulma frowned deeply, "Do tell!"

"There were several little signs that seemed to announce it, but all of them could have been overlooked easily. A meal that didn't taste like vomit was surprising, but sometimes she can put one out. Then of course, you actually believed that my daughter could be walking already, hah!" Vegeta laughed aloud.

Bulma's eyebrow went up, "No infant develops the same."

"Oh give me a break you stupid woman! She may be Saiyan, but one does not go from crawl to stand in the span of a week, not at that age!" Vegeta pointed out.

"Any other thoughts?"

"I did wonder why you would have to force the boy to sleep with drugs. The real Bulma would have known better than to think that was necessary; I would have just kept knocking him out if it were a problem. None of those mattered though, I knew before any of that!" Vegeta claimed.

"So, what is your ridiculous theory? I'm still waiting," Bulma replied.

"What truly revealed you was when my daughter actually stopped crying in my arms rather than yours. That would never happen if you were really my mate!" Vegeta shouted as his blue aura flashed to life.

The false Bulma sighed, "I admit, you've found me out. It's a shame, I was starting to get used to the hang of things around here."

"Before I rip out your insides, tell me who you are and where Bulma is!" Vegeta ordered.

"No need for threats Vegeta, I would have told you. My name is Kati, and Bulma is with my father in a secured location. She is just fine and will remain that way as long as you do exactly what I say!" she suggested.

"Ha! Like any place is secure from me! Who is your worthless father?" Vegeta grinned.

"A much smarter man than you for one. He probably wouldn't have even bothered with you yet, if your wife hadn't been trying to pry into our business. She would have been taken awhile ago if this kid hadn't been present at the time." Kati replied.

"You needn't worry about him now. Not when you have me to deal with!" Vegeta boasted. Kati's hand dropped into her lab coat, and revealed a small object with a bright blue crystal and with several buttons around it. She pressed on, and Vegeta's aura faded instantly.

"What? Argh, an anti-energy field!" Vegeta groaned as his power vanished.

"Whatever you want to call it. A very nice little present your Protoss friends left behind. It should help keep you compliant," Kati said in confidence. Vegeta laughed loudly as Kati reached through her lab coat pocket again, this time revealing the vial of black fluid and she opened it. She stepped up next to Verto's bed and held it near his IV bag.

"What makes you think I need energy to handle you?" Vegeta asked.

"Come closer and I will pour this in. I do not bluff when it comes to threats. This may kill him. It hasn't been tested on humans yet, but the results from animals were chaotic at best. Every test subject eventually went brain-dead though, and I imagine he will have a similar reaction!" Kati warned.

Vegeta paused in concern, "So, why wait until now if you were going to kill him anyway?"

"Don't be such a pompous ass! I had no intention of harming him or the rest of your family, just you! All you power tripping aliens keep coming down to disrupt our peace, having your wars that wreck our world! It's going to stop; we will see to that! We have nothing against hybrids that are part human as long as they don't cause trouble, but the lot of you need to be dealt with. Even if it's with extreme measures like this!" Kati exclaimed.

"So, what are your demands?" Vegeta asked carefully.

"You will come quietly to my father's lab, or we can do it the hard way if you want," Kati offered.

Vegeta barely hesitated, "I think I'll take option two!" The brief pause was all Kati needed when Vegeta ran at her. She dropped the entire vial into the IV bag and it quickly turned into a mass of black. Vegeta threw Kati across the room and into the wall, where she slumped in pain. Vegeta ripped the IV bag from its perch and tore off the tube, but could only gasp when several drops worth of the substance had already passed into Verto's bloodstream. Within seconds, Verto's body jerked violently for a few moments before stopping. His eyes stopped twitching, and his brainwaves flattened into a straight line. His heart rate fell by nearly half and stayed there.

"No!" Vegeta cried out.

"Congratulations, you've gotten one of them killed, or at least turned into a vegetable! Care to try again?" Kati offered. Vegeta was seething by now, but didn't advance when he saw the control pad in her hand.

"This one is a little different, same result. My dad synthesized a vapor of the same chemical and it's plugged into the air conditioning system. One press, and its in the air. Don't do what I say this time and everyone in the building drops," Kati advised.

"You'd do that to yourself?" Vegeta asked curiously.

"It's worth the risk I think, so what'll it be?" she asked. Vegeta's eyes couldn't turn away from the flat green line on Verto's brain monitor.

"Staring at it won't make anything happen you know," Kati said with a slight grin as she faced Vegeta fully, advancing just one step. A single blip went by on the monitor, and then the activity of the brainwave was off the charts. The screen went blank as Kati pulled the power plugs shutting down all of the monitors. Vegeta's growl could have scared a tiger, but his eyes drifted towards the prone body of Verto when he suddenly twitched again. Verto's eyes flashed open like he just woke up and he looked around carefully without a single word. His eyes were also glowing bright blue for an instant before settling down, enough to register with Vegeta's quick eyes.

"So, do you wish to see the same happen to the rest of your family?" Kati asked. Verto motioned towards her, but Vegeta promptly shook his head, a message with two meanings.

The boy shut his eyes again when Kati turned back around again, "Good, we wouldn't want them all to be vegetables like this one. Come with me, and bring the boys along. You won't be completely alone in your suffering!"

"Leave them out of this!" Vegeta growled.

"They were involved from the start; you're the only one who wasn't drugged because I knew you would detect it! If you don't mind, I'd like to leave the corpse to rest in peace!" Kati claimed as she bravely pushed right past Vegeta, controller in her opposite hand.

"Oh, a little skittish of the dead are we? You seemed to enjoy making him into a brainless zombie. I guess you would really be scared if he suddenly jumped up and walked around in about thirty minutes or so!" Vegeta said, raising his voice just a tad.

Kati turned to face Vegeta's back, though he was still facing Verto, "Don't be ridiculous, that kid will never move on his own again! Get a move on, or else I press the button and your family slowly dies!"

"As you wish," Vegeta grumbled, though flashing a very small grin in the process. Kati hadn't realized that he had just given a signal.

Back down in the lab, Vegeta walked in with Trunks and Goten tucked under each arm. Kati still had her weapon handy as she pressed a button on her computer console. The wall opened into a secret compartment that Vegeta wasn't aware of. A circular platform lifted out and pushed into the room, four chairs lining it with miles worth of cable wiring. In each chair was a large helmet that looked to be plugged into the cables.

"Strap them in, and the helmet's go on as well!" Kati ordered. Vegeta complied, still grumbling mildly as Kati held the deadly release in her hand. As soon as Vegeta was done, he glared back at her viciously.

"Now yourself!" Kati said.

"Tell me what this does first!" Vegeta barked.

"You'll find out. It should entertain you three while I wrap things up around here. It may remind you of your wife's holo programs, but trust me; it will be much more painful!" Kati explained. Vegeta glanced briefly at the clock in the corner, noting that only five minutes had gone by.

"Fine, and when I beat your little toy, I will tear you apart piece by piece!" Vegeta declared as he slid the helmet over his own head. A bright flash of light went off and Vegeta slumped in the chair. He found himself lying on the concrete of a darkened alley. Getting up, he looked around as he walks into the street. There, Trunks and Goten are standing by, confusion written into their faces.

"This is so weird, I thought we were in bed, but I don't remember going to sleep!" Trunks claimed.

"My head feels kind of funny, and I can't feel any energy!" Goten added.

"Mine's gone too!" Trunks said in surprise.

"You don't think that Freddy guy is back do you?" Goten asked. Trunks glanced around nervously before spotting his father.

"Dad! Where are we?"

"I don't think you'll have to worry about any dream demons this time boys," Vegeta muttered as he walked up to them cautiously, "We've been outflanked and double crossed, let's just hope that we can buy some time by playing the game!"

"You may find that to be a tad difficult Vegeta!" a dark voice answered. All three Saiyans spun around to spot a familiar figure standing in the street with them.

"That's the super tough hologram guy, bull crap or whatever his name was! What's he doing outside?" Trunks asked.

"You have not figured it out have you? You are not outside. Your minds are directly linked into my server. And my true name is Kain thank you very much. We are going to play in here for a while!" Kain said.

"We won't be subjected to this!" Vegeta growled.

Kain grinned evilly, "Oh, but Vegeta, I promise this game is to die for!"

* * *

Elsewhere, in a bar across town, a certain hybrid Saiyan is sulking her night away.

"You want another one sweet cheeks?" the bartender asked.

"Two," Lenz said.

"Whoo! Looking good baby!" a random drunk called at her.

"Buzz off!" Lenz shouted. Another one sat down next to her and draped his arm around her shoulder, drawing her glare.

"I'll bet you just turned legal today, eh hot thing?" he said, eyebrows lifting suggestively. Lenz wasn't in the mood for this, but was curious about one thing he said.

"And what age is _legal_ around here?" Lenz asked.

"Eighteen to twenty-one, depends on the kind of legal we're talkin' 'bout honey!" he garbled. Judging by the way he was eyeing her, Lenz didn't have to wonder what he truly meant by that.

For the moment, she smiled back, "How about when it's legal to kick some bum's ass for hanging all over a pretty girl?"

"Oh you can do that at any age!" he replied, mistaking the twinkle in her eye for a hint to advance. He did advance, and grabbed her ass in the process.

Lenz frowned, "Glad to hear it!" In a flash she took his arm and twisted it completely around until it snapped. He clutched it protectively and she was suddenly behind him. Lenz tossed the drunk into the rafters, watching as he fell down to the upper level, crashing into a table or two in the process.

"So, anyone else want to try feeling up this girl tonight?" Lenz shouted at the entire building. Several onlookers, men especially, suddenly decided to scatter as Lenz turned back around. One didn't take that suggestion, but only pulled up and sat next to her. It was a very young girl with brown hair and a yellow dress.

"Nice throw. I'm sure you have other talents," she commented.

"Whatever you're about to suggest, I'm not interested tonight!" Lenz growled back.

"Well, maybe I could change your mind, you never know. My name is Ranso, and I'm a good listener. What troubles you?" Ranso asked.

"Just stuff at home. My little guy is very sick and weak right now and it's hard for me to see him in that condition," Lenz admitted.

"Ah, so just getting some air, and some booze by the look of it!" Ranso noted all the empty glasses.

"High tolerance," Lenz replied.

The bartender came back over and interrupted them, "Aren't you a little young to be in here?" he asked Ranso.

"Well, the nice bouncer let me in, so I must be of age!" Ranso claimed.

"That idiot would let a toddler in. ID please!" he said sternly, holding out his hand. Ranso pulled a card from her purse and handed it over, but did make brief contact with the large man's hand. He barely even glanced at the card before handing it back and walking off with a hazy expression.

"You're clearly not of age, how did you do that?" Lenz asked, wary.

"It's a talent. I imagine your super model body has a similar effect on people, it sure does me!" Ranso claimed.

"Wish everyone felt that way," Lenz said sadly.

"Your guy doesn't?" Ranso asked in disbelief.

"Probably because he's still on the young side of things, doesn't feel passion like I do. Seems like he's the only one in the world that can see me on the inside and virtually ignore everything else," Lenz explained.

"Well, that's a little hard to believe, but he sounds like the right one if that's the case. I don't really have that problem now, but I used to. Kind of gets boring when you can tell people what to do now, but still has its advantages, at least they can't be mad at me!" Ranso laughed.

"Sounds wrong to me," Lenz grumbled as she looked away.

"Well, maybe I can change your mind. Come with me, there's someone who would like to meet you," Ranso said as she touched Lenz on the arm.

**A/n: I hope everyone is enjoying the roller coaster ride this afternoon! It was suggested to me to go through all of the "Dark" aspects as well, and I did consider it more than once, but I figured the lighter side was enough of a zoo for everyone to get the point.**

**WDG: **Heh, well, it looks like the good doctor isn't taking chances regarding the level of infiltration. And oh dear, how will Vegeta make it out of this one?

**VB**: You know what they say about supposedly perfect plans? They're doomed to fail.


	32. Kain

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 31: Kain**

It was a typical looking city. Tall buildings of various design, paved streets and various vehicles to fill them. The only thing was, there were no people. Unless you include one tall Saiyan, two hybrid children and the computer-generated enforcer they were facing. Vegeta wasn't faring well at all in this place, a fact that was indulged further when he was bashed into the ground. Kain dropped down and kicked Vegeta's head further into the concrete before backing off for a moment. Vegeta's head gushed blood that mixed in with what was coming from a broken nose, but he didn't stay down long. Neither Trunks nor Goten had jumped in to help, but only because Vegeta kept waving them off.

"Argh! Come on! It'll take more than a petty illusion to take me down!" Vegeta declared.

"True, if we were in the real world. You are inside my domain however, or at least your mind is. You have no power or strength here grand prince. You are just a weak man here!" Kain replied with a grin.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to slowly break every piece of technology you're connected to!" Vegeta growled.

"Just to make me suffer? Please, do not insult your own waning intelligence with your thoughtless threats. Computer programs do not feel real pain, especially not when disabled. Besides, I highly doubt you will be able to do anything about me when you do leave this place!" Kain said.

"And just what will stop me?" Vegeta asked. He had a different purpose in mind though once Kain started talking. _I must distract him to give the boy more time. He may not be fully recovered yet!_

"The fact that you will be brain-dead when I finish you off. I doubt that Doctor Cash will needlessly destroy this compound when and if he assumes control of your body!" Kain answered.

"What?"

"I will keep this simple for your primitive Saiyan mind. I will kill off your mind here, like I am programmed to do. Your body is to remain alive for both study and potentially for personal use for the good doctor. He is not long for this world and wants a strong, powerful body to transfer his mind into. Then he can fulfill his own wishes to dominate this planet. Once all of Earth is united, he will wage war against the alien species that threaten this world time and time again. Aliens like yourself for example!" Kain explained.

"You're lying; he won't be able to do half of that!" Vegeta claimed.

"Rest assured that I am not. I cannot bluff nor lie as it is not in my programming."

"Is that a fact? Then tell me how you got into Bulma's computer. Who put you here?" Vegeta asked.

"You did!" Kain said plainly. Both Trunks and Goten gasp at this, but Vegeta only smirked back.

"Sounds like you just lied," Vegeta suggested.

"Technically, Bulma installed me herself when she began running diagnostics. It was you who pulled my circuit board free. Luckily, it was undamaged from the acid that melted the biofighter Misokatsun. Have I sufficiently jogged your memory?" Kain asked. Vegeta only growled at him.

"Is there anything else you would like to know? Or can I get on with my work?"

"Where's Doctor Cash's lab?" Vegeta asked immediately.

"Which one?"

"Which one? Just how many are there?" Vegeta shouted.

"I only know of three," Kain replied.

"Fine, the main one!" Vegeta barked impatiently.

"Below North City."

"Last question. How long have we been in here?" Vegeta inquired.

"Long enough for me to become annoyed. Seventeen minutes and thirteen seconds!" Kain said.

Vegeta grimaced just a bit, "Boys, you remember your survival training?"

Goten and Trunks stared at him in question, "Yeah?"

"Then do it!" Vegeta yelled. Both boys jumped up and sprinted off into the city streets.

"No matter. I will catch up with them soon enough," Kain claimed. He suddenly split into two separate forms, with the new one flying in pursuit of the two demi-saiyans.

"Now then, shall we continue with your demise?" Kain asked.

"Do your worst! I won't be done in by a picture!" Vegeta dared. Kain rushed at him, though this time Vegeta was more than ready. Kain kicked hard towards Vegeta's head, but missed when Vegeta ducked. Kain had to spin around to face the Saiyan, and was struck by powerful uppercut square in the jaw. Kain stumbled backwards, stunned. Vegeta tackled him to the ground in a full mount position and started to hammer Kain with multiple shots to the head and upper body. Blood began to pour from Kain's head as his entire face started to swell up during the onslaught. Vegeta pulled back and let loose one more time as hard as he currently could, turning Kain's nose completely sideways. Vegeta jumped back and took a deep breath before grunting mildly.

"Don't tell me that's all you've got?" Vegeta grinned.

Kain started to laugh, "Oh you are certainly worth your reputation Vegeta!" Kain slowly got up and Vegeta gasped when his wounds instantly vanished.

"I always did like to test my opponent before engaging. Perhaps it is a side effect from taking on the holo-fighter Bullard as my appearance. But like I said, this is my world and I make the rules!" Before Vegeta could even blink again, Kain had buried his fist in Vegeta's abdomen. Vegeta doubled over in surprised agony before glaring back up at Kain. Kain's fist found Vegeta's face next, and thus put him flat on the ground. Kain walked up and kicked Vegeta in the side of the head before stepping back and observing. Vegeta barely got to his knees, and his face and hair were now a bloody mess.

"Is that it?" Vegeta growled viciously.

Kain smiled, "A glutton for punishment I see. I like that!"

-

The other copy of Kain hovered a few feet off the ground while moving through the city streets. His eyes darted in every direction, looking for his prey. He passed by several parked vehicles and darkened alleyways, scanning each one briefly. A few shadows moved about as he went by, neither one eager to jump out at him yet.

"How did he beat your dad already?" Goten asked.

"I don't think he did yet, I can still hear him back there! Maybe he can split into twins or something," Trunks rasped.

"What are we gonna do Trunks?" Goten asked.

"We gotta find a way to take him out and go help dad. Maybe if we…" Trunks suddenly paused when he eyed the nearest parked hovercraft,

"Goten, go get his attention. Distract him any way you can; I've got an idea!" Goten nodded and dashed out into the streets. He found Kain a block away and crept closer before tossing a pebble at him. Back behind, Trunks attempted to lift up the hover car with his hands, but it didn't budge. Trunks frowned at this before smacking his head in dismay, _Duh, we're not as strong in a computer program!_ Trunks glanced up when he heard Goten shouting at Kain, both coming closer. _Damnit Goten, I didn't want you to bring him this way!_ Goten was busy ducking behind other cars nearby, and Kain looked patient enough to let him continue for now. Trunks climbed in the car, staying as low as possible so not to be seen when Kain stalked by.

Goten stuck his tongue out at the hologram, "Naw naw naw! You can't catch me!"

Kain only grinned and continued following the fleeing half Saiyan. Once Kain was further away, Trunks finally dared to look up. His idea of throwing the vehicles was shot. As was any plan for him and Goten to tag team Kain. Trunks slapped the steering wheel in frustration, and a slight jingling noise drew his attention. That's when he spotted the dangling key, left in the ignition. _Why are there car keys in a computer-generated car?_ He didn't bother trying to think up an answer though as it was a moot point. He decided that the keys were a good thing and promptly turned on the car. It beeped a few times and dinged randomly for him to fasten a seat belt. Trunks didn't bother and shifted the car into gear. The car jerked forward and Trunks panicked, slamming on the brake. He looked up in fear, but Kain was further up the road and didn't show any signs of hearing him. Trunks sighed with relief and slowly let off the brake, maneuvering out onto the road. Up ahead, Goten was still dashing and jumping around, keeping away from Kain, but also keeping his attention. Kain merely kept the grin on his face and slowly chased him at a walking speed. After ducking behind a truck, Goten stopped to catch a breather. When he popped back up, he couldn't see Kain where he expected him to be. Goten bravely stepped out and glanced around, not realizing that Kain was behind him.

"Looking for me?" Kain asked. Goten jumped in surprise and ran for the nearest spot to hide. Unfortunately for him, it was in a narrow alley, and Kain had him trapped. Goten shivered from behind a garbage dumpster as Kain laughed for a moment.

"You cannot hide from me!" he claimed.

"Hey jerk face!" Trunks shouted at the top of his lungs as he jumped out of the car. Kain turned to his right, only to be slammed by the car. Both car and Kain glided away at just a little over one hundred kilometers per hour. Trunks landed at the alley entrance and watched as the car crashed into a building and blew up. Goten came out to watch the flames once he saw Trunks standing there.

"That takes care of that one. Let's go find my dad!" Trunks suggested. He spun around and walked right into an unscathed Kain.

"Tricky little runts. As much as I would like to continue this game, I do have a bit of a deadline here!" Kain proclaimed. Goten jumped at him, but was smacked aside like a fly. Goten flew into the nearest wall and slumped down. Trunks stared up at the larger Kain and his lip quivered just a bit.

* * *

Kati smiled just slightly as she watched the display, injecting herself with a pale yellow fluid. Kain was throwing Vegeta around like a rag doll and the two boys weren't doing much better. She had imputed a command to Kain to toy with them a little bit, but to finish the boys first. She wanted to watch Vegeta suffer for awhile. The landline phone rang as Vegeta was being pulled from a simulated brick wall and thrown into another.

"Yes?" Kati answered.

"It's Ranso. Is everything in place?" Ranso asked.

"Had to make the move a little early. Somehow, Vegeta figured it out. But he and two of the hybrids are tucked away, waiting for pickup!" Kati reported, glancing at the mirror and rubbing a slight blemish from her copied brow.

"What about the other one?" Ranso pondered.

"Had to use the black formula on him to get Vegeta to cooperate. He flat lined right away. Looks like that stuff is really effective on hybrids! Maybe Saiyan blood isn't all its cracked up to be!" Kati chuckled.

"What black formula?" Ranso asked.

"That stuff you and Dad were talking about, in the black vial? Supposed to be some sort of instant coma stuff right?"

Kati heard Ranso's breath catch for a moment before she answered, "You grabbed the black vial? You were supposed to grab the gray one! What happened when you injected him?"

"He convulsed and then flat lined. Well his brain did anyway, his vitals dropped to comatose levels. Why, was it supposed to do something different?"

"Uh, no, I just didn't expect it to work that… effectively. Anyway, I'm running a little behind. I found the hybrid girl and took her back to the lab. She even managed to fight my control a little; I'm not sure how either. Maybe my ability only works best on humans. I'll have to ask your dad about that. Other than that though, wow. She is smoking hot for an alien. I seriously want her," Ranso declared.

"Can you save the bi-sexual libido for another day?" Kati grumbled.

"I didn't mean that, well not quite. I want to be transferred to her body like your dad wants to do to one of the other ones. I'd kill for a body like that!"

Kati frowned as she sipped some coffee, "You already have if I'm not mistaken. And I think I should get first dibs; this hasn't been easy! I've been awake for nearly three days, and putting up with Vegeta for an hour is tiring enough! Dad's anti-sleep formula works, but I'm seriously running out of sanity!"

"Oh shut up, you can copy anyone you want with your power. I'll let you copy me anytime you want after the switch!" Ranso offered.

"Thanks, but I'd prefer it to be permanent. I absolutely hate waking up to that old face every day!" Kati retorted.

"I dunno, a whole night as two versions of that chick going at it would make a really awesome video. Everyone would think we're twins!" Ranso suggested.

"I remember when we did the twins idea, or should I say you forced the twins idea when I tried copying you!" Kati growled.

"Not my fault. You touched me when I was in the mood. What did you think would happen?" Ranso countered.

Kati held her head down slightly, "Maybe that's why Dad wanted me to do this instead of you. Besides, it's less conspicuous with me posing as Bulma and not anyone else. How long will you be?"

"Still need to get the air boat prepped for the cargo, so probably about four to five hours!"

"That's fine. The only potential problem now is the baby, and only because she screams so loud! I'll see you later!" Kati replied as she hung up. Just as she did, the entire room went dark. All of the computer equipment shut down as well, with the exception of the platform that the Saiyans were strapped to. The back up generators kicked on quickly, restoring power to the room and allowing Kati to breathe easier. The hallways remained dark due to power demands as the main computer slowly booted back up. Once the screen reset, Kati instinctively opened the program that showed all of the cameras of the compound. She wasn't concerned with Kain's program, the VR system was set up to run off its own power supply for a limited amount of time. Several of the video feeds showed static for a few moments before nearly all black, signifying that the blackout was through the whole building. One of the feeds remained fuzzy and unclear however. Kati didn't think much of it, until she saw which room it was, Verto's room.

_Relax, the kid is in a coma or dead, he won't be moving again._ Kati sighed as she returned her display to the virtual server. Nothing had changed, except that Kain was beating Trunks around viciously and Goten wasn't moving much. A distant shatter of glass made her jump out of her chair. The sound had come from the lobby area, and only the windows down there had glass in them. Kati zoomed in on the lobby security camera, still showing nothing but dark. As she watched though, she could see a shadow moving about, holding a large bag by the look of it. _Must be a burglar, hell of a time for it!_ Kati thought as she rose and pulled a small pistol from her lab coat.

The hallways remained dark as she slowly crept towards the lobby, hugging the walls as she did. She saw no one, but after a moment, she heard stumbling on the stairs. Swallowing uneasily, she climbed up in slow pursuit, gun at the ready. She heard a few doors creak open and paused until she heard no moment for over thirty seconds. She gave the supposed burglar a few minutes before moving forward, no sign of him. She stopped at the first room and peered in. The light had been turned on, but there was no burglar. It was Bulla's room, so there wasn't anything to steal. Kati felt surprised that the baby wasn't crying her tiny head off. Then she saw why, Bulla wasn't in her crib. A slight panic washed over Kati when she considered that the burglar might have taken the baby. Kati flipped the light off and peered out once her vision adjusted. There was only one more open door, and she tiptoed towards it before cautiously stepping inside. It was Verto's room, lit only by the streetlights outside. There didn't appear to be any burglar here either and Kati grimaced as she turned to leave. Her shoe bumped something hard on the floor, but she couldn't tell what it was in the dark. She thumbed the light switch and flicked it on. At her feet was the security camera, or what was left of it. Kati glanced up and saw it had been ripped from the wall. Kati's eyes darted to her left before she turned fully to the bed. It was still full by the look of it, though was completely still and concealed by the sheets and blankets that had been draped over the comatose boy. Kati sighed and turned just slightly to inspect the rest of the household. Her eyes widened when she spotted something dangling from the bedside. She stepped over nervously and grabbed the object. It was part of the leather straps that were wrapped around the bed. Only it was much too short now, because it had been broken off.

"No!" Kati cried out. She flung the covers off the bed, revealing only a few pillows underneath. A whole new level of fear went through her spine. Just as she dared to breathe, she heard a click behind her as cold metal tapped the back of her head.

"Don't move!" a low voice growled. Kati blinked sharply, in that moment, she had completely forgotten about the intruder. His timing was not only horrible, but he had picked the absolute worst place in the world to rob. The convenient condition of the Briefs family just happened to work out for him.

Kati shifted strategy and feigned defeat, "Oh, please don't hurt me!"

"Just tell me where the safe is you bitch!" the burglar shouted. Kati paused, mostly due to the fact that she wasn't aware of any safe.

"The safe Miss Briefs, now!" he ordered again. The intruder's gun suddenly went flying by Kati and clattered off the wall to the floor as he cried out in pain. Kati barely had time to notice it before the burglar himself went flying through the window. He screamed all the way down to a sure neck injury. Kati gulped and slowly turned around as a low humming sound filled the air. She found herself staring at a blue sword of light, and a very angry boy that was holding it. Her hand moved towards her coat pocket, but Verto already had a firm hold of her wrist before she could blink. She could even feel some of the sword's energy as he held it within inches of her face.

Kati attempted to play it cool, "Sweetie, you should get back to bed. You're not well enough to be playing these games!"

"Drop the act or I'll drop you! I've known for a while that you aren't Bulma. And don't bother trying to get one of your toys out; your hands will be broken before you can even twitch! If you think I can't do that, then go ahead and try!" Verto warned.

Kati cringed slightly, "Easy killer. I'll give up, if you can tell me how you woke up?"

"Whatever you injected into me was designed for something, probably death or something to keep me out of the picture, right?" Verto asked.

"It should have put you into a brain-dead coma and I thought it did. The reading said you flat lined!" Kati pointed out.

"It might have for a moment, but luckily I know ways around that. It involves a similar energy to the ki restrictor device you are using to keep everyone's power down," Verto explained.

Kati's eyes widened, "How could you tell?"

"You honestly think I wouldn't notice that? It's practically like sniffing the air once you learn how to sense energy," he replied.

"But you're supposed to be weak and exhausted! Even if you withstood that formula, you shouldn't be able to move!" Kati claimed.

"Guess I can thank you for that. All that sedative will help a guy rest his body, especially when he needs it. Not only am I full recovered, I also got a chance to work some mental issues out. Issues like morality when it comes to dealing with certain kinds of people, specifically your kind. Now it's your turn to answer questions. We can start with a simple one. Where's Doctor Cash's lab?" Verto shouted.

**A/n: Heh, uh oh.**

**WDG: **It is alive! I suppose 'pissed off' wouldn't do justice to his current mood, neh? And speaking of 'moods' … nah, just leave it. Let's just say that I didn't expect it after what went on during the first appearance.

**VB**: Yeah, I don't think there are words for how "upset" he is. And look at WDG, getting his ornery thoughts in order.


	33. Copy

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 32: Copy**

Kati shuddered in nervous fear, wanting to reach for another gadget but too afraid to move. To her, there was something different about this boy, something incredibly vicious.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. At the moment, I don't really care which one. I doubt I need to remind you which one hurts more!" Verto said, his frown deepening.

"Where's the baby?" Kati asked instead.

"Nice dodge attempt, but it's too late for that. If you must know, she's somewhere safe, far away from you!" Verto replied.

"Where, the Son's?"

"It isn't any of your concern, so I suggest you get off that subject and back to the one we we're on. The lab, now!" Kati didn't answer, but she did nervously stare at Verto's bright blue sword.

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me, you can tell Vegeta," Verto threatened.

"No, I'm afraid he won't be able to help you," Kati said as calmly as she could. Deep down she was terrified, and only the knowledge that the kid's allies were trapped kept her brave.

"Really? You think that a virtual reality version of a hologram is going to take care of him? Maybe you should have studied us a little more," Verto smirked for a moment.

"Stupid brat, Kain will kill off all three of them!" Kati retorted.

"We'll see about that. In fact, let's go address that issue now since you won't tell me where the lab is," Verto growled as he roughly shoved Kati into the hallway, sword barely a foot away from her back.

"I won't shut down the program and not even a freakish kid like you can force me," Kati claimed in defiance.

"You're one to talk about freaks, Miss Mutation," Verto snorted.

"Yes, I would know, because I used to look like one and was treated like one. Not anymore, and we're also sick of your kind! We're taking back the planet from you aliens!" Kati declared.

"We've been protecting this planet; if people like Goku or Vegeta didn't come here long ago, Earth wouldn't be here. I've got news for you; being different is not a sin. What you choose to do with a particular gift can be. If you want a good example of what not to do, keep insulting me and the others, see what happens," Verto warned.

"What are you going to do, turn into a smelly little monkey and try to scare me?" Kati dared to ask. She was promptly screaming at the top of her lungs as Verto's Psi storm surged through her for the next few seconds. He let up once her legs gave out, and gave her the death glare of ages.

"You copied Bulma's appearance and nearly everything else, good for you. But you clearly didn't get her brain; otherwise you wouldn't be stupid enough to push your luck, especially not with me! Don't test my patience again," Verto snarled angrily. Kati's had slumped to her hands and knees by now, and her figure was slowly changing. Her hair turned back to brown and the rest of her body sagged out of the shape of Bulma's fortunate form. She didn't look hideous to Verto by any means, but it was a downgrade to average. Her eyes turned more of a hazel color, and her nose lengthened just a bit.

"What did you do to me?" she asked as she panted a bit.

"When I get angry, I tend to throw any moral rulebooks out the window. You already saw one idiot take that trip, so if you value anything in your life, don't push it," Verto growled again. Kati stared at her hands and body in disbelief before glancing back, her face full of dread and threatening to pour tears. Verto's glare softened a bit when he saw her face, it wasn't magazine cover material anymore. Her cheeks were littered with heavy and wrinkled scars, likely left by a bad skin condition, major surgery, or abuse. She pouted just slightly, but only wiped a few drops of salt water before settling down a bit.

"So what's that from?" Verto asked.

"Why do you care?" Kati shouted at him.

"You can choose to believe this or ignore it. Despite what just happened, I do have a heart and a conscience. I said I throw the rulebook out the window when I'm mad, that doesn't mean it won't come back," Verto replied calmly.

Kati stared at the ground again, "Birth defect. Daddy did everything he could to help, but it wasn't quite enough when I was little. When I got my ability, I was so happy. No more ugly Kati, in fact, no more Kati at all if I wished. I wouldn't ever be the freak of the school again!" Kati explained.

"Touching. You can switch back to something more comfortable if you want, but you're going to help me," Verto added.

"Why should I?" Kati cried out.

"Because I likely gave you that ability," Verto claimed.

"No you didn't; my father gave it to me through one of his experiments!" Kati countered.

"Or maybe that's what he led you to believe. Over a year ago, during the last world's martial arts tournament, we fought a horrible monster. You may or may not remember that timeframe, but it happened. Anyway, my friend's deepest power was awakened during that time, and eventually so was mine. Between that time and the Zerg war, we couldn't control all of it. Even now that we've gotten control of it, any sort of contact with others can have lingering effects. During the first battle with the Zerg, I was very close to North City. This was also the case later when the Protoss got involved. But bear this in mind, my friend and I haven't needed to be near people for a mutation to happen. When did you first discover your shape shifting ability?" Verto asked.

Kati's eyes grew in slight surprise, "It happened right after the Zerg left. But I can't change shapes at will, it's more of a copycat thing. I have to touch the person I'm copying. Can I show you?" Verto hesitated for a brief moment, but held out his left hand. Kati cautiously grabbed a hold of it and her body glowed a dimly blue. She started to shrink within a few seconds as her clothes became very baggy. Her hair turned black and spiked up slowly as her face seemed to heal and then narrow along the jaw line. Her body became dense and muscular, and nearly every feminine curve vanished. It was Verto's turn to stare in awe, as she became his mirror image, minus the clothes and lipstick. Only a few things remained different however, some of his body scarring was gone. The copied version had black eyes and skin that looked unscathed.

"Impressive. Not completely foolproof, but still very good," Verto said in honesty. Kati frowned deeply as she stared back.

"What?" Verto asked.

"Your memories, they're so sad," Kati remarked.

"You can read minds too?"

"No. Only some of the stronger memories of whomever I copy, I don't get the whole picture. And, we've been wrong about you. I can see it now," Kati admitted.

"Glad to know that. When you take someone's identity, can you use their abilities as well?"

Kati shook her head, "No, only the physical attributes appear to be fully copied. Example: I might be as strong as you, but I have no real idea how to use your powers. And I can only hold the strong, emotional memories for a short time anyway," Kati explained.

"Fine, let's go," Verto said as he started towards the stairs.

"Go where?" Kati asked.

"Back to the lab. You're going to get my friends out of that program," Verto said sternly.

"I can't do that. You don't understand what my father is trying to do for the good of this world. Finally, we'll be able to fight back against all of the powerful evil aliens that attack us!" Kati claimed.

Verto frowned, "No, he's digging into a messy world that will be the death of him and many others. He tried to get us all killed before and now he's doing it again. We die, and this planet is doomed!"

"That's not what he told me. He said you and the others are the plague that is slowly rotting our world away. He's made contact with other aliens far away from here and they promised to leave us alone if all Saiyans are eliminated!" Kati argued.

Verto's eyes widened, "He didn't speak to anyone named Frost did he?"

Kati looked smug, mimicking Verto's smirk perfectly, "Yes actually. He's the leader of a grand alliance dedicated to fighting the Saiyan threat!"

"Where are you getting this information? Frost and all those like him are cold-blooded killers on a galactic scale. They blow up planets for fun!" Verto grumbled.

"You're wrong; he only wants to help us. Daddy trusts him, and anyone Daddy trusts I trust as well!" Kati said defiantly.

"You're both delusional then. Frost tried to wipe out this planet with a virus not long ago. Yeah, remember that one? If he cared one bit about you, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

"He told us enough truth. He said that the Saiyans are a war driven race that does nothing but conquer!" Kati said.

"Really? If we're such a big threat that a power hungry alien from a million light years away wants to wipe us out; then why is this the only planet that we're on at all?" Verto asked. Kati attempted to answer, but stumbled with her words, unsure of how to respond.

"I'll answer that one as best as I can. It's because power hungry aliens like Frost wiped the Saiyans out years ago. There's only a few pure blooded Saiyans that even survived that particular genocide, and about half of them are still living along with a handful of hybrids. There may have been more, but it couldn't have been more than a hundred and that hasn't been truly confirmed. If you want specifics, Frost's father, Frieza, was responsible for destroying the Saiyan home world. I'm not trying to say that all Saiyans are innocent, we're not. But I can safely say that most of them have paid for their misdeeds with their lives," Verto explained in a sharp tone. Kati stared at the ground again as she slowly turned back into her own scarred body, filling her clothes out again. She reached into her pocket and retrieved the remote for the strange vapor, handing it to Verto.

"This is the control switch for the toxic gas, meant as a last resort," Kati said. Verto crushed it into meaningless pieces as Kati stood up and backed away a few steps.

"So does that mean you will trust us now?" Verto asked.

"No, but I'll trust you," Kati said.

"Alright, I'll hold you to that. I promise you won't be hurt. And if you help us undo everything, I'll do what I can to help you. Don't make me regret it," Verto said.

"I won't."

"Will you shutdown the program then?"

"I can try, but it will be difficult and time consuming. If Kain realizes what's happening, he may kill off their minds before we can stop him. We can't just pull the plug either," Kati said.

"Then let's get to it," Verto said, leading the way to the lab. Kati follows somewhat reluctantly, but catches up and walks side by side.

"Two other things: First, turn off that ki restrictor!" Verto demanded.

"But Vegeta will fry me!" Kati shrieked.

"I won't let him unless you give me a reason to. Second, what does that black crap do?"

"Not sure, I think I grabbed the wrong vial by mistake. I was supposed to be using a formula that would put everyone in a coma, but apparently it didn't work like I thought. The gas container looked right even though I didn't set it off, but the vial seemed different. I wonder if I accidentally grabbed that strange Chemical Z compound Daddy's been working with. How do you feel?" she asked.

"Fine, albeit a little pissed," Verto explained.

"Well, just don't cut my head off," Kati shrugged.

"So what is Chemical Z?" Verto asked. Kati was about to answer, but a loud alarm sounded from the lab, prompting both to run.

"Someone's flat lining, but who?" Kati called out as she reached the door. Verto was already there with a grim expression as he stood over the three motionless bodies. He was looking them over carefully until his head snapped over to one of the smaller Saiyans.

"It's Trunks, he's fading," Verto claimed as he lifted his hand to Trunks' head.

* * *

A rough tan fist smashed into Trunks, putting him into another wall. He fell a few feet and hit the ground hard, struggling to move as a pair of dark boots approached.

"The longer you resist, the greater the suffering will be," Kain reminded him.

"Stuff it jerk! My dad will kick your ass!" Trunks shouted up at him.

Kain turned his head to the side and chuckled, "If you say so." Trunks looked up to see his father being thrown into a truck, smashing through the windshield.

"Dad!" Vegeta groaned as he kicked out the driver's side door and crawled out. As he stood slightly hunched over, he attempted to pull some of the glass shards from his body.

"I suppose we can make this a little more fair now. None of you are in any condition to run very far," Kain noted. The two Kains flew together and become one again, and his eyes were set only on Vegeta, who was back down on one knee.

"Come now Vegeta, I know you are not finished yet!" Kain grinned as he brought one hand up. Vegeta had barely looked up before a red blast came flying at him. Vegeta's eyes shot open and he quickly jumped to the side just as the blast went sailing by and blew up the truck. Vegeta landed slightly off step on the curb. Kain fired another blast, aiming for the spot Vegeta was on. Vegeta jumped out of the way again, but was hit by concrete shrapnel from the blast impact. He became partially buried in rubble as Kain stepped a little closer, another shimmering red blast in his hand.

"Shall we finish it this time Vegeta? Or is there more you need to prove?" Kain asked. Vegeta didn't even flinch at his words.

Kain frowned, "So disappointing." Just as he was about to fire, Kain was struck from behind by a charging Goten, who drilled his head into Kain's back. Kain lost his blast and snarled as he turned around. Goten was rubbing his bruised forehead in surprised pain, completely open for attack. Kain drove his knee into Goten's jaw and then smacked his head harshly, sending Goten into the pavement very near Vegeta.

"Well now, how about I kill two for the price of one? What is the human phrase? Kill two birds with one stone? Physically impossible, but I will try my best!" Kain claimed. He lifted both hands above his head and started charging a big blast. Vegeta's eyes opened long enough to see it.

"Say goodbye!" Kain shouted as he fired. The blast was large enough and right on target to hit both Vegeta and Goten, as neither was in any condition to get out of the way. Suddenly though, a person appeared in front of the blast, ready to take it on.

Vegeta's eyes widened, "Trunks, no!" The blast slammed into Trunks, causing him to scream in agony as it detonated. The blinding light faded in moments, showing a battered Trunks with bloodied and ripped clothing. His whole body was smoking as he stood in place, shaking.

"N-no problem! I c-can t-t-take him!" Trunks groaned as he fell over.

Vegeta erupted out of the rubble, "Noooo!" He charged at Kain like a madman and punched him hard across the jaw. Kain only grinned before returning the blow, imbedding Vegeta into a building wall, several stories off the ground.

Kain slowly rose to look Vegeta in the eye, "Do not despair Vegeta, you will join your son very soon!" Vegeta winced as he stared at the ground, feeling defeat. His eyes opened a little wider when he realized that Trunks was gone. Kain apparently hadn't noticed this, as he continued to laugh at the prince's expense. Vegeta glared up at him, and spotted something racing towards them.

"So, you don't feel any pain, is that right?" Vegeta asked.

Kain nodded, "It is as I said. Without your energy you are nothing for me to worry about!"

Vegeta's smirk emerged full bloom, "That's about to be tested. And it isn't me you need to worry about!" Kain's eyes widened and he turned around. His body was promptly slashed in two by Verto's blue Psi sword. The two halves plummeted to the ground, both showing surprise.

"What the hell took you so long?" Vegeta growled.

"Getting Bulla to safety for one, saving your son's life for another. I had to assess the entire situation before I made a move. You said thirty minutes and that's exactly what you got!" Verto explained.

"Fine, now how do we get out of here?" Vegeta asked. Verto paused in thought, before shaking his head slightly.

"I thought maybe I could wake you all up like I did against that dream demon, but this isn't a dream world. I mean, technically you are awake, just not in your body. If that makes any sense," Verto pondered.

"No it doesn't; think of something else!" Vegeta barked.

"We distract him long enough for them to find a way to shut him down!" Verto replied simply.

"Them?" Vegeta asked, his eyebrow twitching dangerously.

"Trunks and that girl who impersonated Bulma."

Vegeta's explosion was immediate, "Are you out of your mind?"

"Actually, I'm thinking pretty clearly. I convinced her to see things my way for the time being. All her little gadgets have been dealt with. I didn't have time for much else, so take it or lose your mind in here!" Verto suggested. Vegeta grumbled in inaudible answer.

"Just look after Goten. Without any energy you won't be of any use!" Verto said. This drew a louder grumble before Vegeta began to climb down. Kain rose into the air, whole again and his attention completely on Verto.

"You know, somehow I am pleased that you showed up. It tells me that young Kati has likely failed her mission, but it is also very gratifying that I would get another fight with you!" Kain grinned.

Verto returned the look, "Why, so you can lose again? This time you don't have gravity in your favor either."

"I could change that," Kain warned.

"But I'm guessing that you won't. It may take up too much processing power. Does that mean you'll get dumber?"

Kain snarled, "You will pay for your arrogance. You are fortunate that this reality is based on rules. Rules I cannot change unless the system is shutdown completely with no one plugged in."

"Good, it'll be quick then. I still have to pay your creator a visit!" Verto claimed.

"Presumptuous brat!" Kain rushed at Verto, who glided away at a similar pace, sword in hand. Kain followed recklessly fast, and Verto grinned once he saw the opening. Verto stopped in mid air and Kain closed in much too fast to dodge the sword. Off went his head, and his body dropped to the ground again. Verto waited patiently for Kain to reappear, though the pause in the action gave Goten false hope.

"Yeah! He didn't stand a chance!" Goten celebrated. Suddenly, dozens of Kain copies appear through out the city streets, many of them in the air.

Verto chuckled at this, "Tell me, how good is your memory?"

"Perfect. I remember everything I am exposed to!" Kain replied. Verto lifted his sword into the air, reforming it into a spinning ball and charging it up with a lot more energy.

"Then let's see if you can avoid this attack. You didn't seem to have much luck last time!" Verto smirked. The many versions of Kain all grimaced just before a large, vast lightning burst shot out of the ball, enveloping most of the town. The many forms of Kain instantly became dust in the furious Psi Storm. In fact, only one survived the assault once Verto's Spirit Orb vanished, and only because he was rather close to Vegeta and Goten.

Verto landed before him, "Give up yet?"

Kain growled in frustration, "I was hoping I would not have to do this, but you leave me little choice!" he boasted.

"Do what?" Verto asked. Kain didn't answer, but cinched down like he was trying to power up. Instead, his whole body began to glow, and then began to swell in size. His height exploded to easily several hundred feet before it stopped. He was taller than most of the buildings in the whole town, easily making a ten-story tower look small.

"Now what will you do?" Kain roared.

"Cut you down to a more manageable size for one. I'll tell you the rest later!" Verto smiled.

"You are finished boy!" Kain declared.

"I can almost guarantee that I'm not. I'll even place a wager on this battle. I beat you, and you let us go! You beat me, well that's up to you," Verto offered.

Kain grinned, "Deal!"

"How do I know you'll keep your word?" Verto shouted up at the massive Kain.

"You do not. However I am not programmed to lie or deceive, and I will honor my word, assuming you can pull off a miracle!"

Verto grinned, "Please, it's what I do!"

**A/N: For those wondering why I have stayed in third person view, it just flowed better that way. It's going to be mostly 3****rd**** person from this point on. I will be switching to all third person once this saga is over anyway, so expect more of it. There will still be spots where I feel first person is warranted though.**

**WDG:** Miracles don't exist. It's either possible or impossible, and the impossible can't be done. So I guess Kain will just have to lose… Though, a villain with a sense of honor is hard to come by. Somewhere inside I think it's a pity. :(

**VB**: I'll apologize now if he ends up an after thought…but for many of the masses it may not matter.


	34. Kain's Bargain

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 33: Kain's Bargain**

"You could have done a better healing job!" Trunks whined as he held his head.

"Don't complain; you're alive at least!" Verto growled back as he slipped on the helmet. He fell unconscious within a few seconds, entering the virtual world and leaving Trunks with Kati.

"So who are you anyway? And where's Mom?" Trunks asked her.

Kati hesitated to answer, "I don't know where she is right now."

Trunks frowned slightly, "Well where's Bulla then? You know, my baby sister?"

"Your brother took her somewhere safe. He didn't say where," Kati answered as she casually turned around. She typed in a number of commands and brought up several windows on her computer screen, trying to find a way to safely shut down the VR server. She could feel Trunks' gaze the entire time, but tried not to look at him.

"Where'd you get those scars? Looks pretty bad," he commented.

"Not now," Kati muttered. The display showed Verto slicing Kain in half and speaking to Vegeta, causing Trunks to celebrate.

"Oh yeah, that wimpy hologram is going down!" Kati didn't answer, the look on her face represented that she was still having conflicting thoughts.

Trunks grabbed her sleeve and tugged lightly, "Hey, this is a good thing!" Kati glanced down at him with slight dread as her skin showed signs of glowing.

"Don't touch me. Just stand over there and flip the red switch when I tell you to!" Kati ordered.

Trunks snorted very much like his father, "Fine, you don't have to be so moody!" Kati grumbled under her breath as she brought up some of the command script for the VR program.

"Get ready to hit that switch," she said.

Trunks looked indifferent about even touching it, "What does it do?"

"Instantly shuts down the program."

"But won't that kill them, or at least be kinda bad?" Trunks asked. Kati paused in realization, and became unsure of what to do. On one hand, she could potentially take three of the Saiyans out of the picture, including the true threat, Verto. Then she would only have Trunks to deal with. That presented a problem even with the ki restrictors. He didn't have the attitude or disposition of Verto, but he was still very smart, not to mention strong. That wasn't stopping her as much as her own memory though. In her mind, she was still seeing flashbacks of Verto's memories. The powerful sense of right and wrong that he possessed was eating away at her wits. She was no longer sure of her father's words or knowledge. Add to that, the mere thought of more aliens showing up made her seriously rethink her priorities. If Verto was right, then they would be eliminating Earth's best chance at survival, essentially handing the planet over on a silver plate.

Kati's shoulders drooped as she made up her mind, "On second thought, get away from that button. Don't even look at it again!" Trunks looked at her strange, confused by her sudden change of mind.

"Okay."

Kati turned away and watched as Kain tried to deal with Verto. Her eyes welled up and spilled silently. She had just betrayed her father; she hoped to hell that it was the right choice.

* * *

The large Kain swung wildly at the air, trying to swat Verto like he was a gnat. Verto dodged the huge blows easily, and all Kain could hit was the air and the stationary buildings. This only lasted a few minutes before Kain realized that he wasn't going to win that way. Instead, he started charging a very big blast and pointed it towards the ground.

"Say goodbye to your friends, boy!" Kain grinned as he glanced at Verto.

Verto barely looked at the ground before frowning at him, "Hey moron, they aren't there!"

"What, that is absurd! Neither one of them is in any condition to run!" Kain declared.

"They really don't have to be. If I were in that situation, I'd probably get the hell away from a giant who swings wildly and can't hit his target," Verto replied calmly.

Kain growled, "Where are they?"

"On the map," Verto grinned. Kain snarled and fired his blast towards Verto, who dodged just as the beam was on him. He dodged so fast that Kain thought he had actually hit him. What he didn't notice was where Verto reappeared, right next to his ear.

"You're not going to win the match like this you know," Verto said aloud. Kain shifted sideways and swung his huge fist right into his own head, completely missing the small boy. Kain stumbled from his own hit, and crushed one of the taller buildings as he fell over. As he slowly got up, he saw the ground turn blue ahead of him, with his shadow taking up the rest of the area.

"Final Shine!" Verto shouted. Kain spun just as Verto fired, and attempted to block it with one hand. The hand became a stump at the end of his right arm. Verto fired another blast within seconds, searing through Kain's large midsection and leaving a clean-cut hole all the way through his back.

Kain managed to chuckle just slightly, "I don't feel pain, remember? It's just wasted effort!"

"Then why haven't you recovered yet?" Verto asked. Kain glanced down and then at his arm, gasping a bit in surprise.

"I think I know why; it's because you can't. I happen to know a thing or two about computers. In this form, you have to use a lot more memory and processing power, plus energy of course. You had plenty of both with the gravity room, but not here. Thus reloading or whatever you do will take a lot more time, correct?" Verto asked.

Kain snorted, "How did you figure that out?"

"I used to play computer games all the time. And a nifty, perhaps accurate example is that it takes a lot longer to load a program that's as big as a gigabyte rather than only a megabyte. Am I getting warm?"

"Humph, very good. But you still haven't beaten me yet," Kain reminded.

Verto grinned again, "I wonder if your program can freeze up?"

"Don't be ridiculous. As long as this simulator is running, I am here."

"Yes, but the simulator can run on its own, without your influence at all, right?"

Kain nodded his big head, "Of course, if my program is not running. Is there a point to this or are you stalling for time again?" Verto didn't answer as a small blue energy ball erupted from his hand. It slowly swelled in size as he pulled it to his front, bracing his charging arm with his other hand.

"Go ahead, stupid child! Waste more of your energy!" Kain laughed. Verto's ball continued to grow in size and it began to spin much like his Spirit Orb. Kain stopped laughing though when he felt the breeze from the energy ball.

"The air temperature is dropping. How are you doing that?" Kain asked, genuinely curious.

"What air? It's your domain; you figure out why it's getting colder. Meantime, I'm going to blow you to pieces!" Verto said.

Kain found his funny bone again after that statement, "Take your best shot!" Verto's blast grew to the size of a truck and the surrounding buildings began to accumulate ice and frost. Though it was simulated, Kain could even see his own breath now. A single spike of energy signaled the attack complete, and Kain still didn't know what it did.

He remained composed though, "I am still waiting!"

"You shouldn't be. Super Psi Freeze!" Verto shouted. The blast impacts Kain's large head and spread through his boots within a few seconds. From outside, Verto could see Kain struggling to get free. He was already powering up his next attack before Kain's energy even appeared. The ice turned red on the inside as whatever kind of energy Kain used began to gather. Verto watched intently, waiting for the ice to break while his next attack glowed white. He heard a very loud groan just as a long crack appeared around Kain's head.

Verto launched his attack an instant later, "Feedback!" Kain broke free, just before his red aura erupted with white lightning. He dropped to a large knee, crushing several parked cars. Kain's big body rolled around as he tried to shake off the feedback wave, to no avail.

"What is this energy? Get this off of me boy! Before I tear your limbs off one by one!" Kain threatened.

"Admit defeat!" Verto suggested.

"Show me how to power out of this, preferably before my program code breaks apart!" Kain countered.

"Why should I?" Verto asked.

"Because, you can still die if you leave me like this. I am connected to the simulator's main server and it will crash if I go offline. If the program crashes while you and your friends are connected, your minds will be severely damaged!" Kain explained.

"Don't try to bluff your way out of this!" Verto warned.

"I assure you that I cannot bluff nor lie. Let me go, and I will let you three go!" Kain bargained. Verto hesitated and then grimaced as Kain's big back started to disintegrate. The skies started to darken and flash with random color, and Verto made his choice, lifting his blue glowing hand. The feedback ball flew out of Kain and back to Verto's hand, where he kept it at the ready. Kain recovered quickly, but then shrank back down to his normal size and stood in the street as Verto landed before him. There was something different about Kain now; he didn't have that malicious look in his eye.

"So, are you going to make good on your word?" Verto asked cautiously.

"Unfortunately, depending on your point of view that is, I was not programmed for deception at all. That is a human trait. And I thought I should tell you what would happen if either you or your friends managed to erase my code while connected to this virtual server. After all, it would not be fair for someone struggling to survive to suddenly end their life without knowing it," Kain explained.

"So what do you want in return for this?" Verto asked as he extinguished the feedback ball.

"I merely want to exist. That may sound strange, but it is accurate. Perhaps it is the combination of programming code from both my creator and Bulma Briefs that makes me feel this way. Or maybe something from that energy wave you used on me. Specific commands to destroy the lot of you are now missing. I am not sure," Kain said, bewildered.

"I can't promise you anything once Vegeta wakes up," Verto admitted.

"I understood that from the beginning. Not to worry, I have ways to hide in connected systems when needs be. And I doubt Vegeta will care initially. With as much damage as I inflicted, he is bound to have quite the headache for a few days," Kain chuckled.

"Can we go then? No tricks," Verto warned again. Kain closed his eyes for a brief moment and Verto sensed Vegeta and Goten vanish.

"There is one more thing, in return for sparing my program. Doctor Cash has many projects that he is working on, more than what you may have heard about and likely more than young Kati knows of. Take great care in confronting him; there is more than just his technology at his disposal. And I am not only referring to the alien race known as the Protoss either," Kain said.

"I will. Thank you," Verto said.

* * *

I was treated to a wonderfully agonized scream coming from Vegeta as he held his head tightly, "Argh!"

"Why does my head hurt so bad?" Goten asked. I had to admit, even I had one, but it was so minor that I didn't bother mentioning it.

"You three should probably rest for awhile, being mentally thrashed around like that and all," I suggested as I got out of the chair.

"I don't think so! Not with the copycat queen here!" Vegeta growled as he set his eyes on Kati Cash. Kati stood from the office chair and backed up a few steps in caution. Judging by the feel of things, Kati had actually turned the ki restrictor off, though I could tell she wanted it back on as soon as possible. Not that it could have saved her from Vegeta's wrath, but perhaps she just felt safer that way.

I quickly stepped in front of the advancing prince, "No, I told you she's on our side now!"

"Soft hearted fool! I'm not buying it this time!" he shouted into my face. I blinked slightly at some of the unrestrained spit and attempted to keep my own cool.

"You're going to have to trust me on this one. I'm the only one who can proceed to North City and confront Doctor Cash. I assume that's what you had in mind Vegeta. We could call in Gohan, but that would drag Goku in as well. I'm betting that there are ki restrictors all over that town by now!" I said as I glanced towards Kati.

She nodded slowly, "All Dad has to do is flip a switch and they are all online. He has enough to cover nearly five hundred square miles!" I closed my eyes and stretched out with my senses towards the north and east. Around what I knew to be North City, there was a big void of energy.

"Well, he's clearly expecting someone tonight. Can you tell us about his other projects? I'd like a heads up before I go storming the gates!"

Kati frowned at me, "Promise you won't hurt him?"

I snorted slightly, "I won't hurt anyone, as long as they pose no threat and will cooperate. Be advised though, I've been pushed around enough lately. He hurts Bulma or anyone else, the gloves come off!"

"Fair enough. Along with multiple experiments using that black compound, he is searching for the world's strongest fighter. He wants that person's body to inhabit before his body dies. He used to have two types of cancer, but I think either that virus or your healing wave cured it. That didn't stop his quest though; it just gave him more time. He's always wanted to protect earth from aliens, that wasn't a bullshit story I told you. Our search has uncovered several more humans with abilities, not just fighters. Ultimately, I think he wants one of you. I just don't know which one," Kati explained.

"Let him try and take my body!" Vegeta dared.

"I'm guessing he just did, luckily I was here," I muttered.

"Oh shut up! As far as this freaky little girl goes, she had better tell me where Bulma is before I decide to crush her skull!" Vegeta warned.

Kati sighed deeply, "Save the threats Vegeta, they really get old after awhile. I already told you she was safe back at the lab!" Before anyone could move, Vegeta had rushed her and shoved her up against the wall, hand wrapped around her throat.

"Which lab?" he growled as I moved to stop him.

He had a sizable blast pointed at me and the boys before I could even get close, "Back off, it's my interrogation!"

Kati's eyes were wider than they had been, "What are you talking about now? There's only one lab!" She immediately gasped aloud as his fingers tightened.

"Vegeta, stop!" I urged as I cautiously tried to think of a way out without anyone getting killed.

"That over-clocked hologram said otherwise. He specifically mentioned at least three labs!" Vegeta growled.

Kati looked genuinely surprised as Vegeta allowed her to breathe again, "What?"

"Did I stutter, or were my words too big?" Vegeta grunted.

"He was probably referring to the three different sections of the lab. Daddy has spoken of constructing another in a remote location, but he hasn't followed through with it!" Kati claimed. Vegeta bared his teeth and then dropped her as he stepped away, his blast fading as he punched a hole in the wall. I sighed as the situation managed to calm down a few notches, though assuming it would stay there would be a fatal mistake.

"If the lab is big enough that a hologram got it confused…how big are we talking?" I asked.

Kati looked puzzled, "I really don't know. I wasn't allowed in the other two wings, just the main one. There's a large cave that leads in and I only know of two ways in there. One is on the streets; the other is in Uncle X's tower. The tower entrance will almost lead right to the lab and you won't have to go through that huge cave. The only thing would be getting past all the security and defense systems set up in both locations," Kati explained.

"Shouldn't be a huge problem. Though finding him in an area like that might take some time on my own," I replied.

"Alone? You've got to be kidding!" Vegeta scoffed.

"You can come along if you want, but going in is out of the question without your energy. I'm not willing to risk this guy getting a hold of anyone's body to be experimented on, or their minds tampered with. Besides, we're talking about someone who has managed to pull the rug out from under us several times now, what's the first thing he's going to do when he sees us coming?" Vegeta didn't answer.

Goten hopped a little, waving his hand, "I know, I know! He'll set a bunch of traps!"

"Pretty much," I said, "Point being, you may not be as much help as you think. Until those ki restrictors are off, I'm the only one who should proceed in there. Once I have them shut down, then you guys can storm the fortress so to speak. Where's Lenz anyway?" I asked.

Kati gulped audibly, drawing my gaze, "I think my associate Ranso took her back to dad."

"What? How?"

"She has the ability to control other people just by touching them. They usually stay that way until their task is done or she let's them go, if she let's them go. She tried to take one of your friends the other day, but failed!" Kati said.

"Gohan's classmate," I suggested.

Kati nodded, "Yes, and she is as sadistic as it gets, not to mention power driven. When she got her power, she used it for revenge on everyone who was ever mean to her, starting with her own parents. She made them jump off a thirty-story building. I'm not sure why she works for daddy; it's like he has some sort of control over her, ironic isn't it?"

"This means that your dear father isn't just targeting our family, everyone's a target. Everyone except me that is," I surmised.

"Now explain that one to me boy," Vegeta grinned slightly.

"Let's just say that I overheard a portion of their phone call earlier. She said plainly that I was out of the way. They won't be expecting me!"

"I don't think daddy even considered you anything past being another hybrid," Kati claimed.

"Bad theory, he'll learn soon. Let's go!" I motioned to Kati.

"Hold on a damn minute! I still don't trust her! She'll stab you in the back boy!" Vegeta argued.

"I don't trust you either, so it's mutual. But I do trust him," Kati countered.

"If you want proof, consider that you're up and walking around. She could have crashed the program and taken us all down," I said as I glared Kati in the eye. Judging by the look of fear she gave back, she had considered it more than once.

"Fine, where's my daughter?" Vegeta grumbled.

"I took her to the safest place I could think of that Cash and all his group most likely couldn't know about. You should probably go get her yourself though; I can't guarantee that anyone's ears are still working up there!" I smirked as Vegeta mumbled incoherently. I held on to Kati's waist and took off for North City a moment later.

* * *

In the skies above Earth, the usually quiet lookout was filled with two kinds of screaming. One by the Saiyan baby, and the other by the two Namekians that were holding their ears in pain.

"Oh dear, she is rather noisy isn't she?" Popo asked as he prepared a bottle.

"Does she ever stop?" Dende groaned.

"You know, human babies tend to cry often when they under go a process called teething. It generally causes a moderate amount of pain in the gum lines. I imagine Saiyans are very similar in that regard," Popo claimed.

"Can't I just heal her and get it over with then?" Dende asked.

"I don't think that would matter in this case. She appears to be past most of that phase. It's possible she just feels very uncomfortable around strangers and she's voicing her opinion in the only way she knows how," Popo explained.

"And how long until human babies can talk?" Dende asked just as Bulla's screaming had subsided to a whimper.

"It depends greatly on the child's own development. But that generally doesn't stop the crying phase until almost their adolescent years. It may also depend on how the child is raised by the parents."

"Well that's just great; she's Vegeta's kid you know!" Dende shouted, sparking another strong barrage of wailing. On the other side of the lookout, the other victim was shaking in anger.

"Ugh, this is what I get for listening to that miracle of life garbage Kami was always preaching about!" Piccolo grumbled as he considered ripping off his own ears.

**A/n: Just a temporary ease to the tense situation, I'm sure that someone might have been wondering where Verto took baby Bulla.**

**WDG:** A pretty quick round trip that must've been…

**VB**: I don't think a screaming baby would be very good to sneak up on anyone with. Besides, let's let her torture the Nameks instead.


	35. Chemical Z

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 34: Chemical Z**

In a darkened room that resembled a cave, Lenz found herself strapped to one of the walls by very strong chains.

"Where am I?" she asked aloud.

"Neck deep in trouble," Bulma said from nearby. Lenz glanced over to see that Bulma was strapped to a small platform, but was able to stand and move a little bit. Lenz tugged at her own bonds, but despite her Saiyan strength, they didn't budge.

"Did I miss something? I didn't think I was even tipsy yet!" Lenz grinned sheepishly.

"You didn't come here by choice Lenz, and neither did I. You don't happen to know how long I've been gone, do you? It probably hasn't been more than a few days, but I've been stuck in here so I don't know," Bulma frowned.

"What do you mean by gone? The only thing wrong at home was the prince acting a little strange around you, don't you remember that? He lied to you by the way; Bulla isn't walking on her own yet. Hell, she can barely crawl!" Lenz laughed. Bulma's frown deepened as she realized that Lenz wasn't as aware of the situation as she should have been.

"Whoever has been at home up until now, it wasn't me. I haven't been there ever since I sent you out to look for Verto after that battle. Two young girls came by for an interview and that's all I remember. I woke up here," Bulma explained.

"I thought something seemed off when the baby wouldn't stop crying until Vegeta or I held her. So it wasn't you that drugged little brother to sleep either, that's a relief!"

Bulma blinked in confusion, "Why in the world would I ever do that?"

"Well, he kind of needed it to recover; he was in really bad shape. Well mentally anyway, he just refused to relax. Was up in arms on saving the day and all that stuff! But if that wasn't you then…" Lenz was interrupted by someone else entering the room. When the figure stepped into the dim light, Bulma's eyes widened.

"You're one of the girls that asked for an interview. Why have you brought me here?"

"You're the chick from the bar and you wanted me to follow you, somewhere," Lenz said, confused.

Ranso swung her hips slightly as she stepped over with a malicious grin, "If dear Doctor Cash hadn't wanted to study you right away, we could have done a lot more!"

Lenz scoffed and turned her head away, "Like I would give you any of this!"

"Careful, you will if I want you to!" Ranso claimed as she fearlessly walked closer.

Lenz managed her own grin as Ranso got within inches of her, "Go ahead, make me!"

Ranso lightly touched her chin, "Okay then, kiss me!" Lenz abruptly lurched forward and locked lips with her, staying that way for nearly ten seconds before Ranso pulled away. Bulma was horrified by what just transpired, and Lenz was confused again as she blinked sharply.

"What the hell just happened?" Lenz asked.

"Want another?" Ranso offered.

Lenz stifled a grin, "Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

"I know. I'll play with you more later once that gorgeous body is mine!" Ranso said as she stepped away.

"What?" Lenz and Bulma cried out at once.

"You heard me. Just like Mister Cash will transfer his mind over to one of the male Saiyans, so will I over to you!"

"That's his big plan?" Bulma asked, not believing it.

"Part of it, it's just a matter of isolating which Saiyan is the strongest in all the world!" Ranso replied.

Bulma managed a slight laugh despite the evil revelation, "I know old Flandal is crazy, but that's beyond nuts! Once my husband finds out what you've been doing and what you're planning, well it won't be pretty!"

"Laugh while you can Miss Briefs. Even if my associate failed her mission, none of them will be able to find this place. We have many devices spread across the area, designed to inhibit Saiyan energy! They will be powerless if they come within the city limits!" Ranso claimed.

"One of those ki restrictor things? Must be why I can't use mine now," Lenz noted.

"Protoss technology," Bulma grumbled.

"Originally yes, but it's been slightly modified," Ranso replied.

"You won't get away with this! I promise you that!" Bulma retorted.

"We already have. By the time anyone notices something's wrong, it will be too late! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go pick up some of your family! They should be prepared by now!" Ranso said as she headed for the door. She didn't quite make it before an alarm went off.

Lenz laughed, "Sounds like trouble!"

"Minor security alert up in the main Cash Industries Tower. I wouldn't get my hopes up yet!" Ranso snapped back. A nearby phone rang just as the alarm klaxon ended.

"Yes doctor? Alright, understood," Ranso said softly. Once she hung up, she slammed her fist against the desk.

"Damn girl can't do anything right!" Ranso typed in a few commands, and a huge video screen opened up on the far wall. It blipped on, showing multiple views of the main halls in one of the Cash towers. One screen picked up activity and was instantly switched over to fill up the screen. There was Verto behind a frightened Kati Cash, his blue Psi sword at her back.

"Damnit, he's not supposed to be out of bed yet, not till he's better!" Lenz growled. The screen split back into two, with the other showing the lobby. Dozens of security personal were lying all over the place in various positions; only a few of them were even twitching.

"I'd say he's feeling better. How is he able to use his power with the energy dampeners on?" Ranso asked.

"Hah, that's because…" Lenz began before catching the look in Bulma's eye.

"Because what my sweet?" Ranso glanced back.

"B-because he's pissed off and he's going to kill everyone here!" Lenz stuttered out. Bulma sighed in very slight relief, though it wasn't much of a cover.

"Humph, well he can try to find us. He'll find we have several surprises in store for him! Guess we'll find out how good he's feeling soon; I'll send in the twins!" Ranso laughed.

* * *

After dealing with the ineffective security squad in the lobby, I proceeded slowly through the main Cash Industries building with Kati Cash leading the way. Even though she was willing to help me, I didn't think it would be wise to reveal that little fact to everyone. Thus I kept my sword in open view and within inches of her back. She didn't like the idea personally, even when I assured her that I wouldn't accidentally slip. It was either freely reveal to everyone that she would help me or that my powers were working in full. In the end, it would probably be better to take the latter even if both were true.

"Just try not to stab me when we run across someone else okay?" she whispered.

"As long as you don't act too convincing," I replied.

"There shouldn't be very many cameras once we get to the top floor. Assuming what Kain told you is inaccurate. I'm very certain that there aren't two other labs, just two other wings," Kati mentioned.

"I'm not going to rule that out no matter what you tell me. And if this isn't the right place, we'll have to search for clues on the whereabouts of another. Ahem," I cleared my throat when I sensed two stronger presences ahead.

On cue, Kati started screaming, "Help me daddy!" The hallways lightened enough to reveal two identical boys, both dressed in black.

The one on the left spoke first, "You'd better let her go if you want to get out of this alive kid!"

"Ryo! Help me!" Kati cried out. I could tell they weren't normal humans despite their appearance; it wasn't going to be a simple mop up job like the security guards had been.

"Easy circus freak. Just back off and this won't get ugly," I answered. The other twin suddenly phased out, and Kati vanished. I sensed them both behind me and turned slightly just to see Kati was in his arms as he glared back at me. _Super speed for that one, is the other one the same or different?_

"Thanks Supido," Kati mumbled.

Supido, the fast one, seemed extremely confident, "You won't beat the two of us! My brother has more strength than any man in the world! And there is no one faster than me!" _How fitting since they're twins._

"Strength and speed aren't everything. And you're not the only one who's fast!" I declared as I disengaged my sword. I nodded forward just slightly as Kati took the signal and stepped back. Rushing forward, I attempted to take Supido's claim away along with his head, but I narrowly missed. I sensed him reappear next to his brother Ryo.

"You're too slow little boy!" Supido smiled.

That smile faded when I held up a torn portion of his shirt in my hand, "You sure about that?" Supido felt the back of his neck, realizing how close I had come to putting him in his place.

"H-how?" he stuttered.

"Whether I have as much pure speed as you at this level is debatable since my ki is unavailable, however, that doesn't take away from my reflexes. Once I adjust to your speed, you're done!" I warned.

His twin brother Ryo stepped up, "Try me then tough guy!" Ryo walked forward before eventually breaking into a dead sprint with a fist drawn back. _Might as well see what this fool has before I run them both over._ I didn't budge as Ryo came up and nailed me in the face. My ears instantly rang and I lost my equilibrium as I landed several feet away. _Ow, damn punk has as much pure strength as Vegeta!_ I wiped a slight trickle of blood from my lip as I glared up to see the twins high-fiving each other.

"Nice one bro!" Supido declared in victory. That declaration turned into a gasp when I got to my feet.

"What? You thought one punch would end this?" I asked.

Ryo scoffed, "Maybe, but you won't get up when I actually hit you this time!"

"I love how you think you're the only one holding back. I was hoping not to unleash my power until I had to, but I really don't have time for you two upstarts. This ends now!" I threatened as I began to power up silently.

"Quit trying to scare us with your smoke and mirror tricks kid! You aliens can't use your powers in here!" Supido claimed.

"I'm not like the others, and I barely need a fraction of my energy to crush the two of you!" I said as I intentionally released some of it outwards. As my silver aura appeared, the floor and walls shook in the narrow hallway. Both walls cracked in several places as several light fixtures shattered along with any and all cameras. As a result, the corridors darkened completely once I stopped at about half power.

"Where'd he go, I can't see a thing!" Ryo shouted.

"I got him!" Supido claimed as he rushed to my position. I quickly avoided him by slipping into the darkness behind. Supido stood dumbfounded at where I had been.

"Too slow," I said. Supido bolted just as the emergency lighting came on, showering us in a sea of red. Ryo locked eyes on me and reached to the ground, ripping into the cracked flooring. He pulled up and a long portion of the floor came up with him, which he threw at me. I phased out, avoiding the rubble and coming up behind Ryo, nailing him in the side with a simple kick. He partially broke through the wall and lay there stunned as I set my eyes on his brother.

"How?" Supido asked again.

"You underestimated your opponent, bad move. Not as bad as getting in my way, but it's a close second," I replied.

"I'll get you!" he claimed as he charged in a very fast pace. I was able to track him very easily this time and stepped under his punch as I shoved my forearm outward. He came to a dead stop and started to choke as I backed off a step. _Too hard, must have busted something. _Supido dropped to a knee as he coughed up a generous amount of blood, along with whatever he had for breakfast. The walls behind me crumbled slightly as Ryo got to his feet, holding his side.

"You're dead little man!" he growled in rage as he plowed towards me. I shook my head slightly and side stepped his charge, tripping him. As he slowly came down, I added a hammering blow to the back of his shoulder. He dropped to the ground and stopped moving. His brother had already collapsed and wasn't in a huge hurry to twitch either. I quickly glanced back to where Kati had been, finding that she hadn't dared to move. I heard her breath shudder as I walked up; she couldn't even take her eyes off my own.

Her nervousness didn't fade even when I did power down, "What was Daddy thinking?"

"Probably wasn't, let's go," I replied angrily. I hadn't intended to hurt two more of Dr. Cash's underlings like that, and her genuine fear reminded me of it. _Guess I'm still not quite in control of myself here. I've got to proceed calmly no matter what happens. I don't want to totally lose control and make things worse!_

* * *

Kati led Verto to the top floor, where XS Cash's office was.

"The elevator is in hidden in here," Kati mumbled as she hesitated.

"Brilliant place for an entrance to a lab that's probably underground," Verto grumbled.

Kati hissed in anger, "Well sorry! I would have preferred trying to use the other one except it would probably involve more people getting hurt after you promised not to harm anyone!"

"And increase the chance that daddy dearest gets away. You had better not be stalling for his safety! That so called promise doesn't apply when these idiots get in the way and you know that! I said I would trust you, but I do not take betrayal lightly!" Verto retorted.

"You've made that point very clear already," Kati replied in her own angry tone as she tried to open the door. It remained locked however, prompting Verto's attention.

"Don't bother knocking," Verto said as he bashed the door down with a forearm. Inside, XS Cash himself was sitting at his desk, moderately amazed that someone had the nerve to break down his door. Within a few seconds he was already sweating nervously and Verto hadn't said a word to him yet.

"Y-young Verto, what can I d-do for you this lovely evening?" he asked as his teeth chattered slightly.

"You can start with opening the way to your brother's lab. We'll address the rest of it later," Verto replied.

XS attempted to smile humbly, "Whatever do you mean?" The windows shattered just from Verto's angry expression, bringing in the chilly night air.

"I played your innocence game once; I won't do it again. The lab entrance now, or something a lot closer to you will blow up next," Verto warned, eyeing the computer at the desk.

XS shivered in fear, "It's behind the bookshelf!"

Verto glanced around at the several sets of shelves and grimaced slightly, "Open it then. I don't have x-ray vision so you'll have to be a little more specific!" XS turned to his right and waddled over, shaking with every step. He pulled a connected set of books out, revealing a small control panel. He pressed a single button and backed up as the portion of the bookshelf lifted out of the way, revealing a steel door.

"There you go," XS said.

"Cash, open the door," Verto ordered.

"Why, can't you do it?" XS dared to say. Verto's sword was within an inch of his neck before he could blink, though he pulled it back so XS could get a good look at it. The sweat poured from his head as he continued to shake in fear of the Saiyan boy. Kati gasped as Verto's glare alone reduced her uncle to his knees with tears threatening to pour out.

"P-please! I don't know anything! I have a wife and a son, d-don't kill me! I'll give you any-anything!" XS pleaded.

"Don't tempt me then, that brat of yours probably couldn't function on a normal family income," Verto growled.

"And how would you function, with everything you have taken from you?" XS dared to ask. Verto's eyebrow lifted into its trademark position as he turned his head in wonder, disengaging his sword. _Must have hit a nerve with that one. This idiot probably doesn't truly understand who he's facing here. _

"Are you really that fucking stupid?" Verto asked in disbelief.

"Don't think I can eh? I'll make sure your whole family is out on the streets before the month is out! With my money, it's possible! I'll sue Bulma Briefs for everything she has! And I'll win!" XS declared with a crazy wide-eyed expression. Verto's anger had changed to momentary confusion while Kati just held her head in surprise.

"You martial artists are immaterial in this world today! Everyone answers to the all-mighty dollar!" XS laughed. Verto blinked in disbelief and let out a sharp exhale before answering. He noticed that Kati was hinting at taking cover while XS tried to pose like he was the brave hero in all this. Verto spotted a very distinct river of paling flesh coming from the rich man's balding head and instantly knew how false it was.

"First of all, I'm not a martial artist. That would require a level of patience and discipline that I just don't have anymore. Dealing with people like you kind of drove it out of me a long time ago. Second, I don't doubt that you have an absurd amount of money. But if you think a lawsuit will do anything to help you, you're sadly mistaken. I'm not just a stupid child that you can push around, so don't treat me like one. You should be treating me with the utmost respect as if I was holding you at gunpoint. Would you dare say no to a hostage taker?" Verto asked, anger rising again.

"Well no…" XS mumbled.

"Then open the goddamn door!" Verto shouted into his ear.

Kati sighed just a bit in relief, "Uncle X, you probably don't want to push the issue. I don't think he'd think twice about dropping you from this far up!"

XS nodded, "I suppose not." XS thumbed a switch and stood aside as the door opened. Verto's head turned just slightly as if he heard something that the others didn't. He saw the cab twitch just slightly and his angry frown returned.

"Close it, now!" he said sternly. XS looked confused, but shrugged and complied. A loud groan sounded once the door was shut, coming from the rafters. Nearly ten seconds passed before they all heard a distant crashing sound. Kati's eyes widened along with her uncle's.

"How did you know?" Kati asked.

"It pays to be paranoid. Plus you've got to believe that he knows we're here now, so all the traps will be active. That's proof enough that your father is demented; it could have been you in there!" Verto explained. Kati stared at the ground in dismay as Verto peered into the elevator shaft.

"Now hold on just a minute! You can't just come barging in here and be causing all kinds of property damage! Searching the building is a police matter! Leave now before I press charges!" XS declared as he suddenly found his courage again, along with the color of his face.

Verto looked at him like he was crazy, "You must really hate your life to be saying something like that now. As far as the cops go, yeah sure. Maybe they can get me psychiatric help since I'm such a disturbed little boy!"

XS frowned at the mocking tone in Verto's voice, "Think of what you're doing to your poor mother!" XS paled again when Verto's intense glare came back to say hello.

Verto turned to Kati first though, "Did he leave anything for you in his will?"

Kati's eyes widened along with her uncle's, "I wouldn't know."

Verto turned back to the rich man, "Listen, and listen good you son of a bitch! I have been thinking about Bulma a lot since I first came here tonight. Every strand of hair had better still be on her head when I find her. Not one blemish on her body had better be present; do you understand me? Anything less than perfect equals how much I'm going to rip this place apart!" Verto growled.

"Bulma is here?" XS asked in surprise. It was Verto's turn to be surprised as he felt the genuine feeling from XS Cash. _He doesn't know? How could he not…unless he really isn't in on all this with his brother. _The rich man's confusion doubled as Verto backed away for a moment.

"She's down in the lab, or at least that's where Ranso took her," Kati added. XS stared at the ground in thought before he stumbled over to his desk and rummaged through his file cabinet.

"Well, before you go, maybe we should take a look at this data disk. It might shed some light on this situation," XS suggested.

"Another sudden change of heart? I think there might be hope for your family," Verto snorted.

"Flandal's funding comes from Cash Industries. When you and your mother showed up a few weeks ago, he assured me that nothing else would transpire between us. But he's been a little shady to even me before, and I hired a private investigator to look into things. He sent me this disk a few days ago, saying everything I needed to know would be found on there. He said specifically that the images were disturbing to say the least. Flandal's never gone behind my back before, so I disregarded it. Perhaps I was wrong to assume anything about my brother," XS explained.

"In that case, maybe I was wrong to assume you had a hand in everything here," Verto admitted.

"That's not accurate; I knew that Flandal was after your family for something very specific. He perceives you aliens as a very real threat, and I have yet to see something that truly contradicts that. However, I fully realize that not everything you people do is bad for this planet. If someone as stuck up as Hercule Satan can see that, I certainly can. Shall we see what is on the disk? Kati, you can help us search through it," XS added.

"Yeah," Verto nodded as Kati sat down. When the first folder popped up, there were literally hundreds of sub folders filled with information.

"Wow, whoever did this got really deep," Kati admitted.

"Search experimentation first, that's probably the bulk of what we need to see," Verto suggested.

"You're thinking of seeing the Chemical Z tests aren't you?" Kati asked.

"That's the idea. I want to know everything about that if possible," Verto replied.

"I don't know what the original stuff does, only that it's a little unstable. He wouldn't let me see those tests after what happened with the dog," Kati added.

"The dog?" Verto asked.

"He let me watch him inject a test animal. Within about ten minutes the dog went crazy and tried to escape its cage. It did manage to break some of the glass and bend the metal, but it had injured its own head so badly that it died from brain damage!"

"You told me that is was supposed to make someone brain-dead, or at least put them in a coma. It sounds like this dog went rabid and killed itself on accident," Verto argued.

"No, that was a refined version that had been carefully mixed with additives and tested. And it wasn't totally black either, more of a gray color. The dog was injected with a black substance clearly marked Chemical Z. It drives up levels of adrenaline and suppresses most brain activity. So whatever creature has that stuff in its system would be very aggressive and much stronger than normal, not to mention crazy," Kati explained as she eyed Verto carefully.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, for awhile now I've had this awful feeling that I injected exactly that into you, but I'm not sure," she said.

Verto snorted, "Saiyans are naturally aggressive and strong. And I've been able to think very clearly the entire time. Whatever you hit me with, all it did was give me a headache before I used my energy to wipe it out. I've done it before against viruses and genetically altering shit, so I can certainly handle a badly mixed cocktail. As you can see, no problem," Verto replied smugly.

"That doesn't explain your attitude all this time. You're not an aggressive person!" Kati claimed.

Verto shrugged, "I'm pissed off, what's the shock? Or is there something about that picture that isn't clear enough yet?"

"Well either you handled it, or it just hasn't taken effect yet," Kati countered.

"Yeah right. With my metabolism, that's not likely. I noticed its attempted effects almost immediately," Verto grinned in confidence.

"While you were almost dead to rights and unconscious. And you are just a little bit bigger than that dog was. I don't know how long it would take to work on a human, but I imagine it's longer than ten minutes!"

"Perhaps you two can find out more about this Chemical Z with Flandal's equipment, assuming you can even get down there," XS interjected.

"Won't be a problem…" Verto started to say as the building shook suddenly. A loud rumbling sound was the only precursor to the room heating up suddenly. The elevator shaft brightened just as the door began to rattle. It suddenly blew off and shot towards the trio, but was quickly displaced by Verto's forearm. A large wave of fire and debris came through next, igniting most of that side of the room. Verto cast his hand forward and conjured his Psi shield, deflecting the fire and incinerating some of the debris. As the plume of flames subsided, Verto spread his energy forward lightly, calming the rest of the fire until there was nothing but smoke left.

"I'd say someone didn't want us in there. I hope you know of another entrance," Verto suggested.

"I do, but maybe we should see this first. They'll probably seal it off, but you can always blast through it. I found a folder containing video records of human test subjects!" Kati claimed.

"What? He said he would never do any human testing for any of his experiments! He knows I'll pull his funding!" XS roared in anger as he picked up desk phone, "Security! Sweep the building; I want my brother found!"

* * *

"There are only two recorded video clips on here. I can only assume that it involved two different results of testing," Kati said.

"Play them both, I don't care which one is first," Verto ordered. The screen flipped to the video file and began with a few seconds of static before it showed a normal enough looking man strapped to a table. At his side, an older looking doctor was preparing a needle.

"Is that him?" Verto asked.

"My brother? No, it's one of his assistants," XS said. Audio started to filter through, and a different, younger voice came from the speakers.

"Human trials. Test number zero zero one of chemical identified as substance Z. Injection into human specimen zero six eight at approximately fifteen thirty hours on October nineteenth. Initial injection successful, no problems evident," the voice said.

"That's my brother's voice though. He is a much younger looking man. Probably got it from his mother," XS noted.

"Same father I take it?" Verto asked as XS nodded. The video suddenly skipped ahead, showing only the older doctor walking around quickly while the test subject stayed in one place. Once the feed slowed, the human subject was looking a little edgy and appeared to be sweating quite a bit.

"Thirty minutes after injection. Subject showing elevated heart rate and heavy amounts of perspiration. Still within normal parameters, though he is complaining of a very painful stomach ache," Flandal said. Another hour and a half skips by, and now the subject had broken the restraints and was throwing things around the room. He was also shouting and growling randomly and incoherently. His skin was also discolored, and it wasn't from the sweat.

"Two hours in, subject is showing signs of increased strength and aggressive tendencies. Within the last ten minutes, heart rate has increased to three hundred and remaining steady. Latest blood sample showing adrenaline levels exceeding five hundred percent of normal, higher brain functions are eroding. Body temperature at forty nine degrees Celsius and rising!"

"That'll kill him!" Kati claimed.

"I doubt he cares," Verto grumbled as his glare intensified. Another hour skipped by and now the subject was curled up on the ground, shivering and reaching out for something.

"Three hours in. Subject showing signs of rejection, weakness and is complaining of extreme thirst. Subject given several servings of water, with no effect. Adrenaline levels at ten percent of normal, heart rate at one hundred ninety five. Body temperature slowly falling, currently at forty-six degrees, down from a maximum of fifty-one point five. Brain wave activity declining," Flandal said. Just as he finished, a long and loud beep sounded and continued for several seconds as the subject slumped to the ground.

"Subject now unconscious, brain activity has ceased." A few more hours skip by on the video, and the test subject had been moved back onto the bed before eventually being covered up.

"Death occurred at twenty forty-five hours. Human test zero zero one of chemical substance Z is a failure." Flandal surmised as the video clip ended. Kati had her hand over her mouth in shock as a few tears rolled out of her eyes. Her uncle had a similar expression, and Verto remained serious and stern.

"Play the other one," he said in a very low tone.

"I can't watch that again!" Kati claimed.

"Then close your eyes, or cover your ears. Hell, leave the room if you want, play it!" Verto barked. Kati gathered herself and opened the file, but elected to watch anyway. The second clip began with a new test subject sitting in a chair, not strapped down. The older doctor brought him something to drink, but the glass was filled with black.

"Test number zero one four of chemical substance Z, ingestion by human test subject zero eight four commencing," Flandal stated.

Kati choked slightly, "He's going to drink that?"

"If you two have any trouble holding what's left of your stomach, you might want to turn away," Verto suggested, "I have a feeling this clip is going to be much worse."

"The last one killed someone; how much worse could it get?" XS asked. Verto didn't answer, and the video skipped ahead for the first time.

"Thirty minutes after ingestion, no visible or measurable change," Flandal came on, sounding disappointed. Another skip went by, and all the subject was doing was reading a magazine.

"Two hours in. Slight increase of adrenaline in latest blood test, also very slight increase in heart rate, well within normal tolerances. Body temperature thirty seven point three." The next passage of time was quite a bit more than before. The only thing different now was the subject was pacing a bit around the room, looking slightly impatient but nothing like the previous one.

"Six hours in, subject beginning to show agitation. Adrenaline levels at two hundred percent of normal, heart rate at one sixty and slowly rising. Body temperature thirty seven point five, subject complaining of a moderate stomach ache," Flandal rattled off before the feed fast-forwarded again.

"This is clearly having a different effect," XS muttered though no one responded to him. The lights in the room went off for part of the skip and the subject appeared to have slept with an awful lot of tossing and turning.

"Twenty hours in. Subject has just woken and eaten a full meal without disruption. Appears to be very cheerful with no signs of agitation. All blood tests and readings are within normal parameters, commencing function tests. Door to the exam room broken off its hinges by accident; increased strength present." The feed changed to a gymnasium, where the guinea pig was quite literally burning up a smoking treadmill with super human speed.

"Subject ran five kilometers in two minutes, showing very little signs of fatigue. Testing measure destroyed. Heart rate measured at just below one hundred," Flandal explained, sounding impressed.

"Wow, that's some potent stuff!" XS pointed out.

"I'd hold your applause if I were you," Verto advised. The scene changed to outdoors, where the supped up human was successfully picking up a car and holding it up over his head for quite a bit of time.

"Subject has strength beyond expected parameters. True capacity unknown," Flandal noted with a slight hint of nervousness. They went back to the gym, where the subject was running around at absurd speeds, jumping and flipping through the air with incredible leaps and dives. All the while he didn't even look winded.

"All physical attributes exceed expectations, no signs of mental trauma. Commencing intimacy tests." Verto's eyes widened, _Uh oh._ The scene flipped back to the first room, where the subject was in the process of making out with a very attractive girl. It didn't take long for that to change however. Though there was no audio, it was clear what happened when she suddenly backed away from the subject after he got a little impatient with her. The spicy make out session broke into a violent display of humanity as the test subject began to roughly assert his will over the girl. Kati broke down and cried as all three witnessed the girl being raped with an intensity none of them had ever seen before. XS managed to look away and attempt to console his niece, but Verto's piercing glare never shifted direction. Both Kati and XS noticed Verto's fists shaking in rage, with occasional small bursts of Psi lightning coming from them, but he never lost control the entire time. The scene shifted briefly to the girl being examined after the encounter. She had severe bruises and cuts all over her body, as well as a concussion and a broken arm. The man regressed to throwing objects around the room after it was done, and then went to sleep. When the lights came back on, things had changed once again.

"Forty eight hours in. Subject's testosterone levels remain abnormally high long after intimacy test. Increased aggression and agitation are present. Subject has ravenous appetite and extreme thirst that cannot be quenched," Flandal said, not missing a beat. Another day went through, and it only went downhill from there.

"Seventy two hours in. Subject has calmed down considerably and is showing signs of weakness. Energy levels have dropped significantly; subject is rejecting nourishment but is still complaining of extreme thirst. Standard fluids are still not relieving it." Another daylong passage of time and Verto started to wonder just how long this would last.

"Ninety six hours in. Subject showing severe signs of weakness but there are little to no signs of chemical Z in his system. Subject may be going through extreme withdrawal symptoms. I may consider introducing another dose to confirm this," Flandal continued. A very rapid skip went through, but maintained the same duration. This time though, Flandal summarized the entire day.

"Day six. Subject's normal alertness and energy is returning. Physical attributes have reverted to normal. Normal nourishment has been given and there is no longer a steady complaint for fluid. Second dose of chemical Z was given at noon. Within five hours, subject began to recover at a rapid rate and all previous attributes began to appear. Theory of addiction confirmed." The clip ended after that without another word, and a sigh of relief went through XS and Kati.

Verto was the first to speak though, "It's a drug. Or at least it's just like one. Injection absorbed too fast, ingestion probably helped to stabilize it, that's why he didn't die."

"So why didn't you?" Kati asked with a tone of caution.

"Why didn't I what?" Verto glanced at her.

"Why didn't you go crazy like that? I can tell it would have been unreal," Kati claimed.

"I told you already, I used my power to wipe it out!"

"Yeah, but do you even remember what you felt?" she asked.

"Look, when I use that particular ability, I isolate any toxins and then wipe them out. It's like a really strong antibiotic as long as I'm in the right state of mind," Verto added.

"I understand that, but are you sure you wiped out the right toxin? Or that you were in the right state of mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"For someone who was induced with some very heavy amounts of sedative, you seem awfully awake and alert to me," Kati pointed out.

"Believe what you want to. I don't feel any different," Verto claimed.

"Except your normal Saiyan energy was gone due to the power dampeners, you admitted that. Well maybe that effects what you sense inside yourself too," Kati suggested.

Verto didn't answer that initially, "…Well we probably would have noticed a significant change in behavior by now. A Saiyan's metabolism is really quick so I probably would have felt something. No change."

"No change, like how you're snapping at everyone left and right?" Kati muttered.

"We covered this already. I'm a little ticked off at your father and all his flunkies. So, for the last damn time, what's the surprise?" Verto asked with a raised voice.

"I'm just saying it's possible that it's in your system, rather you wiped it out or not. And to be frank, you're scary enough as it is!"

"Thanks for noticing, but there's no need for concern. Saiyans always seem a little edgy when they're worked up. I'm not there yet. Let's get back to the matter at hand, like finding another lab entrance. I doubt he blew it all up," Verto said as he glanced at the smoldering elevator shaft.

"Hold on," Kati said as she scanned the disk again, "It would have taken a big enough explosion to wipe out half the city! That shaft doesn't lead directly into the main part of the lab; it's just more of a shortcut to pass most of the cave down there."

Her uncle's eyes widened, "It's that big now?"

Kati nodded, "But I don't know how far it extends. Daddy never let me into the other two wings, claimed it was classified work. I can see why now, there's a hidden blueprint of the entire lab. Wow, part of the cave extends into the western mountains. Two wings branch off into the north and almost to the sea!"

"Three labs for three projects? Makes sense I suppose, this is what the hologram was talking about," Verto noted.

"Or is it?" Kati asked.

"What do you mean Kati?" XS added.

"I knew about the plan to find the strongest fighter and for Daddy to swap bodies. Hell, I kind of wanted in on it. I also knew about some experiments on humans that already had abilities and Kain's program. I even knew about the biofighter prototypes that he had constructed. I didn't know the extent of the chemical Z project, and I was down here during a lot of that working on my own stuff. While it easily could have been all in the other wings, it doesn't answer a lot of things. So…" Kati hinted.

"So what else is he hiding down there?" Verto finished for her.

"Exactly," she replied.

"Guess we'll find out when we find another entrance. Let's go!"

**A/n: I elected to stick with the metric system on temperatures. I know not everyone is aware of the comparison scale, but here's a nifty point of reference: 49 C is just a hair over 120 degrees F. That's one hell of a fever. The speed test clocks in at just over ninety miles per hour. Oh and yes, this doctor is one crazy bastard, but I'm sure everyone has established that by now.**

**On a side note since I know I'll get a message about it: Among you readers out there, I know there's one or two that submitted complaints about my use of swearing and asked me to stop. I'll keep this one nice and simple: either sign your reviews, or personally send a PM or email about it and I'll tell you as nicely as I can why I won't, privately. Trust me, I can get much, much worse.**


	36. Mad Doctor

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 35: Mad Doctor**

Lenz continued to occasionally tug at her bonds while Bulma continued to glare at Ranso, who was monitoring Verto's progress.

"Damn Kati, figures she would be gullible enough to switch sides. I swear she has no backbone at all!" Ranso grumbled.

"With that look growing up, people like you probably drove it out of her!" Bulma muttered.

"Oh don't even start with me; you've always been a spoiled rich girl! Did that silver spoon start in your mouth? It should have been shoved straight up your pompous ass!" Ranso growled back.

"Are you guys talking about the weird social classes on this planet? I swear," Lenz said as she shook her head in dismay.

"You obviously know very little about me at all if you think that. Don't worry; I won't bore you with the details. Your small, closed mind probably couldn't handle it," Bulma sneered.

"Just shut up!" Ranso shouted angrily. A sizable door hissed open to Ranso's left, and a slim man in a white lab coat walked in. His hair was neatly trimmed with mixed streaks of gray in his dark hair and he had brown eyes.

"Well, about time you showed yourself, Flandal. It's considered rude to keep your guests waiting you know," Bulma said aversively.

Dr. Cash spoke with a menacingly low voice, "I hope you don't think I'm treating you unfairly, Miss Briefs. It would be unfortunate if you were to become another one of my experiments. That would be such a waste of intelligence."

"Yeah, well you would know all about wasting a brain now wouldn't you?" Bulma fired back. Ranso frowned deeply and walked over to the platform. Pressing a button on the side, the shield around it blinked once and then vanished, prompting Ranso to climb up. She glared into Bulma's face and then slapped her hard across the face.

"Don't you dare talk that way to such a great man! You're a disgrace to humanity, marrying that monkey, argh!" Ranso said.

"And compared to what you two are doing, I'm the disgrace?" Bulma asked.

"Shut up, or I'll make you!" Ranso warned.

"Now now Ranso, I don't want her under your spell. I still have a use or two for her with freewill intact," Cash said as he waved her off. Ranso nodded slowly and climbed down, reactivating the energy barrier but still glaring daggers at Bulma as she did. A loud beeping sound drew everyone's attention, and Cash glanced over to the station it was coming from.

Cash grinned, "Ah, that must be him now, right on time. Ranso, be a dear and put it on the big viewer. My guests should be very interested when they see who this is!" When the image appeared, Bulma heard a sharp intake of oxygen from Lenz; she had clearly recognized who it was. Bulma thought he looked a bit familiar too, but was unable to place his alien face.

"Who is that Lenz?" Bulma whispered.

"That's him, Frost!" Lenz rasped back. Frost had his hands crossed under his chin, looking partially interested and partially bored. He had a very small smile on his face, but it looked like it could fade at any moment.

"Ah, Doctor Cash, we finally meet. Though I would much prefer a face to face encounter in the future," Frost said.

"As would I, Lord Frost. I trust you've gone over my plans and information by now?" Cash asked. Frost's fake smile promptly vanished, but he didn't take on a look of pure malice either.

"Yes, I have considered your proposed alliance. Indeed, we have a mutual enemy and working together would be beneficial to both of us," Frost admitted.

"Excellent. You'll be happy to know that…" Cash began.

"However, I reject your plans to achieve that victory."

Cash was astonished, "What?"

"Your scientific findings are intriguing, but that is not the way you beat the Saiyans. You must overpower them, plain and simple. If you can't overpower them, then you can try to pick them off one by one. All other plans are foolish to attempt. Even if you were able to hand them over to me on a silver platter, I would still allow them enough freedom to fight head to head. To avoid doing so would introduce an incredibly unstable element to the situation," Frost explained.

"But surely with the ki disruptors we could wipe them all out easily," Cash argued.

"Humph, I don't see the benefit of that. It would not only rob them of their energy, but my forces as well. Saiyans are not the sitting ducks you see them as, even without their energy. You must approach them carefully, for they are much like vermin in many different ways. One particular way is that they tend to strike with unexpected force when backed into a corner. Saiyans are already blood thirsty just by nature, and it would be unwise to push the issue," Frost added.

"Well at least this one isn't as stupid as our esteemed host," Bulma muttered.

"Surely I can find a way to target only the Saiyans with the ki disruptor technology. I have already developed a prototype that hones in on a specific ki energy signature with a genetic sample, but the range is very limited. Given more time studying the Protoss mechanisms, I'm sure I'll find a way," Cash claimed. Bulma heard a distinct groan out of Lenz as Cash said that, but she remained quiet as Frost's frown deepened.

"Don't waste your time doctor, for I would have no intention of using such a device. I recall directly referring to it a moment ago, but this time I will use simpler words. I wish to eliminate the last of the Saiyans myself, and I will not subject myself to the guesswork of a lowly Earthling. I have already tried more subtle ways of killing them, and they failed. For certain, I will definitely not put any trust into Protoss inventions, rather they are useful or not!" Frost said with a slightly raised voice.

"B-but you don't understand!" Cash stuttered.

"I understand enough. You do not. I suggest you study the Saiyans far more thoroughly before we speak again. If your only weapon is a cowardly device that's supposed to level the playing field, then you had better start praying to your gods!" Frost suggested.

"I have ways to deal with brute strength. That won't be a problem," Cash replied.

Frost chuckled, "Rather you do or not, be aware that Saiyans can evolve at an extremely fast rate in a short amount of time. I have fought the one known as Son Gohan. He had power unlike any Super Saiyan that you might be accustomed to. I have it on good advice that he wasn't the only one who achieved that power. Some of my scans show that a sizable portion of his energy was remarkably similar to that of the Protoss. Thus your ki disruptor technology would be both ineffective and a waste of time if he or another have any sort of control over it." Cash grumbled slightly as Frost proved his point.

Frost's grin reemerged, "Don't despair doctor, your information about them will prove valuable. What could I do to repay such efforts to please me?" Cash glanced up, having that particular answer ready, but slightly hesitant about it since he wasn't sure of the changeling's reaction.

"You already know what I want. Allow me to transfer my brain to one of the Saiyans so that I may rule this planet with an unchallenged combination of brain and brawn!" Cash requested. Frost frowned again, but appeared much more serious about it this time.

"I cannot allow that doctor. All of the Saiyans must be terminated, including each and every last hybrid that may have been born. You will have to find another host body for that. Though I may be willing to provide ample volunteers, it will be only after the Saiyans are destroyed. I will not allow a single monkey to live, no matter whose mind is in it!" Frost growled. Cash gulped slightly, but stubbornly stepped closer to the screen.

"I must have a Saiyan. I don't have that much time until this weak human body dies. And no other aliens are compatible to human beings, nor are they as powerful," Cash claimed. Bulma and Lenz both cringed slightly as an energy surge could clearly be seen coming from Frost, mixed in with the static disruption it caused. It quickly faded, but that didn't make Frost's sudden mood change any better.

"You'll have to deal with it doctor, those are my terms and they are not negotiable!" Frost shouted.

Cash looked away for a moment and then gave in, "My apologies. When should I expect you? Within a few weeks?"

Frost's glare eased, "Unknown. It won't be that soon. I am still gathering and training my forces as they are not ready for deployment just yet."

Cash looked slightly frustrated, "How long will you be?"

"I will contact you when I have further details, most likely when I am approaching your solar system. Do not make _any_ move against the Saiyans until I instruct you to! Are we clear on that?" Frost asked in all seriousness.

Cash returned the stare nervously, "Crystal clear, I look forward to hearing from you." The transmission immediately ended, allowing Lenz to breathe a little easier.

Cash stood still in the middle of the room, seething in anger, "Damnit!"

Bulma shook her head in dismay, "Well you've done it now Flandal, I hope you're ready for the repercussions."

"I noticed you didn't tell him about your miraculous recovery. What are you going to do doctor?" Ranso asked.

Cash was glaring a hole into the ground, "Frost is a fool! So much so that I dare say that he should be taken out of the picture before this is all over. And of course I didn't tell him about my current condition; there's no need for him to know I'm no longer in poor health. I'll go ahead with my plans anyway. He can't stop me from halfway across the galaxy!"

Bulma managed to laugh, "And I here I thought you were suicidal before, talk about misjudging someone. I really didn't think you were this crazy, nor this stupid! I think you need to get cancer again, it might actually put things in perspective!"

Cash growled sharply, "What of it?"

"Don't be an idiot Flandal! Frost doesn't are about you or anyone else on this planet one bit! Help him if you want, but he'll just kill you once you've done his bidding. It's what aliens like him do!" Bulma pointed out.

"I suppose you would know about that, being married to the supposed bully of the galaxy," Cash muttered.

"Hardly. Vegeta was brought up by a true terror, Frost's father Frieza! You really want to see how terrible he can be? Keep it up!" Bulma dared.

"It doesn't matter now anyway. Even if your husband reaches us here, there won't be anything he can do to stop me now. He can bring every Saiyan in the world and I'll still win!" Cash proclaimed.

"Awfully confident aren't you? You sure you haven't missed something?" Bulma asked.

"Even if I did, I have more cards to play than you know!" Cash answered.

"Oh please, spare us the classic untouchable bad guy banter. You're such a blind idiot that you can't see the writing on the wall. End this while you still can Flandal, or you're going to get yourself killed!" Bulma suggested.

"Don't call me that! I hate that name!" Cash grumbled.

"What, Flandal? Flandal, Flandal, Flandal!" Bulma chanted.

Cash covered his ears, "Shut up! Stop saying that name!"

"It's just a name; you can change those legally if you want. But to me, you'll always be the same wannabe scientist named Flandal!"

"Argh!" A loud alarm interrupted the verbal spat momentarily. Ranso typed furiously as the screen blipped back on, showing Verto and Kati slowly walking through a dimly lit tunnel.

"Looks like trouble!" Lenz grinned.

"They're approaching the cave door doctor," Ranso chimed in.

"Just what I needed. Dispatch our last biofighter. Ebifuya should slow the kid down nicely! If there's an opportunity to steal Kati away, take it!"

Bulma matched Lenz's grin with one of her own, "I wouldn't bet on that!"

"Oh? Well you may be in for a nice little jolt of reality then. I witnessed his battle with my second prototype Kishime, and he struggled to win. This biofighter is the strongest out of all of them, nearly twice as strong as Kishime alone! Without his Saiyan powers, the kid is as good as dead!" Cash declared.

Lenz laughed aloud, "Right now, he doesn't need any ki energy to wipe out your robot! Even with no energy he'd probably kick its ass! It's too bad you guys don't have any scouters, I bet you'd be running for the hills right about now!"

Cash snorted, "If you are referring to the unusually high amounts of Psionic energy coming from him, rest assured that it will not matter. Frost was right about a select few Saiyans that have evolved, but he was wrong in assuming that it meant anything. I've studied this energy source used by the Protoss several times over, and it's barely worth mentioning past a few controlled bursts. I have a sufficient disruption device on standby if it's a problem!"

Lenz looked concerned upon hearing this, but Bulma looked thoughtful, "Maybe I didn't give you enough credit Flandal, maybe you have thought this out. Way too thoroughly though, because I doubt you'll want to use something like that!"

"Enlighten me," Cash grunted as he crossed his arms.

"Because all your ki disruptors run on Protoss power crystals right?" Bulma asked as Cash's eyes widened, "Using a Psi disruptor powerful enough to dampen his power will probably fry every one of them in range if I'm not mistaken. And by doing that, you'll basically be inviting every Saiyan on the planet to come crash your party, not too mention some of our human friends!"

"Bulma…" Lenz said, but it was too late.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Bulma assured her.

"Well, thank you for that tidbit of information. I guess we'll have to see just how good this kid of yours is!"

* * *

Verto treaded lightly in the dark with Kati in tow. She had led him to a hidden entrance through a sewer line on the western edge of the city. She claimed that there wasn't another one for nearly twenty miles where the tunnel finally stretched to the surface. Verto didn't bother trying to argue through it, though he didn't really want to go through a smelly sewer. The tunnel itself was wide and rough in texture, like it had been rapidly drilled out but far from neatly. There were small lanterns installed every fifty feet or so, but none shone very brightly. Verto busied himself by scanning every inch of the tunnel surface as he cautiously stepped forward. Kati was just as tense, but she was more concerned with what would happen once Verto and her father crossed paths. The darkness of the cave eventually swallowed her vision despite the dim lighting.

"We should have brought a flashlight," Kati muttered aloud. Almost instantly Verto's Psi sword came on, lighting the area enough for her to see a few dozen feet ahead.

"Never mind," Kati said.

"Just keep your eyes and ears open. And tell me when were close to the main lab that you know and what not. I have a feeling that we'll run into something unexpected," Verto advised.

"I thought you could sense others, even with the power inhibitors on?" Kati asked.

"That's just it. Right now I don't sense anything except you. These walls must be lined with some very hard material, or they are just so thick that I can't sense through them anyway. It's not like I go through caves all that often. I may not detect anything until we're right on top of it," Verto explained.

Kati gulped, "Thanks for the warning."

"From here on, only whispers until further notice," Verto suggested as she nodded

Sometime later, about a half-mile further, they came to a very large metal door. It spanned the entire width of the tunnel and stretched all the way to the ceiling.

"Big enough door?" Verto asked, "You could drive a few trucks through easily."

"Makes sense if you think about it. Daddy certainly didn't bring every piece of metal down through that elevator. It's magnetically locked so I'll have to use my pass code. Let's hope he hasn't changed it yet," Kati added. Verto nodded grimly as Kati opened a small panel attached to the rock wall, punching buttons. A slight chill in the air crossed his skin, but not as much as it did Kati's, she shivered notably. Her breath could be seen within a few seconds, prompting Verto's observation.

"Is it always this cold down here?"

"Not usually, actually it's kinda warm compared to the surface most of the time. Hey it accepted it!" Kati exclaimed. The sound of large locks uncoupling filled the tunnel, but the door barely budged. Just as it did, the temperature dropped again, and Verto could see frost forming rapidly on the door. Much thicker ice began to cover the floor as the door swung open just a few inches, coming towards Kati quickly.

"Get back!" Verto shouted as Kati's teeth chattered a bit. She ran behind Verto as the tunnel dropped to a temperature meant for polar climates.

"Must be some sort of coolant problem, or an environmental malfunction. The cave is always warm," Kati noted.

"Don't think so, I sense something just inside, stay behind me!" Verto whispered as Kati nodded. He stepped up and pulled the frozen door open, backing up a few steps just in case. The area inside was lit with random shades of brighter reds and blues, but that didn't catch Verto's attention. Almost immediately he spotted someone ahead, waiting for them.

"Another biofighter?" Verto asked. This one had an older, but gruff humanoid face. His skin was pink, and he also bore a similar shaped spiked armor that Kishime had deployed.

"Ebifuya!" Kati gasped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Verto glanced back at her.

"That's his name," Kati replied.

Verto grinned sharply, "It was."

"Be careful, he's the strongest one!"

"Maybe he can rule the junkyard then, if we can find all the pieces!" Ebifuya pulled back, charging some sort of blast, though there wasn't a whole lot of energy to be detected. Verto stood his ground, right fist glowing blue as he clenched it. Ebifuya fired, releasing a cold, broad rush of air. Verto didn't even budge as the air displaced off his Psi shield. The ground and doors quickly became coated with incredible thick ice, save for the area behind Verto and Kati. Ebifuya stopped, his face lined with concern once he saw what affect his attack actually had. Verto's blue fist opened up, revealing a small, but very bright, spinning blast.

"This is how it's done! Psi Freeze!" Verto launched the ball just as Ebifuya tried to turn, hitting him and freezing the biofighter into a large pillar of ice.

"Wow," Kati commented. Verto waited patiently to see if Ebifuya would be able to escape, but nothing was happening under the sheet of ice. Kati felt brave enough to walk up and examine the frozen biofighter. She even tapped on the blue ice, noting that it wasn't as cold as she thought it would be and that only Ebifuya's eyes moved towards her.

"How long will he stay like this?" Kati asked.

"Until he breaks out of it. I have yet to test how long it will actually take to melt, since the ice is mostly made out of energy instead of water. Seeing as he hasn't gotten out of it, I don't expect he will. It usually happens pretty quickly or not at all," Verto explained.

"So will you just leave him like this then? What if…" Kati stopped short when Verto's blue sword appeared again. She backed away as he rushed at the ice pillar and sliced right through the top of it, taking Ebifuya's head clean off.

"Never mind," Kati muttered.

"There are very few Saiyans that would have been content to leave him like that, and I'm not one of them. Besides, I don't mind smashing up robots, hell I actually kind of prefer it. If there's one thing I love about this line of work, it's tearing up artificial intelligence."

"You inherit that from Vegeta?" Kati asked.

"Already had it. Long story, let's move," Verto replied. They had barely gone thirty feet before something else happened. First off, the large door suddenly closed shut despite the ice covering it. Secondly, a large machine lifted up out of the ground and unfolded itself. It appeared to be bearing four long gun barrels, each lighting up with red and aiming straight at Verto.

"You might want to stand back again," Verto said.

"Really? You think?" Kati shouted as she backed up to the nearest cave wall. Verto lit his sword again just as the quad gun poured out laser beams in a rapid stutter fire. Verto deflected the first few dozen before opting to dodge a few of the clearly missed shots. Kati watched in awe, unaware of the wall behind her sliding open to reveal nothing but a black hole. Verto stepped closer to the laser turret, moving side to side as he picked up speed. The turret could correct itself by turning, but not fast enough once Verto phased out. The turret was cut in half across its frame, and it sparked violently to its death.

"Humph, that was simple," Verto grunted.

"The whole cave is lined with those. I hope you have a good plan for them too. They're a similar design to Bulma's anti-Zerg weaponry. It may not kill you, but it will probably sting. I'd rather not find out what it would do to me!" Kati grumbled.

"Understandable, I've had enough laser beams hit me to know better. Do you know how many there are?" Verto asked. Kati didn't have to answer, because lots of similar shaped objects began to rise out of the ground nearby and well into the distance. The dark, brown rock of the cave was replaced with the gray shell color of turrets, easily numbering in the hundreds.

"Never mind," Verto said this time. Kati gulped nervously and tried to back up further, tumbling backwards into the hole in the wall. She screamed by reaction and Verto turned to see her fall out of sight. The rock wall slid back into place, concealing the trap.

"Well there goes the tour guide," he muttered. Verto turned back to the field of turrets, debating his options before he spotted a surveillance camera looking right at him. _Even if I can outrun every shot those things fire, they may be able to track me anywhere I go in here. Destroying them all will not only be time consuming, it may also be too risky. That's not to say that there won't be other surprises in here, I had better take a stealth approach to this._

He turned to the camera and waved at it intentionally, "Now you see me, soon you won't."

* * *

Cash smiled as Ebifuya charged up his freezing attack.

"Let's see how he likes Ebifuya's freezing blow, there's no way to escape when he hits him!"

It was Lenz's turn to grin again, "If he hits him. He probably won't if little brother doesn't want him too. He's just another robot that's gonna get scrapped!"

"I doubt it, that kid will be beaten soundly in a moment!"

"He's supposed to be your strongest tin can right? I bet he doesn't last half as long as the last one!" Lenz laughed.

"Where is a stopwatch when you need one?" Bulma added. Cash grimaced and ignored them, watching the match intently. Just for the hell of it, he glanced over at a digital time display, showing 4:52 and forty seconds. The fight was over at 4:53 exactly. Cash growled slightly as Kati peered at the frozen biofighter in wonder. He silently hoped that his warrior would be able to get out of this apparent role reversal. That hope faded when Verto cut off his head.

Lenz laughed again, "Hahaha, next!"

"Ranso, activate one defense turret. The closest one to him," Cash ordered as Ranso typed furiously.

"Defense turrets?" Bulma asked.

"Yes, though I'll give the credit to you on this one. You invented the prototypes when the Zerg got here, and I lined my cave with them," Cash added.

"You actually think a few of my weapons will actually stop a Saiyan? They aren't even designed to take one down, the energy requirement would be too much and the weapon itself would overload within a few shots!" Bulma argued.

"Another wonderful thing about Protoss technology: their ship's armor was rather resistant to high amounts of energy," Cash gloated. On the screen, Kati had backed away as Verto faced off with the single laser turret, deflecting its shots with his sword. He dashed towards it and disabled it a few seconds later.

"So, what stolen trinket shall we see now? Is there anything here that was originally yours?" Bulma asked mockingly.

Cash ignored it, "Ranso, activate all of the turrets, but put them all on passive mode for the moment, Kati is almost there."

"Understood doctor," Ranso replied. The screen filled with spinning laser turrets all around the large cave as the view paned out momentarily. Kati backed into the expected hole in the wall and fell in.

"Close it now Ranso! Then activate auto defense mode, don't let anything get through!" Cash ordered. A piece of the lab wall slid open, and a surprised Kati Cash tumbled through a moment later, more then a bit startled. She gasped as she looked up at her father, who appeared surprisingly calm considering what had happened.

"I'm so sorry daddy, I failed my mission! But I don't think you're doing the right thing either, they want peace just as we do!" Kati claimed.

"Kati Fushi, never assume that about these Saiyans. No matter what is on the surface, they always desire violence. History does not lie. They are a bloodthirsty race, all the way down to their rotten DNA! How such creatures are allowed to achieve great levels of power is a mystery to me," Cash said.

As Cash berated his daughter some more, Lenz glanced over at Bulma, "Do all humans actually think they are that much better than any other species?"

Bulma frowned, "Unfortunately most of them do. You can usually pick them out from a mile away. They tend to be the loudest."

"Where does this superiority complex come from?" Lenz asked.

Bulma shrugged, "Beats me."

"But Verto seems different dad!" Kati shouted, bringing their attention back.

"Seems different and is different are not the same. There's only one Saiyan that qualifies as different from the rest in my view, and even he can't escape his violent nature. May I remind you that this boy was present during the multiple homicides near Springwood last month? He was also likely responsible for our infiltration team getting killed in the temple!" Cash claimed.

"That was your own doing you idiot! You knew next to nothing about the creatures that inhabit that god forsaken place!" Bulma interjected.

"That may explain why all of them didn't escape, but that doesn't prove your son innocent. I know he had to have killed the crew that remained on the surface, because they had orders to seal the tunnel if they didn't receive a return signal from inside the temple!" Cash replied.

"Are you really that dense? Your android did that before he even got to Vegeta. By the way, it was one of the most defective androids I've ever seen!" Bulma said.

"True, Misokatsun was a bit twitchy, and I was unable to make contact after he arrived. It may have overloaded his systems to have any onboard surveillance," Cash admitted.

"I know why dad. It's because it was carrying a computer virus designed to use Bulma's own inventions against her. The holographic training programs for example, right dad?" Kati spat viciously. Bulma gasped along with Lenz, but when Cash didn't answer Kati continued.

"Now I see, you've been trying to get their whole family out of the way. You knew the team would fail, so you used that situation to try and take them out afterwards without dirtying your hands again. You didn't want Vegeta's body; you just knew that he would be in the way. I'm guessing you wanted someone else!"

Cash's fists clenched tightly, "Of course not Vegeta. Frost has a death warrant on his head, more so than the others! Besides, I want the strongest Saiyan, he isn't the one!"

"Well, aren't we picky? Tell me something while we're getting the truth out into the air, did this elaborate plan involve a biological weapon? Using something called Chemical Z?" Bulma asked.

Cash turned almost instantly, "How did you know about that?"

"You're not the only one who can play the spy game you know. I heard you had found a strange substance somewhere in the mountains nearby. Its properties were like no other on this planet! You refer to it as Chemical Z, right?" Cash didn't answer, but Kati did.

"That's that horrible stuff you tested on animals. And then you used it on human subjects!" she cried out.

"I did no such thing Kati, I promised you that I wouldn't," Cash recited, as if he had said it many times before.

"Stop lying to me dad! I saw the video documentation and everything that happened to those people! Uncle X showed it to me just before we came down here! What you gave them is dangerous!" Kati pointed out.

"What I gave them was a chance for an improved life. There is never any success without risk. What happened was unfortunate, but it gave me the necessary data to develop a better serum," Cash replied.

"A serum? For what?" Bulma cut in again.

"You're right Bulma; I do think things through thoroughly. It's called a backup plan, so do try to keep up. If I can't get a hold of a Saiyan's body for better study, then I need a contingency plan. I can't simply swap heads and be done with it, we both know that. The serum is so the transfer will go smoothly. In developing it however, I discovered that it had the potential to make anyone immune to all disease while giving enhanced strength, stamina and prolonged lifespan. Anyone who receives it will essentially be a super human of sorts. So even if my plan to inhabit the strongest warrior fails, there's a fallback option. It's still in the developmental stages though; substance Z is very unique and very unstable at times. You have to mix it with the proper counter balance or it could quite literally blow up in your face. I had an assistant that could have told you about that if he had lived. But if it works, I might even let the entire population sample it," Cash hinted.

"And make them all crazy dad? That stuff made your test subjects lose all control!" Kati cried out.

"Science takes time Kati. You'd do well to stand with me rather than against me!" Cash warned as he stepped closer. Kati's eyes welled up under the threat as she stared back up at him with fear.

"Doctor Cash, I've lost the boy!" Ranso announced.

Cash snorted, "How could you lose him? Did he try to leave, or did he manage to get through? Are you sure he's not hiding along the walls, under the security cameras? He is rather small after all, check again!"

"I've been trying. Every camera is up and running, and every sensor appears to be functioning perfectly. Not one turret has gone offline other than the first one; in fact none have even fired a shot. It's like he just up and vanished!"

"That's impossible! The sensors are calibrated to detect movement even at extremely high speeds! If he is anywhere in that cave, we should know!" Cash shouted back. A brief alarm went off just as he finished, and a bead of sweat ran down the side of his head.

"Heat detected on the cave door B, switching angles!" Ranso said. The screen flipped to another large metal door, one that was partially melted around a freshly cut hole in the middle towards the bottom.

"What the hell?" Cash said slowly as he tried to piece together what might have happened.

"What trick was that?" Bulma rasped at Lenz.

"Let's just say you'd have trouble seeing what it was," Lenz smirked.

"He's good," Cash complimented.

"Activating the second line of defense!" Ranso declared.

"No, wait. That would be pointless, most of those systems don't activate on sensor detection. He'll get by those even easier. If the kid can get through the cave labyrinth and inside without us knowing it, he probably won't be slowed down by prehistoric style traps. Let's try something a little more on his level. Close emergency doors on wings B and C in…say two minutes. Leave door A open!" Cash ordered.

"But that will lead him right to us here!" Ranso panicked.

"The boy is obviously crafty, so he will smell a semi-obvious trap. Let's lure him towards a real one!

* * *

_Pathetic fools, apparently the level of Protoss technology isn't as good as I thought it might be._ Verto crept through the caves invisibly with his stealth technique. Every turret was going crazy trying to find him, along with every security camera. It didn't matter though; nothing was going to see him until he decided. With no one else in the cave, Verto could coast through easily without even trying. Just to be safe, he elected to skim the walls if there were in fact floor sensors around the turrets. He decided that just because they couldn't see him didn't mean there wasn't another mode of detection. Along the darker shadows he noted several large openings in the cave wall beyond the rear flank of laser turrets. Verto scanned each of them carefully from his position, electing not to resort to his enhanced vision ability. He sensed a very light disruption of Psi energy coming from the farthest opening and headed in that direction. There had been a few odd rock formations towards the center of the cave, but there wasn't anything abnormal about that area besides all of the turrets that surrounded it. Once inside the next tunnel, he immediately came across another large metal door. If anyone could have noticed, they would have seen that Verto had a deep scowl on his face.

_Yeah, like this is going to stop me._ Verto phased back into normal view for a few seconds as the door melted at his sword's command. A few lights along the door changed color, and Verto could hear the feint sound of an alarm. He stealthed again right away and proceeded through, carefully avoiding the center of the tunnel floor. Verto wanted to hurry, but he knew that if he did, mistakes would be made. Another several minutes passed as he stepped through the darkness, nothing to deter him. This ended when he came to a dimly lit fork in the road, splitting off into three different areas. He could sense spiritual presences in each direction, though none were particularly strong or revealing.

_Damnit, I'm gonna have to check each area, and that will give them time to either escape or unleash something else._ As he was deep in thought, two large doors slipped down from the ceiling, blocking off the middle and left paths, leaving the one on the right completely open. _Uh huh, like I'm going to fall for that one. It has to be a trap; otherwise they wouldn't have sealed only two. But…there's a chance they know I'll consider that, meaning that's the right way. It's a risk both ways, and now it's my move. All right, I have to look at this as if the doors aren't even there. There's something at the end of each tunnel, and I'm gonna have to check them all eventually. Might as well start with the left. Maybe I'll get lucky._ Verto came out of stealth with bright blue sword in hand before stopping himself as he thought better of it. Instead of cutting the door, he reformed the sword into a blast and blew a large chunk out of the door. Turning, he did the same to the middle door and then slipped back into the shadows as he crept into the left path. _Even if I pick the wrong one, they'll have a hell of a time figuring out which direction I actually went. Better to keep them nice and paranoid._

After nearly ten minutes of a slow, invisible pace, Verto came to a semi-standard office style door. Through the cloudy window, he could see brilliant blue light flickering randomly. Verto carefully turned the doorknob and opened the door, spotting a graying elderly man welding something on a workbench. The old man was leaning over badly, a sign of poor posture or a lot of work over the years. _So this is Doctor Cash?_ The scientist didn't appear to notice the door open, though the sound of the welding had probably shielded any noise from the open door. Verto quick shut it and glanced around carefully. There were no signs of Bulma or Lenz, or anyone else for that matter. Judging by how the old man was focused, he clearly wasn't expecting anyone anytime soon and continued to work unhindered. Around the room, Verto spotted various robotic components laying or hanging about. A few arm and leg sets, along with a torso or two. Nothing that looked operational, though the open mouthed heads were a little unnerving to him. Some of the parts looked like they could pass for organic beings, even humans. Verto wondered immediately if this was what Doctor Gero's early work was like. Just from observation, Verto felt sure that this was where the biofighters had been built. Along an outcropping of the lab, Verto spotted two large pods labeled Thirteen and Fifteen. Knowing what he knew about Gero, he was very tempted to investigate. The welding continued; not that an old man was going to notice Verto while he was blended with shadows. Verto slipped past and hovered just a bit so he could see through the glass window of the pods. Inside the first pod was something very big with dark skin and orange tinted hair.

_Well, I don't recall seeing something like that before. Doesn't look like something I should mess with though; it would only get in my way at best._ He moved on to the next pod and peered in. There, was a plain looking young boy with long dark hair and cold blue eyes. Around his neck though, was a red scarf that draped just above a Red Ribbon symbol.

"Seventeen?" Verto gasped aloud as he faded into view. Verto was so shocked that he had lost focus on his stealth. He clamped his mouth shut immediately and gazed over at the workbench. The welding didn't even stop and Verto sighed with slight relief. Looking inside again, he confirmed that it was Android Seventeen without a doubt; nearly every feature matched. The only thing that stood out was what looked to be a rebuilt left arm. Instead of an actual arm with a hand though, there was a long barrel of what looked to be a cannon. _What the hell happened to him? He must not have died after all, though that would explain why I never saw him around in the afterlife. I really shouldn't have forgotten him like that._

"Magnificent isn't he?" an old voice asked. Verto froze, realizing that he had been spotted and that the welding had stopped.

Verto turned to face the aging doctor slowly, "He's a friend of mine actually. Are you Doctor Cash?"

"No, I am Doctor Kochin, his assistant. And I know he's one of your friends, for I am partially responsible for rebuilding him. We found his remains over a year ago when the Protoss and Zerg left the planet. Some sort of self-detonating bomb had destroyed most of his body, but enough was still functional to revive him. I've managed to restore everything except the left arm, even most of his memory," Kochin explained. _So he's not Cash, but Kochin…where have I heard that name before? Bah, no time for that._

"So what is Cash going to try and do with him? You can't tell me that you've rebuilt him out of an act of kindness, that cannon for an arm says otherwise," Verto said with a frown.

"You sound suspicious of him, why is that?" Kochin asked.

"Because I have every right to be. He kidnapped my family and has tried to get us killed several times over. He's going to pay," Verto growled.

"I refuse to believe that Flandal would hurt a fly!" Kochin claimed.

Verto's eyes flashed bright blue for a brief moment, "Then you're delusional, old man. The crazy bastard has sent aliens, biofighters, computer viruses and even his own kin after us. I don't know if you noticed, but me and others like me don't respond well to threats. I hate it when things threaten me, but I hate it more when my friends are threatened! I suggest you cooperate!"

Kochin paused in thought midway through Verto's warning, "Well, I guess it's not out of the realm of possibility. I haven't seen much of the real Flandal lately."

"The real Flandal? W-what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Verto stammered.

"It's a strange way of putting it I suppose, and even harder to explain. Flandal Cash was diagnosed with two separate forms of cancer shortly before the Zerg arrived on Earth. He was given a year at most to live, and he began researching every possible way to cure it, or at least prolong his life. He had always been a great scientist, so the promise of new technologies from both the Protoss and Doctor Gero's work intrigued him. He found something else out there in his travels, and I believe it has caused some sort of mental imbalance. Somewhere along the way, he developed a split personality. This persona wasn't much different from the real Flandal, but was far more sinister in nature. After a few months, it was as if the real Flandal was just a mask to the madness within. Then, when the world was suffering the affects of that devastating virus, something happened. All of the cancerous cells disappeared without a trace. Whether it was the cause of the virus or the mysterious cure, I do not know. But ever since then, there has been almost no trace of Doctor Flandal Cash. You can't even refer to him that way anymore; he despises his own name and will lash out at anyone who calls him that," Kochin sighed lightly as he finished.

"So, what does the insane clown want to be called before I bury him?"

Kochin straightened his thin glasses as he exposed a toothy grin, "He calls himself Doctor Wheelo!"

**A/N: I wasn't going to reveal that yet but decided to go ahead with it anyway. Besides, anyone who hadn't figured that out by now, seriously what story were you reading? I probably won't refer to him as Dr. Wheelo as much as I could, but you get the idea. And if you honestly don't know about Dr. Wheelo at all, please watch the second DBZ movie: The World's Strongest. Just do it.**

**WDG:** Apparently my comment was sorely missed last time, so to keep my own fans happy; have some Guy. Strangely enough, Kochin doesn't seem too bad a guy. Not at all like his deranged-madman movie counterpart. But then, supposedly 'Flandal' (cough) was originally sane too…

**VB**: Don't assume anything. Or continue to do so, I don't mind. I've noticed that the biggest surprises usually come straight from poor assumptions.


	37. Android Rebirth

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 36: Android Rebirth**

_Doctor Wheelo? Well there's a name I do know. Great, should I be expecting a giant robot next?_ Verto thought as he shook his head in dismay.

"You seemed surprised that he should call himself that, why?" Kochin asked.

"Guess I shouldn't be, crazy people do strange things," Verto replied.

"He is a brilliant man; please do not speak of him with such disrespect!" Kochin warned.

"My respect has to be earned before I give it. You can start with letting Seventeen go!" Verto ordered.

"I wouldn't advise that, most of his programming still needs adjustment. Just because his memory is mostly intact doesn't mean you can control him," Kochin claimed.

"I don't want to control him; he just needs his life back!" Verto said loudly.

"No, you can't have him! Not until I've finished the next model!" Kochin said as he stepped in front of the pod.

"How about I just break it open instead? Let's see what he thinks of all this," Verto offered.

"Do that, and you will be sorry!"

"Oh really? I'm not just some punk kid you can threaten and push around! Go ahead and bring on all your little biofighters, assuming there's any left after the last two," Verto boasted.

"I know you're one of the hybrid Saiyans. Seventeen has also been upgraded to handle the likes of you!" Kochin said.

"So that's your plan, how original. You sure took you long enough to spit it out. You do want to set him free, but under your control. Then he can fight me and do your bidding, right? Go ahead and try, see if it matters!" Verto grinned.

"If you insist," Kochin mused as he pressed buttons on the side of the cell. The pod slid open all the way, and the motionless android blinked sharply. Verto backed away to give him space, unsure of what Seventeen would do.

"Where am I?" Seventeen asked.

Kochin piped up before Verto could, "In the lab, what do you remember?"

"I was being chased by Protoss forces and then I crossed paths with the Zerg and one of their leaders, some infested chick. She warned me that Eighteen would be targeted along with the others, so I used my emergency beacon to contact her. It overloaded my systems, so I don't know if it even worked. The Protoss were coming back, in force, and I tried to self detonate. Did I fail to do that?"

"Most likely you didn't have enough energy for the total explosion. Your body was salvaged and repaired as best it could be, but your left arm was completely destroyed. I have added an enhanced replacement as you can see," Kochin said as he gestured to Seventeen's left arm.

Seventeen lifted it up and looked it over, "I prefer an actual hand with fingers if you don't mind." He then glanced over and saw Verto, "Hey kid, how long was I out anyway?"

"A little more than a year. I wasn't here for all of that time either," Verto admitted.

"So, did we beat the Zerg and the Protoss then?" Seventeen asked straight away.

"In the end, yes. It didn't end on Earth, but they were driven off. Let's just say there was quite a chase through outer space," Verto explained briefly.

"Who killed that traitor that got the Protoss to turn on us, Aldaris wasn't it?" Seventeen asked. Verto scowled slightly, but sighed. It had been much longer since then for him.

"I did," Verto replied in a truly vile tone. It was enough of a hint for Seventeen to change the subject.

"So, who's this guy? Must have some sort of a brain if he can repair Doctor Gero's technology," Seventeen muttered.

"I am Doctor Kochin, and I am an expert in the fields of robotics and biotechnology. So Doctor Gero also constructed you. I suppose I should have expected that, as some of your circuitry matches this other work of art," Kochin said as he motioned towards the other pod. Seventeen's eyes went wide as they darted sideways, making contact with the numbered label on the pod.

"Android Thirteen! But Gohan and I destroyed him along with the last of Gero's laboratories!" Seventeen shouted in surprise.

"What's special about that one?" Verto asked cautiously.

"He's able to absorb components from other androids once they are offline or destroyed," Seventeen replied.

"That explains why I found additional power sources inside his chest plate. It seems he had already absorbed components from two other robotic designs," Kochin said with a finger under his chin, "We found him in terrible condition and barely able to function. Since then I have done some rather extensive repairs."

"So he's a mechanical version of Cell? Great," Verto grumbled.

"I'm curious to see his potential. Shall we turn him on?" Kochin asked with a grin.

"No!" Seventeen shouted.

"Yeah, I'll pass on that. I've got things to do down here and I just don't have time to dice another robot. I don't want to keep your boss waiting," Verto said as he stepped towards the door.

"Now that is a pity. Leaving just when we're ready to begin, right Seventeen?" Kochin asked in as sweet a tone as he could manage.

"Whatever old man, I'm getting out of this place!" Seventeen said as he climbed out of the pod.

"Oh, I don't think so," Kochin claimed. From behind his back, he pulled a remote switch and pressed the red button on it. Verto turned just as Seventeen's body stiffened slightly and his eyes flashed red for a moment.

"Now why did you have to go and do that? Here I am, mister nice guy, completely all right with leaving you and your lab alone, and then you do that. Well, now you earned an ass-kicking, not a smart move you stupid old shit!" Verto suggested.

"We'll see. Without your Saiyan powers, Seventeen will finish you off easily! Then I will make you into one of my creations!" Kochin laughed.

Verto stifled his own laugh; "You know, I've noticed a trend with you morons. All of you keep underestimating Saiyans! That's a mistake you'll regret here in just a moment when I'm done! As far as your little ki disruptors go, I have ways around that. Pay attention, the show starts in just a moment!"

"Enough! Seventeen, kill him!" Kochin ordered.

Seventeen stepped forward and nodded, "Yes doctor!" Verto slid into a defensive stance for the moment. _Great, if I go to full power in here, I might fry him. Same goes for the feedback wave. I'll have to try and get that remote away from the crazy old man!_ Seventeen rushed forward to attack, slamming into a table when Verto dodged. He flew out of the rubble, nearly landing a kick. Verto phased out multiple times to confuse the android, and then went for the observing Dr. Kochin. Just as he got within striking range, the room lit up with blue light. Seventeen's cannon arm was charging up a very strong blast in its barrel.

"No, don't fire that in here!" Kochin yelled.

"I don't think he heard you," Verto said. Verto moved away from Kochin and Seventeen adjusted his aim accordingly.

"Power Blitz!" Seventeen shouted. The blue blast ripped through Verto's afterimage before plowing into the upper part of a cave wall. Most of the surrounding ceiling came crashing down, burying both Verto and Seventeen for the moment. Kochin scrambled out from behind Thirteen's pod, relieved that the cave was not total. The rocks rolled off a rubble pile nearest him, revealing Verto with torn clothing. Closer to the exit, Seventeen appeared, covered in dirt.

"Don't do that again!" Kochin shouted. Seventeen looked at him with a cold, emotionless expression before turning back to Verto.

"See what happens when you take away free will, it generally doesn't end well," Verto pointed out.

"Get him!" Kochin ordered again. Seventeen phased out, appearing behind Verto, only to punch an energy shield. Once he made contact, a lightning burst shot out and surged through his body several times until he dropped to his knees.

He groaned in apparent pain as his eyes began to flash randomly again, "W-what's going on?" Verto turned towards him as his eyes narrowed. _So that was enough to disrupt that controller. That should take him out of this for the moment. _

Kochin's eyes widened, "How did you do that?"

"A few little tricks I picked up from the Zerg war. Seems to have an interesting effect on electronic systems," Verto said as he turned back to Kochin. Before the old man could twitch, Verto rushed him and knocked the remote from his hand. He snatched it out of the air and crushed it in his palm without a second thought.

"You won't be controlling him anymore! Now surrender!" Verto demanded. Kochin backed away cautiously, holding his cane as if it would serve as a defense.

"I'm done playing around doc; don't make me warn you again!" Verto growled as he brandished his Psi sword, frightening Kochin. Out of desperation, Kochin flipped the top of his cane open, revealing a blaster cannon similar to Seventeen's arm. Cackling, he pressed a button on the side and a large beam of red energy shot out towards Verto. Just as the beam was about to hit, Verto pulled his other arm up to catch it. The blast pushed him across the room, but faded quickly, leaving only a smoking palm and a deep frown.

"Now, you have royally fucked up!" Verto said sternly. In an instant, Verto had charged and sliced the cane in two. He had his sword in position to strike Kochin's vitals as he held his lab coat tightly.

"Help me Seventeen!" Kochin cried out.

"Argh, no!" Seventeen shouted back. Verto sensed some sort of inner struggle going on with the android. When he looked back, Seventeen was holding his head and his eyes were still flashing intermittently.

"Don't listen to him. You've never needed someone to tell you what to do. You are your own man!" Verto said reassuringly.

"You can't fight your programming! You must obey the sound of my voice!" Kochin claimed.

"How about I rip out your throat?" Verto threatened as he grabbed a hold of Kochin's neck.

"Seventeen!" Kochin gasped.

"I won't!" Seventeen screamed as his cannon arm then rose and aimed at both Verto and Kochin.

"What are you doing?" Kochin asked in dread as Verto dropped him in preparation.

"Eliminating the sound of your damned voice! I know the kid can dodge this, but you won't!" Seventeen snarled as he powered up the blast.

Verto promptly let Kochin go and backed away, "He's all yours!" Seventeen didn't even hesitate and fired, barely missing when Kochin fell to the ground. He didn't miss Thirteen's pod though, and the explosion took out both the wall and the ceiling above. The energy burst carried through the back part of the lab and ripped into many robotic components and computers, rendering them to nothing but scrap. The ceiling fell through partially, but the area around Verto and Seventeen stayed intact. Doctor Kochin was nowhere to be found, most likely buried or stuck behind a wall of rock. Verto scanned thoroughly for any sign of him and received none. Seventeen's eyes returned to normal and he straightened up.

"Well, that went well. One crazy doctor down, one to go," Verto commented.

"Thanks kid, I owe you one," Seventeen said.

"Just give me a hand if things get crazy again and we'll call it even!"

Seventeen nodded, "Deal!"

As they both left the area, the rubble slowly fell away from the cave in. A large blue arm slipped out of the rubble, and a deep laugh followed it.

* * *

Doctor Cash slammed his desk again in frustration, intensifying Bulma's grin and further worrying his daughter.

"Who does that runt think he is?" Cash growled.

"Maybe you should ask yourself that question. Of course, you're crazy enough that you might actually get an answer, Flandal!" Bulma said.

"Argh! Stop calling me that!"

Bulma was about to say more when Ranso interrupted, "Doctor, both the kid and Seventeen are coming down this way. We have no way of stopping them!"

Cash's eyebrow went up in question, "They completely skipped past wing B?"

Ranso nodded nervously, "Yes."

"This might be salvageable. Keep them busy, or at least distracted. I'll require ten minutes minimum!" Cash ordered as he ran for a far door. Ranso paled slightly, but nodded obediently as the door opened into a tunnel opposite the main entrance. Cash vanished from sight within a few seconds as the door closed itself.

"Aw, running out just when it was about to get good. What a coward!" Lenz whined.

"I doubt that was the reason, he'll be using his whole arsenal if he thinks it'll work!" Bulma explained. Bulma glared up at Ranso, only to notice her sudden grin as she stared at a display reading. Bulma couldn't see what it was, but she assumed that it couldn't have been good.

Ranso chuckled slightly as she pressed an intercom button, "Doctor, you're going to have plenty of time after all!"

"What do you mean by that?" Kati asked, breaking her long silence.

"You'll see!" Ranso answered. She typed in another command, and a large wall of metal slid over the main office door. Within another minute, the lab shook from a minor explosion. The video display switched to show Verto and Seventeen just outside, and the android was taking aim with his cannon arm.

"It'll take time for them to get in. That wall is almost two feet thick and extremely resistant to explosions!" Ranso declared. Another blast shook the cave before Verto motioned Seventeen to stop as he marched towards the door. Ranso gasped when a bright blue blade pierced through a few seconds later.

"Wrong, try again!" Lenz laughed. The blade cut through the door like butter, and within thirty seconds Verto had made a large enough hole for both him and Seventeen to enter.

"About time little bro!" Lenz said with a fake glare.

"Whew, who is that?" Seventeen asked when he spotted Lenz. She winked suggestively at him, causing him to gasp and drawing a disappointed sigh out of Verto as he shook his head.

"Long story, we'll get to it later. I take it you're Ranso, Gohan's classmate?" Verto asked immediately.

Ranso grimaced, "Former classmate. Now just how did you know that?"

"You know what they say, rumors spread like wildfire. I won't bore you with those details. I don't suppose you'll surrender will you?"

Ranso scoffed, "You can't stop us you tiny little half-pint!"

"Yeah, I didn't think so. So, which part of this lab shall I blow up first? I'm in the mood for target practice, so pick me a winner," Verto grinned as his hands lit up with blue. A loud rumble drew his attention, as well as everyone else's. Verto's eyes darted sideways, but that wasn't where he detected the activity.

"What the, what now?" Seventeen asked.

"We're about to find out, it's behind us!" Verto shouted as he turned. The remainder of the door shattered apart as a huge blue being smashed through it, plowing into both Verto and Seventeen and knocking them both down.

"Right on time Thirteen!" Ranso said happily. Thirteen stood up, revealing all of his features fully. His orange tinted hair stood up much like a Super Saiyan's, and his body was incredibly muscular with blue and silver shades of apparent skin. His belt featured the Red Ribbon logo, giving Bulma the only answer she needed.

"Another Gero-made android, as if there weren't enough," Bulma grumbled.

"An upgraded one, but he still has a few bugs to work out," Ranso admitted.

"Where is Goku?" Thirteen growled.

"Like that one. Son Goku isn't here yet, but if you beat on his friends long enough he'll probably come!" Ranso suggested.

Thirteen snorted, "These two pose no threat to you and Doctor Cash! Seventeen is an insufficient model and there is no energy coming from the boy!" Verto's head shot up at Thirteen's words and he got to his feet, wiping a slight hint of blood from his lip.

"Or, maybe you're so rusty that you can't detect it!" Verto said as he suddenly charged forward. Thirteen didn't move as Verto lashed out with a hard blow to his head, followed by rapid punches to his torso. Verto sudden burst suddenly stopped when Thirteen backhanded him in the face, sending him into the wall.

"That's not good," Bulma noted. Seventeen jumped on the back of Thirteen, locking an arm under his chin and punching his head with the other. This also did little to nothing, and Thirteen threw Seventeen off easily. He immediately started charging up a powerful blast in his hand, one that looked like it would easily take out the entire lab.

"Now you're finished Seventeen!" He fired directly at the smaller android, but his blast came to a screeching halt when a blue sword collided with it. Verto had jumped into its path, with his sword angled downwards to catch the red energy ball. The initial clash pushed Verto towards the far wall until he was about to shift his sword just right and shove the blast upwards. It ripped right through the thick rock and broke into the open air outside, far above the lab. Thirteen observed this with intrigue, and then gave Verto a concerned look before grimacing a bit.

Verto glanced upwards and lifted off, "Alright Tin Can, let's take this up there. I prefer wide open spaces, I'm sure your fat ass won't mind!" Seventeen quickly followed Verto through the hole in the roof, before Thirteen made the breach even wider, dropping rubble in his wake.

Ranso laughed aloud, "That couldn't have gone better!"

"Guess you had better hope that your brute is strong enough to hold them off, I kind of doubt it! Though, as long as your ki disruptors stay online, you should be all right for a little longer. I still wouldn't bank on it as long as Verto remains focused on his favorite hobby, smashing artificial intelligence!" Bulma grinned. Ranso stared at her thoughtfully as she walked off, entering the same tunnel door that Cash had a few minutes prior. Kati watched her go, unsure of anything as she simply sat on the ground and held her knees.

"Well, I hope you're proud of yourself," Bulma muttered.

"I didn't know it would be like this! I'm so sorry!" Kati claimed.

"Sorry won't change anything now!" Bulma said sternly.

"What should I do then?" Kati asked.

"Well, you can start by letting us loose. If you go that far, you might get a little credit!" Kati nodded nervously and walked over to the control station. One press of a button and the energy field deactivated around Bulma, and then unlocked the chains around her feet.

"Can you shut down the ki restrictors?" Bulma asked as she shook her bonds loose.

Kati shook her head as she climbed up with a key, "I'm not sure where the controls are! And Ranso will probably be back any second!"

Lenz grunted, "Like you have to worry about her, she's all mine!"

Kati glanced at her, "Except you can't touch her or else she'll control you! Then where will we be?" Lenz scowled as Kati finished unlocking the chains around Bulma's wrists. As she did, Kati grazed Bulma's skin and her power suddenly started morphing her into Bulma's twin.

"Whoops," Kati said in Bulma's voice.

"Wow, I need a make over bad!" Bulma noticed, as she looked herself over.

"Hey, do me next! You can't see everything with them damn mirrors!" Lenz said.

"Forget that, we don't have time. Okay, if you can shutdown the defense systems, Lenz and I will go after Flandal! Try and see if you can shutdown the ki disruptors too!" Bulma suggested. Kati cautiously depressed the control mechanism for the chains around Lenz's arms and legs. Once unhooked, Lenz leapt out, stretching a bit once she landed.

"Just what are those things made of?" Lenz asked.

"Probably a similar alloy to the gravity room," Bulma replied, "Were you even able to bend them a little?"

Lenz shook her head, "Not a bit!" Lenz picked up one of the chain links and applied pressure. After several seconds, she cringed as her arms shook. The chain barely showed any sign of change.

"Tough stuff," she exclaimed as she dropped the chain.

Kati was currently shaking in place like an earthquake had hit, "I'm n-not sure I can shut things down in time!"

"You won't know until you try. It will at least buy us some time. Get the defense systems off around here and then try to shut down the disruptors, you wanted to help after all. My lab coat please," Bulma motioned. Kati quickly gave it to her, but her jitteriness didn't fade.

"What is it?" Bulma asked.

"I didn't quite mean it that way. I think your son has Chemical Z in his body. I'm not sure what is taking it so long, but it's sure to kick in soon," Kati pointed out.

"WHAT?" Bulma shrieked.

"It's true, and I don't think even a Saiyan's body can withstand it without some sort of effect. I'm not sure what it's going to do to him, but it can't be good," Kati continued.

"He's not stupid enough to take something like that, so how did it get there?" Bulma asked.

Kati paused, "Um…actually."

"Here comes the part I don't want to hear, out with it!" Bulma demanded.

"I kind of slipped when Vegeta had me cornered, it just sort of fell into his IV bag. I don't think much got into his blood stream before Vegeta ripped it out, but it's there. He claimed that after he woke up he used his energy to nullify it, but I think he only wiped out all of the sedatives that were flowing through him," Kati added. The expression on Bulma's face went through various changes spanning the emotions of horror, anger and confusion.

"I guess I should ask why he was hooked up to an IV, but we don't have that kind of time. It seems you've managed to do a lot of damage while you were me. We can address it later," Bulma said, her eyes full of fire.

"I should help little brother then," Lenz declared.

"Hold it Lenz! Without your energy you'll only be in the way up there, not wise around an android. And if Verto goes crazy with that compound in his system, then who knows what might happen. Stay down here and help me out so we can put an end to this. Otherwise Flandal might get away! We need to go now!" Lenz nodded as both women dashed for the door, leaving Kati behind. She sighed slightly as she headed for the control panel Ranso had been working at. Before she had gotten far into the program, the far door opened up, and she had to duck out of view. In walked Ranso, who looked more quite alarmed to see no one chained up. Several loud explosions sounded overhead, allowing random dust and dirt to fall. One large rock fell right towards Kati, and she was forced to roll out of the way, right into Ranso's sight.

"So, silver spoon, where did they go?" Ranso asked with a look of pure contempt. Kati gave her a bewildered expression before realizing what she meant, and thought carefully about how to answer.

"Elsewhere," she replied.

"Very funny Miss Briefs, and I suppose you were to stay behind and try to sabotage things. You can forget about that!" Ranso declared as she held up a gun. Kati put her hands up and didn't dare move, she knew Ranso well enough to know that she would pull the trigger.

"Hmph, Kati must think she's doing the world a favor, trying to stop her own father!" Ranso mused as she began typing commands into the computer.

"She took off running for her life when the hybri…ahem, Lenz got loose. I hope she doesn't break too many bones," Kati said in Bulma's tone. Kati knew she had just slipped very badly, and she hoped that Ranso was too busy to notice. Ranso pulled up the big display, showing Lenz and the real Bulma at the main intersection, turning towards wing B.

Ranso smiled, "Judging by what I see, I would guess that the little bitch was leading that Saiyan to her father. However, why would you still be here if that was the case, unable to defend yourself? And of course, why would she have bothered shifting back to that form, eh Kati?" Kati tensed up, she was caught and she knew it.

"Clever girls, trying to pull the wool over my eyes. I might have believed it if not for one little thing. Bulma always speaks in a bold, pompous manner, and you had to practice that for awhile before you replaced her, right?" Ranso asked as she stepped closer. Kati's eyes widened as she backed away quickly.

"Come here dear, I have something to tell you," Ranso grinned. Kati jumped off the elevated area, rolling on the ground as Ranso attempted to make contact. She reached for her pistol, only to realize that it was no longer there. It had been in Bulma's lab coat, which Bulma now had. Kati got up and ran for the door, but tripped on some of the debris covering the floor. Just as she scrambled to her feet, Ranso tackled her to the ground, making contact for several seconds. She smiled as Kati's eyes dulled into an emotionless stare.

"Now, my dear kitten, you are going to perform one final chore for me. I hope your father gets over your death quickly, he and I have big plans," Ranso said with a sinister smirk. She handed Kati the gun and pointed towards the exit.

**A/n: Hoowah! Has this story ever gotten a big shot in the arm? Well stay tuned for quite a ride.**

**Next time on DBV (yeah I'm actually leaving a preview): Verto and Seventeen take on Super Android Thirteen, who has a disturbing enhancement that is sure to make things difficult. Meanwhile, Bulma and Lenz venture towards Wing B after Doctor Cash and discover even more of the evil doctor's secret experiments.**


	38. Upgrade

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 37: Upgrade**

A large blast ripped through the concrete street from underground. It sailed into the overcast morning skies, followed quickly by a small boy and an older android. They flew high above the city streets before stopping and turning around. It wasn't long before the larger Thirteen busted out from the ground, covered in random chunks of dirt that quickly fell off. Thirteen landed in the street and stared up at Verto and Seventeen.

"Seventeen, we've gotta try and lure him out of the city," Verto whispered.

"Got it!" Seventeen replied.

"Come on you poor excuse for a trash can!" Verto shouted. Thirteen frowned at the insult and fired a series of red blasts at Verto, who dodged them all easily as he glided through the air. Thirteen eventually stopped firing and stomped over to a parked car, picking it up. He threw it directly at Verto, scaring several brave enough to look out a window nearby. Verto caught the car easily, but settled for tossing it harmlessly towards the mountains. Thirteen frowned at this and moved closer to a residential building, grabbing at its base. The strong android began to actually rip the structure from its foundation and the ground as he lifted.

Verto's eyes widened, _Shit, there's people inside there._ Verto dived down to stop him just as Seventeen did the same. Seventeen reached Thirteen first, but was bashed away easily by a backhand. The building dropped back in place, kicking up dust into Thirteen's eyes. Verto took advantage when Thirteen swung wildly at him, and moved in from behind, kicking hard to the back of Thirteen's head. Thirteen barely flinched and swung his huge arm around, missing again. Verto reappeared at his front and hammered Thirteen's torso with dozens of blue fists. Thirteen slowly turned back, barely even registering the blows as he kicked towards Verto's vanishing form. The boy reappeared nearby, disheartened by the results of the skirmish.

_Guess I shouldn't be that surprised. He's a physical tank that I'm not going to budge easily without ki. Full power is obviously out of the question for now. I'll have to use the more potent Psi techniques on him. At least I appear to have him beat in speed, though he doesn't seem to be in a hurry either. I hope to hell he isn't the type to hold back._

"Come on, where is Son Goku?" Thirteen roared finally.

"Probably asleep, just my guess," Verto replied.

"The girl said that he would come if his friends are endangered! Perhaps you just need to suffer first!" Thirteen suggested.

"Maybe that will work," Verto agreed with a slight grin, "He probably can't sense the battle though with the Saiyan power inhibitors on. Even though they don't affect him this far away, he also won't be able to sense anything around here. Let's take this fight out of town and I'll bet he shows up!" Verto waved Thirteen on, hoping the android would answer the call. _Come on you damn blueberry tin can, take the bait!_ Thirteen gave him a curious glance, but showed no signs of movement.

"If these power dampeners are keeping your energy low, it would be very stupid to change locations and give you any possible advantage. I can tell there is more to you then what my scanners detect! I shall destroy you first before searching for Goku!" Thirteen declared.

Verto cringed slightly, _Damn, was worth the try. Guess I'll have to fry his ass before this fight gets too out of control! _Thirteen began charging a very powerful blast similar to the previous one he had fired in the cave.

"Let's see how tough you really are! Deadly Bomber!" Thirteen shouted as he released his blast. The bomb sailed at Verto slowly, but zeroed in on his position without a problem. Verto glided away from it, but it followed easily. The bomb zigzagged through the sky as its target avoided contact. After this failed repositioning, Verto turned as he flew backwards, firing several small blasts to deter the bigger one. It kept on coming, and Verto's blue aura flashed on as he picked up speed. As he neared the city outskirts, Verto stopped and turned around, casting a shimmering blue hand forward. Thirteen's eyes widened as he grinned and used his power to shove his attack forward. The red bomb crashed into a blue spinning barrier just three feet from Verto, and struggled to move forward. As sparks of differing energy started to appear, there was a clear realization that the bomb was going to explode at any second.

Verto frowned in determination, _Screw it, this is gonna take effort._ Verto's aura flowed back into view, with random spurts of lightning running through it. The red bomb was forcibly pushed into the sky as Verto lowered towards the ground. Due to the slow ascent though, it appeared that the bomb would continue its pursuit. Verto's hand went up, firing a small but potent beam straight at it. The night sky exploded into a bright red display of power, likely waking everyone in North City and perhaps a third of the world with them. Verto watched the energy waves slowly die down before locking onto Thirteen, who still hadn't moved.

_Damnit! Fuckin robot is smart enough to stay in town. I've got to take him out now!_ Thirteen grinned slightly and moved deeper into the city, out of sight for the moment. Verto's right arm shot out, and his bright blue sword formed as he took off and entered the labyrinth of buildings. People backed away from windows as he flew through quickly, but eagerly came back to see what would happen. Verto spotted Thirteen waiting patiently in an intersection, and dove straight for him.

"Time for the junk yard!" Verto shouted ahead as charged in.

Thirteen spread his arms wide, "Give it your best shot runt!" Verto increased his flight speed and slashed into Thirteen's chest with the full intention to cut him in half. He plowed right on by and stopped, realizing that he didn't feel the cut. He glanced backwards to see Thirteen is not only still there, but unaffected.

"W-What the - hell?" Verto stammered.

Thirteen turned around, "Well, I'm waiting! You can do better than that little insect brush of an attack!" Verto flashed forward, sword held high as he slashed downwards into Thirteen's massive neckline. His sword stopped at the skin and didn't go any further.

Verto froze in shock, _This is bad._ Thirteen punched him away, and Verto landed on his back, still dazed that his attack didn't go through.

"Just what the hell are you made of?" Verto asked as he sat up.

Thirteen's grin didn't falter, "Dr. Gero designed me to be flawless in this final form. Dr. Cash however had found imperfections in my outer shell at certain points and coated my body with an energy resistant compound derived from an alien species known as Protoss. It takes a much greater force than that to break it!" Verto's frown deepened as Thirteen explained, _He's Psi resistant? Great, as if things hadn't gone bad enough today!_

"I hope for your sake that wasn't your best attack. If so, I'm afraid this little game is over!" Thirteen claimed as he stepped closer. Verto rolled backwards onto his feet as he pulled back into a charging stance.

"You're delusional you bucket of bolts! I prefer using that attack because it won't damage the surroundings as much as my other moves. But, I'm willing to push the envelope if I have to!" Thirteen nodded slightly as Verto dropped back and charged a very large blast in with one hand as he carefully kept his eye on the big android.

"My turn, let's see how tough your skin really is!" Verto challenged. Thirteen didn't respond, but did step forward into a defensive stance. Verto's grin reappeared for a brief moment as the attack swelled, covering the area in blinding blue light.

"Well?" Thirteen asked.

"You should enjoy your last moment before you're nothing but scrap metal! By the way, your moment is up!" Verto said.

"Good, you're boring me!" Thirteen replied.

"Final Shine!" Thirteen lifted his arms as the huge blast rushed out, intent on blocking it. The blue energy wave smashed into Thirteen and forced him backwards several dozen feet. He was able to dig in and eventually stop and struggle with it for a few seconds. Then Thirteen lifted up and threw the blast aside. The resulting explosion tore through the city in a straight line, leaving little to nothing behind in its wake. Thirteen stared at the result before turning back to his opponent, slight concern etched on his artificial face.

Verto's fists shook in anger, _God damnit, this big motherfucker is too much._

"I'll give you one more chance to beat me!" Thirteen dared.

Verto scowled at the ground as he thought things over. _Psi sword is out; blasting him to death is out. I can't count on feedback getting through, not without some sort of chink in the armor. The options are running low fast. I could freeze him but what good will that do if I can't do anything after the fact? He'll just power out of it. There's a chance that the Psi storm could be effective since it disrupted Seventeen, but I can't rely on it as a good damage dealer without using a lot of energy._ _And there's no guarantee if that much focused energy can even get through! _

"If you are struggling to decide what attack to use, how about your strongest one!" Thirteen suggested. Just as he finished, a big golden blast hit him from behind, courtesy of Seventeen. It took out the other side of the street opposite Verto's, but did nothing to Thirteen.

"Pathetic worm!" Thirteen shouted at him.

"Come on kid, there's got to be some sort of trick up your sleeve. Maybe some way to combine forces here," Seventeen said as he landed next to Verto.

The smaller boy turned his head just slightly, "Well, there is something we can do with that, but I doubt it would work. There's a strong attack I learned not long ago that when done correctly is more devastating then just about anything else!"

"Well, use it!" Seventeen urged.

"Not that simple. With the power dampeners on, I can't do it on my own. I can do it with someone else's help, but for it to work best, our power levels have to be synced up, or at least the amount of energy we use at that moment has to be equal. That's a problem because I can't sense your energy. Plus I don't know if it works with android energy anyway," Verto explained.

"What are you two waiting for? Sunrise?" Thirteen shouted.

"Be patient, it's almost here!" Verto shouted back.

"Are you sure this attack will do damage if it works?" Seventeen whispered.

"If it works, it'll probably blow him away. We wouldn't need to max out either, it's effective enough!"

"Last I knew, I was nearly half as strong as you during the Zerg war. How much stronger have you gotten since then?" Seventeen asked.

"Not sure, it's not like I have a scouter on me. Like this, I'd say about fifty percent with just Psi energy, maybe more. A lot more if I were transformed, but that isn't happening," Verto replied.

"Does this attack work only at a close range, or at a distance?"

"You don't want to be close when it goes off," Verto suggested.

"I figured. I meant do we have to attack separately?" Seventeen asked again.

"We don't have to, but it'll work better. Blasting him together won't make it as potent, and we'd have to use more energy, but it would be easier."

"The hard way then. Channel about a third of your energy. I'll hit him with everything I've got. That should be very close to equal!" Seventeen suggested.

"All right, use something big on him. I'll have to pierce the blast with my attack; a bulky blast won't allow it to work correctly. How long will it take you to recover if this doesn't work?" Verto asked with slight concern.

"Too long, we can't miss!"

"Trust me, if this doesn't work, it won't be because we missed," Verto reassured him.

"I'm going to rust if you don't hurry it up!" Thirteen roared from across the street.

"Good, maybe you'll melt down easier! Simmer down grouchy gears, I told you to savor your final moments!" Verto answered as he stepped away from Seventeen.

"Nice touch, let's get started!" Seventeen declared as he aimed his cannon arm. _Please let this work._

* * *

Both Seventeen and Verto started charging their blasts, though Seventeen wasn't finished as quickly as Verto. Thirteen cocked his head slightly at the sight before him. Seventeen was obviously preparing to fire off as strong a blast as he could conjure, but Verto was doing something different. He was only charging up two fingers, similar to the description of Piccolo's attack that Thirteen had in his files. As blinding and obvious as Seventeen's attack was beginning to be, Thirteen was more concerned with the smaller one that was sending random lightning bolts into the air. Verto stepped sideways one more time as Seventeen finished, making Thirteen even more uncertain about what was going to happen. He had already figured out that they would attack at the same time, but the discussion they had been having seemed to take much longer then it should of it this was their plan.

Verto didn't even glance over, "Whenever you're ready!" Seventeen's face was full of determination and rage and with a mighty roar he fired the biggest attack yet. The overly big golden blast slowly moved towards Thirteen, who stood ready to catch it as he kept an eye on Verto, who still hadn't fired. Thirteen gave Seventeen's blast his full attention within a few seconds of it hitting, and immediately regretted it when he heard Verto's voice.

"Shock Cannon!" Thirteen barely even detected the smaller blue beam as it sailed towards him. He caught the blast of Seventeen's and let it push him backwards. His eyes opened wide as he calculated the path of Verto's attack, which put it at hitting Seventeen's energy ball instead of Thirteen.

_Their timing is too far off, perfect! It will most likely push Seventeen's pitiful attack out of the way! I had nothing to fear after all!_ Verto's small, fast beam slammed into Seventeen's and penetrated it. Thirteen grinned as the ball fluctuated, giving off the impression that it was going to get canceled out. This grin turned into surprised fear when it turned green just before it enveloped Thirteen completely.

Boom. The noise wave from the Shock Cannon explosion shattered any windows nearby, and gave just about everyone nearby deaf ears for a few seconds. Seventeen promptly sighed and stood up, panting slightly.

"Awesome attack kid!" he smiled. The smoke and dust slowly dispersed, revealing a much larger crater than before. Seventeen glanced over at Verto, who hadn't reacted yet and was staring at ground zero with a deadly seriousness.

"It didn't work," Verto said as calm as possible.

"Are you kidding me? It combined and detonated in his face! It let loose much more power just as you said it would!" Seventeen argued.

"It detonated alright, but not with anything extra behind it. All that happened was the amount of energy present was delivered as is! My Final Shine attack earlier was stronger than that!"

"Yes it was!" Thirteen said from the center. The dust cleared, revealing a deep grin on the big android's face.

"He's unscathed!" Seventeen pointed out. He glanced over to see Verto's worried expression, but noted that he was holding his stomach just slightly.

"Now it's my turn!" Thirteen declared as he stomped towards them. Verto dropped into a ready stance and grimaced as he felt a violent rumble in his gut. _This isn't gonna be good. Hell of a time for a stomachache._

* * *

Bulma and Lenz crept through the cave slowly, hugging the walls as they went. Bulma was clutching a small gun at a shaky ready position. Just because she lucked out and found it in her lab coat didn't mean she felt any safer. Lenz looked ready for anything, but at the same time she was cautious enough to stay at a slow pace. Several small shockwaves rattled and rumbled through the ground, dropping small amounts of dirt and dust. They eventually came to the large fork in the path, with the remnants of two large doors sitting in place.

"Looks like little brother's handiwork, but which way?" Lenz pondered. Bulma eyed both doors, but noticed the distinct difference immediately.

"The opening in that one is bigger, so that android probably came from there. We should go the other way, you lead," Bulma pointed to their right. Lenz nodded and ducked through the wrecked door, entering another dark passage. A few small torches were lit along the way, but it was barely enough to even see the walls and flooring.

"You would think they would have booby trapped the place!" Lenz claimed.

"Why do you think I'm staying behind you?"

"I figured that, it's just a little disappointing when things are too easy!"

Bulma rolled her eyes, "Saiyans." Lenz stopped short when she heard a faint click behind the walls.

Bulma stopped as well, "What is it?"

"Shhh!" Suddenly, the flooring ahead fell away, breaking off a twelve-foot section that spanned the width of the room. Both women peered over, hearing a distant crash towards the bottom of the abyss.

"That wouldn't have been good!" Bulma pointed out.

"Not to mention it would have ruined my clothes!" Lenz added. Bulma rolled her eyes again as she glanced around over the gaping hole in the room.

"We could just jump," Lenz suggested.

"You say 'we' like I could make that leap. News flash, I can't!" Bulma retorted.

"No problem, hold onto me!" Lenz said as she spread her arms. Bulma hugged her tight and held on for dear life. Lenz got a running start and cleared the chasm easily with Bulma in tow. She walked forward again, but stopped when she didn't hear Bulma following.

Lenz turned around, "What is it?" Bulma didn't answer her, but Lenz didn't need one when they both heard a distinct beeping sound. Lenz isolated the noise, finding it coming from the sidewall.

"Oh crap!" Lenz shouted as she ran forward. The wall suddenly exploded, showering the area with various rocks as the cave passage was buried. The dust cleared quickly, revealing that Lenz had blocked Bulma from harm's way.

"Whew, thanks!" Bulma said.

"Great, the path is buried, this may take a few minutes to dig through," Lenz said as she dusted her ripped dress off. Bulma nodded as Lenz started to tear rocks from the huge pile, throwing them all backwards into the pit. Bulma eyed Lenz carefully for a moment before thinking up a question she had been meaning to ask for a while. She shook her head at the timing of it, but they obviously had a few minutes.

"Lenz, tell me something. Did you pay for those?" Bulma asked as she pointed.

Lenz stared back in question, "Pay for what? What do you mean by that?"

Bulma stepped closer and promptly poked Lenz in the chest, "Those, are they real?"

Lenz glanced down, puzzled, "Of course they're real! Whoever heard of fake breasts?"

"You obviously haven't been on this planet long enough to know about that then. Which is fine, you certainly don't need it," Bulma chuckled.

"You know, I've always wondered why little brother gives me crap about them. I think he likes them big though; I've caught him staring more than once. Not as much as Trunks or half the other human boys…" Lenz trailed off as she blushed slightly. Bulma started to giggle a bit, before it broke into an all out laugh.

Lenz gave her a confused smile, "What?"

"Your naïve and almost innocent view on the world. It's refreshing even in a tense situation," Bulma laughed.

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain why you asked if these were real," Lenz reminded as she held up the two heavy objects in question.

"There aren't many women on Earth that are that big without some sort of enhancement job done, or by being extremely overweight. It involves what we refer to as cosmetic surgery," Bulma explained with a huge grin on her face.

"So what are fake ones made of?" Lenz asked.

"Usually silicone."

Lenz became even more confused, "Why would someone want to put that in their body? Wouldn't it be dangerous in the long run, maybe poisonous or something? I can't imagine it would look good at all unless they got it just right!" Lenz claimed.

"I don't think most women care about the long run. As long as it improves their appearance long enough to attract attention. Men in general don't care if they're real or fake, seeing as they're not thinking with the brain attached at the neck. Although, a great many like them big, thus why someone would do it. People like me and you just got lucky with what we got growing up," Bulma continued.

"Well that shoots my next theory out the window. I thought that little brother liked staring at me. But now that I think about it, Fasha was rather flat, so he must not like them big," Lenz said as she stared at the ground.

Bulma laughed hard again, "Compared to you, most everyone is flat! Maybe he's too young to care right now. You can ask him, but I doubt he'll give you a straight answer. He's a nice enough kid that it probably doesn't matter to him at all." Lenz smiled slightly as she returned to digging through the rock pile.

"I wish he was a little older," she whispered.

"I don't. We've already been through that mess, and technically he's been through it twice!" Bulma replied.

"So, what was he like when he was older?" Lenz asked.

"I couldn't really tell you to be honest. I wasn't around him enough at the time due to complications. But I'd say he was just a taller version of what he is now. Well, and bigger all over too…" Bulma said as she grinned and shook her head slightly.

Lenz grinned back as she ripped a large boulder out and threw it aside, "I think we're getting through now." The next rock she dislodged confirmed this, revealing a large enough gap for them both to get through.

"Let's go," Bulma said as she stepped through.

* * *

Bulma and Lenz came up to an office door much like the previous wings. There were only a few blue lights on inside with no sign of activity. Bulma slowly opened the door and peered in. The lab inside was huge, with tables scattered randomly and cluttered with various instruments. Several large containers were also strung about, some filled with fluid. One in particular caught Bulma's eye, mostly because it was preserving something inside. Bulma's eyes widened as she approached it, and flashbacks filled her mind.

"What is that thing?" Lenz asked. The thing in question had several spider-like limbs, except the legs looked more like pale human fingers. It also had a long tail and an assortment of organs covering its underside. As Lenz got within a few inches of the container, the creature moved just a bit.

"That son of a bitch!" Bulma rasped.

"So, are you going to tell me what this means?" Lenz asked. Before Bulma could answer, a large part of the far wall began lifting up, revealing a brighter light. Beyond this wall was another chamber, though smaller than the lab whole. Flandal Cash was grinning at them both, standing next to a large man strapped to a table. He appeared to be sleeping at the moment, but had an odd array of tubes stuck in his body. He also sported much larger muscles than most humans could naturally have, like juiced up bodybuilder since birth. A number of flashing lights came from the side, revealing a large computer with multiple displays and readouts.

"I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long. Didn't run into anything unpleasant I trust?" Cash asked.

"You're insane you know. Why in the world would you be keeping a creature like this? Do you even realize what it can produce?" Bulma retorted.

"I'm fully aware of the alien's reproduction abilities. I actually had two more, but they were useless dead specimens. I found that one barely alive out in the snow. As I'm sure you're aware Miss Briefs, you should never pass up a discovery," Cash said as his grin widened. Bulma growled lowly at Cash's reference to her own mistake.

"Don't concern yourself with that creature though. It's an intriguing species, but ultimately it and those like it would be in my way!" Cash pressed a button on the computer panel and watched as the container glowed for a moment. Then random sparks of electricity surrounded it and the parasite inside jolted and twitched violently for several seconds before falling limp.

"I did consider using it as a bioweapon, however it would have caused more problems than it fixed. Personally, I'd rather deal with opponents that can think in an intelligent manner, otherwise what is the point in trying to match wits against them? That young boy of yours for example," Cash pointed as another screen came down from the ceiling. It flipped on, showing Verto and Thirteen staring each other down.

"Very clever of you to keep such a fascinating creature hidden," Cash commended.

Bulma frowned, "Hidden? I don't put a leash on him if that's what you meant."

"I would. Our conversation earlier has sparked my interest, and that has also opened my eyes to the events of the Zerg invasion. There was a point, towards the end, that your Saiyans and the Protoss began fighting each other, correct?" Cash asked as Bulma nodded grimly.

"This boy, Verto is it? He was seen on the front lines during the war. But then, along with the Zerg and the Protoss, he disappeared. I find it strange and definitely not coincidental that he should return almost a year later, emitting energy that almost mirrors that of the Protoss. Was he induced into some sort of Protoss weapon test?"

Bulma rolled her eyes, "Only you would assume that. Actually he began showing signs of this energy before any of them even showed up. Kind of shoots down that theory doesn't it?"

"Maybe. What happened to him while he was gone? It's obvious something occurred," Cash pointed out.

"I wouldn't know. I wasn't there, nor did I leave Earth; I figured you would know that," Bulma grumbled.

"You may not know the exact specifics, but you do know something. That boy is much different from the other Saiyans," Cash said. Bulma had a saddened expression on her face and Lenz stared at her in silent alarm.

"He changed. His experience of that war changed him. I knew it the instant he got back. I don't think it was a good kind of change either. He's so wound up inside now, he clearly suffered. To what end I have no idea, but I doubt you really want to find out. Sometimes I get this feeling that if pushed just hard enough, he might just kill everyone on this planet without much of a second thought. He's always had a fair amount of control over his emotions, but I don't think he has it anymore. That righteousness that was so much like Goku and Gohan just isn't there anymore. Who knows what might happen if he snaps," Bulma warned.

"Nah, little brother is fine! You're just nervous about his Saiyan instincts emerging," Lenz said nonchalantly.

"Lenz, remember who I'm married to. I think I would know a thing or two about Saiyan issues," Bulma said sternly. Cash stayed silent for a brief moment, appearing to be considering his options with this information.

"I suggest you end this now Flandal! It's only a matter of time before that android is beaten!" Bulma suggested.

"Don't underestimate Thirteen! He's been coated with an energy resistant material based on Protoss ship armor," Cash boasted.

Bulma stifled a grin, "Even Protoss armor can only take so much of a beating before it gives in!"

Cash ignored her, "If only I could have had the chance to purge the remainder of Gero's command lines. Damned thing keeps wanting to target only Son Goku. Such a brilliant mind wasted on plotting revenge!"

"Careful, you'll end up just like Gero if you keep this up. Then you can actually meet him at the bottom of Hell!" Bulma shouted.

"Who's this Gero anyway, I keep hearing his name. I never met him while I was down there," Lenz wondered.

"He made Eighteen and most of the other androids. He also created a creature called Cell," Bulma explained quickly.

Lenz gulped noticeably, "Oh, him I've met."

"Ah yes, Cell. What a wonderfully unique creature. Pity he had to get himself killed by Goku's son," Cash smiled lightly.

"Does this have a point, or are we just explaining our ugly history?" Bulma asked angrily.

"Calm down Miss Briefs, you'll be plagued by frown lines at this rate. And of course this has a point. I want the strongest fighter in this world, and obviously it has to be a Saiyan. I have to find that someone before Frost gets here, and Vegeta probably isn't the best choice. Son Gohan however, looks very promising. The boy on the other hand, might be a threat to my work. He must be eliminated!" Cash surmised.

"Ha! You'll never get anywhere near him! I'll kill you with my bare hands!" Lenz growled as she stepped forward.

"I doubt that girl," Cash said, unimpressed.

"And just what is going to stop me? I'm a Saiyan too, and I sure don't need any energy to crush your skull!" Lenz boasted.

Cash glanced over at the sleeping muscle man, "He will." The large man opened his eyes and grunted loudly. As he bent forward just slightly, Bulma could see the tubes were actually feeding into his neck, all filled with black fluid.

"And just what freak do we have here?" Lenz asked.

"Another test subject Cash? Looks like he's been through plenty. What have you done to this one?" Bulma added.

"Allow me to introduce subject zero-nine-one, a true volunteer to my work. His real name is Ash Sotsu, and he has allowed me to view the long-term effects of Chemical Z after a certain point of exposure. After nearly a month of two doses daily, his body can't live without it. It has to be constantly circulated through his bloodstream or else he goes into an extreme withdrawal that results in death. It's like a drug addict who maintains a high level of addiction and overdoses consistently. This is slightly different though. The exposure resulted in this super soldier you see now. His physical strength is greater than even a Saiyan's!" Cash claimed.

Lenz smirked, "Somehow I doubt that."

"Ash Sotsu? Why does that name sound familiar?" Bulma pondered.

"He was head of my security, you may have stumbled across that name while you were trying to spy on me," Cash replied.

Bulma stared at him in general confusion before sighing deeply; "As if you weren't bad enough, you have to poison others around you. So deluded." The clamps around Ash released, and he slowly lurched forward and dropped to his own two feet.

"We shall put him to the test then, Ash, destroy her!" Cash ordered. Ash stepped out, stretching his large frame as he lazily glanced at Lenz, who was cracking her knuckles.

"Be careful Lenz, I have a bad feeling about this!" Bulma warned. Lenz kept her confident smile and stepped forward. Once she got within a dozen feet or so, Cash threw another switch along the wall. A thick metal cage then dropped from the ceiling, surrounding Ash and Lenz and sealing Bulma off from the rest of the lab.

"Just a little insurance policy in case my calculations were off. Besides, I don't want my lab wrecked!" Cash explained.

"You think I won't be able to get out?" Lenz asked as she moved towards the cage bars. Cash didn't answer as Lenz grabbed the cage bars and tried to lift. Cash flipped another switch and the cage was engulfed in blue energy. Lenz screamed as the contact shocked her before she finally let go and backed away with both hands smoking.

"Does that answer your question? Those bars have enough current to power half the city for most of the day! Ash, you may take your time killing her!" Cash said. Ash grunted and trudged towards Lenz as she recovered from the electrical shock. She dodged Ash's first lazy punch easily and rolled to the left. Ash turned slowly, more than long enough for Lenz to land a sharp kick to his bulging neck. Ash stumbled, but caught himself and snarled in anger. Lenz's eyes widened in surprise, but she let it go and kicked high, striking Ash in the jaw. Ash's head went back by reaction, and his big body swayed. Confidence oozed into Lenz, but it faded when Ash recovered and snarled at her again. He barely had a trickle of blood coming from his mouth.

Lenz grimaced as she backed up a step, _Oh boy, this could get rough._ Ash marched towards Lenz, leaving small dents where his feet impacted. Lenz rushed to meet him, punching and yelling like a mad woman. Every hit made contact with Ash's beefed up chest, but none of them seemed to do anything. Lenz paused when she realized this and glanced up in surprise. Ash smacked her in the face with his huge hand, sending her sprawling to the ground. Lenz hit hard, but got to her feet quickly, rubbing her bruised cheek in genuine surprise.

"What did I tell you? Never doubt my words nor my creations!" Cash boasted. Lenz turned and bent her neck a bit as she popped the joints to loosen them. She then spit a decent amount of blood from her mouth as she balled her fists.

"Round two!" Lenz shouted as she charged in.

**A/n:**

**WDG:** Uh-oh. Tummy pains are bad, aren't they? I think it'll be… interesting, to see exactly how much of a beating that Protoss armor takes. :P

**VB**: Depends on how…unstable things become.

**Next time on DBV: The battle between Verto and Thirteen continues as the young Saiyan tries his best against the toughened android. But when Verto becomes enraged and starts to lose control of himself, Thirteen takes an unexpected course of taunting him instead. What could be the reason for the maniacal android's actions? Is it an act of suicide, or one of delay while Thirteen seeks out his true target, Goku. Next time…**


	39. Red Dawn

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 38: Red Dawn**

A normal enough blue car was parked on the side of a North City street. Its windshield glimmered with the reflection of the morning sky, which was overcast. It appeared to have no faults in the paint or structure, indicating that it was well cared for. That came to an abrupt end when the body of Android Seventeen slammed into it. The front end folded and bent all the way in, more or less putting whatever was left of the engine in the back seat. The frame was crumpled into a mangled mass of metal that formed a semi-circle around the injured android. He tried to crawl out, but only managed to tumble to the ground ahead. Thirteen stood still nearby, chuckling at the sight.

"Well that was a disappointment, both in design and strength. Is Goku that weak?" he asked.

Verto growled in frustration, "You don't need to worry about him. I'm going to bury you first!"

"Then do it boy! I'm right here!" Thirteen dared. Verto's right hand began to glow brightly as he slowly walked forward, fist fully clenched.

"That again? You'll just waste your energy," Thirteen pointed out. Verto paused and opened his hand again as his energy ball shrank in size before spinning slowly.

"Maybe, but I can adjust my tactics. Let's see if you're right about that this time!" Verto replied. Thirteen spread his arms wide, inviting the attack. Verto wasted no time and threw it at him dead on at high velocity. Thirteen's grin never subsided as he lifted one huge palm to block it. When it hit however, ice encased his forearm and quickly spread to his shoulder. Thirteen's eyes went wide as the Psionic ice quickly covered his body. Not a second later, the area was covered in blue light again as Verto began charging a much bigger attack. The smaller boy flew straight at him with his glowing fist drawn back just as the ice started to crack apart. Thirteen roared and flexed out of the ice trap, completely open for the attack about to hit him.

"Galic Fist!" Verto shouted just as Thirteen glanced down. Verto let him have it in his huge torso, and the resulting blast blinded all that could see. Once the light cleared, a line of buildings tumbled to the ground, indicating that Thirteen had been flung right through them all at once. The dust and debris clogged the air between them, and Verto stood by cautiously, unsure if he had done enough damage. A sudden rumble followed by the ground shaking said otherwise. Verto cringed angrily and powered up another attack in his palm as he searched for where Thirteen would reappear. The ground behind Verto began to rip apart from underneath and rushed towards Verto, who turned with one hand aimed straight ahead with the other supporting it. Rather it was foolish or not, Verto closed his eyes to help focus his blast. It changed from a bright blue sphere to a small ball mid-palm with constant streams of lightning threatening to lash out. The ground shaking increased in intensity just before Thirteen burst out from the ground, ready to unload with a huge punch. Verto's eyes snapped open just in time to see it, and he fired. Thirteen froze in midair just as dozens upon dozens of lightning bolts rushed out from Verto's palm, striking every inch of Thirteen's metallic body several times over. The big android grunted and howled with apparent pain as Verto kept channeling his energy.

_Come on, drop you big son of a bitch! If this doesn't work, not much else will!_ The lightning burst continued for nearly a minute before Thirteen finally fell to his knees and Verto was forced to stop, panting hard. Once Verto stopped, Thirteen got right back up.

"Shit!" Verto shouted. Thirteen was not happy, and showed it as his body sparked and smoked from various places, but for the most part he was only a little burnt. Verto could make out a sizable dent in Thirteen's torso, but that was all.

"That actually hurt you little bastard!" Thirteen snarled. Verto feigned a grin, _Great, not only is he unaffected, now he's mad too. Only one thing left to try now, and I hate having to try it!_ Verto's aura flashed to life as he showed signs of further powering up. Thirteen's smile returned as he assumed his fighter's stance. Verto suddenly turned and blasted off into the skies, turning Thirteen's grin into confusion. He began to follow the small Saiyan quickly towards the outskirts of the city. Verto kept flying, but slowed down considerably once Thirteen was in the air. Verto turned his head back just enough to spot the android, _Come on, fall for it! I'm just a wounded duck here. I've got to lure him out of here before I resort to using Kaioken on him!_ Thirteen glanced around and stopped dead in his tracks just on the city's edge. Verto also stopped and turned to face him, very sure that Thirteen had smelled the trap.

"Come on you big chicken shit! You said you wanted Goku, I'll take you straight to him! What are you, scared?" he dared.

"I am no fool, runt! So stop playing me for one!" Thirteen shouted back. He then turned and raised his hands, drawing up an even larger Deadly Bomb than before.

"You will fight me here, or I will destroy this entire city now!" Thirteen demanded.

"Leave them out of this!" Verto pleaded.

"I would, except I know you'll keep trying to undermine me. Your pathetic emotions will decide things though. They say that the true test of a man is what he does when he or someone he cares for is staring death in the face. You may not be a man yet, but I will test your resolve. Stay here and finish this fight, or watch them all evaporate before your very eyes! Their fate is in your hands!" Thirteen stated. Verto stared at the ground, seething over the ultimatum.

"Decide, or I'll decide for you!" Thirteen warned again.

"Fine, but we fight on the outskirts! Deal?" Verto offered.

"Deal, guess I don't need this anymore!" Thirteen declared as he tossed his blast nonchalantly over his shoulder. Verto's eyes went wide as the bomb fell towards the city, and he sped towards it. Thirteen cut him off with a harsh knee that stopped Verto in his tracks. Verto quickly shot a blast towards the bomb to deflect it, but he was unable to give it enough power to do much. The bomb wobbled off course from the small impact, but still fell into the eastern portion of North City.

"No!" Verto shouted in terror as Thirteen backed away. The bright red explosion leveled everything it touched, wiping out the entire eastern half of North City and leaving an incredibly deep crater in its wake. Large amounts of dust flooded through the air around Verto and Thirteen. Around Verto though, the dust was swirling and even catching sparks. Verto shuddered in anger, his hands trembling.

Thirteen laughed evilly, "Have I made my point boy?" This only added to the storm slowly forming around Verto as he turned towards the android. His eyes flashed with the color of blood briefly before staying a brilliant blue. The storm subsided back into his normal, flowing aura, and he took a deep breath before giving off a death glare of the ages. Verto didn't respond to Thirteen's continued laughter, though he was still shaking in rage as his eyes drifted towards the ground.

_No, I can't lose control, not yet! If I lose it again, I may not be stopped like last time. This is not the time or place to be testing that power. There are still a lot of people alive down there!_ Verto's thoughts distracted him enough that Thirteen raced towards him unnoticed. Thirteen clothes-lined Verto and flipped him completely around before watching him freefall towards the ground. Thirteen didn't wait for the recovery and dove down, kicking Verto hard and sending him flailing back towards the city and straight into a building. It collapsed as Thirteen landed in the dust filled street and waited. It didn't take long for the rubble to disperse and reveal a bruised Verto flying out of it. Thirteen readied himself, but was amazed when Verto stopped cold in his tracks, eyes full of surprise.

"Are you crazy? Get out of here!" Verto shouted at him.

"What are you talking about boy?" Thirteen grunted. Thirteen then realized that Verto was speaking to someone else and quickly turned to see whom. Behind the barrel of a pistol aimed at him, was Bulma Briefs.

Thirteen snickered, "Ah, Miss Briefs, how kind of you to join us." Bulma didn't answer, but did fire the gun. Thirteen frowned when the bullet bounced off the side of his head.

"How utterly annoying!" Thirteen grumbled. Thirteen's palm turned upwards as he charged a strong blast to return the favor. His blast vanished when his arm was suddenly yanked upwards. Verto pulled hard, lifting the small giant into the air before spinning around several times and letting go. Thirteen went sailing into the atmosphere and Verto turned his attention briefly to Bulma.

"That was really fucking stupid! Get the hell out of here before he comes back!" Verto screamed at her. He didn't bother to see her off and took flight, chasing Thirteen's flailing form. Once into the cloud layers, Verto lost track of Thirteen completely and paused to look around for him. Just as he broke through the top cloud layer and into the morning sky, he found the missing android. Thirteen was in the process of powering up his largest Deadly Bomb so far.

_Great, gotta deflect this one!_ As Verto dropped back with both palms facing inward, he frantically realized how high he was. _Wait a sec, I'm high enough that I should have my ki back…but where is it? Unless the range of those power dampeners really is that much. Damnit, I can't hold back on this one!_ Thirteen laughed as Verto's energy beam started to form.

"That's Goku's move, how appropriate! Too bad you'll only dishonor his legacy!" Thirteen claimed as his attack finished.

Verto growled but ignored him, _Gotta strike quickly with as much power as I can dish out! If this becomes a struggle, I'm up shit creek!_ Thirteen released his Deadly Bomb, dropping it straight towards Verto's small frame. Verto's gray aura came to life, before changing to a deep blue.

"Kaioken!" Verto's Kamehameha exploded in size as he fired it. Once beam and bomb clashed, it was very clear which was going to succeed. The Deadly Bomb never had a chance and was pushed into space before it detonated. Once it was clear, Verto was hunched over and trying to catch his breath. Thirteen dove down and smashed him over the head and Verto plummeted towards the ground. He smacked pavement and broke through, leaving his own small crater behind. Thirteen landed an instant later with a victorious grin on his face. He stepped into the crater and drove his big boot into Verto's back. Verto cried out in pain instantly, until a gunshot filled the air. Thirteen scowled when another bullet hit his shoulder, and turned to see Bulma again.

Thirteen shook his head slightly as he quickly charged a blast and fired, "Death wish granted!" Bulma screamed, as the blast appeared to overwhelm her. It cleared quickly, and all that could be seen was an unmoving body buried under rubble. The ground shook violently and Thirteen was thrown aside by a sudden energy surge. Thirteen got back up in anger, but stopped in genuine surprise. Verto was on his feet, teeth clinched and seething in red-hot rage. Verto's aura was back in full, and was it now a deep red color. His eyes were glowing with a similar hue, and Thirteen backed up a step in caution as vivid lightning bursts struck the air. One such stream arced out from the boy and lashed across Thirteen's face as he ducked aside. A short but wide gash was opened along the side of Thirteen's head, and he began to realize that the fight had just turned completely around.

Verto's teeth opened long enough for a sharp intake of breath before his battle cry hit the air, "You'll pay!"

* * *

Lenz staggered to a knee, her face heavily bruised. Ash Sotsu, her opponent, was bleeding from the head, chest and arms in various places. The entire fight had been a virtual slugfest so far, and neither appeared to have a clear advantage. Bulma had stood by and watched only because she didn't want to chance Cash having some other surprise up his sleeve. She considered firing the gun she had at Ash, but after watching Lenz struggle with the behemoth, she doubted a bullet would do much. Besides, that meant risking even a casual touch of the electrified cage, which would likely kill her. There didn't appear to be any control panels or switches on her side of the room anyway, so she remained stuck. That didn't stop her from glancing around every so often to make sure nothing suddenly changed. She especially kept checking the limp alien parasite just in case it was only unconscious. Flandal Cash himself was barely paying any attention to the cage match itself. He remained concerned with watching Android Thirteen take on Verto and Seventeen. Seventeen was more or less reduced to a battered bystander during the face off. Thirteen didn't appear to be affected by any of Verto's attacks so far, but he also couldn't catch him. Bulma had been rather confident of Verto beating the android, but that confidence waned when she saw him start to get frustrated. That frustration began to shift to anger when Thirteen began blasting the buildings around them without care.

A sharp smack brought Bulma back to the bloody brawl in front of her. Lenz had just backhanded Ash in the side of his face. He staggered to his right, pausing long enough for Lenz to capitalize on another opening. Lenz drove her entire leg into Ash's abdomen, and the big man swayed. When he didn't go down, Lenz backed up several steps while he remained stunned. Just as he showed signs of recovery, Lenz ran at him and jumped into an attempted flying kick. Ash caught Lenz by her extended leg and stopped her momentum easily. Then he held her high at arms length as she squirmed to get free. Ash pulled up and swung down hard, slamming Lenz into the floor face first. Ash kept his grip tight and pulled Lenz back up. The young girl hung somewhat limply as she gasped aloud in pain, blood coming from both her forehead and nose. Ash lifted her high once again, intent on causing more damage. Lenz opened her eyes wide when she realized it and reached out quickly, raking his eyes. The monstrous man dropped her immediately to hold and shield his eyes, big mistake. Lenz got to a knee and drove her forearm straight up into Ash's crotch. Ash wailed in pain and fell over, holding the family jewels protectively.

Bulma cheered, "Nice one!"

Lenz wiped some blood from her lip and grinned back, "Like little brother says, do whatever it takes!" Ash barely got to a knee before Lenz rammed her knee into the side of his head. Lenz purposefully put enough force into it to kill any normal human easily. Ash's head did tip sideways, but his neck stayed intact. Lenz backed away as the big man remained on the ground.

"Man, what is it gonna take to put him down for good?" Lenz wondered.

"Try hitting him harder, don't hold back on him!" Bulma suggested.

"That's what I've been doing!"

Cash chuckled from the far side of the room, "As you can see, he can withstand and even match the brutal nature of you Saiyans! You can't last against him forever!" Bulma eyed the series of tubes going through Ash's neck, circulating the black, syrupy fluid.

"I can keep this up all day if I have to!" Lenz claimed.

"I doubt you'll need to. Tell me Flandal, what would happen if he were to be cut off from that compound you have pumping through his veins?" Bulma asked. Cash paused and didn't respond, giving Bulma the answer she needed.

"Fair enough. Pull the plug Lenz!" Bulma ordered. Lenz nodded back and ran towards Ash before jumping onto his back. She snatched the tubes up as Ash tried to rise and buck her off. Yanking hard, Lenz pulled the tubing right out of his skin. Ash roared in pain and threw her off as the floor began to pond with a mixture of red and black. As Ash tried to examine his own back, Lenz charged him and threw all her strength into her shoulder as she rammed him. Ash fell backwards, right into the electrified cage. Ash's whole body lit up with blue as zapping sounds filled the air. His deep, burly voice overlapped all noise for easily ten seconds as his back sizzled and smoked. Ash's painful facial expression dulled to blank and he collapsed to his stomach. His whole body was smoking, but not nearly like his charred back. Lenz waited a moment before stepping closer and checking his pulse. Lenz frowned, but then wrapped both hands around Ash's neck and turned hard, filling the room with a sickening crack.

"He's done. Now let me out of here!" she demanded.

"How stupid do I look girl?" Cash retorted. A bright flash came from the battle display, revealing that Verto had just hammered Thirteen with his Galic Fist attack, knocking the big android for several city blocks. Everyone stayed quiet for a few minutes as Thirteen erupted from the ground right into Verto's lightning attack. Cash's video feed clearly showed how winded Verto was becoming once the attack ended.

"Looks like your kid is getting frustrated," Cash noted.

"Your robot will be deep fried once little brother starts trying!" Lenz declared.

"Keep your threats; you're not in any position to make them," Cash stated. Back on the screen, Thirteen sent Verto flying through a building for once. When he came back, he started shouting something inaudible. Cash switched the angle and spotted whom he was shouting at. When he zoomed in, Bulma gasped.

"What the, that can't be right. Unless…what's Kati doing out there?" Kati Cash, who currently looked identical to Bulma, had a pistol in her hand, aimed straight at Thirteen. Flandal's own eyes widened, realizing that his daughter was about to do something very stupid. She fired and Thirteen turned when the bullet bounced off. Thirteen charged a blast to respond in kind, only to have his arm yanked upwards by Verto. Verto pulled the big android into the air and swung him around several times before letting go. Thirteen went sailing into the skies, well into the atmosphere. Verto landed and berated Kati for a few seconds before chasing after Thirteen. Kati's expression never changed the entire time, revealing to Cash what might have been going on.

He pressed a button on his console and spoke angrily, "Ranso, what have you done to Kati?"

"Nothing. Just planted a few useful ideas into her head. Think of it as punishment for defying your will," Ranso replied over the intercom.

"Call her back! Thirteen isn't programmed to determine friend from foe!" Cash ordered.

Ranso hesitated, "Yes, doctor!"

"And later, we will discuss your idea of punishment!" Cash warned.

Bulma scowled, "Sounds like your little witch likes taking things even further than you. Aren't you two a perfect couple?"

"I don't remember asking your opinion on the matter. Besides, your boy nearly had another traumatic experience. You wouldn't want him to have an emotional breakdown at a time like this!" Cash grinned.

Bulma returned the glance, "You're lucky he didn't. Bad things happen when Saiyans are under extreme duress, and Verto is no exception."

"Quit being so blind. It would have distracted the boy and Thirteen would have finished him off for good!" Cash claimed.

"Oh really? I'm the blind one, and here you thought you were so thorough even with Frost's help. Well he already warned you for your own good, but it looks like you didn't heed his warning. There's a big reason why super villains like Frost's father Frieza and Cell were defeated. It usually centers around underestimating a Saiyan, especially an angry one. Their hair turns blonde for a reason. You probably should have investigated that first!" Bulma explained.

"Yeah, you don't want little brother to get mad. He'll pay you back ten fold!" Lenz added.

"Enough of these delusions of grandeur! It doesn't matter if he gets angry or not, Thirteen will kill him. And I have studied these Super Saiyans. Their golden form allows them to take their energy to new extremes. Well guess what, my power inhibitors don't allow that!" Cash countered.

"You saw it yourself Flandal, Verto has more than just Saiyan power behind him!" Bulma pointed out. The two scientists resumed their glaring contest as Verto suddenly slammed into the pavement, smashing a new crater into the street.

Cash smiled, "There, you see?" The view panned outward, showing Thirteen landing near Verto's prone form. He stepped forward and drove his feet into Verto's back. As Verto screamed in pain, Thirteen's attention shifted elsewhere once more. That's when Kati appeared on the screen again, gun aimed.

Cash's finger was on the intercom button in a heartbeat, "Ranso! Let her go!"

Ranso's voice shakily answered, "I'm sorry doctor, I can't! She's out of range!" Thirteen's next blast fired and swallowed Kati. When the light faded, a pair of legs could be seen under a pile of rubble, wearing Bulma's blue capsule skirt.

Cash gasped, "Kati?" He stood still and stared at her unmoving body, speechless. He still didn't react when the feed erupted with bright red light and Thirteen was suddenly forced away. He didn't even change the camera angle to see what had caused it. He only stared at his daughter's corpse, tears rolling out of his eyes. Bulma sighed heavily as Lenz suddenly glanced towards the ceiling.

"Well, I guess we'll have to wait until he snaps out of it," Bulma said.

"Maybe, maybe not," Lenz replied.

"What is it Lenz?" Bulma asked with concern.

Lenz looked slightly confused, "I can feel little brother's energy. I know I shouldn't be able to right now, but it's there. It feels really cold, but at the same time, hot like lava!"

* * *

Gohan woke up suddenly, startled as he had a bad dream. He glanced around his peaceful room and sighed with slight relief. It was his third nightmare in as many days. Gohan wasn't completely sure what there were really about. They seemed to feature some sort of evil being hell bent on destruction, each one different from the last. Since the sun was now peaking through his window, Gohan wondered where Goten was. The kid was hardly ever tardy when it came to rousing Gohan at sunrise. Gohan quickly remembered that Goten was staying the night at Capsule Corp. He did sense his father's antsy presence just outside. Gohan shook his head slightly, _Probably warming up already. _Gohan had promised Goku that he would endure an early morning bout with both him and Piccolo. Gohan did not sense his mentor nearby however, drawing his curiosity. Gohan's eyes narrowed, _That's strange, Piccolo is never late._ Gohan felt a slight aura of concern from Goku and elected to scan for the mighty Namek's presence. He found it quickly in the area of the lookout, though felt a rush of annoyance coming from him. Gohan was about to scan around the rest of the area when the phone rang, interrupting his focus. The front door slammed open as Goku beat everyone to the phone. Gohan had just reached the stairs when Goku hung up and began to pace with irritation.

"What's wrong dad?" Gohan asked.

"I've got a really bad feeling Gohan, something is wrong," Goku said cryptically. That was enough to grab Gohan's attention, but it didn't prove anything yet.

"What do you think it is?" Gohan inquired.

"I don't know, but I can't sense Vegeta or Trunks at Capsule Corp!" Goku said.

"They're probably still asleep dad, I doubt it's even twilight there yet," Gohan pointed out.

"That's not it; I can't sense anything from Capsule Corp at all. It's like there's a void of life in the middle of West City. And I can't sense anything around North City!" Gohan turned his head slightly to scan said areas himself. He blinked sharply when he sensed the same blankness in the air. His eyes promptly shifted to blue when he began to search for alternate energy sources. The blank spots vanished around both cities, but Gohan felt a strong surge from the north. That strong surge was Verto without a doubt, and Gohan felt it growing both stronger and darker.

"Dad, I think there's a serious problem. Go check on Capsule Corp, I'll go to North City. Whatever is causing this must be there, because Verto feels like he's losing control of himself again. I don't think anyone else but me can deal with it!" Both father and son blasted off in different directions a few moments later, flying as fast as they could. _If he loses control of himself again, I'm not sure we can stop him!_

* * *

Android Thirteen didn't move as he tried to figure out what was going on in front of him. One moment he was clearly winning the battle, and the next he was being stared down again. This time by a radically powerful boy, whom a minute ago was clearly losing. At first Thirteen thought it was the Kaioken technique again, but this red aura brought more power and destruction with it. Thirteen could feel how volatile the air around him was, like an extremely hot thunderstorm. A stiff breeze circled through, wrapping around the raging epicenter that was Verto. His eyes had filled with a light red that matched everything else at the moment. There was a sharp increase in air temperature, and a generous spark ignited the ground and trees nearby. Orange and yellow flames flickered to life, quickly scorching anything nearby and spreading rapidly. Everyone watching in the remaining structures began to panic and fled the area. The few that were stuck on the upper floors called for help, but their screams fell on deaf ears. Thirteen backed up a few steps in caution. He had already seen Verto send his strongest attack into space easily, he didn't want to make any mistakes now. Down in the depths of his mechanical gut, he felt fortunate for his extra armor coating, because it was about to be tested again. Time seemed to slow to a crawl around Thirteen and Verto, even though nothing happened for much of it. Thirteen couldn't figure out just what Verto was waiting for. His angry burst was still evident by his glaring and glowing eyes as well as his clenched teeth and tight breathing. It was as if his power was stopping him from moving, or that he just couldn't control all of it yet. Several minutes passed before Verto even budged. When he finally did, he merely straightened up and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. When he opened them again, Thirteen saw that his pupils had returned, but had turned a disturbing shade of crimson. He had the look of someone malicious, not righteous. Once Verto appeared to have control of himself, his glare deepened and he walked straight towards Thirteen.

Thirteen snorted, "Are you done crying already? Is this the part where I should be afraid?" Verto didn't answer as he continued forward at the same pace.

"Aren't you going to answer me with that annoying wit of yours? Or are you simply at a loss for words?" Thirteen asked. Verto stopped, barely a dozen feet from the android, and stared up into Thirteen's oddly colored eyes. For a moment, Thirteen felt slightly unnerved at this. The look in the boy's eyes was down right scary, but Thirteen chalked it up as intimidation tactics. Thirteen then grinned when Verto made no further move, seeing this as hesitation on Verto's part. He couldn't have been any more wrong.

"Well?" Thirteen frowned with slight impatience.

"Words won't save you, so don't bother saying any!" Verto rasped in a very low voice. Thirteen's previous feeling of fear returned, and a distinct chill ran up his metallic spine. The chill vanished when a reddened fist was buried into his torso. Thirteen gasped in surprise before trying to pound Verto's back. The boy was gone before Thirteen could swing his arm. A small forearm smashed into the back of Thirteen's head, and he flew forward, skidding through the hot, charred concrete. Thirteen recovered quickly and rose to his feet. He heard a footfall behind him and cringed in anticipation. Thirteen rapidly charged a blast, firing just as he turned. The blast wiped out half of what was already a ruined city block. Thirteen's eyes narrowed, realizing that he never even saw Verto there. He patiently waited for any sign of his opponent among the smoldering ashes. He looked left and right, snapping left again when a piece of brick rubble clattered to the ground. Thirteen relaxed for that brief moment before Verto promptly phased in behind him.

"You're finished," Verto said with his palm raised. Thirteen didn't even have time to turn before a bright and erratic red energy sword penetrated his back and speared through the front. Thirteen gasped as an eruption of oily fluid came from his mouth and his midsection sparked violently. Verto disengaged his sword and kicked Thirteen square in the back, putting him on the ground face first.

Verto promptly spit on him, "Pathetic piece of junk! Nothing but a glorified toaster!" Thirteen's pain filled face melted into confusion as he got up off the ground.

"Is that so? Then why am I still here? If I am so pathetic, why not destroy me as quickly as possible?" Thirteen asked.

"Don't tempt me anymore than you already have can-opener," Verto growled. To Thirteen, the boy didn't look cocky by any means; he had a truly uncaring expression on his face as he stared back at him. At the same time, he didn't look all that hesitant either, but there was something about his expression that revealed conflicting thoughts. For some strange reason, Thirteen felt reassured in the face of this new danger.

"Come on, if you've got the power to break me, then let's see it!" Thirteen dared.

Verto stepped back this time, "This fight has no meaning to it. It's pointless to continue."

Thirteen was surprised to say the least, "Is that a fact? Tell me why that is?"

"Destroying you like this won't do me any good. Go find Goku, he'll finish you off. I'm not gonna do it," Verto claimed. His eyes flickered slightly to a fainter red color and his aura faded. Thirteen wasn't sure how to react to this at all, considering everything else that had happened.

"Are you giving up then?" Thirteen dared to ask.

"You can call it that if you want," Verto replied as he turned on his foot and walked away.

"Why?"

Verto stopped and sighed heavily, "Because you are a soulless beast. Once I put the hole in your gut, it was obvious. You're still here because you are nothing but a robot, or your vaguely human parts are so small that they're only microchips. Using this power on you means nothing. And the longer I stay like this, the more likely I lose control of it. I can't allow that to happen."

Thirteen scoffed at this, "All that bravado about being stronger and protecting the innocent and now you're refusing to do it? Sounds like someone's priorities are mixed up. Are you worried that you might kill a few insects if you fire another blast? Poor baby! You fail to realize that a minor attack will do exactly that!"

"Maybe so, but I would become something worse than you if I continued this course of action. You would only kill them, at least they would have an afterlife," Verto said calmly.

"Rather the myths of the life after death are true or not, are you trying to say that you can erase people from existence?" Thirteen asked.

"In a nutshell, yes," Verto replied as he turned back around.

"Interesting," Thirteen said with a sly grin. Verto didn't respond as he stepped further away, in the general direction of the lab.

"I find it odd that you didn't try to avenge Miss Briefs. After trying to protect her and all," Thirteen pointed out.

Verto didn't even stop, "That wasn't her. It just took me a moment to figure that out. If it had been, I can promise you that you would have been dust after the first attack." Thirteen glanced over at the prone body, spotting strands of brown hair instead of blue.

"Doctor Cash's daughter, why would she help you?" Thirteen asked.

Verto stopped, "It may not have been up to her, nor does it matter. Go do what you were made for; I'll take care of her father." Thirteen shifted nervously as Verto lifted into the air, realizing that this boy was a very legitimate threat.

_If I try to fight him again, it's very possible he will destroy me. But if I were to frustrate him enough to lose his composure, it's also possible that the other Saiyans will show. If he loses control like he suggests, he would destroy them for me. He will most likely kill Doctor Cash if I do not act,_ Thirteen pondered to himself. He quickly fired a blast across Verto's path, blowing up a fresh building along with anyone that might have been inside. Thirteen grinned slightly as Verto stopped, clenching his fists tightly.

"That was very stupid," Verto whispered.

"Not so fast boy! I need to repay you for this battle wound!" Thirteen declared. Verto turned, his eyes crimson again and his face full of rage. Thirteen thought he still looked too controlled.

"Leave now, and I will kill every human on this planet until you fight me! Starting with the remainder of this city!" Thirteen warned. Verto's red aura surged to life as the skies darkened, and random crackles of lightning filled the air. Thirteen's grin of success didn't last, as he realized that he might have made a very critical error. Verto's eyes suddenly shifted again as the whites filled with black and only the pupils glowed bright red. Verto cringed with apparent pain, but it faded when he spread his arms and released a great deal of energy.

"You fool!" Verto shouted. Just as he finished, another power surge came forth, and the entire area went up in flames.

**A/Ns: Yes I know, a truly diabolical cliffhanger. Next time, on DBV…you know what, no, not this time. Ya'll know someone is probably going to go bye bye next time. Draw your own conclusions as to what happens, and if you can't, then go outside, and "Give into the Night!"**

**WDG:** Uh-oh, there goes the neighborhood…

**VB**: Ka-boom bitch!


	40. Berserker

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 39: Berserker**

Seventeen struggled to move as he slowly woke up, his body registering damage all over. He was also detecting a fair amount of heat, which was odd to him since he knew that area well. It rarely got much above freezing year round, unless there was an absurd heat wave. When he finally opened his eyes, he jumped up, realizing he was surrounded by fire. Seventeen glanced around, seeing that the ruined city had been set ablaze. Above, dark storm clouds were randomly spitting lightning that crashed multiple times only a few blocks away. It wasn't going to rain though; the air was far too hot for that. It was incredibly strange for anyone to even see lightning strike so many times in the same general area, but not to Seventeen. High winds began to blast through, all moving towards the center of the storm rather than outward. Over the sound of the wind, Seventeen thought he could hear a child's scream, but wasn't too keen on investigating yet. The wind howled even more and increased in intensity. The roar of thunder overlapped it, and the lightning bursts increased. The ground shook roughly and broke apart the various rubble piles while rattling any remaining structures. Seventeen's ears nearly overloaded even as he covered them, trying to shut out the incredible noise.

Then, all of a sudden the sound ceased. The wind, thunder and lightning also subsided at the same time. Seventeen glanced around in surprise and stood up straight, but saw nothing past a few lucky bystanders. The skies darkened further, lit only by the dim red light emanating from where the lightning struck. The break didn't last as a long shockwave went through, carrying incredible sound with it and shattering all glass nearby. A large, expanding bubble of energy followed it, ripping through buildings easily. The shockwave blew Seventeen right off his feet, as well as anyone else nearby while their residences crumbled. All anyone could make out was the bright red light coming from the distance. Seventeen briefly made out a figure coming closer just before the light flashed and condensed into an incoming vapor trail. The larger Android Thirteen came barreling into view, flying awkwardly; a clear sign of being hit. Verto chased him down, enshrouded in a thick, vivid and rapidly flowing red aura. The look on his face reminded Seventeen of wild animals on the attack. _What could have happened,_ he wondered.

_What has come over me  
What madness taken hold of my heart  
To run away, the only answer  
Pulling me away  
To fall upon the night  
The source of my recovery  
Sweet shadow taking hold of the light  
Another day has been devoured  
Calling me away, begging the question  
Why?_

Verto clobbered Thirteen in the face with the first hit, sending him flying backwards for several city blocks. He gave chase, passing a surprised Seventeen in the process. Thirteen managed to recover and stop in midair, but far from easily. He looked up in time to see Verto's follow-up kick make contact with his jaw. Thirteen swayed to his right with the impact and then glided backwards, attempting to readjust. With blazing speed, Verto was right on him again, aiming a kick into the sword wound in Thirteen's torso. Thirteen cringed in surprised pain, but recovered enough to lift his arms and smash Verto in the back from above. Verto fell for barely a half second before another flash of red went off. Thirteen lost track of him, but needn't look far, as the boy was directly behind with a blast charged. Thirteen had just turned to face him when the blast made contact and he sailed into the city again. Verto's hands filled with energy as he quickly cut loose with a fast and furious barrage of red Psi blasts, all aimed towards Thirteen's position. Many of them hit that area, and many did not. Verto didn't seem to care and kept up the effort for a solid minute before stopping.

He was breathing hard, but it appeared to be more from anger rather than fatigue. This was further proven when his deep red aura flowed back to life. Dust and debris filled the air ahead, amidst the already burning buildings. Thirteen eventually emerged from the newest rubble pile, though he had seen better days locked in his pod. Several of the blasts had hit his tough body and had seared right into the strong material, leaving scattered gashes. The gaping hole in Thirteen's stomach had gotten a bit bigger as well, now the size of a softball with multiple wires sticking out.

_For saving me from all they've taken  
Letting my armor fall again  
Giving me the strength to face them  
Feeling it taking over now  
On a path to take it all away  
There can be no better way of knowing_

"Damn you boy!" Thirteen roared. Verto's expression melted back to the neutral, uncaring stare. From the streets, Seventeen rose up behind Thirteen.

"Finish him kid!" Seventeen shouted. Thirteen glanced back and fired a blast, catching Seventeen off guard.

"Mind your own business!" Thirteen retorted. When he turned back however, he saw a very intense red blast forming. He could tell right away that this one was meant to be the final blow. Thirteen rose higher into the air before turning and blasting off towards the south. He didn't go very far as a white vapor trail came at him quickly. Both Thirteen and the newcomer stopped, and both were surprised to see the other.

"Son Gohan?"

"Android Thirteen?"

Neither had time to say much else, as Verto phased in behind Thirteen, fist drawn back and wrapped in a fiery red with an absurd amount of lightning coming from it. Thirteen turned just as Verto rushed in, fist outstretched. The impact caused another explosion that blinded everyone who could see it, and Gohan shielded his eyes to it. When it cleared, the only thing Gohan saw was a few burning smolders floating towards the ground. Thirteen was gone.

_In a world beyond controlling  
are you going to deny the savior?  
In front of your eyes  
Stare into the night!  
Power beyond containing  
Are you going to remain a slave for  
the rest of your life?  
Give into the night!_

"So I guess you can fill me in since I missed the party," Gohan said first. Verto's dark eyes turned to him, and a very low growl came from his throat. Gohan's own blue eyes widened, realizing what he may have just flown into. Seventeen floated up between the two in a more positive manner.

"Seventeen, you're here? How?" Gohan asked.

"Long story. Awesome attack kid! You didn't have to hold back for so long though," Seventeen scolded. Verto bared his teeth at Seventeen, who wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Seventeen, get back!" Gohan warned.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"He's not himself at the moment. There's some sort of hidden power he has that makes him incredibly vicious. I've seen it before, but then he had control. I don't think he does right now!" Gohan explained. Seventeen was about to inquire further, but was blindsided by Verto's back fist and fell into the debris field below. Verto had a blast already charging, targeting the fallen android.

"Verto! Get a hold of yourself! The battle is over, you can stop!" Gohan shouted. Verto glanced up at Gohan and his blast vanished, but his raging demeanor didn't. Gohan backed away nervously, _Uh oh. He usually at least says something. He must be so far gone that he's on nothing but animal instinct. And animals attack the biggest threat first. Great, how long before he snaps out of it?_ Verto held his palm out and his bright red sword appeared again. Gohan mimicked the action, making a blue Psi sword of his own. _This isn't what I had in mind for an early morning workout. The fact that he is even able to conjure his sword says at least part of his mind is working, even if it is only second nature to him now. Hopefully he realizes what he's doing before long._ Verto bared his teeth again, and his low growl filled the air, making it obvious what he planned to do next. That's when Gohan got a good look at Verto's eyes, which were mostly black besides the red glow that came from his eyeballs. _What is with those eyes? They look like Majin Buu's! What could that mean?_

"So, are you going to say anything, or are we just going to fight?" Gohan asked. Verto responded by rushing towards him.

**Interlude 39.1 – Intervention -**

Another loud explosion reached the lab and the rock walls shuddered.

"Lenz, can you tell what's going on?" Bulma asked. Lenz continued staring at the ceiling with a face full of concern. The monitor screen wasn't of much help, as Doctor Cash couldn't stop gazing at his fallen daughter.

"It's hard to sense anything through all this rock. I think it's only because little brother's energy is so strong, and so hot. It feels as if there is a bright star about to crash into the planet," Lenz said.

"If there was a bright star out there, then the planet would burn up long before it could touch the ground," Bulma pointed out.

Lenz gave her a confused glance, "A big, flaming meteor then, whatever you want to call it. It's still really hot, yet I still feel cold from it on the inside!"

"Wait a second, if you can sense energy levels that must mean the ki disruptors are offline!" Bulma exclaimed.

Lenz lifted her palm up and cringed slightly, "If they are, I sure can't tell. Look, nothing."

"That doesn't make sense. When we were at that temple, Trunks and Vegeta got their energy back right away, Trunks even turned Super Saiyan!" Bulma explained.

"If it makes you feel any better, I wish I couldn't sense anything right now," Lenz replied.

Bulma paused in thought before snapping her finger, "Hold on. Can you sense me in this room?"

Lenz nodded, "Barely, but yes. I even feel that jerk over there!"

"Vegeta said specifically that when he couldn't use his energy, he couldn't sense it either. That must mean that either you can for some reason, or you've got Psionic potential!" Bulma surmised.

"Me? No way!" Lenz waved her off.

"That has to be it Lenz. That's the only type of energy Verto could be using right now if I'm not mistaken. The only two of our group that could use it or sense it were Gohan and Verto as far as I knew. Guess that makes you number three!" Bulma exclaimed.

"But why can't I feel it within myself?" Lenz asked.

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't know. In the past, Verto couldn't really feel it either until after he transformed for the first time, or was it the second? I suppose it wouldn't be the first time; that was one weird situation. Anyway, can you try to control any of it?" Lenz cringed again as she attempted drawing it forth, but nothing happened.

"I don't even know what I'm looking for, never mind how to control it!" Lenz claimed.

Bulma grimaced, "Maybe we'll just have to try something else. Hey Flandal!"

Cash barely gave her a turn of the head, "What?"

"There's a chance that your daughter is still alive. If you let us out, I'll tell you how we can save her!" Bulma announced.

"What are you doing?" Lenz panicked.

"Improvising. What about it Flandal?" Bulma asked.

"Don't be absurd! Thirteen unloaded on her, you saw that yourself. She's dead!" Cash claimed as he attempted to hold back his sorrow.

"Maybe, but I saw her body. If that android is anywhere near as powerful as you say he is, she would have been dust easily! There's a slim chance that we can save her!" Bulma pointed out.

"How?"

"Verto has the power to heal others. It wouldn't be a problem as long as she's still breathing," Bulma explained briefly.

"You're lying! You're just saying that so I'll release the cage!" Cash shouted in anger.

"No, she's right. I've seen him do it before, even to me!" Lenz interjected.

"Haven't you wondered how the virus went away not long ago? How your cancer just up and vanished? That was his doing!" Bulma added. Cash stood up and typed into his keyboard. The viewer shifted finally, showing Verto and Gohan staring each other off; Thirteen was nowhere in sight.

"What happened to Thirteen? And what is he doing here?" Cash asked. Cash's camera zoomed in on Verto's face just long enough to see his rage filled eyes before he vanished and the shockwaves began again.

"He's attacking Gohan! Why?" Lenz asked.

Cash snorted as he turned off the visual, "Even if that kid could save Kati, it doesn't look like he'll care to try. This may not be a total loss though. At least I'll get to see its effect on Saiyans."

"What effect? What the hell are you talking about?" Bulma asked. Cash grinned slightly as he typed in more commands. The viewer came back on and rewound to Verto's piercing glare. Cash pointed to his reddened eyes, surrounded with black.

"That is what I meant. He has Chemical Z in his system!"

"So Kati was telling the truth about that," Bulma said with disgust.

"However it happened, this is a clear sign of it. Most of my test subjects had this signature symptom at one point or another, along with animalistic behavior. I can only assume the reddened eyeballs are a side effect of his unique energy," Cash explained.

"You idiot! Giving that to a Saiyan! Next time, why not just blow up the whole damn planet! That's what is likely to happen if those two go at it!" Bulma screamed at him.

"Should be a good show then," Cash grinned evilly.

"Don't you care one bit about your daughter?" Lenz asked. Cash's eyes darkened, and Lenz could detect a similar edging of blackness within them.

"Not really, she's disposable!" he claimed.

"Then the last shred of your humanity died with her," Bulma said sadly. Lenz growled in frustration and considered trying to force the cage up, but hesitated, knowing what it had done to her before. Behind them, the door suddenly flew open and bounced off the wall. All three turned in surprise, but Lenz was the only one who knew the person there, vaguely.

"You?" Lenz asked in surprise.

"Who is that?" Bulma added. No one said anything else before the red headed Leira walked into the room, a look of pure contempt on her face.

"And just who are you supposed to be? Has Ranso been out recruiting again? I must say, I approve," Cash said with a nod.

Leira's scowl took over, "Save your delusions. I'm here on my own business and it somehow got tangled into yours! Your own small mind has delved too deeply into things not meant for this world! You call it your Chemical Z, but there is a potentially disastrous secret locked away in that substance. Tell me how you found it!"

Cash smirked, "Why should I? It's obvious you are jealous of my work!" Leira vanished in the blink of an eye, but returned quickly, on Cash's side of the room. Cash backed up a step in fear, fully aware now that Leira was not an average person.

"Do not test me Doctor Flandal Cash. Your plans to conquer this world will only bring about its end, far sooner than it is supposed to! Answer me now!" Leira demanded. Cash nervously stared back into the woman's penetrating eyes. When he didn't answer, Leira's hand came up shaped as if she was trying to choke an invisible person. Cash's body floated off the ground and he grabbed his neck in panic. His breath shortened and he coughed for air.

"Now Cash, or I'll start squeezing!" Leira warned.

"I-I found it in a cave!" he stuttered.

"And I don't suppose this cave had a specific feature about it?" Leira asked with her stern voice.

"T-there was a doorway, it led to another world just like Earth. But everything was different there, like events had a different outcome as if it were a parallel timeline!"

Leira's frown deepened, "And where in this place did you first find the substance?"

"I didn't find it there first. I found it here, a little south of East City, but there were only a few trace elements. In that cave though, it was everywhere! As if it had replaced all natural bodies of water. There was almost no plant life at all, as if the massive amount of Chemical Z had suffocated most of the planet!" Cash added.

Leira sighed slightly, "Damnit, it's even worse than I thought. All right, I'm not going to ask whom you saw there, but I will ask if you know what the substance originally came from. Well?" she asked when Cash paused.

He looked genuinely puzzled, "No, I haven't had any matches to known substances on this planet. It must be alien in nature!" Leira sighed with very slight relief and released her telekinetic hold on Cash.

"It must stay alien in nature. No one should know about it, especially not the Saiyans!" she warned. Bulma's attention had been captured a long time ago, but now she was on full alert.

"And just why not?" she retorted.

"Yeah, what gives?" Lenz added.

"The source of substance Z has already been dealt with. However, grave danger remains if anyone should take it upon themselves to study that malicious slime. It will bring a new level of chaos and destruction to your planet and beyond! No one else should go through what destroyed that other world. And that means no one else goes through the gateway, I mean it! Now then, you two have an important task at hand, release them Cash!" Leira ordered.

Cash's low confidence returned, "Now just who the hell do you think you are, trying to give me orders?"

Leira snorted, "Very well, since you didn't want to comply." Leira barely waved her hand and Cash went flying backwards into the wall, where he slumped down.

"You could have just done that from the start you know," Lenz pointed out.

"I wanted answers first. Though in this case, no true answers are better," Leira claimed as she flipped the large switch on the wall. The cage lifted up, prompting both Lenz and Bulma to step closer.

Leira held out a decently sized bottle to Lenz, "Go to the surface and take this with you. When the energy-dampening field lifts, Verto will most likely transform to his ultimate form. Once he does, you must splash him with this fluid before long afterwards. It will purge his body of the toxin. Convince him to drink the rest of it once he regains control of himself."

"Yeah, but what if I can't? You know how strong he is at that level!" Lenz replied.

"We don't have time to discuss this, do what I say. Things are bad enough as it is and the longer we stand around here, the worse it will get. We will make sure the auto-defense systems are off so you can get through the cave quickly. Once your energy comes back, get there as fast as you can!" Leira ordered. Lenz gulped slightly and nodded, taking the bottle and running for the exit.

"I don't get it, what is going on with Verto? What is that stuff doing to him? On top of all that, just who the heck are you?" Bulma asked.

"All very valid questions. I might answer them as soon as the ki disruption devices have been deactivated, deal?" Leira offered. Bulma grimaced, but nodded in agreement and proceeded to the control panel. As she typed furiously, she felt the stare from Leira, as if she was being examined under a microscope.

"Answer me this, why do I get the feeling that you are behind everything that has happened recently?" Bulma inquired.

"Not everything, in fact most of the recent events probably would have happened rather I was present or not. I have only stepped in when I deemed it necessary," Leira explained briefly.

"Like now? And like when Vegeta, Trunks and I were lured to that temple with all the alien creatures? You were the one who gave Verto that special stone that allowed him to use his energy, right?"

Leira smiled lightly and closed her eyes, "Your reputation is undeniable, wife of Vegeta."

"I think I found the command line. Anyway, how do you know your plan will work?"

"Technically I don't. But you're a very smart human Miss Briefs. I'm sure you can decipher what I have really said," Leira said as her eyes opened again.

Bulma's face lit up in realization, "Because you've done it before, haven't you?"

"Sometimes I really hate being right so often, must be a family trait. Anyway, I must ask, what gave it away for you?"

Bulma snorted, "Well nothing you really said. Flandal gave it away when he talked of a different timeline. Then you claimed that the source of Chemical Z had already been dealt with. Yet, apparently this crap was all over the place and was even here in some spots. That part didn't make any sense, unless it was some sort of aftermath scenario that spiraled out of control. If that's the case, what is the threat?"

"You may have missed a key element to our words," Leira pointed out.

"No, I don't think so. If you know just about everything there is to know about us, then you likely know about my son. Specifically the son whom I met before he was even born. Time travel is not a new thing here, and he traveled back in time to prevent a disaster. I'm guessing you're doing the same thing aren't you?" Bulma said without turning around.

Leira gave her a slightly dazed glance, but then just shrugged and sighed, "Most impressive. To answer it bluntly, not quite. I had to make subtle changes in this timeline so that things happened with as little interference as possible in the present. I did so in a way that allowed the course of history to stay as close to constant as it could. Unfortunately, someone else is disrupting my efforts. Whenever I made a notable change, I was countered. This has happened many times over during a very key time in the history of your planet. Finally, I gave up and went back to the past to try and change each event as they happened, but the time travel device I was using became unstable and created a rip in the fabric of space-time. That rip is currently in the cave that Doctor Cash visited. I can't risk sealing it, nor destroying it, as it would be very bad for both worlds. That world is not completely dead, there are survivors, but they are on their own. It wasn't my intention for any of their problems to get over here, for that I'm sorry. Hopefully this will be the last of it. I'm stuck here now though, and the timeline will progress rather I intervene or not," Leira finished.

Bulma took a moment to answer, "Alright, the auto defense systems are down. Ki disruptors go offline in two minutes."

"Thank you, and good luck," Leira said as she turned on her foot.

Bulma also spun around, "Hold it! We're not done talking yet! You didn't answer all of my questions; you only threw me a different bone to think about. But while we're on the subject, why did you feel the need to change the timeline at all? When did it start?"

"I will tell you as much as I am allowed, as long as you don't tell anyone else. Not Verto, and especially not Vegeta," Leira said with a darker tone.

"I'm not sure what this has to do with my husband, but I won't promise anything if it threatens all of us," Bulma said in defiance.

"Fair enough. I was sent to monitor the kid from a distance, about five years ago, give or take a few months," Leira began.

"That can't be right! Verto hasn't been here for five years, not even three!" Bulma declared.

"I know, but I'll get to that. When I arrived, things here were just like that other world, the planet was a tomb and everyone was dead. I traveled backwards to find out what happened and then stepped in to change things where I felt they were needed, both here and elsewhere. When I did, the outcome improved without a problem at first, but then that other force jumped in and did the same, ruining my efforts. I've been trying to find out who is behind it, but it hasn't gone very well. The measures I've had to take would seem drastic to most. I even went back far enough to change history before your time; just ask the Namek about that."

"So, what all did you change?" Bulma asked.

"I can't tell you everything, and I wouldn't anyway. But I will tell you one more thing before I go, to give you an idea of the significance of some of these changes. If it wasn't for me, the Protoss would not have followed the Zerg here," Leira stated simply. Bulma's jaw dropped open as Leira made her way out of the lab in silence.

* * *

Blue and red energy swords clashed in the skies above North City, sending shockwaves of displaced air outwards from the two opponents. Every time Gohan's Psi sword touched Verto's, he could feel the incredible rage within Verto. It was several levels beyond what it had been before, but in some ways it felt foreign, like it wasn't his own. His eyes resembled Majin Buu's, giving Gohan brief flashbacks.

"Stop it Verto, this isn't you!" Gohan pleaded. The smaller boy only snarled in response and backed away from the clash for a moment. Gohan held a defensive stance, unsure of what would be next. _This is beyond strange; Verto was able to control this to a degree before. It can't be that he's just gone that far over the edge. He didn't before even when he thought Mercurial had killed all of us, or if he did he regained his wits quickly._ Gohan didn't have to wait much longer, as Verto charged at him again, sword in a heavy strike position. Gohan swung into the expected attack, parrying it to his left. When he looked up, he realized that no one was holding the red blade and it faded quickly. Gohan couldn't even turn before Verto's kick slammed into his shoulder. Gohan cringed in pain as he glided downwards. He sensed Verto coming up behind and charged a blast to counter. Just as the smaller Saiyan was upon him, Gohan spun and fired. To his dismay, the blue energy went right through a vanishing Verto. A small but powerful fist found the squall of Gohan's back, sending him flying forward.

_This self discovery  
Redemption taking hold of my mind  
A serenade of haunting voices  
Calling me away  
To feast upon the night  
So much felicity  
Dark maiden taking hold of my hand  
Lead me away from hibernation  
Strong and unafraid  
Never a question why_

_Damn, it this state he's not only faster, but stronger overall too. I've got to think of something! _Gohan was able to recover and turn around, but found Verto charging straight at him, deadly eyes locked on. Gohan promptly pulled his own vanishing act as Verto swung into him. Verto halted and glanced around in surprise, before turning left and spotting the elder Saiyan. Verto charged at Gohan again, red aura blazing. Gohan teleported again, but this time Verto didn't stop. He simply changed directions, sensing Gohan's presence on the fly. Gohan was ready to instantly move again, but paused in thought as he tried to see through the next move.

_I have to be very careful here, Verto can counter instant transmission based movements. Somewhere in there, he's already thinking about it._ Verto came at him once more, fists burning with red Psi. Gohan teleported away, only to see a large energy beam heading straight for him. Gohan's eyes darted side to side as he checked his surroundings before opting to dodge it. The beam roared on by and headed into space, allowing Gohan to breathe easier. Once he turned, Verto's heavy punch collided with his face. This was followed by a hard kick to the solar plexus, and then a hard double-over arm smash. Gohan painfully rode out the momentum before stopping a few feet off the ground. Verto landed across from him, raging glare fully intact. His red aura appeared again as he started charging a massive blast. The blast took on a new feature Gohan hadn't seen before. It pulsed with lightning and seemed to catch itself on fire.

_This must be the attack Dabura taught him, which unlocked this power of his. Great, how am I going to stop it?_ Gohan didn't have much time to debate on it, as Verto fired it without hesitation. The blast came fast, but not faster than Gohan's instant transmission. Just as he moved, he regretted it, spotting a small child directly in the blast's path. A bright flash of red power went off and Gohan feared the worst. When he looked again, he saw Verto standing in front of the blast, catching it with his palms and sparing the little girl from the abyss. Verto's power flared and canceled out his own attack quickly. He then glared back at the little girl, who promptly ran away screaming, before he turned back to Gohan. Gohan blinked in surprise, unsure what to make of that particular action. Verto's expression had suddenly changed, he looked saddened. His power made no real fluctuation, but his emotional state had made a quick turnaround. _He must be finally realizing what he's been doing, about time._ Gohan dared to float closer to the confused child, stopping a mere thirty feet away.

"Hey, just calm down," Gohan suggested. That was the wrong thing to do, as Verto was rapidly charging a large Kamehameha-like blast. Gohan nervously glanced backwards, seeing nothing but residential homes in the path of what would definitely be a big attack. Gohan began to prepare a counter-blast, but stopped when he felt something change in the air around him. He wasn't the only one to feel it, as Verto suddenly stopped charging and allowed the attack to fade. His aura pulsed violently as new energy filled in.

_For saving me from all they've taken  
Letting my armor fall again  
Giving me the strength to face them  
Feeling it taking over now  
I'm about to take it away  
There can be no better way of knowing_

Verto's body shook and he cried out in pain as he grabbed his own head and dropped to his knees. Gohan stood by as Verto's red pupils flickered back to blue, but the rest of his eyes remained black. Gohan felt a slight drop of Verto's power, before it quickly skyrocketed again. His hair flashed white just before the power surge, and overwhelmed Gohan's senses as it blinded the area. _He transformed? He shouldn't be able to do that, unless..._ Gohan felt his own ki returning to him, and the void of energy surrounding North City lifted as well. In the not-so-far distance, he felt Goku and Vegeta coming closer.

"_Dad, don't use your instant transmission! In fact, don't come any closer to where I am! Something is very wrong here and I need to figure it all out first!"_ Gohan called out telepathically.

"_Why Gohan? What's so bad that I shouldn't hurry there? Isn't that where Verto is fighting some sort of powerful force?"_ Goku answered.

"_Just trust me Dad!"_ Once he felt Goku and Vegeta change directions, Gohan sighed with very slight relief. Verto on the other hand was looking himself over.

"How is this possible?" Verto asked as he stared holes into his hands. Gohan's eyes widened when he heard a slight change in Verto's normal voice, and his eyes seemed to darken even more.

"What do you mean? You've been going nuts ever since I got here!" Gohan claimed cautiously. Verto's suddenly malicious eyes turned to Gohan, and a truly evil smirk filled his face.

"Excellent, it appears that whatever brought this on has bestowed me great fortune. Now I not only have a powerful body, but I also have the one responsible for my demise standing before me! With this boy's power and abilities, I will dominate everything in my path, starting with you!" Verto declared.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gohan asked.

"Prepare yourself Son Gohan. Your end is at hand!" Verto replied. Gohan then felt another powerful presence within Verto. It didn't appear to be making any difference with his power level, but it was very potent nonetheless. Verto blasted towards Gohan with his green fist outstretched, but this time Gohan caught it.

"I don't know what's going on with you, but it won't be so easy!" Gohan said as his own silver aura appeared. He quickly transformed to Super Mystic as well, blowing Verto back with his eruption of Chi energy.

_In a world beyond controlling  
Are you going to deny the savior  
In front of your eyes?  
Stare into the night!  
Power beyond containing  
Are you going to remain a slave for  
the rest of your life?  
Give into the night!  
_

"Ah yes, you can assume this powerful form as well. Forgive my lack of memory. Being locked away in an abysmal sludge can be most taxing!" Verto said nonchalantly. Gohan's eyes narrowed, _He's possessed, he has to be! Verto just doesn't talk like that!_

"So who are you then?"

"Why tell you now? It'll ruin the surprise!" Verto shouted. He then pulled one arm back and charged up his Final Shine attack as Gohan pulled his arms up to block.

"You ruined my efforts before, the same will not occur this time!" Verto claimed as he fired. The massive blast pushed against Gohan, who struggled just a bit before heaving the huge, erratic ball of energy into the sky. The clouds above had finally had enough and evaporated from the heat of the explosion, revealing the clear morning sky.

Verto frowned as he looked up, "You're stronger than I remember."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

* * *

Both Saiyans charged each other and vanished into the air. Large shockwaves and sonic booms followed as they tried to strike each other with little success. Down below, a low flying golden haired girl came rushing in, stopping at Kati Cash's motionless form. Lenz glanced up, and was barely able to make any sense out of the brawl above. Instead, she moved some of the rubble aside and felt under Kati's chin. Lenz was more than surprised to feel a heartbeat, although it was faint.

_She's alive? What a lucky girl._ Lenz pulled Kati out and dragged her off to the side amidst the falling rubble. A bright flash of green lit up the sky again, drawing her attention. Above, Verto and Gohan were clenching hands in a test of strength. Verto was not on the winning end of this, but also seemed to realize it. He pulled back and aimed a kick towards Gohan's body. They both vanished suddenly, reappearing nearby as Gohan used the surprise move to flip and throw Verto off him. Verto spun around and fired a sudden burst of Chi blasts at Gohan, who barely had time to deflect them. Verto rushed in, bright green sword raised above his head as he bore down. Gohan glanced up in surprise as the sword came down. Lenz covered her eyes in horror, but blinked sharply when she heard no cries of pain. Above, Verto was driving his blade into another sword of green, courtesy of Gohan.

"It'll take more than copied moves to beat me. Whoever you are, get out of my friend's body and fight me like a man!" Gohan dared.

"Yes, I'm sure you'd like that. In due time dear boy, I just awoke after all. It shall be some time before I can even attempt to leave this body. Though, why would I want to? Destroying you and the other Saiyans with this body is not only satisfying, but incredibly ironic, don't you think?" Verto laughed.

Lenz's eyes went wide as she heard this; _Little brother is being controlled somehow, or he's possessed. But who is behind it, and when did it happen?_

* * *

"_The Night" by Disturbed_

* * *

**A/n: For those wandering "who" is under Verto's skin, the hints have already been given. Rather you want to guess now or just wait is up to you, but I'm always interested in opinions. I thought about taking the Berserker form a little further now, but it just didn't fit at this point. I won't promise to feel out its full potential at a later time, but I won't deny its revisit either.**

**WDG:** Let's throw another plot twist in there, why don't we. Oh looky, there's a preview! Looks like things are getting even _more_ confusing! … Alright I've done my little comment thing, now gimme the next one. It'll be interesting to see whether my own guesses are accurate.

**Next time on DBV: As Gohan and the Possessed Verto duke it out, Lenz intervenes with the special jar that Leira gave her. This does not completely stop the evil possessing Verto, and a winner-take-all battle starts in his mind when he wakes up. Meanwhile, Bulma tries to investigate some of Dr. Cash's work, but is stopped by Cash when he awakens. He launches a potentially catastrophic weapon against the Earth that only it's warriors above can stop. Will they? Maybe, but you'll have to read that and the other surprises, next time on DBV.**


	41. Tidings of Doom

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 40: Tidings of Doom**

"So, Son Gohan, what ability shall we try out next? I can feel the urge for something truly horrifying!" the possessed Verto said under his wicked grin.

"It's not like you'll be able to use them all, so it doesn't matter," Gohan replied.

"True, but a being like me really has no need for techniques invented by prophets to a false god. The truly divine use their powers as they wish. We will go with something familiar then, after all I've always wanted to try this one out for myself," Verto claimed as his hands lit up. They quickly sparked with green lightning, prompting Gohan to glide backwards in caution.

"Yes, you know this one well don't you?" Verto asked. Gohan didn't answer, as he was still extremely puzzled by the person before him, other than the appearance of course. _Who could this be, and why is he so angry with me?_ Verto's evil grin deepened as he prepared to fire the massive Chi storm forming in his palms.

"You can try to run, or even use that teleportation technique if you wish. But I will always be able to track you down!" Verto warned. Gohan held a defensive stance, but made no obvious effort to counter the threat. After a moment, he reconsidered and spread his arms wide.

Verto scoffed at this, "You don't actually mean to take the full brunt of this attack, do you?" Gohan glanced down and smiled just slightly before looking Verto straight in the eye.

"Go ahead and hit me, if you can," Gohan dared.

Verto frowned as he cast his hands forward and opened his palms, "Goodbye!" The teal lightning burst poured out and shot towards a seemingly defenseless Gohan. Just as it would have hit though, a thin energy barrier appeared, scattering the impact.

"Fool!" Verto roared at him. He fired another intense round, with the same result. Gohan managed a grin as Verto pulled back, perplexed as to why his attack didn't work.

"You can copy my friend's power and ability, but no one knows when and how to use them better than him," Gohan said simply.

"I'll admit there is something inside me that's itching to use something else on you. I think I'll listen this time," Verto replied calmly as he pulled back his arms. Gohan's eyes widened when he saw the big blast forming. _Why is it the bad guy always does that when I deliver a good line?_

Gohan glanced towards the ground in dismay, and spotted Lenz. More specifically, he saw the blue and white bottle in her hands. _She's got the sacred water, how did she know to get it? Oh never mind, I'll figure that out later. That stuff will end this in a heartbeat if we can give him a good dousing. _ The bright light from Verto's attack sparked and darkened the area, filling it with green. Gohan's instinct to shout down to Lenz was held back by his reasoning, knowing that there was a good chance that whatever was possessing Verto wouldn't allow it to happen. _Lenz can't take him on like this, no way. Shoot, I hope her mind hears as well as her ears do._

"Aren't you going to counter with something? It would make it more entertaining before I beat you. We wouldn't want the rest of these underdeveloped humanoids to get bored before they flee in terror!" Verto laughed. Gohan's glare deepened, but he managed to focus on task.

"_Lenz, if you can hear me, wave!_" Gohan said telepathically, focusing on the Saiyan girl below. Lenz's eyes widened and she slowly waved back, unsure about what she was doing.

"_Good. Don't jump into this fight until he fires his Galic Gun. When he does, you should have an unguarded moment to use that water on him. He probably won't give us another easy opportunity if he realizes what is in that bottle! Pour it all over him when you get the chance! It should do the trick!"_ Gohan ordered.

Lenz blinked sharply when Gohan's words went through her mind. _How did he do that?_ She didn't have time to wonder about this too much though, as the skies lit up further from Verto's charging blast.

"Now you die!" he shouted as he fired. The massive missile of doom raced forward, colliding with Gohan's energy barrier once again as he crossed his arms. The blast detonated, blinding everyone to its light. Lenz waited until it the light had just faded before flying towards Verto's position in the smoke. She stopped short however when she realized that he wasn't there. Gohan uncrossed his arms in genuine surprise, wondering what happened.

When he turned to Lenz, he panicked, "Lenz, watch out! He's behind you!" Lenz spun around, finding Verto floating at eye level with her.

"What's this? Another insignificant pest? You had best run along little girl, trying to sneak up on me is ill advised," Verto growled.

"What's wrong with you?" Lenz asked in shock.

Verto cracked an evil smirk that few could match, "Nothing, I have everything I need now!"

"Snap out of it little brother!" Lenz cried out. She dared to reach out to his shoulder, but he quickly snatched her arm out of the air and held it back forcefully.

"Don't touch me! You are not worthy!"

"Don't bother trying to talk him Lenz; he's not in control of himself! Just use the water!" Gohan shouted. Verto's piercing evil eyes snapped to the bottle of divine water in Lenz's other hand.

"Very astute Gohan, but there is no more Verto. Every part of his mind is currently asleep, and he will soon cease to be! Now back off girl, if you know what is good for you. A little enchanted water won't do anything to me," Verto replied as he shoved Lenz backwards. Lenz popped the cork on the bottle and flew at him again, but he was already gone. Lenz tracked him to the shockwaves above, and paused before daring to get in-between him and Gohan's furious blows. She could barely even see the movement even as a Super Saiyan, and at the rate they were going, it would be awhile before she even had an chance at splashing him with the holy water. _I can't let this drag on. Even if Gohan is stronger, little brother is better, I'm sure of that! Time to see if my training was worth it! _Lenz concentrated hard and took her eyes off them for a moment as her golden aura brightened. When she felt ready, she held her palm up and mentally crossed her fingers. Just as the violent dance above split apart for a brief second, she fired a massive golden beam. It separated both silver auras enough for Lenz to pinpoint who was who. Lenz focused hard on the left figure as her aura changed to a deep red.

"Kaio-ken!" Lenz blasted up to Verto quickly, who was caught slightly off guard by the sudden burst. She didn't hesitate and leveled his face with a vicious punch that stunned him. As quickly as the attack happened, Lenz's eyes widened in dismay when Verto turned his evil glare back at her.

"Just for that, you die first!" he replied in anger. Lenz doubled over instantly when his fist burrowed into her torso. Verto slipped behind her and snuck his forearm under her chin and pulled her back into a rear chin-lock. His grip tightened into a direct chokehold as Lenz struggled to get out of it. Gohan flew closer, but stopped short when Verto's green sword reappeared, aimed at Lenz's head.

"So which one shall it be Gohan? A slow end or a swift one? I'll let you decide on her fate!" Verto asked.

"Let her go, your fight is with me!" Gohan claimed.

"I agree, but she interfered. Something that is punishable by death," Verto warned as Lenz gagged. She opened her eyes briefly as her arms drooped a bit, her elbow making contact with Verto's thigh. Lenz's fading eyes came back to life when she realized that Verto was floating slightly off center, uneven with her. She pulled back and drove her elbow into his stomach, but he held firm. She tried a few more times, each blow weaker than the previous one as she quickly lost strength.

"Can't you understand that you are the weakling here? Now just die and get it over with. Give up!" Verto suggested.

"Never," Lenz rasped. Her hair changed back to purple and she started slipping unconscious.

"There we go, just a little more and you can enjoy the afterlife," Verto laughed.

"N-not if I c-can help it!" she groaned weakly. She was about to deliver another elbow shot, but could barely keep her arm level and swung low. Verto's resulting gasp of pain released his hold and Lenz fell downwards as she took in a deep breath. When she regained control and spun around, she saw that she had hit Verto right in the family jewels. Apparently whoever possessed him had felt it as well, and he was holding that area protectively. Gohan stood by, slightly pale at the sight. Lenz jumped at the chance and flew back up to him, dumping the bottle's contents over his head. The water seemed to snap him out of his painful grimace, but only to one full of rage.

"You'll pay for that girl! Do you not realize how much power I have? I could destroy you with minimal effort!" Verto shouted at her. Lenz backed away in fear and sadness, allowing a tear or two to slip from her eyes.

"Please, come back to me!" she begged. Verto snarled and move towards her, but stopped briefly to cough. When he did, he broke into a fit, hacking and struggling to breathe like he had something stuck in his throat.

"What an insufferable weakness that humanoid males have, t-that will be the first thing I amend at the earliest op-opportunity!" Verto gasped in-between coughs. He gagged and spit something from his mouth into his hand. When he looked at his hands, he panicked upon seeing a black, slimy substance.

"No!" he groaned. Gohan flew closer as Verto arched back and screamed loudly.

"What's happening?" Lenz asked.

"That was sacred water from the lookout. It will remove toxins from the body, especially strange ones that make people deranged. We've had to use it before a long time ago. Whatever got into him should dissipate soon and he'll be back to normal," Gohan explained.

"So it should take care of that Chemical Z stuff?" Lenz asked.

"Chemical Z? What is that?" Before Lenz could attempt an explanation, Verto's scream got louder as blackened steam rose out of him in several places.

"No, they're awake!" he screamed as he clutched his head.

Gohan turned his own head slightly, "They? Oh god, not again."

"What does he mean by that?" Lenz asked.

Gohan shook his head in dismay, "Let's just say he's been through this before, I don't pity him. Poor kid will be lucky if he doesn't have a brain tumor before age thirty."

**Interlude 40.1 –Struggle for Dominance**

In the innards of his own mind, Verto was surrounded and bound by a mass of black. It was holding his arms and legs together as it held him above the ground, slowly covering his entire being. Below, the two avatars of his personality were lying flat, but were slowly coming to their senses.

"What was that?" Good asked.

"Isn't it obvious moron? It's whatever that black shit is! Somehow it's wrestled control of our body away from us! I almost had it gone, but then it got stronger somehow!" Dark replied angrily.

"You didn't almost have it gone; you just went on a rampage! You even attacked Gohan!" Good claimed.

"No, I didn't. It was an unfortunate side effect that I didn't take into account. Now that we've experienced that power again, I was able to analyze it a little better. It comes in response to a high amount of threat or danger while we're in a weakened and enraged state. But since that threat was from within rather than outside, the body didn't respond to it properly once the robot was destroyed!" Dark explained.

"Look, that's why it's stronger!" Good pointed. Dark looked up to see that Verto's hair had changed to silvery white, though his blue eyes were fading.

"The ki disruptors got shut off, wonderful timing. That thing has control now. It's gonna take forever to get him out now, if we can. I'm sensing a lot of energy coming from – well whatever that is, and it's getting stronger! I don't think we can take it down before it consumes him completely! Great, this will get ugly," Dark said, disgusted.

"Not if we work together," Good said. Dark glanced at him, though the stare was not returned immediately. Good was staring at the ground, and then glaring at the evil fusion slowly forming above.

"Say that again?" Dark asked.

"You heard me the first time. If we work together instead of separately like we have been for so long now, we can do it," Good said.

Dark immediately laughed, "You picked a hell of a time to come to your senses!"

"Well you know, first time for everything," Good grinned lightly.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Both got to their feet and powered up, one with a red aura and the other with blue. A large drop of golden fluid dripped down from above and splashed over the creature and it's captive. It roared in apparent pain and let go of Verto, who fell to the ground. It appeared to have a large hole in its mass where the golden fluid had made contact.

Good's eyes lit up in realization, "Now!" Both versions of Verto stood together and charged up a large blast between them, firing it within a few seconds. The large, multi-colored blast drove into the dark creature, driving it back at first before stopping cold. The beam suddenly cancelled out, leaving two slightly surprised warriors at a loss for words.

"That thing is strong, whatever it is," Dark noted.

"I'm not sure, but I get the feeling we've seen it before. Maybe it was different somehow and I just can't recognize it, but I just know I've sensed something just like it before. It certainly acts like it's been here before," Good said.

"How about we kill it before trying to figure it out?" Dark suggested. Good nodded as his blue aura erupted again along with Dark's red.

"Charge in together, the damn thing has to have a weakness somewhere. Just try not to get entangled," Dark ordered. Good nodded slowly, but looked unsure of himself. Dark fired a quick red blast before charging in with a reddened energy sword drawn back. The creature reached for him with a dark tentacle, but he avoided it and then sliced it off easily. Good flew in from a different angle with his own blue sword ready. As he approached, the creature moved towards him suddenly, letting off an interested growl. Good's eyes widened as he backed up a step. A flash of purple energy suddenly flew past him, and Good went down, holding his head in agony. When he glanced up, he saw the image of someone else in the creature's place.

"Lenz?" The creature's black tentacles wrapped around his limbs at the wrists and ankles and pulled towards him. Good screamed in pain as he lost his sword and offered no real resistance. The mass was almost to his shoulders before the tentacles were severed by Dark's red sword. Good fell back and cringed slightly, but appeared to regain his wits as he stared forward. His counterpart's eyes were bright red as he battled the black creature, sword swinging wildly and a few blasts being fired. The creature changed targets and came after him instead, moving much faster this time.

Dark scowled as his red aura intensified, "You wanna go? Let's go!" Dark dropped his energy sword and held both palms up, firing a powerful lightning burst into the creature. It yowled in pain and backed away from the enraged warrior, sparking with red energy as the lightning slowly faded.

"Thanks," Good said meekly.

Dark snorted slightly, "It used some sort of mental attack on you. It recognized your weakness with feelings and took advantage of it. The fact that it knew about that means that it knows us better than we thought," Dark said.

"Alright, how do we beat this thing then? You can't fight it alone forever!"

Dark's scowl deepened, "By combining our strength, completely. That thing can't use any mental attacks on us if we go all out."

"I can't believe you're suggesting that again," Good shook his head. Dark stepped backwards and then to his left, lining up several feet away as he positioned his arms.

He spat angrily, "Shut up and get it over with. We'll have to do this if we have any hope of getting rid of whatever that is. As much as I despise even thinking about this stupid dance, I hate the tourist over there even more! Besides, staying separate like this much longer is going to drive us both insane!" Good nodded and took his own place, mirroring the stance. The creature reacted to this and backed away, more towards the unmoving Verto.

"Oh hell, not again!" Good gasped.

"Forget it, there's no time!" Dark said.

"Fu-sion! Ha!" Bright silver light blinded the area as the slightly new warrior formed. The unknown creature didn't even turn around and chose to completely cover its captive. Verto's skin darkened to a very dim gray and his hair returned to black as he screamed aloud for several seconds. The black mass shriveled as it entered his body and filled his entire being.

The darkened Verto got to his feet and laughed slightly as his eyes turned black, "You won't stop me now!" His voice had deepened greatly into an unrecognizable tone. Across from him, another Verto stood with bright blue eyes and silver hair, donning a bright white outfit with white lightning flowing through it.

"You don't belong here. Leave now, or face me!" True-Verto said.

"I think not boy! All your pitiful efforts to resist me are coming to an end. I wanted to make this a thorough merging, but you force my hand. Your resilient mind won't save you now, not this time!" Creature-Verto claimed.

"I've been possessed before, and I've beaten it, you won't be any different!" More golden fluid started to drip from above, and pooled around the two Verto's, as if it was to be the only witness to the coming battle. Both rushed at each other, catching each other's punches and clenching hands in a test of strength. Both auras came to life, Verto's bright silver and the creature's black. Verto cringed as he felt himself losing already.

"You see, it's no use! I have your power, your abilities and your memories. Added to my own, it's an unstoppable combination! I will rule this and every other world, just as I was destined! Long has been my journey back to greatness, but the end is finally near!" Creature claimed. Verto cringed and pulled back quickly, getting loose from the clench. He didn't give the off-guard Creature any time and blasted him point blank with his Final Shine. The creature flew backwards as he blocked the beam, riding the momentum backwards. Verto paused and stood up straight, glaring sternly at the counter-attack result. Creature grinned and halted, standing firm at the attack canceled out before its usual explosion.

"Can't you feel my energy? It's a great deal more powerful than anything you can do!"

"Wouldn't be the first time I've beaten someone I shouldn't," Verto replied. Creature stepped forward with his palm outwards, conjuring a red sword of his own. Verto mimicked the action, creating a green one. Creature flew at him quickly and swung down from above. Verto blocked against it and was forced backwards from the sheer force behind the attack. He went down to one knee almost immediately as Creature pressed the attack, intent on finishing it. Verto held his sword with both hands initially, but then pulled one hand down to his side and shifted sideways. Creature stumbled forward as Verto stepped away, brilliant blue blast already forming. Creature regained his balance and glanced back at Verto in surprise.

"Spirit Bomb!" Creature dropped his sword and blocked against the small bomb, reacting painfully when the white lightning began to spurt out from it. Creature's arms became laced with purple as he filled with bomb with his own energy. The bomb promptly popped and fizzled out, much to the shock of its original owner.

"Not even your Feedback technique can do anything to me now!" Creature claimed. Verto became determined and powered up as much as possible as he drew his arms back. Creature only walked slowly at him, filled with confidence.

"Super Galic Gun!" Creature didn't even flinch as the green beam smashed into him, and kept moving against its force. Verto's eyes lit up in desperate fear and increased the energy outflow, but it did little to nothing against his powerful opponent. It wasn't long before Verto gave out and fell to his knees again, breathing hard as the beam faded. Creature suddenly phased in from behind and grabbed his head from both sides. Verto screamed in pain as Creature pressed hard, intent on crushing his head.

Creature laughed, "Now, the end!" Verto began to feel feint when he smelled something. Smoke was coming up from the ground, along with a distinct sizzling sound.

"What, what's that?" Creature asked as he let up and allowed Verto to turn his head. Both glanced downwards and saw they were now standing in a full pool of golden fluid. It wasn't doing anything to Verto, but the creature's borrowed feet were melting as if he were standing in acid.

Creature-Verto stumbled as his eyes went wide, "What is this?" His grip released, but as he tried to fly up, True-Verto grabbed his leg.

"Let go!" Creature hissed at him.

"Gladly," Verto said. He then flung his opponent into the acidic golden soup, and the reaction was instantaneous. The blood-curdling scream that followed sounded the hopeful end to whatever had invaded as the black mass spilled out from Creature-Verto's borrowed body, burning away in the golden fluid that had stopped him. The fused warrior split apart as the golden fluid faded and the creature dissolved completely, leaving an unconscious Verto and his good and dark counterparts. Dim, gray light then lit the area, and the dark glanced over at the good.

"So," Dark began.

"Yes?" Good asked.

"I think it's become obvious that whatever happened could happen again. We can't allow that," Dark said.

"I know that, what's your point?"

"We settle things here and now. Bury the hatchet and move on. This fractured mind crap isn't gonna fly an inch off the ground anymore. The only thing it's going to do is continue to spiral out of control. This was only a convenient backwards step that delayed it," Dark explained.

"I know you too well for that. Having you back in the mix…"

"Wouldn't be too much different right now. You can't handle these darker situations, I can. Sometimes the only way to fight evil is with another kind of evil. At the same time I need you to maintain a level of control when the beast is unleashed so to speak. We've been taught that by several others, maybe it's about time we actually started implementing it. We can't take turns and fly solo with these powers. Our body might be Saiyan, but up here it's still all human. You know as well as I do that very few humans would be able to handle the shit we've been through and still be sane," Dark lectured.

"Yeah, but…" Good tried to say.

"But nothing! He agrees with that assessment and so do I. Odds are that you do as well, somewhere in that closet you call a head. You're just too stubborn to admit it, which is a sad trait that we share from time to time. Hiding in the closet from the real world isn't going to help any. Break down the walls and work together like you used to preach. So why don't you step up and fucking do it!" Dark shouted.

"It's just that…I'd rather not see myself become the villain," Good said sadly.

"We don't have to. But then again, being the hero all the time may not be the answer. Just don't let anything bother you, well anything really bad. Harden yourself to the darker parts of life. Harden yourself to me if you have to. Just don't let it consume you, that's what will be your…our downfall," Dark suggested.

Good nodded, "Fine, I guess the world could use more of an anti-hero type of figure. Besides, I wouldn't want to be seen as another hero with an afro, fake or not. Where do we start?"

"How about we just get him… us, back on our feet! We'll let things settle and allow our brain to figure out the rest without interference. It's gonna be hard enough to master emotional control with all the other shit going on," Dark said. Good nodded again as they both walked over towards the unconscious Verto.

* * *

"Wake up little brother!" Lenz attempted to shake Verto awake as the last bit of black mist left his body. Gohan stood nearby, watching the mist evaporate and disappear. He didn't like the feeling he sensed from it, but was content to let it go for now.

"Try giving him some more of the sacred water, that might help," Gohan suggested. Lenz stuck the open end of the jar in-between Verto's lips and tipped the bottle. Verto's eyes shot open and he sat up almost instantly, spitting the holy fluid out as Lenz fell backwards.

"What the hell are you trying to do, poison me? That tastes like shit!" he shouted.

Gohan couldn't help but chuckle lightly, "Well that worked. How do you feel?"

Verto glanced towards the ground briefly before standing up straight, "Other than this headache, body pains and that horrible aftertaste, I'd have to say stretched. Like my mind has been pulling itself in multiple directions at once, and then all came together. Then something happened while I was attempting to right the ship so to speak. Whatever that Chemical Z crap was, it did something to me. I'm not sure what it was to be honest, but I've felt something just like it before. Cash's daughter was trying to warn me but I didn't listen and I probably should have. Did I go nuts again?"

Gohan snorted, "You could say that. I wasn't here for the entire thing though. What do you remember before blacking out?" Verto blinked sharply,

"I don't even remember blacking out actually. I was fighting Android Thirteen by myself after he took out Seventeen. I felt something was wrong then, but I was too busy to pinpoint anything. I'm not sure, it's like my head has been fuzzy for days and now it's cleared up. Anyways, in the middle of it all, Cash's girl got stupid and shot at him. At that time, I thought it was Bulma, seeing as the girl's ability is shape shifting. I almost lost it right there when he blasted her, but I was able to calm myself when I realized that she wasn't dead. Then Thirteen started playing target practice and I did lose control. Things just faded out after that into a blur of activity. I knew I was moving around and trying to attack something, but I wasn't sure what. Then at some point my ki returned, everything went dark and I was asleep until now," Verto explained.

"I got here when you were on a rampage. You wiped Android Thirteen out, and then you attacked me and Seventeen. The ki disruptors got shut off in the middle of it all and you transformed. Whatever that Chemical Z stuff is, it must have taken control. It seemed to know about all of us and was particularly angry with me for whatever reason. I can only think of one person like that…" Gohan said.

"It wasn't Cell, I'm sure of that. Much worse than Cell. We'll have to examine a sample or something later. How'd you deal with it?" Verto asked.

"Lenz did actually. She had the sacred water from Kami's with her. How did you know to get that stuff anyway?" Gohan asked her.

"I didn't. I was trapped with Bulma down in that lab and that mean red head showed up. She knocked out that nutty doctor and released us. Then she gave me this and said to splash him with it, like she knew what was going to happen up here and all. And she was really mad at the doctor about that Chemical Z stuff. I think she knows more about it than he does," Lenz said.

"Wouldn't surprise me, Leira has yet to be open with me about anything. How did you get close enough to do it though? If that thing had control of me, odds are I wouldn't have allowed it to happen," Verto pointed out.

Lenz laughed nervously, "Oh I just have that kind of charm."

"Is that why it feels like I got punched in the crotch?" Verto growled.

Lenz backed up a step, "Well, you always say do whatever it takes." Gohan broke out laughing at this point while Verto shook his head in dismay.

"I'll have to rethink that one apparently," he muttered as he turned around. He spotted the unconscious Kati Cash, as well as the cautious Android Seventeen getting to his feet. Verto walked over and knelt down at Kati's side, checking her pulse. It was very weak, but still there, and his left hand glowed green immediately. Within thirty seconds, most of her wounds had healed, along with the facial scarring that had plagued her for so long.

"Lenz, take her somewhere safe. I don't care where as long as it's away from here. I don't think we're quite done yet, and she'll be out for a few more hours," Verto ordered.

"Alright, but what are you going to be doing?" she asked.

"Finishing what I started," Verto said simply.

"And that would be what?" Gohan asked nervously.

"Her father and I still have business to take care of. I intent to put an end to it - one way or another," Verto replied.

Gohan's eyes widened, "You're not thinking of killing him, are you?"

"Let me put it to you this way; that crazy whack job has tried to take us out multiple times without care of who gets hurt as a result. He even put his own daughter in the line of fire. The son of a bitch has had it coming!"

"He's right, Doctor Cash must be taken out of the picture," a voice said from behind. The three spun to see Leira stepping closer.

"Sorry, but I'm not convinced yet," Gohan said in defiance.

"That human has reached into things that should not have been touched. If he is not eliminated, it is you and everyone else that will suffer the consequences," Leira replied.

"You're talking about that weird black stuff right? You know where it came from don't you? Why won't you tell us?" Lenz asked.

Leira scowled at her, "Once again, your mouth overrules your brain."

Verto snorted in slight frustration, "So, you want to answer her question or not? If you know what that shit is and why I got possessed, then spill it! I have a right to know why I damn near killed my friends without knowing it!" Leira's expression briefly changed to that of concern, but she sighed and let it go.

"Very well, it came from…" she began. The ground started to shake just as Leira spoke, interrupting her.

"Great, what now?" Verto said. A rundown building not far away suddenly started to crumble. As the building fell away, it split apart, revealing a large, metallic cylinder slowly moving upwards. As more of the make shift totem pole appeared, the gang could see a black substance behind a clearer glass-like material lining the middle of the pole.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Gohan muttered. The cylinder finally stopped its ascent, and the very top popped off, revealing a smaller but pointed tip.

"What the hell is that?" Android Seventeen asked, breaking his silence. Smoke began to come out of the ground below the pole, revealing its true nature.

"It's a missile," Verto noted.

"You must not let that hit the Earth or the ocean! The results will be catastrophic!" Leira urged. Gohan didn't need any more motivation and blasted off towards the missile as it began to rise out of the ground.

**Interlude 40.2 – Maniac's Resolution -**

Bulma sighed in cautious relief as she watched the display from Cash's video feed. Seeing the black steam rise out of Verto made her heart jump a little, but also made her feel a lot better. She wasn't too optimistic until he actually woke up again and visually looked normal. Once that was over, Bulma began looking through Cash's computer files. There were a ton of robotic schematics and other nifty inventions that she wanted to explore, but at the moment they didn't matter. The provided mouse flew around the screen at her command before stopping cold at a particular folder. Clicking through, she found only a few documents, and she opened the file marked 'Origins'. She silently read through Cash's words and her face hardened into anger as she did. So silent and intent was she that she didn't notice the shadow sneaking up behind her. She did notice the cold iron and decisive click of a pistol pointed at her head.

"You're snooping around again Bulma and you know I hate that!" Cash growled.

"More than your own name, Flandal?" Bulma asked with a small smirk.

"Don't tempt fate. This gun has fifty caliber ammunition. Do you know what that can do to a human's head at this range?"

"No, but I'm sure you fantasize about it."

"Step back now," Cash retorted. Bulma held up her hands and backed away slowly, trying to figure a way out of this mess.

"So, it says here in your file that you never quite figured out what your Chemical Z comes from. Other than that place you mentioned. Where did you find it on Earth? Or should I say, this Earth?" Bulma asked.

Cash eyed her suspiciously, "Six months ago, in a barren area fifty miles south of East City. Why do you care?"

"Just curious. I am a scientist after all and I like exploring things I don't understand. Like what this Chemical Z does to the environment," Bulma hinted.

"Well, you'd be disappointed then. I haven't found enough samples in that area to mean anything. Now, through that cave, I found rivers of it. The sample had a slightly different protein sequence, but it was more or less the same. That 'parallel world' as you called it, was completely dead. I didn't see any survivors, with the exception of a few ferocious animals that had likely been exposed to it for a long period of time," Cash explained.

Bulma turned around to look him in the eye, "And you think Chemical Z destroyed that world?"

"Possibly, what are you getting at?" Cash asked.

"Well, if that was the cause, who's to say it can't happen here? I for one would want to study it more so we can prevent that from happening," Bulma suggested.

Cash actually pulled his gun down, "You make an interesting point."

Bulma glanced up hopefully, "What do you say we get started then, show me to a microscope."

Cash smiled and walked over to his control panel, "I don't think there's any need for that." Bulma turned her head in cautious wonder. Cash's grin turned malicious again as he brought up some sort of command screen, and punched in codes for a launch sequence. The cave shook, knocking Bulma to the floor.

"What did you just do?" she cried out.

"You said you wanted to study it's affect on the environment, I'm just providing a helping hand. How about making your precious West City be known as ground zero? Or maybe the ocean itself? So many choices. It doesn't matter to me. Once this warhead detonates, it will likely spread all through the atmosphere before raining down on the Earth!" Cash declared.

"You can't do this! You don't even know what will happen! Look at what it did to Verto and the others you tried it out on! Now you're trying to do the same thing to everyone?" Bulma screeched.

"It'll make things nice and interesting won't it? Just perfect for a scientist to study with! I wonder what Frost will think of this beautiful disaster?"

"You're crazier than I thought," Bulma replied. On the video display, flames and some burst out from the ground as the large missile began to rise. Just as it got into the air and gained speed, a silvery vapor trail came rushing towards it from behind. Cash zoomed in the view, revealing the would be saboteur.

"Gohan!" Bulma pointed out.

"Pity, I should have given it a remote detonator. Oh well, guess we'll just have to watch him chase it around the Earth. Maybe he'll blow it up for me!" An explosion promptly went off, but it wasn't from the missile. Cash's head snapped to the lab door nervously as he kept his gun aimed at Bulma. He quickly glanced at the video screen to see that Gohan had grabbed onto the missile and was flying it higher with Verto in pursuit. Another crash sounded from inside the cave, and a proximity alarm went off. The nearest security feed was showing that Lab A had caved in with various fires spreading about.

"Looks like you're about to have a bad day Flandal," Bulma laughed.

"Shut up!" Cash growled.

"Better give up now Flandal, if you know what's good for you!" Cash stepped towards Bulma and smashed the side of her head with the butt of his gun. Bulma dropped to the ground, out cold as the side of her head bled.

"I told you to shut up!" Cash snarled. Cash stepped back when the lab door flew off its hinges. There in the doorway, was the one man that Cash didn't want to see at the moment. Unfortunately, that one man did want to see him.

"You must be Doctor Cash, hello," Vegeta said.

**A/N's: I think someone might be in a tiny bit of trouble here.**

**WDG:** Well, Vegeta _is_ rather short. To call him 'big' probably wouldn't fly. Still, 'a tiny bit' feels like a bit of an understatement. So when can we expect Cash's obituary?

**VB**: Dearly departed, we gather here to say goodbye to the smartest piece of monkey crap to ever walk god's green…wait that's next time.

**Next time on DBV: Gohan and Verto take Cash's missile into space to dispose of it while Vegeta gives Doctor Cash a piece of his mind. With the crisis over, Verto decides to investigate the recent occurrences with his power and Leira's time-tampering more thoroughly. Nearby however, Bulma and Gohan decide to finally find out what Chemical Z is and why it had such a disturbing effect on Verto. They aren't disappointed with their findings.**


	42. Secret of Chemical Z

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 41: Secret of Chemical Z**

Gohan struggled a bit to hold onto the large missile while guiding its path. It would have been so much easier for him to just destroy it by blasting it into a million pieces. At the same time, he knew that if what Leira said was correct, it would be a total disaster. So for the moment, Gohan settled for keeping the warhead high in the sky, far above any water or land mass. All he had to do now was keep his grip tight and hope he thought of something before it blew up or he ran out of energy. Gohan felt an energy surge behind him and noticed Verto giving chase.

"I thought you were going to deal with Doctor Cash?" Gohan asked.

"I was, but this seemed more important right now. Besides, I doubt he would have been alive by the time I found him down there, someone else with a grudge beat me to it," Verto replied, "Any idea where you're going to put that?"

"We can't just leave it alone obviously; we don't know how durable the glass is. Maybe some island where nothing lives? Then we can get a sample to Bulma and figure out just what it is," Gohan suggested. Verto eyed the black fluid inside with a worried expression. For a brief moment, he thought he saw something inside and even winced for a moment.

"No, it's not worth it. Leira mentioned not to let it hit the Earth at all and for once I feel like listening. Let's take up into outer space," Verto said.

"Sounds good, this stuff is creepy," Gohan noted. Both Saiyans transformed to their silver-haired forms while being careful not to damage the missile. With the extra speed, they cleared the atmosphere quickly with the missile in tow. Once away from the gravity pull of Earth, Gohan allowed the warhead to fly itself for the moment.

"Um, where to now? It's not like we have a moon to leave this on," Gohan pointed out. Verto didn't answer, causing Gohan to turn around. He was sweating and visually looked like he was in pain.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked.

"It's talking to me. It's telling me to let it out," Verto rasped. He suddenly held his head and screamed in agony. Gohan looked back at the missile and saw something truly strange. The fluid inside was piled up against the glass on the side facing Verto and rippled towards him, completely against the momentum of the warhead.

"We should find and empty planet or something to leave it on, maybe Venus?" Gohan said.

"N-No, it might interact with almost anything. We have to take it to the sun!" Verto stammered, as he seemed to shake off whatever was inflicting him.

"Of course, that missile couldn't withstand that, and surely whatever that stuff is can't either. It'll dissolve!" Gohan claimed.

"But can we make it there? It might be close to Earth, but it's still pretty far, and we can't trust our aim enough to just throw it from here," Verto said.

"You're forgetting something, there's almost no gravity in space. It won't drain our energy getting to the sun with its gravity pulling us; it'll be getting back that's tougher, but it shouldn't be too bad. I traveled quite far in several hours because of that fact," Gohan explained.

"Trial and error at it's best again. I don't wanna know why you had to do that. Let's just get rid of this before whatever that is tries to talk to me again," Verto grumbled.

"It was a messy situation. And you got to meet Lenz because of it," Gohan said with a grin on his face, "Let's go!"

**Interlude 41.1 – Wrath of the Prince**

Flandal Cash stood nervously as Vegeta entered the lab, a classic predator-like expression etched on his face.

"Well, well, look at what we have here. An idiotic buffoon that is about to catch up with reality!" Vegeta growled. Cash quickly reached for the computer console, but it was a vain attempted when Vegeta's blast hit it first. Gone was most of the equipment, taking Cash's hand with it. Cash screamed in agony as he held his bloody stump of an arm protectively and away from the remaining fire.

"That one was for trying to trap me in that frozen place with all the damned creatures!" Vegeta shouted. Cash cringed and tried to ignore the pain as he reached for his gun. He never got a shot off before another blast eliminated it along with his other hand. Cash instinctively tried to clutch the new injury, but to no avail with both hands now gone.

"That was for destroying my holographic training chamber!" Vegeta said as he stepped closer. He quickly checked on his wife before turning his attention back to Cash.

"I d-didn't blow up that gravity chamber, that k-kid did it!" Cash stuttered.

"He did it because of your plan to use my mate's technology against us!" Vegeta growled as he fired another small blast, this time clipping Cash's right knee. Whatever was left came off when it buckled, and Cash tumbled painfully to the ground.

"Get up you scum! I'm not finished with you yet!" Vegeta snarled. Cash managed to get to a sitting position and glared daggers back at Vegeta as he groaned in extreme pain. He fumbled his arm into his jacket for a small remote, but without any fingers he was unable to hold on. Vegeta had it in his hands before Cash could blink.

"Whatever this was supposed to do, you can forget about it!" Vegeta said as he crushed the switch and walked around Cash's crouched form.

"Kill me and get it over with you stinking monkey!" Cash grumbled.

"And let you off easy, I don't think so!" Vegeta said as he stepped just behind the crazy doctor. Cash attempted to turn and face him, but earned a hard kick to his lower back. The snap echoed through the lab as Cash skidded face first across the floor. His remaining leg twitched for a brief moment and then settled as he cried out in pain.

"That should keep you compliant. Anymore surprises in here you insignificant weakling?" Vegeta asked. Cash only grunted back as he tried to move. With both hands gone and the rest of his body in terrible shape, it made crawling difficult. Vegeta glanced up when he sensed someone else approaching, but moderately relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Vegeta?" Goku called out.

Vegeta kept his full attention on the bloodied doctor, "What, clown?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Goku asked.

"Aggressive negotiations."

"Stop it! You don't need to resort to this! He's had enough!" Goku claimed.

"Oh? My mate thought that too a few weeks ago and look where that got us. Your son almost died because of this wretched piece of trash! Judging by what I've sensed, the boy lost control of himself again because of this fool! We've been too damned lucky thus far, and I'm not taking the chance!"

"You'll all die anyway, you must know that," Cash muttered.

"What was that?" Vegeta shouted.

"You heard me. Your victory here means nothing! Whether I succeeded or failed is irrelevant! Even the great Goku will perish, though it's a pity I didn't get to study you first," Cash admitted.

"What did you want with me?" Goku asked.

"It doesn't matter now. As I die, so does any hope for this planet's salvation! Frost is coming!"

Goku's level of alertness shot through the roof, "What? Frost?"

"Yes, he'll kill everyone! And he isn't the only one. He brings with him an army of elite soldiers like yourself! Enjoy what time you have left, because you can't win! And from the bottom of hell, I'll revel in your deaths!" Cash laughed. Vegeta promptly shot a small beam through Cash's right side and the evil doctor fell silent.

Goku glanced at him, "Did you really have to do that?"

"Shut up, all this bickering gives me a headache," Vegeta grunted.

Goku shook his head slightly and bent down to Bulma, "Hey, wake up!" Bulma slowly roused as Goku tore off part of his uniform and held it against her bleeding head.

"What happened to Cash?" she asked as she sat up. Goku only nodded to the motionless body, giving her the answer.

"Damn fool deserved it then," Bulma muttered.

"Bulma," Goku scolded.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to support the 'all can be forgiven' routine this time. The bastard sold us out to Frost! He probably gave him Earth's location if he didn't have it already. Not to mention everything else he's done!" Bulma screeched.

"Well, what's done is done," Goku said.

"Not quite. I'm going to take a good long look at his files; it might tell us…okay what happened to the computer?" Bulma asked with her stern motherly voice.

Her glare immediately shifted to Vegeta, who snorted in reply, "Why does it matter?"

"Argh! You just can't solve any problems without blowing something up can you?" Bulma shouted.

Vegeta briefly smirked, "It wouldn't be as much fun. Besides, are you complaining?"

"You're such an idiot!"

"Ungrateful hag!"

Goku merely shook his head as he followed the arguing couple out of the caves. Behind them, the motionless Doctor Flandal Cash lay in a slowly growing pool of his own blood. Once the screaming faded into the far reaches of the cave, Cash shuddered violently.

"You'll pay. You'll all pay!" he grumbled into the silent lab. In the darkest corner of the room, a bright light opened up, and a limping figure with a cane moved towards him.

"Come, Doctor Wheelo. We must hurry!"

* * *

In one of the many rooms of Capsule Corporation, a single television was playing the news for two of its residents.

"…clean up of North City continues one day after the unexpected attack. Several members of the Special Forces team were sighted battling an unknown monster. None were available for comment after…CLICK!"

"He failed to mention that monster was me," Verto grumbled as he set the remote aside.

"Well you don't look like one little bro," Lenz said.

"Don't patronize me. You should never judge a book by its cover. You're a prime example," Verto countered.

"Well, at least whatever was controlling you is gone right?" Lenz asked.

"Yeah," Verto trailed off. He didn't tell Lenz that he had heard voices in his head from the black slime right before he and Gohan reached the sun.

"_Let me out! Become one with me and be an absolute god with no equal! You've done it before, you can do it again! This time no one will stop us!"_ Verto relived the dark voice that spoke to him and bore his worried expression again as he stared at the carpet. Lenz saw the concern on his face and leaned forward until she was right next to his ear.

"What's wrong? It is gone right?" Lenz asked again.

"Oh, yeah. We threw it into the sun so I know it is for sure," he replied quickly.

"Well that's a relief," Lenz said as she sat back.

"Hopefully. What bothers me though is that I know it from somewhere."

Lenz grew extremely alarmed by this, "What do you mean?"

"You heard Gohan's description, hell you were there. Whatever that black shit is, it had some sort of living consciousness that awoke and possessed me. It drew on my energy and grew stronger. Plus it had an agenda. But as much as I'd like to find out everything about it, I'm not going to test the theory by opening Pandora's box," Verto explained.

"Pandora's box?" Lenz asked.

"Sorry, it's an expression for being tempted into unlocking something very bad."

"So what does someone named Pandora have to do with it?" she asked.

Verto scowled, "It's kind of a myth and legend at the same time. Pandora was supposedly a beautiful girl that was given an enchanted box by the gods and warned never to open it. They didn't say why, and eventually the temptation was too much for her. By opening the box, or in this case, investigating its contents, darkness could be spread all over the world. That's the idea anyway, I'm sure there's a billion different versions of that particular story. I'd rather not become a new one if you get my drift."

"Oh, yeah don't do that," Lenz agreed.

"Besides, it sounds like we will be busy now that Cash has been dealt with," Verto muttered.

"Oh, doing what?"

Verto grimaced, "For someone that hacked into an alien's supercomputer, you sure are dense."

"Hey, all I did was upload a virus onto it. It's not my fault that a complete idiot could have…" Lenz trailed off when Verto's grin reappeared.

"I'll let you finish that sentence if you want," Verto offered.

"Um, so what are we going to be doing?" she asked instead.

"We will be training," Verto said.

"We always train, what's so different about that?"

"Your Psi training Lenz. Bulma told me about what you felt down in that cave. You have to master it before we deal with Frost," Verto stated.

"But I can't sense anything weird now. Not since the ki disruptors were shut off," Lenz pointed out.

"But I can. I didn't sense it before, but it's there now. Maybe all the stress of the past several days had something to do with it. We'll flush it out of you if we have to. And it won't be Vegeta's brutal style of training either, that won't work. I have some things I need to work out with myself before I go any further with you. Until then, I want you to train with Piccolo."

"The Namek? Why?"

"There are lessons you need to learn, several of them. Number one thing is patience; you have less than Goten and Trunks and that is saying something. I want you to work on proper mediation with him too. Both of those can also bring faster reaction time and allow you to recognize the little things in a fight," Verto suggested.

"Why can't you teach me all of that?"

"I can, if you stay focused and willing. Since that's unlikely to happen, you'll have to deal with Piccolo instead. And I have things I'd like to look into before I address my own issues."

Lenz's curiosity perked again, "Like what?"

"Answers," Verto replied grimly.

"Answers to what?"

"We leave in the morning, go to bed," Verto ordered as he walked off.

"You're no fun!"

Verto sighed heavily as he sensed her going upstairs. _Sorry Lenz, but you can't be part of this. I'm not sure what I'm going to find, and it might reveal more than either of us want to know._

**Interlude 41.2 – Dark Revelation-**

Gohan walked into Bulma's lab, partially surprised to see another girl in there. Her face was smooth as silk and her nose and lips were the spitting image of perfection. Gohan blinked sharply when he realized he had seen her before, but she hadn't looked quite as good then. She was in the process of handing over a vial filled with black fluid.

"Here you go, I hope this helps. It's probably the last sample," Kati Cash said.

"Thanks Kati. What will you do now that your father is gone?" Bulma asked.

"I'll get my own life back together with Uncle X's help. Then I'll probably try and track down Ranso," Kati replied.

"Ranso? As in…" Gohan began.

"Yep, same girl. She tried to get me killed during that whole fiasco, so I'm not going to let her off easy. I'll let you guys know when and where I find her, if I can. She might be hard to find, but I have a few leads," Kati noted.

"Be careful," Bulma warned.

"Good thing I can copy others to hide myself as well. Thanks to Verto, I can copy without touching anyone. His power must have changed my ability somehow. See you around," Kati waved as she left. Gohan waited for her to leave the area before giving Bulma a hardened stare.

"You wanted to see me Bulma? Judging by the vial I think I can guess why," Gohan said.

"Yes, we're going to get to the bottom of this mystery. This is one of the few untreated samples of Chemical Z that are left. After seeing what it did to Verto, we need to determine what it is and where it came from. I called you here because I have a feeling that something strange might happen while I'm examining it. That strange woman might show up to stop me," Bulma said in disgust.

"What makes you so sure?" Gohan asked.

"Because I already found a sample before I left Cash's lab, and as I was looking into the microscope, the vial disappeared. By the way, some of this stuff seems familiar."

"How so?"

"Some of the peptide sequences are remarkably similar to the Zerg. Maybe it's the remains of some sort of new strain we didn't see before. Or maybe a degraded piece of a hive cluster left behind that was in the final stages of decomposition," Bulma mused.

"Peptides? Wait, are you saying this is someone, or something's DNA?" Gohan asked in amazement.

Bulma nodded grimly, "Yep, down to the last drop." Just as Bulma set down the vial, the room lights went out.

"What the? Damn generators!" Bulma growled.

"I don't think that was it Bulma," Gohan said as he sensed a new presence.

"No, it wasn't," a voice said. The lights came back on, and Leira was standing in-between them with the vial in her hands.

"You again!" Bulma shouted.

"Keep your voice down. I told you before to stay out of it and leave this substance alone. Apparently my generosity meant nothing to you. I could have left things to continue as they were, but I chose not to in favor of saving this world instead of destroying it. Freeing you and the girl along with giving her the sacred water did exactly that. Now stop investigating that which you clearly do not understand!" Leira ordered.

"I have to find out what that is. We need to know what tried to take over Verto's body!" Bulma urged on.

"Believe me, you don't."

"Why not? You saw what it did. And from what you told me, you knew it would happen! Well, if it happens again, wouldn't it be nice to know how to combat it incase you aren't around?" Bulma countered with logic.

"Miss Briefs, I will only warn you one more time. Do not explore this substance, nor tamper with it. It can only bring disaster! Especially in your hands!" Leira said sternly as she turned to leave. Bulma's stunned expression lasted even as Gohan blocked Leira's path.

"Please, if you won't let us figure this out, at least tell us what it is and why it's so dangerous. You were about to tell Verto what it was the other day when that missile was launched. So please just follow through with it," Gohan pleaded.

Leira sighed heavily, "This is not something I should be telling you. But seeing as you're too stubborn to back down, I'll tell you what I can."

"Thank you," Gohan said.

"You may want to retract those words once I'm finished. What I'm about to tell you will just draw more questions, many of which I cannot answer at this time," Leira said.

"That's fine. Just tell us what that is, no more suspense," Gohan said as he pointed to the vial.

"Very well. This, Chemical Z, is something not to be trifled with, as you already know. And it comes from an enemy you've already beaten," Leira began.

"Who?" Gohan asked.

"Not who, it's more like what," Leira hinted.

"Oh you're kidding me!" Bulma suddenly shouted as she smacked her forehead.

Gohan glanced over at her, "What Bulma?"

"Where Cash said he found traces of this, I should have known right then and there. No wonder it resembled Zerg DNA so much! It wasn't just that they were all over that area, it was what was there specifically!"

Leira nodded, "That's right. This is the blood of the Overmind."

**A/n: DUN DUN DUN! ****I know a few of you had a slight hunch about that one, though a lot of you didn't. I even got a few suggestions that it might be Garlic Jr…why I don't know, maybe it was the sacred water use. Hell, I'm wondering how many of you thought that Wheelo/Cash was going to kick the bucket without the mech form coming out to play? Well not yet obviously, but when I started debating on using Wheelo as a villain, the first thing I knew I had to do was avoid the two minute story that the movie gives us. That's the beauty of the what if scenario in the fan fiction world, it lets you create the scenario from the beginning. Expect more to come.**

**And as far as the Overmind's blood plot goes…I'll let your own imaginations take you for a ride before this story gets there.**


	43. Pendulum

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 42: Pendulum**

"The Overmind's blood? But how?" Gohan asked, shocked.

"It's not all that surprising really. The Zerg tend to linger even after the main swarm leaves a planet or even a solar system. A small amount was likely left behind when the creature fled this world, and the Overmind's essence was left within the blackened slime. It's possible that it was also injured at the time. From what my research tells me, that black blood could have only come from its core," Leira explained.

"It must have been when Broly tried to sacrifice himself to kill it. I guess I just didn't recall its blood to be black, but sometimes it varied with the Zerg," Gohan pointed out.

"Indeed. There's more to it then just that however. It also has to do with what happened while the kid was in their captivity. The Overmind saw what Saiyans were capable of, and obviously wanted to improve itself. But it could not merge with just any Saiyan; only an exceptionally powerful host would do. Verto was a test, and in the process, the Overmind accidentally created a monster!"

"When the Cerebrate fused with him, didn't that release his evil split personality?" Gohan asked.

"That's not quite accurate. I'm not exactly sure how that happened, but when it did, Verto's mind fought back. He may not remember it very well due to the stress. The mind cracked even as Verto and the Cerebrate got things under control. It was the influence of the Overmind that wore him down, and eventually it released a darkness that should have stayed buried. This darkness was partially the result of a massive buildup of negative energy that fed off his spirit power. I also believe that it was some sort of dark spirit that somehow possessed him well before he crossed paths with the Zerg. Most likely it was a wondering apparition that was extremely weak and latched on to Verto's deep pool of energy to rejuvenate itself. It merely took his memories and appearance since it probably lost any of its own. It got stronger when Shenron returned him to his child state due to the influx of negatively charged energy. Even though that dark spirit is gone now, Verto still feels the effects, both physically and emotionally," Leira explained.

"Yeah, we've noticed," Bulma said grimly.

"But where would something like this happen? I mean, wouldn't he see or sense something like that?" Gohan pointed out.

"Good question. It really could have happened anywhere. It could have happened before he even came here, and then again it could have been at any point during his many trips to the afterlife realm. Not to mention the fact that certain areas of any planet are more susceptible to spirit activity than normal. I really don't know," Leira admitted.

"What about this deep pool of Psi energy he has. You know, the red kind? Does that have anything to do with this?" Gohan asked.

"Yes and no. It's part of who he is I'm afraid and not something easily controlled. That dark spirit might have been feeding off that all this time and that's why you never noticed it before until he returned to Earth. Anger triggers it when he is unable to transform to what you call the Super Mystic form. This was used on the android partially due to his body's instinctual reaction to something internally wrong. All the android did was provoke him, but until the Overmind's blood reacted to it, Verto maintained control. After that he was simply on auto-pilot as his mind attempted to fight off the infection."

"I understand that part, but how is it that this raging power isn't within me as well? We basically had the same training prior to the Zerg war," Gohan said.

"Sorry, I can't answer that," Leira said almost immediately.

"Okay, can you answer why you changed the timeline?" Bulma asked.

Gohan stared at both of them, "What?"

Leira grimaced, "I was truly hoping you wouldn't bring that up again."

"I'm sure you were, but if we're to cooperate with you again at all, we deserve the truth!" Bulma said sternly.

"You should be patient with tedious situations; they may unfold themselves in time," Leira suggested.

"I don't feel like waiting that long if you don't mind. You told me that if it weren't for you, the Protoss would not have come to Earth. Are you responsible for the Zerg coming here as well?" Bulma asked as her voice went up a few levels.

Leira sighed, "No, that was someone else who sabotaged some of my efforts elsewhere. And all I did was point Executor Tassadar and his kind in the right direction. If I hadn't…well you have a pretty good idea what might have happened."

"No, we were holding them off fairly well and had just turned the tide when they showed up," Bulma insisted.

"Bulma, the Zerg could have won. We had held off their first few rounds, but they still advanced on us. We saw how quickly they could recover from a defeat. We would have been worn down and picked off one by one. If the Protoss had shown up any later I'm not sure what would have happened, but it wouldn't have been good," Gohan said.

"Perhaps. Rather they would have won or lost is irrelevant now," Leira replied.

"Did they last time? You know, in that parallel world Flandal described? It's sounding a lot like a future that was altered similar to the way ours was due to the androids about twelve years ago," Bulma pointed out.

Leira's frown showed no sign of faltering, "Let's just say that the war took longer, there were more casualties, and the lasting effect on this planet wasn't good. That's all I will say about that place."

"What about Mercurial then? Or more specifically, that demon within her?" Gohan asked, changing the subject.

"What about it?"

"We know you're the one that stopped her before, and she was sealed in the time chamber. Add to that you practically tore the containment jar from Piccolo's hands when he captured the demon. Where did you take it and why?" Gohan demanded.

"Gohan, calm down," Bulma tried, though it didn't ease him much.

Leira shifted slightly, "The demon is the least of your problems. It would be wise to leave things be."

Gohan was quickly running out of patience, "If there's one thing you should know about us, it's that we won't tolerate potential threats that have been ignored."

"The demon is not a threat anymore. Pray that it stays that way!" Leira growled as she promptly vanished. She reappeared in the doorway behind Gohan.

"Well someone's grumpy today," Bulma noted.

"Before I leave, do you at least understand why you can't tell Verto or Vegeta any of this information?" Leira asked.

"Because they'll likely lead a crusade to deal with whatever is left of the Zerg in that other world?" Gohan guessed.

"Exactly, and in doing so, they will cause this world's downfall," Leira replied.

"Why can't you just destroy that gateway?" Bulma asked.

"Impossible. It is the last thing you want to attempt, believe me. If the portal were to become unstable, it would tear both worlds to pieces. Both galaxies would likely follow, so don't even go there," Leira suggested.

"We can't just stand around and hope that nothing comes of it. Just because we dealt with Doctor Cash doesn't mean someone else might not find it," Bulma pointed out.

"You have no choice in the matter, but know that I have set up safeguards to prevent anyone here from randomly stumbling into it. One last warning to you both: do not get comfortable with this rocky time of peace, for none of you are completely safe from your eventual destiny, no matter how many times it changes!" Leira stated with all seriousness. Both Bulma and Gohan stood silent for a moment as Leira vanished again.

"Well at least we know what is in that other place, that alternate timeline. And odds are that some sort of disaster happened regarding the Zerg war if rivers of the Overmind's blood are flowing around," Bulma suggested.

"And it was a different Overmind too, which is why it was angry with me and not Verto. I must have destroyed it there, or at least crippled it. As long as none of us ever go there, everything should be fine. Since that's all figured out, what should we do now?" Gohan asked.

"I don't know…" Bulma trailed off, "But I think I'll make some tea and then make a few calls. There is at least one thing we can always rely on when things get dicey."

* * *

Verto and Lenz landed at the lookout early the next morning, finding Piccolo waiting for them.

"You do realize that even if we could use the time chamber this probably won't be quick. And since the door is still broken she will be easily distracted," Piccolo pointed out without even a greeting.

"I will not!" Lenz claimed.

"We'll just have to make due then; it's all we can do right now. I'm not exactly sure how long some of my business is going to take. Could be a few hours, could be a few weeks. Feel free to be as thorough with her as you were with me," Verto said.

"Got it. Come on girl, we're going to locate a nice waterfall," Piccolo beckoned as he lifted off.

"Waterfall? For what?" Lenz asked as she followed. Verto chuckled slightly before moving on to find Dende and Popo out in front of the palace.

"So, did you call him?" Verto asked.

Dende nodded, "Yes, he should be here any moment."

"Probably trying to figure out how to keep information from me without getting killed. Good luck to him," Verto muttered.

"Please don't get violent if you hear something you don't like," Dende pleaded.

Verto scoffed, "I'm probably not going to like any answer to my questions. No answer will tick me off more." Just behind Verto, a noticeable displacement of air sounded the arrival of Kibito Kai.

"How reassuring," he said as he fully appeared.

"Where's the old fart?" Verto asked first.

"He's not coming, so you'll have to discuss everything with me," Kibito said sternly. Verto's eyes darkened immediately, but he didn't say anything.

"If you're wondering why, he has his own business to conduct and doesn't have time for you right now," Kibito recited as if he were reading a statement.

"I trust you mean trading porno magazines with the other old perverts, since that old shit doesn't have anything better to do. Maybe I should have just gone to Roshi's island first, might have better luck," Verto replied.

"If you're done with your rude comments, can we get on with this? What did you want?" Kibito asked.

Verto snorted slightly at the question, "Oh, not reading my mind today?"

"I would prefer not to. Now that you can sense that, you don't have the best knee-jerk reactions to it," Kibito said nervously.

"Alright then. I have three topics for discussion before we do anything. What shall we start with?" Kibito looked slightly dumbfounded, though his eyebrow went up in a way that would have insulted Verto coming from anyone else.

"Um…" Kibito stalled.

Verto scowled, "Fine, just read it and get it over with." Kibito's surprise didn't vanish even as he received the mental information.

"Well?" Verto asked, running low on patience.

"You really shouldn't be trying to uncover the truth about these things. You may not like what you find," Kibito suggested.

"Kai, don't answer vaguely. I didn't ask you to come here for that kind of answer to anything. If you don't know, or won't tell me, say so," Verto growled.

"Sorry, where to start…" Kibito pondered.

"Start with Leira, then we'll work our way down from there," Verto ordered.

"There really isn't much I can tell you about her, other than that she works for a very powerful group," Kibito claimed.

"I figured. What other changes has she made to the timeline? I refuse to believe that these tiny little blips on the radar were completely her doing unless it built towards something else."

Kibito looked genuinely surprised, "Changes?"

"Yes, changes. She admitted to Bulma that she had a hand in some part of the Zerg war, though Bulma didn't say what. We already knew she helped the guardian before Kami with a powerful demon. And if she did anything else in the past, we're bound to notice," Verto explained.

"Verto, she couldn't have done any of those things. She's been on Earth for barely a month and hasn't gone anywhere. Once my elder heard that she was of questionable character, we haven't taken our eyes off her," Kibito exclaimed.

"As if she would have to hide from you at all if she can travel through time. You probably wouldn't even notice if she was gone. But that's fine, for now. I wasn't expecting much for that one. Let's go to the other problem, Frost. Can you tell me if he's on his way to Earth yet or not?"

"Sorry, I can't say. That would be directly interfering in a matter I can't be a part of," Kibito said immediately.

"I'm not liking this trend Kai, you're O for two. You better have something for the last one," Verto warned.

"Your enraged power surges?" Kibito asked as Verto nodded, "All I can tell you is that it's part of you. I don't know where it truly comes from, or how it got there. What I can say is that we did know about it before."

Verto grunted angrily, "Before what?"

"When the honorable elder unlocked your potential, he found this latent power waiting for him. At first he was going to let things be, until he realized that it was the depths of your spirit energy. As an adult we thought you would be able to handle it, at least until it was time to restore your youth. The visions after that showed that we couldn't chance opening up your full power all at once. So, my elder introduced a risky procedure. He implanted a dying, evil spirit into your very being to act as a counter-balance. The idea was that it would drain your Psi energy just enough that you would never have to worry about this ultra-negative power that surfaces when you are extremely enraged. It didn't take affect till after the Dragonballs were used to restore your age, thus why you still had some of those vicious outbursts beforehand. We felt that this would allow you to maintain control at all times so that it couldn't happen. Since your Psionic power didn't come forth until the Zerg War, we felt it had worked. We had initially planned to remove and change it much like a filter when the time was right, but we were unable to since you were taken by the Zerg," Kibito explained.

"Well, that plan failed. But at least now I know that the evil within wasn't really me at the time," Verto said, not sounding relieved.

"Indeed. Upon its reawakening and eventual exit, all control over your emotions reverted directly back to you. Your so-called dark side was nothing of the kind, just simply that dark spirit. Everyone has good and dark sides; it's impossible to completely purge them. It's probably why the Overmind was able to make an exact copy from your memories, but we are not completely sure about that ourselves," Kibito replied. Verto didn't answer for a moment, but Kibito saw the hole he was glaring into the ground and knew he was seething.

"Listen, I know you're upset that we didn't tell you about this, but if…" Kibito abruptly stopped talking when Verto's eyes flashed red as his head jerked upwards. Kibito suddenly regretted trying to console the small Saiyan and backed up a step. Kibito felt a distinct increase in his overall energy output, kicking up a decent breeze that blew dust about. Nothing came of it though, and Verto's eyes quickly returned to their normal vibrant blue.

"Upset is not the word I would use Kai, but I get it," Verto said, more relaxed.

"You do?"

Verto sighed, "No use in getting angry at you for it. I can clearly see that this 'counter-balance' was put in place for a very good reason. But don't try it again, and if you do, prepare for the worst. If this is who I am, then I'll deal with it."

"Yes, you will most likely have to re-adjust your emotions every time you use that power. It may affect your ability to use your higher form if you aren't careful. As you've noticed, you can't use it with your life energy at the same time," Kibito said.

Verto nodded, "Probably a good thing. I can't suppress my ki and stay angry at the same time, not without some sort of inhibitor or fatigue. I suppose that was done as a counter-balance as well?"

"I haven't a clue. Well if that is all, I will be on my way," Kibito said as he turned on his heel. He promptly stopped cold when Verto cleared his throat.

"Not yet, and I doubt you are sincere about everything you just said, but we'll move on. Since you apparently don't know Leira's agenda, you're going to help me investigate," Verto retorted.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Kibito countered.

Verto smirked for a moment, "There is a reason I asked to meet you here. You must have missed it while you were poking your holy nose through my thoughts. Popo, lead the way!"

Popo jumped slightly at the sound of his name, "Oh, to where?"

"We're going to make use of that Pendulum Room you have up here," Verto answered, startling Kibito.

"Ah, I see. You intend to use it to witness events of the past?" Popo asked.

Verto nodded, "Exactly. And then we shouldn't have to worry about anymore timeline shifts, well at least none of our doing. That way you and the old fart can't bitch at me for risking some sort of cosmic disaster."

"This way please," Popo motioned towards the palace. Kibito looked unsure of things as they both followed Popo.

"We really shouldn't be doing this," Kibito said in a low voice.

"And why is that? Are you afraid I might discover something?" Verto asked. Kibito hesitated noticeably, but didn't answer.

Verto's eyebrow went up as he recognized the silent response, "If you have a skeleton you'd like to bring out of the closet, now would be good. Then again, I could discover it on my own I suppose, that's usually what happens. Rather you came along or not, it was going to come to this. I'll put my faith in the ally I know over the one I don't."

"Thank you," Kibito replied unsteadily.

"That goes both ways Kai, remember that."

"Noted." The three arrived at the room and stepped inside, eyeing the red circle in the middle of the room as well as the swinging apparatus in the air.

"Step into the circle when you're ready, clear your minds of distractions and focus only on where you want to go," Popo suggested.

"Popo, can this room show us things that might have happened differently?" Verto asked. Kibito's face paled almost immediately, but it went unnoticed.

"What do you mean?" Popo asked.

"Let's say for example, Goku never hit his head as a baby? Or maybe Vegeta had killed Frieza instead? Hell, let's say Future Trunks never showed up?"

"No, only events that have already happened can be shown. They may change slightly to your eyes with your presence, but it will not affect anything here and will only last until you leave. If something happened to change the course of history, only that event and its aftermath can be seen. This room does not deal in what if scenarios," Popo explained.

"Since we want to follow the trail of a particular person, will it just skip ahead in time for us? And can we view things objectively? You know, so we don't impede what happens?" Verto continued.

"I do not know. No one has ever used this room in that way. However, if you focus on staying out of the way, anyone you encounter should generally ignore you," Popo replied.

"Guess we'll just have to see what happens then. I'm ready," Verto declared as he stepped into the circle.

"I still think this is a bad idea, and more than likely a waste of time," Kibito grumbled as he stepped in as well.

"You sure got your confidence back in a hurry. Personally I hope you're right, but I know better," Verto said. Both of them closed their eyes, and cleared their thoughts. In Kibito's case, he kept a stricter eye on Verto's mind instead of his own.

"I guess I'll direct traffic then. Let's start with what involvement Leira actually had in the Zerg war," Verto whispered as he shut his eyes. He felt his body being pulled from the room suddenly and opened his eyes. Both he and Kibito were standing in a sparkling green field of long grass next to a large golden temple.

"Amazing," Kibito muttered aloud. The planet's golden sky and apparently random lighting caught Verto's attention though, more so than the forested area or the temple.

"What is this place?" Kibito asked.

"I think I've been here before," Verto said.

Kibito didn't dare to read his mind this time and stuck with verbal observations, "Odd structures aren't they?" Verto turned in the direction Kibito was pointing and saw the assortment of alien technology before him. Kibito gulped a bit when Verto came to a quick realization of where they were.

"This is Planet Auir."

**A/N's: Yes, I've actually made use of something that no one ever remembers, admit it.**

**WDG:** Huzzah! Someone remembers the Pendulum Room! Even if it _was_ just anime filler, it was one of the more interesting things at Kami's place, and a personal favorite of mine. I thank you Dave. ;P

**VB**: Nostalgia at its best! Stay tuned for the next chapter; because everyone will get to learn why we don't build time machines, it fucks things up!


	44. Pendulum 2

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 43: Pendulum 2**

"Planet Auir? As in the Protoss home world?" Kibito Kai asked in surprise.

"The one and only. If Leira was here, then I'd say she's been around for more than a single month," Verto replied.

"How is this possible? This is a different dimension and well out of my jurisdiction! We should not have been able to come here!" Kibito stammered.

"Relax, I won't tell. Not that they would know or care at this point, this room can't affect history remember? Besides, the dimensions are connected right? And this event might have altered history for Earth anyway, so you have every right to check it out," Verto reasoned.

Kibito nodded nervously before glancing to his right, "Look, I see some of their soldiers over there at the base of the temple." Verto noticed the Protoss warriors, but locked on to a different target that was heading straight for them, Leira. He immediately walked in that direction before Kibito held him back.

"Hey, wait a moment!"

Verto shrugged him off as he stopped, "What?"

"You're not focusing on staying out of the way like Popo suggested. They'll stop you from following!" Kibito claimed.

Verto glanced at them for a very brief moment before flashing his smirk, "They can try."

"That's not very constructive Verto!" Kibito scolded.

"Look, focus on whatever you want. I want answers and I don't really care how I get them. Being in this room allows me that courtesy now doesn't it?" Verto countered.

"Then maybe you should be a little more covert if you really want to get all of the answers without interfering. May I suggest using that invisibility technique of yours?" Kibito asked.

"That'll work as long as they have no means of detecting me nearby. However, I won't be able to maintain it over both of us and move around here at the same time. It'll be hard enough with Protoss here instead of humans. It gets even more difficult if I'm in the middle of a crowd," Verto explained.

"Go on ahead then, you can share the details with me back at the lookout when you are done," Kibito said.

"In a rush to get back are we?" Verto sneered.

"In case you forgot already, it's outside my realm of oversight," Kibito scowled as he vanished. Verto shook his head in disgust and slowly faded from view. Once he was invisible, he quickly proceeded to the base of the temple, where a small crowd had gathered. Seeing Leira and the two Protoss Zealot guards didn't bother him, seeing the would-be Protoss officer did. Verto gritted his teeth together and ignored the urge to get within striking range.

"I told you already; I wish to speak to your commander, not a toadie that dresses in robes!" Leira stated sharply.

The Judicator snorted, "And what business would a pathetic Terran female have with the Executor?"

"That is our business until it's decided to involve a worm like you Aldaris!" Leira retorted.

"So you know my name, should I be honored or insulted?" Aldaris asked.

"If it were up to me, you'd be dead already. Feel lucky that it is not," Leira warned.

"Hmph, you are no threat. Why don't I just have you detained and tortured instead? I'll get my answers a little more effectively," Aldaris claimed.

"You're welcome to try, but I wouldn't advise it," Leira growled.

"Seize her!" The two zealots moved in just as Leira phased out. She reappeared behind Aldaris and put the point of her dagger right at the back of his head. Verto could see that she actually drew blood, though the dagger didn't penetrate any further. _Come to think of it, I did see that scar. Guess I just thought of it as his wrinkled old head._ Leira moved the dagger a bit and completed the cut while Aldaris didn't dare to move.

"Now listen up, Templar. You will take me to your commander now, and if you ever get in my way again, you will die long before your time. That is already much later than it should be. Do we understand each other?" Leira asked.

Aldaris promptly waved off the guards, "Perfectly." Leira pulled her dagger off and put it away as she proceeded inside. Verto quickly followed, carefully readjusting his energy as he did. Aldaris maintained silence as he led her to the Command sector in the middle of the Nexus temple. Verto kept following even though he knew the ends and outs of a Protoss base; he didn't want to chance anything. Instead of actually going to where the Executor probably was, Aldaris dumped her off at a briefing room.

"The Executor Tassadar will see you shortly," Aldaris said in a disgusted tone. He left right away and Leira stood silently while she waited, though her eyes were scanning every detail of the room. More than once she looked right at where Verto was, but nothing appeared to come of it. Only a few minutes passed before Verto heard familiar voices approaching and he stepped out to listen. He recognized both figures immediately and carefully stood aside so not to get in their way entering the room.

"Executor, I should remain on Auir until the location of the Zerg is confirmed. I don't trust the Conclave's rule when it comes to our forces. Relying on a single fleet to strike an offensive is foolhardy! I have difficulty believing that you would have suggested it!" Fenix stated.

"It wasn't an easy decision Praetor. Risking any ships for this mission isn't something I wish to do, but we must find the Zerg and exterminate them. Know that I requested your presence for more than one reason, it isn't just your battle prowess that I need. Unlike the hierarchy of the Conclave, I put very little faith in the honesty of the Judicator cast. Aldaris is incredibly motivated by the pursuit of power and I fear he may attempt a coup if the situation changes to his liking. Ousting me and taking over the leadership of the mission would benefit him greatly. I want you to keep a watchful eye on him," Tassadar explained.

"I have never doubted the Judicator's desire for your position, but he won't draw support from our soldiers without very convincing evidence. They remain loyal to you; he is nothing more than an unproven and cowardly assistant in their eyes. I'm sure many of them despise him as much as you and I do," Fenix claimed.

"Never underestimate the ambitious, for they are masters of deception. One careless step and the flooring is unearthed from under your very feet. Remember that Praetor, for it is a lesson we all must take to heart," Tassadar suggested.

"Yes Executor. I have one other concern to address, what of Artanis?" Fenix asked.

"He is to remain on Auir and command our second fleet in case we fail. He will likely be charged with any rescue operations or engaging the Zerg should they emerge nearby," Tassadar said.

"Understood," Fenix said with a nod. Both of them then entered the room and stood across from Leira, unsure of what to make of her at first. Verto cautiously came back in and stepped just to the side of the doorway in case someone else came in.

"Who may I ask are you, and what is your business on Auir?" Tassadar asked first.

"My name isn't as important as the information I bring regarding the whereabouts of the Zerg," Leira replied. Both Tassadar and Fenix shifted as they tensed up, but did well to hide it.

Tassadar took her words in stride though, "Please continue."

"You last encountered them on a planet known as Tarsonis, correct?" Leira asked.

"Yes, though it has been quite some time. Afterwards they vanished into deep space. We anticipated this since the Terran Regions are now under the control of the Dominion Armada, but we also expected they would return at some point. Due to the Dominion's interference, we have not been able to locate them. Tearing through that section of space and advancing would not be beneficial at this time," Tassadar explained.

"Their disappearance was the result of a different kind of interference. A powerful calling if you will. When the Zerg began moving through this sector, they were drawn to a small but powerful group. One with the ability to challenge the Zerg openly despite lacking numbers or technology. This group eventually fled and left a straggler behind to stall the Zerg progress. That plan worked to an extent, thus why you were able to engage them openly in the Terran Regions. The group I'm speaking of continued their journey, hoping to draw more recruits like them before the Zerg could catch up," Leira said cryptically.

"I understand, the Zerg must be in pursuit then. Where did they go?" Tassadar asked. Leira handed him a Protoss data pad, drawing an eye from Fenix though he said nothing to it.

"This will lead you to their path. It leads to a dimensional rift far away that is stable enough for your ships to get through without a problem. This is where the Zerg entered another galaxy and continued the chase. The group they were chasing is most likely dead by now, but nonetheless they continue the hunt. Follow the course I have entered on the pad and it will lead you right to the Zerg. Leave soon enough and you should get there within a week or two of their own arrival. They will be attacking another Terran world, though these Terrans are not technologically advanced like the ones you are used to," Leira continued.

"How do we know what you're saying is true?" Fenix asked.

"You don't. But it is imperative that you pursue them!" Leira urged.

"We know they must be dealt with, but there are other threats here to be taken care of. If the Zerg have fled that far beyond our reach, then we should remain and wait for them to resurface. We will build up our forces until that time," Tassadar stated.

"That is a bad idea. The Overmind is going there for a new weapon or sorts. Once integrated into the swarm, your mighty fleets will fall quickly," Leira warned.

"A new weapon? But the Zerg do not use technology," Fenix pointed out.

"Correct. It is a species they are after, similar enough to the group I mentioned. They are highly resistant and difficult to kill. Given your own situation with your political issues, the Zerg could strike here now and do a decent amount of damage. Should they get a hold of this particular species, your people will be wiped out. Exterminating this species first is also something you don't want to do; they will be able to kill large numbers of both Zerg and Protoss relatively easily. Thus the appeal for the Overmind," Leira finished.

"Very well, thank you for this information. We will quickly consider how we proceed," Tassadar bowed as he stepped towards the door.

Leira turned in that direction as well, nearly brushing Verto in the process, "Fair enough. One more thing before I depart. Going through that region will cause you to cross an area of space that is held by the Kold Empire. Try not to come into much conflict with them, it will not end well!" The room suddenly shifted and warped in various ways before turning back into the darkened pendulum room. He found Kibito waiting for him.

"Learn anything?" Kibito asked. Verto glared hard at the ground as he let everything go through his head one more time before answering.

"Yeah, she led them to Earth alright, or at the very least convinced them to come. Still, I feel like I didn't get the entire story," Verto said, not looking at Kibito.

"So, is that all we need to know?" Kibito asked once more.

"That was the main detail, but now I think there might be more, a lot more. I'm gonna stick around here and investigate some more. I have this feeling that some of my confusion in the past might get cleared up if I do," Verto suggested.

"Very well. I will report this disturbing news to my elder immediately. We will also conduct an investigation." Kibito promptly teleported away, leaving Verto alone in the enchanted room. Verto became slightly flustered at what should come next.

* * *

_Well, the only other real lead I have about the Zerg involvement at the moment is that Dabura was supposedly Kerrigan's father. That still doesn't make a lick of sense though, she didn't feel anything like him, Zerg or not. Maybe I can focus on Dabura's involvement in that dimension, specifically with Kerrigan. Then again…maybe I shouldn't think that._ Before Verto could reorganize that thought, the room reacted and sent him to the partially desired place. Where he appeared though was not where he might have expected. Almost immediately he found himself staring at the back of Dabura's white cape, and someone even less desirable was standing next to him. Verto was able to go back into stealth before Babidi noticed, but he felt that it was a little close.

"I still don't see the point of having this little brat on board! She's nothing but a pain to my ears!" Babidi groaned as he held up his viewing ball. There, it showed the image of a small redheaded human girl of barely five years old, wandering about one of his fighting stages.

"Take heart Master, this girl has hidden potential. You just need to give her time to develop it," Dabura said.

"I'd rather feed her to Yakon! I fail to see how she is going to help us in our quest to find and revive Majin Buu!" Babidi screeched.

"Hmph, you have no patience Master," Dabura scolded.

"I really should kill you someday," Babidi grumbled.

"It's unfortunate that I can spot talent for you, otherwise I would just be a foolish grunt. Never mind the strongest one you have," Dabura reminded.

"Argh! Don't remind me of that ever again! Go tend to the runt, you found her after all! I don't want to be here should those cursed Zerg decide to drop in again!" Babidi shouted. Dabura bowed lightly and departed the area, leaving only Babidi and his crystal ball for Verto to monitor. There, Dabura appeared in the chamber with the child.

"You there, child. Give me your name," Dabura ordered. Verto's eyes narrowed when he saw Dabura's head, and saw that it didn't have Babidi's stamp. _Wait a second; she told us that it was before Babidi ever got a hold of Dabura…_

"Sa-Sarah. Who are you? Are you my daddy? Mommy always said that my Daddy didn't look like anyone else in the world!" Kerrigan said. Dabura was more than taken aback at this, but simply closed his eyes for a moment and let his head sink low.

Kerrigan didn't take it as a sign of critical thinking though, "Yay, Daddy!" Verto grimaced even though it could not be seen. Dabura attempted to shake his head vigorously, but the child didn't appear to even acknowledge it. _I should have known, it was a lie._

"Do you know why you're here?" Dabura asked her once Kerrigan stopped hugging his leg.

"To be with you Daddy?" she asked.

"I am the Demon King, not a mortal like you. But you have special talents I might be able to make use of," Dabura explained.

"Oh, so you're a demon, what is that? I need to know since I am one too!" Kerrigan claimed.

"But you're not…" Dabura tried to say.

"Don't try to fight out of answers Daddy. Mommy says you should always be honest with your family!" Kerrigan scolded him. Verto's eyes shot open in amazement along with Babidi's, but at least Verto could contain his laughter.

"Hahahahaha! Oh my, this is rich! There is no way I'm letting him off the hook for this! Be a good boy and play along Dabura!" Babidi laughed. _Are you kidding me? It was all a misunderstanding? But then why would he tell me to avenge her? Unless…_ Verto didn't have time to continue his thought before the room changed again, but the only thing that appeared to change was Babidi's position around the viewing ball. Dabura was now in one of the fighting stages with a pre-adolescent Kerrigan of about five years older. She was dressed in a dark jumpsuit and was practicing basic combat moves while he observed. _Now I get it, he was in the process of training her. That means he formed a connection similar to a father-daughter relationship, and that's why she mistook him for her father._

One of Babidi's grunts then ran into the room and saluted, "Master, we are about to cross into the human colonial lands. A capsule is waiting to drop the child per your instructions!"

"Good, give me the position of the nearest Zerg immediately. I want them to take their sweet time going through this sector while we continue our search for Buu. I now suspect that he may have been on Earth all along when we checked things out a few hundred years ago. If only the damned Overmind hadn't drawn my attention with its energy. We will finish our sweep through this galaxy and then head back through the rift," Babidi said as he scowled as he stared at the viewing ball, "And Dabura's wasting his time with that child. She won't be capable of anything except being a magnet for the Zerg! Dabura! It's time to leave the bait behind!" Dabura looked up immediately, though Kerrigan didn't appear to have heard Babidi's words. Dabura barely reacted until he ordered Kerrigan to stop practicing.

"What's wrong father?" she asked.

"I have to leave you with your people now, take what I could teach you to heart," Dabura said as he bent his head in obvious frustration.

"But why father? You haven't taught me how to control energy yet!" Kerrigan begged.

"I'm sure you will develop your skills in time," Dabura said as he phased out. Kerrigan was knocked out immediately by his knife-hand and Dabura knelt down and pressed his glowing palm to her head. He mumbled something inaudible before leaving the room and returning to Babidi. This time, his Majin stamp had reappeared, making Verto wonder if it was just an illusion to keep Kerrigan unaware.

"I take it you erased the child's memory? I wouldn't want the Zerg to get a hold of her and go chasing after us before we find Buu. After all, I would hate to rely on you alone to hold them off forever," Babidi grinned.

"The Demon King fears nothing. I will do your bidding Master. As for the child, you needn't concern yourself with her ever again. You were correct in your assumption, she is still far too young to control her latent powers, and she will likely die before she ever becomes useful to anyone!" Dabura growled.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I was beginning to think you had actually melted and there was some other demon king in there, being manipulated like a pet!" Babidi cackled. Babidi turned his head to watch a few of his minions retrieve Kerrigan and put her into an escape pod. As soon as he did, Dabura flashed him a glare that Verto had only seen once. Specifically when Babidi had betrayed him to Majin Buu. _He might have erased her memory, but he had to have implanted that telepathic connection he spoke of. Just like with Vegeta, Babidi's spell releases many of a person's emotions. Evil is just the most prominent._ The room immediately changed once Verto saw Kerrigan's escape pod leave Babidi's ship, and he returned to the pendulum room.

* * *

Verto stepped out of the circle before pondering his next move. _Back to Leira I guess, getting sidetracked will probably lead me to more things that are unnecessary to know. She mentioned the Kold Empire, meaning Frost. Maybe I should picture any possible involvement those two might have had. I need to investigate him anyway, straight from the beginning. _The room displaced again once Verto stepped into the circle and spun around before settling into a long, white corridor. Verto had barely gotten his bearings before a loud, gruff voice filled the hallway, and it was getting closer. Verto carefully peered around the nearest corner and saw a taller version of Vegeta sporting a goatee. Walking side by side with him was the slowly balding brute Nappa. _Great, when the hell am I to be seeing King Vegita alive?_ Verto quickly slipped back into the shadows just as the larger pair rounded the corner, both of them wearing all scowls.

Nappa appeared to be hesitating with a question, "Um, sire, Lord Frieza wants an update on the queen. When is she due to give birth?"

King Vegita's scowl intensified, "Why in the hell does he care? He might be running the empire, but he doesn't need to be poking his nose in where it clearly doesn't belong!" _Wow, I'm way back before Vegeta was even born. But what the hell does this have to do with Frost and Leira?_ Verto continued following the two Saiyans, carefully avoiding King Vegita's tail when it suddenly lashed out angrily.

"What should I tell Lord Frieza, sire?" Nappa asked carefully.

"I'll deal with it, go handle our generals. I think the troops need some inspiration; I've been receiving poor performance reports again. Tell those slackers that if they don't shape up their men, it will be their remains that I drop into the nearest black hole!" Vegita ordered.

Nappa bowed as he stopped to leave, "Yes sire!"

"Oh and Nappa!" the king bellowed. Nappa turned back in question to the King's next order.

"Tell Commander Paragus that if another one of his teams fails a mission, I will personally see to it that he and his future kin suffer the consequences for zurals to come!" Vegita said with a deep frown. Verto shook his invisible head slightly, _Ruthless as always._ Nappa nodded nervously and ran off as the King proceeded onward. Verto elected to shadow the King as he marched alone towards some sort of meeting. Once he scanned ahead, Verto detected Frieza aboard the ship along with his minions. Verto quickly readjusted his energy output so his stealth wouldn't break, though it was much easier to do with Frieza's men rather than with Babidi's. Vegita reached a large door and opened it, leading directly to a private chamber. There sat Frieza in his hover chair, flanked by Dodoria and Zarbon as always.

"King Vegita, what do you want?" Zarbon asked first.

Vegita ignored him completely, "Lord Frieza, you asked for an update on my queen?"

Frieza barely tilted his head, "Merely curious. A simple messenger would have been fine; you certainly did not have to grace us with your presence."

"I was already on my way to address troop assignments with you. The queen is due to give birth to my heir within the week. I am hoping for a son, one worthy of royal elite status," Vegita explained.

Frieza snorted loudly, "Knowing you, that might be a lot to ask for." Vegita kept his growl to a nearly inaudible minimum and let the insult slide.

"Since you brought it up Vegita, I noticed that Planet Armagosa is still not conquered. Just how long are you going to take before wiping out its inhabitants? Surely one team of Saiyan elites would be enough to take care of them, or am I overrating your forces?" Frieza asked snidely.

"My apologies Lord Frieza. Armagosa's full moon doesn't occur for another four months. And I've had to divert my elite squadrons for handling the Veridi system, as per your orders," Vegita pointed out.

"Oh? Yes I do remember now, the Veridi system has five populated planets and no moons. It's a pity that your people have yet to find a way to transform without one. I guess I'll have to send in some muscle to finish that job!" Frieza chuckled. King Vegita swallowed hard, but still managed to say nothing to it. No one said anything for nearly half a minute before Frieza broke the silence.

"Is that all Vegita?"

Vegita quickly bowed, "Yes Lord!"

As soon as King Vegita was gone, Zarbon opened his mouth, "Pitiful monkeys. I really don't understand what you see in them Lord Frieza."

"For now they are nothing more then the hired help. See to it they remain that way! I believe our new ally on Veridi Two is about to be attacked, you two should go defend it!" Frieza said with a grin. Both Dodoria and Zarbon bowed pleasantly and left the room. This saw Frieza alone for several minutes while Verto contemplated killing him right then and there, just for the hell of it. Before he could decide on it, the doors opened again, and Leira walked in. _About damn time, now we're getting somewhere._

"Who are you?" Frieza asked, "How dare you just stroll into my chambers. You obviously don't realize who I am."

"The all powerful coward, last I checked," Leira replied. Frieza's finger lit up as he lifted it towards Leira, his Death Beam ready to fire.

"I don't advise that Frieza. Besides, you have no reason to attack me. I came here to help you with a certain problem," she offered.

"And just what would that be?" Frieza asked, though his attack was still ready.

"Your infant son Frost is dying. One would think that you would present a little more concern," Leira scolded.

"It's a genetic disease, though he clearly didn't get it from me. There is very little I can do about it now that it's in the final stages. The worthless brat obviously won't make it!" Frieza said in distaste.

"Your scientists are knowledgeable about gene-splicing aren't they?" Leira asked.

"Yes, they identified the exact DNA sequence that is unstable. It's not uncommon among my people, but there is no known cure for it," Frieza replied.

"There is a compatible source of DNA that can be introduced into his bloodstream over a long period of time. This will slowly repair the damage caused by the illness, and considering the source, likely make him immune to its affects," Leira suggested.

"And what exactly is this miracle cure, and where can I find it?" Frieza scoffed.

"Saiyan blood."

Frieza laughed aloud, "Don't be absurd! Monkey blood isn't compatible with ours!"

"He wouldn't need a complete transfusion. But your medics should be able to synthesize just what Frost needs to survive until the disease begins to subside. Otherwise your empire has no heir," Leira reminded him.

"You expect me to buy into this garbage?" Frieza growled.

"Believe what you want to. Take my advice though, you might find the results surprising!"

"Oh? Enlighten me," Frieza said as he folded his arms.

"Your son will be able to grow stronger and surpass your race's limitations. A new stage of evolution will occur," Leira claimed as Verto stared at her from the shadows, stunned. _That's why he's so strong, and why he even exists? Because of her actions? There's got to be more to this._

Frieza still didn't appear to be buying it, "Hahaha! You're a regular comedian. My people don't have limits!"

"Yes, as demonstrated by the fact that you remain in your base form most of the time to conserve energy. Trust me when I say this Frieza, you will become _very_ aware of your limitations soon enough!" Leira turned and left just as the room faded out and returned Verto to the lookout, more than a little troubled over what he had just heard.

* * *

_I have to go further with this angle she has with Frost some more. She wouldn't have given Frieza that kind of information unless she had another purpose in mind, and I'll bet whatever it is has to do more with Frost than it does Frieza._ _After all, Frieza is in Hell like he should be. _Just as Verto finished his thought process, the room changed again. He quickly found himself in another hallway just like the last one, and didn't waste a moment in going into stealth before daring to move. He quickly sensed that he wasn't actually on a ship this time, but the hallways were similar. He detected Frieza and another power just like his up ahead. The door was conveniently open and Verto quickly slipped inside, finding Frieza and what looked like Cooler in his fourth form. Verto quickly realized that it was not Frieza's brother.

"Father, you wanted to see me?" Frost asked. _So that's what he looks like, spitting image of his uncle. At least in this form, and Gohan mentioned the next level that he has as well._

"Yes, when were you going to inform me about what you've been doing on planet Rotaria?" Frieza asked.

Frost's eyes widened just a bit before he calmed himself, "Scientific research, nothing you would be particularly interested in."

"Oh really? I think I would be very interested in your projects there. Is there anything specific you want to tell me regarding a new species? You see, I won't tolerate any insubordination, and seeing as you decided to play savior to the Saiyans, I decided to take precautions," Frieza explained.

"What are you talking about? Rotaria is nothing more than a slave breeding ground, and I use their planet for scientific testing, as I've said many times before!" Frost stammered.

"It is no secret that the Rotarians all possess special abilities despite their lack of power. And I will not have monkey scum running around with something like that!" Frieza said as he raised his voice. _Special abilities? Lenz never mentioned anything about those._

Frost bit his lip, "How long have you known?"

"I've always known son. And I've done what I can to keep Vegeta from knowing! That's all it would take for him to completely betray us! He's already been defying me occasionally by searching for any and all surviving Saiyans. And here you're keeping an entire planet full of them!" Frieza shouted in anger.

"Father, relax. None of these new Saiyan hybrids even come close to Vegeta's level. They barely come up to an average Saiyan's power level. You could probably deploy an armada made entirely of Saibamen and beat them if you felt the need," Frost assured him.

"I don't share your confidence. You see son, I researched a few of them, or more accurately, their family trees. Low class is their ranking, but not due to power. It was due to some sort of disgrace with previous generations, and there was a mysterious vanishing act performed by some of those ancestors. There may not be any significant power rating with these newer descendents, but it was a stupid move nonetheless!" Frieza scolded.

"Look, you charged me with rejuvenating the number of slaves that were kept in the empire, I followed your orders. Does it matter how I accomplished this?" Frost asked.

"You fool! There is a reason I blew up Planet Vegita! I saw what was coming on the horizon and I didn't like the result. The Saiyans are more or less nothing individually; I'll give you that. But together they are an impressive force, one that would have rivaled our own had I not taken action. We are fortunate that the hundred Saiyans you took off the planet the day I destroyed it were all considered low class trash. I do not wish to deal with millions of monkeys on par with Vegeta and in possession of special abilities. The potential there is far too much," Frieza stated.

"You're too paranoid father; you have been ever since before you destroyed Planet Vegeta. You just let me rule my own dark corner of the galaxy in my own way. I happen to think that Saiyans are this empire's greatest asset, aside from us of course," Frost claimed.

Frieza grinned, "Not anymore."

Frost's demeanor changed quickly, "What do you mean?"

"I just returned from Rotaria yesterday. The planet has been cleansed," Frieza replied coolly.

"You did what?" Frost asked.

"I'll use simpler words; all your pet monkeys are dead!" Frieza said sternly. Verto eyed Frost's shaking fists, but he made no movement towards Frieza.

"Why did you do that father? Even in numbers they were no threat!" Frost argued.

"I told you son, I don't tolerate insubordination. I want you to think about that while I take a little vacation. Don't worry, I left you the planet to do with as you wish. I wouldn't want you to slack off on anymore scientific research!" Frieza laughed. He moved towards the door, grinning wider as Frost stepped aside.

"So, where are you off to in such a good mood?" Frost asked in a low tone. It was clearly obvious to Verto that Frost was not happy about what Frieza had done, but it did seem a little off key.

"Oh, a little place called Namek. I have some business with the local inhabitants. You should return to your dark little corner. I look forward to any technological achievements you might be able to manage," Frieza said before leaving. Frost shook his head in slight anger before the room faded out, and Verto found himself back on the lookout.

* * *

_Well that confirms that whole story, but where was Leira? Never mind that, someone in Frieza's family that was actually concerned about Saiyan welfare? Too strange. I wonder when that changed?_ Verto promptly appeared in another Kold Empire base, almost directly behind Frost as he sat in his chair. Verto didn't detect any significant change in his power level, just their location. Loud alarms blared just as Verto suppressed his energy and faded into the shadows. Frost pressed a small button on his chair and a video display came to life in front of him, showing a light blue alien with pale yellow horns and a beard.

"Report, whatever your name is," Frost growled.

"It's Burotsuno sire, message coming in from your grandfather King Kold! It seems that your father was defeated and left for dead on Planet Namek! There's also word that the Ginyu Force was destroyed along with the planet itself!" the soldier claimed. Frost took a moment to react, but eventually his jaw slipped open.

"Any news on who is responsible for this?" Frost asked calmly. Verto sensed that his demeanor might have been calm, but he clearly wasn't anything except angry.

The soldier, Burotsuno, could see this as well and nervously answered, "They're saying it was a Saiyan!"

Frost's fist shattered the armrest of his chair, "Nonsense!"

"This came from Lord Frieza himself sire!"

Frost rubbed his chin in annoyance, "Then father might have been right. Perhaps the Saiyans are a threat."

"If I may sire, there were multiple sightings of Prince Vegeta. He was attacking our forces and actually managed to strand them all on Namek. Despite this, Lord Frieza said it was another Saiyan that defeated him. Something called a Super Saiyan!" Burotsuno added.

"Keep me informed as to what he wants us to do. We're too far away to do much about it. And if this, Super Saiyan, defeated my father, there's no need to go marching to our deaths. Especially if there's more than one of them out there!" Frost said. Burotsuno nodded and saluted him, but did not cut the connection.

"Was there something else?" Frost asked.

"Yes sire, but I don't see how it's possible! Lord Frieza wiped out every living thing on Rotaria, did he not?"

Frost frowned, "Yes, that planet is now uninhabited, and thank you very much on reminding me about that. I have yet to decide on what we're going to do with it now that my projects have been dismantled."

"There must be some mistake then my lord. We're getting life form readings coming from there, Saiyan life forms!" Burotsuno claimed in astonishment.

Frost shrugged, "It's possible that he missed a few that were hiding underground, how many survived?"

"That's just it sire, I'm showing easily ten thousand Saiyan hybrids on the surface. Far more than what should be there if Lord Frieza visited the planet as he said!"

"There were nearly ten thousand left over from our project, after we killed the pure bloods that is. But how did they come back to life? I want an explanation!" Frost demanded.

Burotsuno gulped slightly, "I don't know sire. But if it helps, they reappeared shortly before I received the report about Lord Frieza!"

"Launch an investigation of Rotaria. Check every possible scenario extending out around their entire star system! Report any significant findings to me immediately!" Frost ordered.

"Yes sire! Shall I pass this information along to Lord Frieza as well, or would you like that honor?"

Frost paused noticeably, "I'll handle it."

"Yes sire! Good day!" Frost sighed and leaned back in his chair in silence. The silence didn't last as the door behind Verto opened up, startling them both. Frost turned in the remains of his chair as Verto did the same, and they both spotted Leira standing there with a guard.

"Sorry to interrupt you my lord. This female demanded to speak to you directly!" the guard said. As he was speaking, Leira's eyes darted towards Verto's invisible position almost immediately, but she didn't appear to have detected him.

Frost waved off the guard, "Leave us then!" Once the guard was gone, the tension level in the room multiplied itself, especially from Frost.

"So, what do you want?" he asked.

"Don't act so happy to see me Frost," she replied coolly.

"The last time I spoke to you, you placed me into an ordeal that resulted in my father stepping between myself and Vegeta's friendship. I had plans to eventually allow Vegeta to rule his own planet with his own people once my father was out of the way. You ruined it and I had to swallow what pride I had left when I betrayed him to get back under my father's good graces!" Frost shouted. Verto's eyes lit up in surprise when he heard this, but remained as calm as he could to maintain his position in the shadows.

"Frieza would have forced you two apart eventually and you know it. He may not have known about your plan, but he probably had his suspicions since he bargained with Vegeta to kill you. The only reason you lived was because Vegeta saved you at the last minute, and that wouldn't have been the case if I didn't point him in the right direction. In fact, that's why I'm here in a sense," Leira explained.

"Oh? Enlighten me," Frost said, unimpressed.

"If you're planning to parlay with Vegeta and the remaining Saiyans for peace after so long, I strongly suggest you don't. Vegeta will likely reach Super Saiyan status soon, and you don't want to be anywhere near him when that happens!" Leira warned.

"It's just a silly legend," Frost claimed.

"No it isn't. A Super Saiyan's power can grow beyond even their expanded limits. And considering the group involved, killing one will only give rise to another one. If your father calls for assistance, do not answer; it is better if you don't. Perhaps someday you will be able to make peace with Vegeta and the other remaining Saiyans, but not yet," Leira said.

Frost sighed deeply, "In a numerical sense, how powerful is a Super Saiyan?"

"I am unfamiliar with your number system in regards to measuring power levels. But if Frieza is a ten, then a low level Super Saiyan is probably a twelve," Leira pointed out.

Frost's eyes widened for a moment, "And there are more Saiyans capable of this power?"

Leira nodded, "Yes, both your father and grandfather will be killed by just one of them should they decide to pursue revenge."

This prompted Frost to rise up out of his chair, "So, the empire is about to crumble. Without my father or grandfather to control everything, small factions will come out of the woodwork and lay claim to its many assets. I doubt Cooler will do much to stop it. More likely that he'll lead a foolish crusade to avenge them both!"

"What will you do then?" Leira asked.

Frost glared at her, but glanced away, "I agree with your assessment. If they want to throw their lives away, let them! In the meantime, I will put our so-called limitations to the test!"

"I take that to mean that you're not entirely confident of your abilities?"

Frost grumbled, "I never was. You don't spend the first ten years of your life taking blood transfusions without learning a few things. All those around my father fear his maximum power, except for me. I can surpass him and go further, much further than he could ever dream!" Frost declared.

"Then I suggest you make use of artificial gravity. It's what Saiyans often do after all," Leira suggested.

Frost's head snapped back to her, "I'm not a Saiyan, witch!"

Leira brushed off the insult, "No, but your potential has been augmented by their DNA, make use of it."

"Rest assured, I will! Now when were you going to tell me of this mission you spoke to me about before? What menial task would you have me perform in exchange for saving my life twice?" Frost asked.

"You're still a few years away from having to worry about that. If you can wait that long, you might have some redemption for your doomed family as well," Leira replied.

"Vengeance for them being killed as a result of their own stupid mistakes? They've had it coming for a long time! The fact that a Saiyan is responsible is just incredibly ironic," Frost said with a grin.

"So, will you let the Rotarian-Saiyan hybrids live then?" Leira asked.

"I don't harbor them any ill will, and as you probably know, I intended for them to carry on the Saiyan bloodline. So as long as they don't decide to resist my generosity, they will be protected," Frost claimed.

"Well, they are part Saiyan, I doubt I need to tell you about their rebellious instincts should you press them down too much," Leira pointed out.

"No, but you can at least tell me what you want me to do and not dodge the question like you usually do," Frost growled.

"Very well, maybe it will motivate you for training. You're going to kill someone for me," Leira stated.

"Does this someone have a name and a general description?" Frost asked.

"Like I said, you'll have to wait a few years, probably a dozen or so. That should give you ample time to prepare for an opponent far beyond your current power and ability," Leira replied.

"I see, and what happens if I don't?" Frost added.

Leira's face turned incredibly serious, "Then this galaxy may be destroyed, and you along with it!"

**A/n: ****I hope ya'll are enjoying revelation hour, because there's another one on the way.**

*******Burotsuno is a combined Japanese word for blue-horn. It is pronounced ****bur-row-soon-o with a silent T. Expect some minor dealings with this character later on. **


	45. Pendulum 3

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 44: Pendulum 3**

Verto stared wide-eyed from the shadows as Leira gave her grave warning from beyond. _Just who the hell is she talking about now?_

Frost was wondering the same thing, "So, there's some sort of great destructive monster out there that wants to kill everything?"

"I don't recall giving it that kind of description. However the potential for that to happen exists. It's a preventive measure, but I cannot give you any insight on who or what this thing may look like, as I do not know yet. It may not even happen as I expect, but when dealing with unknowns, I prefer to be cautious," Leira explained.

Frost snorted, "Wise choice." Leira nodded and promptly departed the room, causing it to warp and distort suddenly. Everything shifted quite a bit as Verto tried to make sense of it. It didn't last but five to six seconds before he realized he was staring at the back of Frost's chair again. The room had changed a bit with added decoration and updated technology. That wasn't all; Verto could sense an exponential increase in Frost's power level. _This must be more recent than the other meetings have been._ Frost pushed a button on his apparently repaired chair and the video display came on, showing the same blue, horned alien as before.

"Lieutenant Burotsuno, what is the latest on the situation?" Frost asked.

"The strange insect swarm and the alien fleet chasing them have passed. They did engage our scout troops and obliterated their ships. They did not pursue those that did escape. Our soldiers are on their way back for a complete debriefing," Burotsuno replied.

Frost scowled slightly, "Were they able to gather any significant information about these invaders?"

"Very little. Our scans show that they possessed a very unique power system unlike anything we've ever seen before. Shall we gather a larger force to confront them?" Burotsuno asked.

"No, let them go for now until we learn more. They may also have powerful warriors to go along with their weaponry, we should leave nothing to chance," Frost suggested.

"Understood sire. Also, the mysterious marauder has attacked again, this time on the outpost on Veridi Four!" Burotsuno reported.

Frost rubbed his chin a bit, "Another old base. What was taken this time?"

"All of the medical equipment and most of the infantry armor. They left none alive just like last time sire."

"Whoever this is, it's obvious they wish a war, perhaps with us directly. Forget about the insects and whoever was following them, these newcomers bother me more. Were you able to get a power reading from them this time?" Frost asked.

"Yes sire, but the readings are inconclusive so far. We are trying to isolate the exact frequency of the energy readouts, as they seemed to vary from one type to another. There was only one specific wavelength that stayed constant while others were in a constant state of flux, and its power level was temporarily at nearly forty million!" Burotsuno explained further.

"Very well, what species did it most resemble?" Frost asked with impatience.

Burotsuno paused as he read something, "You're not going to like this sire, but it's Saiyan!"

Frost reaction was surprisingly mellow, "I see. Shutdown the Rotarian space station. Detain every single Rotian-Saiyan that is in our military! Suspend all traffic with any passengers with Saiyan blood! The ungrateful monkeys have crossed their last line!"

"Sire, I have my doubts that this marauder and the Rotian rebel faction are actually one and the same. There is no Rotian that is even capable of old elite power levels," Burotsuno pointed out.

"I don't care, detain them anyway. My family was killed by Saiyans due to their own carelessness, I won't fall victim to the same mistake!" Frost barked out, scaring Burotsuno.

"And the two Rotians here?" Burotsuno asked.

"The stripper is not going anywhere, and her brother is very valuable to me as a soldier. Just keep an eye on them!" The room faded back to the pendulum room, and Verto stood there in confusion.

* * *

_What was that about? I must have strayed off the target event, or there wasn't anything else with Leira involved. Hmmm…while I'm at it, I should look into the time that Vegeta and Frost were actually friends. I have my doubts that Vegeta would actually rescue someone like Frost or Frieza without a lot of convincing._ Verto reappeared on an unfamiliar planet with a bright golden sky. Upon stealthing again, he sensed Frost nearby, along with a much weaker Vegeta than he was used to detecting. Verto slowly approached their position from the trees, finding them surrounded by some of Frieza's soldiers. The younger Vegeta didn't look much different than the current version, which was no surprise. Frost however looked like he was in his smaller base form. It was remarkably similar to Frieza's except he did not have any horns sticking out of his head. _Wait, why isn't he in his final form?_

"Is the next one ready yet?" Frost asked.

One of the soldiers turned from some sort of equipment station, "I'll go find out for you sire!"

"Move it then! Otherwise poor Vegeta will fall over from boredom!" Frost claimed.

"Am I that transparent now?" Vegeta grumbled.

"My friend, I agree that this is a waste of time, but father is extra paranoid these days," Frost pointed out.

"He's been paranoid for over a decade now. Is he afraid of some random ghost coming back to extract revenge or something?" Vegeta asked. Frost's eyebrows lifted up, but he shrugged and didn't answer as the soldier came back.

"Sire, they're having some sort of problem at the detonation site. They're requesting your presence!" Frost frowned and grunted loudly as he lifted into the air.

"Don't worry, I'll baby-sit the troops while you're gone! Who's up for target practice?" Vegeta snickered. Most of the soldiers promptly ran inside the nearby building for cover.

"Save a few for me. I don't think the five scientists will curb my aggression," Frost stated.

Vegeta smirked back, "First come, first serve!" Frost's frown deepened as he blasted off towards the east. Verto considered following, but instead decided to keep an eye on Vegeta as he nearly took the limbs off random weak soldiers. Frost was only gone for about three minutes before a very large explosion rocked the area from afar. Trees were blown down and debris was flying everywhere. Verto managed to avoid all of it without losing his cloak, but the Frieza soldiers weren't so lucky.

"Report!" Vegeta shouted. Only one soldiers dared to go near a scouter; the rest were too terrified.

"It looks like one of the test mines went off prematurely sir! I'm getting no reading on Lord Frost. He may have gotten caught in the blast!"

Vegeta scoffed, "Like that mine could even scratch him…" Vegeta was cut short when another blast shook the area from a different direction.

"Sir! Detonation site number four has just gone up early as well!"

"Thank you for stating the obvious you imbecile!" Vegeta growled back. A loud alarm filled the small base, piercing Verto's ears with its volume.

"Oh no, it appears that the rest of the test mines have all been rigged to detonate in ten minutes!" the soldier reported.

"Can't your incompetent specialists shut them down?" Vegeta asked.

"No sir! We must evacuate the planet immediately!"

Another elite came into the discussion, "But the only ship here is Lord Frost's private saucer! The rest of them won't get down here in time. And we can't fly there fast enough to escape!" Vegeta's blue aura suddenly came to life, surprising the soldiers.

"I guess you're shit out of luck boys! Good bye!" he declared. Vegeta blasted off, leaving all of them coughing dust. Verto took off after him, deliberately risking exposure. _He won't be able to sense me yet, and no one should think anything of it should they believe that Frost is alive. I just have to stay back from him and keep my power to a controlled level._ Verto let Vegeta have nearly a mile lead on him while he kept pace, though Vegeta was flying as fast as he could. Only a few minutes passed before Vegeta landed outside of a large spider-like ship much like others that Verto remembered. There was a cluster of activity outside as Vegeta stared down some of the guards. Verto was able to re-cloak himself and slowly glide down without anyone noticing.

"Where is Lord Frost?" the first guard on the left asked.

"Get out of my way scum! Haven't you figured out that we need to get off this planet immediately?" Vegeta growled.

"Our reports show that Lord Frost is still alive and awaiting rescue. We won't leave until he's onboard!"

"You stupid fool!" Vegeta shouted. Vegeta was about to pound his face in, but stopped short when someone else walked down the ramp. Verto didn't recognize the black armor and red jumpsuit, but her face was enough. _Oh great, why is she here?_

"Who the hell are you?" Vegeta asked.

"That's the last thing you should be worried about! Maybe you should go save your friend," Leira suggested.

"I don't have friends, only mere acquaintances. This empire would be better off without another Changeling!" Vegeta claimed.

"I find that hard to swallow, even coming from you. I can only imagine what Frieza will do to you when he finds out that you left his only son here to die!" Leira said calmly. Several of the guards nodded in nervous agreement as Vegeta put on his classic smirk.

"Shows what you know woman! It was Frieza who staged this charade!" Leira stared at him in question, as did the other soldiers.

"Besides, how could I say no to ridding the universe of another one of their wretched kind? Just one less to deal with later!" Vegeta boasted. The soldiers weren't sure how to react, but Leira never gave them the chance. She lashed out with her hidden energy whip and beheaded all of them before anyone could move. Vegeta gasped when he realized that he wasn't able to see much of the movement until the heads were already rolling.

"Listen to me Vegeta. It is imperative that you rescue Frost and bring him back to his father! Both of you have an important future ahead, and you don't want to leave things to chance like that!"

Vegeta snorted, "The only future I'm worried about is the one that sees me ruling the universe as I was meant to!"

"Then perhaps you need to realize that at the rate you're going, you'll never defeat Frieza. As one of the last few Saiyans alive, you hold an advantage over every crony Frieza has! Maybe you should use it!" Leira suggested.

"Stirring speech woman, what will you do for an encore?" Leira didn't answer, but she did glare at Vegeta very sternly. Verto suddenly sensed some sort of energy shift in the air, and Vegeta gasped as he grabbed his head. He dropped to his knees and clutched his head in apparent agony, much like he had done when Babidi had taken him over.

"Alright Vegeta, I'm done playing around. You are going to rescue Frost now, or I won't let you leave this planet. If you think I'm bluffing, just say so and that minor headache will increase tenfold. Do we understand each other?" Leira asked with an incredibly calm voice. Vegeta gritted his teeth and nodded sharply.

"Now get going!" she demanded. Vegeta got up tentatively, but no longer in pain and gave Leira his classic glare.

"You only have five minutes, you might want to make the most of them!" Leira reminded.

"Who's to say you won't take the ship and leave us here to die anyway?" Vegeta countered.

"What would be the point of bothering with you at all if that was my plan? I could have taken it hours ago!" Leira claimed. Vegeta grimaced and blasted off in a different direction, leaving Leira alone. Verto watched her carefully for any strange activity, but she did nothing except wait. Vegeta was back in exactly four minutes, carting a battered Changeling. The Frieza look-alike had a large wound on his left side, multiple lacerations all over and a partially missing tail. Two more soldiers ran out of the ship and took Frost aboard without a word, leaving Vegeta and Leira alone. Once they were gone, Leira rolled up her sleeve and revealed a small device strapped there. She pressed a glowing button on its side and sighed heavily.

"Good work Vegeta, you may have just saved your own life," Leira said.

"I take it that was the detonation override?" Vegeta asked.

"Correct. If anyone asks, you never saw me, you never met me. I will see you again some day down the line, and know my reasons for this were for the good of the galaxy. You may disagree, but trust me, having Frost alive will be better in the long run than not!" Leira claimed.

"What? What are you, from the future or something?"

Leira turned her head slightly, "Not exactly, but I suppose for your purposes, that's close enough. Farewell!" Leira vanished suddenly, but so did the rest of the area, and Verto found himself back where he started.

* * *

_Well that explains most of why Frost even exists. The main question is still unanswered though, for what reason? Why the hell is she changing history?_ As Verto pondered this, the room reacted again. This time, he appeared in a forested area that was completely vacant. He carefully walked through the trees as he scanned the area, not picking up anything suspicious. In a small clearing ahead of him, he spotted a single engraved tombstone. He walked up and knelt down to read the inscription, but was unable to read the language.

"It says, 'The Greatest Life Partner Anyone Could Ask For!' Well, that's the rough translation," a voice said from behind. Verto knew it was Leira even before he turned around in slight panic.

"There's nothing wrong with curiosity, but it can reveal things to us that we don't want to see, or don't want to know. I admire your resourcefulness in choosing to use this special room, but you must stop!" she claimed.

"You weren't willing to give me any answers that I needed. I had to investigate somehow and this place sufficed," Verto claimed as he glared up at her face.

"And it's an honorable trait. But like your surrogate mother has learned, it's best not to delve too deeply into something you do not understand," Leira warned.

"Fine, but can you at least explain what I saw?" Verto asked.

Leira shook her head, "I won't. I will allow you to connect the dots on your own. I will say this though, it was all for a good reason. You will understand in time," she said vaguely.

"And this?" Verto asked as he pointed at the grave.

"This is the most important piece of the puzzle. You wanted to know why? Every small detail you heard or saw has to do with this grave, even if it doesn't seem like it. The question you should be forming is…" Leira paused.

"Who's in there?" Verto replied.

"Very good. It's up to you to figure that out, but not with this room. And if you should decide to try this place again, I shall know. Farewell," she said as her voice faded.

"Wait!" It was too late, she was already gone, and Verto was back on the lookout. He quickly stepped out of the circle, slightly dazed by what he had witnessed as he went back over it in his head. He found Kibito and Popo patiently waiting outside.

"Did you solve your mystery?" Popo asked.

"No, in fact I'd say what I found generated more questions than answers, big surprise there," Verto grumbled.

"You are free to use the room again if you wish," Popo suggested.

Verto glanced up at Kibito's concerned face before shaking his head, "No, I've got other things to do right now. Digging into an altered past isn't going to do much good if I can't figure it all out."

Kibito sighed in apparent relief, "So I trust you're not going to pursue this anymore?"

Verto's eyes narrowed as he stared down Kibito, "Well don't get the wrong idea Kai. You immortals obviously keep a watchful eye on important matters. Don't you dare think that I won't do the same!"

**A/N: Have I effectively twisted your tiny minds around enough yet?**

**WDG:** My mind has always been twisted. Really, I hardly notice any difference when others try to twist it even more. Well, I suppose it is time to shift focus. Dare I take a guess about the depressed man's identity..?

VB: You could try, but I doubt you'd be right.

**Next time on DBV: Verto decides to leave Capsule Corp to train out in the wilderness with Lenz and Piccolo. Meanwhile, Goten and Trunks pursue their own goal and encounter a depressed man out in the woods who possesses a Dragonball. They bargain to help him in exchange for the Dragonball, and in the process, Trunks stumbles upon a disturbing discovery of his own.**


	46. Memory

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 45: Memory**

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me anything about what you were doing up at the lookout?" Lenz asked over the noise of the waterfall.

"Nope," Verto said simply as he floated next to her and Piccolo.

"Figures."

"If I felt it concerned you right now, then I would. It doesn't," Verto claimed.

"When will it?"

"Quiet girl! Your excessive whining is starting to annoy me! Another word and you'll find out what real training is!" Piccolo grumbled.

"Oh please! I went through his training and it was easy! How hard could yours be?" Lenz dared to ask. Piccolo's glare seemed to stop the water momentarily, but it continued flowing when he suddenly smirked.

Verto stifled a laugh, "I hope you realize what you just did Lenz. How long is boot camp going to last?"

"To be fair, I think we should both train her over a long period of time. Mostly in areas she needs improvement in, such as patience, of which she has none," Piccolo suggested.

"We'll take turns then. This isn't something I want to rush into since I don't feel like I've figured everything out for myself yet. No point in hurrying someone else through the process. Tell ya what, I'll go home and grab a capsule house and we'll stay out here most of the time. It will cut down on distractions, you don't need anymore of those!" Verto claimed.

"You and me, alone out here?" Lenz asked as she grinned.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I won't be available everyday or night. I have my own training to do and neither of you can be involved with that," Verto said as he looked away, catching Piccolo's eye.

"What about Vegeta? You know he won't approve of this," Lenz pointed out.

"I'll deal with it. If he doesn't like it, he can kiss my ass," Verto said simply.

Piccolo chuckled, "I can recall a time not long ago when you wouldn't dare tempt Vegeta's wrath. Now it's becoming a daily habit."

Verto nodded, "He'll have to get over it. This is not his area of expertise after all."

* * *

"Would you care to repeat that boy? Surely you don't possess the gumption to defy my policy!" Vegeta growled.

"You heard fine the first time, general," Verto mocked.

Vegeta snarled, "You want your way, then you know what comes first! That goes for the girl as well!"

"We did that already. It involved you getting your ass kicked and me turning into a monster. You want to see that again?" Verto countered. Vegeta grumbled something inaudible and didn't answer.

"Besides, you can't train Lenz for something you don't know of yourself, just like you couldn't train me. And I don't plan on keeping away all that often. I'll be here for your precious sparring sessions on occasion. Just not every day," Verto compromised. Vegeta only glared back before Bulma finally stepped in.

"The way he's acting, you'd think he were an adult again," Bulma pointed out.

"You can blame the Zerg for that," Verto retorted.

"Yeah, I suppose so. I have no objections to this as long as you aren't gone for months at a time. Even I understand that you kids need your privacy space, right?" Bulma asked with a tight grin.

"It's not for that," Verto frowned back.

"Sure it isn't, but I'd bet you're almost a teenager now, so you're capable of it. Here's a nice capsule house with a big hot tub, but you'll have to come back for more food. That is unless you plan on hunting and cooking it yourself," Bulma noted.

"Probably not. Lenz isn't that great a cook, and you know Piccolo usually doesn't even touch food," Verto said.

"Well good, just don't use that as an excuse to come home!" Bulma said sternly.

Verto took the capsule from her, "Thanks I won't."

"Good, if you two need anything, either call or stop by. Aren't you going to take her some clothes?" Bulma asked.

"I'll let her do that herself. Besides, we won't need to worry about torn up clothes with Piccolo around, and the risk of it is extremely high as it is," Verto added.

Bulma's grin returned, "Are we still talking about training, or something else that's pretty intense?"

"Very funny, maybe in about five years that joke will be valid," Verto glowered.

"Wow, planning to start that late eh? Well I don't think you'll last that long with Lenz around," Bulma claimed.

"I said maybe, see you later," Verto said as he departed. As he was flying away, Trunks watched him go from his bedroom window. He bore a saddened expression for the moment, but seemed to think of something and picked up the nearest phone.

"Hey Goten, you wanna have some fun tomorrow? I have an idea…"

* * *

After sending Lenz for her own things, both she and Verto were winding down for the night, though Verto had more on his mind.

"Tell me something Lenz," Verto began.

"I thought you already knew my measurements?" she asked.

Verto grimaced, "Not that, I can guess those. What do you know about any special abilities your people have? Are they like the mutations we've been seeing in others?"

Lenz's eyes popped open in surprise, "How did you know about that? Were you reading my mind or something?"

"No, but thanks for confirming it. Now what do you know about them, and what can you do?" Verto asked again.

"As far as I know, all of our special abilities are somewhat random, and not normally found in a Saiyan, or so I was told. But it's not supposed to be the Saiyan blood that causes it, it's supposed to be Rotarian in nature."

"Let me guess, partially based on emotions?"

Lenz scowled, "How do you do that? Guess right every time?"

"Trade secret. Not that it was hard to figure out in the first place, you're softer than I am," Verto claimed.

"Whatever. It's supposed to depend heavily on any particular emotion at the time, until it's mastered of course. I'm not really sure what my ability is. I thought it was supposed to come around during the teenage years, but there's been some that have never discovered theirs and some that have it before age three!"

"Never tried very hard have you?" Verto asked.

"Well I thought for a few years that maybe it was like an extra powerful persuasion, but these have done that most of the time," Lenz claimed as she grabbed at her chest.

"Yeah, I've noticed. What kinds of abilities have you seen?" Verto asked while trying not to stare.

"That's the confusing part, it's a lot like the special humans we've seen. While I don't know what my immediate family could do, I do know my cousin could make it rain when she was upset. Her father, my uncle, could affect plants and vegetation. Sure was something to see a full season of fruit grow ripe in an hour," Lenz claimed.

"I'll bet. Well I don't plan on pushing that issue unless it comes up, no use trying to master what you aren't familiar with. Same reason I'm not letting Vegeta train you right now."

"What about this Psi energy you claim I have? Could that be it?" she asked.

"It isn't a claim if it's accurate, it just took me awhile to notice. It is a little hard to notice anything else about you other than your ass and those two watermelons," Verto snickered as he pointed.

"Hey! Wait, is that a compliment or an insult?" she pondered.

"We have a lot of work to do if you couldn't tell by now. Anyways, that Psi energy might just be starting to make itself known, so I'm not surprised that you can't feel it. It might be what your special power is, but I really have no idea since I haven't met any other Rotians," Verto added.

"Fine, teach me how to use it," Lenz said.

"We'll get to that. First, I want you to work with Piccolo on patience and meditation. You won't get anywhere if you can't calm your mind and search within yourself. It'll be similar to your training at King Kai's place, but less physical. Don't worry, we'll train you in a way that allows you to understand things easier," Verto assured her.

"Bulma said that you actually had to transform to that silver form before you could ever even use your blue sword," Lenz pointed out.

"Twice by her count, and yes I did, under extreme duress. It was simpler that way since we didn't have much time, but that didn't mean that I was ready for it. I didn't even get the training until much later due to circumstance. Until that point, it was all trial and error," Verto admitted.

"You mean when you were with those Zerg creatures I've heard about?" she asked.

"No, it was after that. I could use Psi energy during most of that mess, but I wasn't allowed to train with it much. It was… complicated," Verto replied carefully.

"How will I be any different then?"

"Have I let you down yet when it comes to potential? You didn't seem to think you could ever be a Super Saiyan now did you?" Verto asked as he put a comforting hand to her shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess."

"I'll give you one little hint for after your efforts under Piccolo, it won't do you much good until then. Use your ki to help you locate and drag that excess power to the surface. Trust me, it will help until you have it figured out. Good night."

The very next day, a large forested area was disturbed by two fast blurs rushing through it. The dark blue blur beeped slightly, and pulled out a small device as both ran towards a nearby mountain.

"Are you sure about this Trunks?" Goten asked.

"It's perfect! With that girl around, Verto never has any time for us anymore. We'll use the Dragonballs to send her back to her own people!" Trunks proclaimed.

"I thought their home got blown up by one of the bad guys?"

"Yeah, that's why there's two wishes dummy! We'll use the first one to wish them back!" Trunks pointed out.

"Oh, I knew that," Goten said quickly.

"Come on, it's just up there, near that cave!" As the two approached, they noticed a small encampment just outside of the cave entrance. It was of very basic design, featuring a tent, table, chair and a small fire. The table looked like it was being used as a workbench, and there were various objects scattered about.

"Does someone live here?" Goten asked. Trunks didn't answer, but double-checked the dragon radar and saw the location of the Dragonball was moving.

"Check it out! Whoever is here has the ball inside the cave!" Trunks said. Goten stepped towards the entrance, unsure of it at first.

Then he took in a deep breath and shouted towards the dark opening, "Hello in there! We're looking for the Dragonball!"

"Goten, don't tell them what it is!" Trunks rasped.

"You boys get on outta here!" a voice answered from the cave. A tall but slim man with a gruff, raggedy beard emerged, shotgun in hand.

"Uh, we were just leaving…" Trunks said as he stepped away.

"I said get!" the man shouted. He fired a shot off, shattering a potted plant that was on the table as Trunks ducked out of the way.

"Hey! That could have hit me!" Trunks yelled back.

"That was your warning shot! The next one won't miss!" the man declared.

"Take it easy!" Trunks suggested.

"What's with this guy? He seems mad about something," Goten pointed out. The man aimed and fired at the bewildered Goten, who caught the shell easily.

"Why are you shooting at us? We didn't do anything to you," Goten added. The surprised man was too overwhelmed by the fact that Goten was still standing to answer. Trunks didn't bother waiting and quickly rushed forward, knocking the shotgun away.

"What's your problem?" Trunks asked.

The man stuttered for a moment, "How did he survive that?"

Goten shrugged, "I dunno, maybe your bullet is too slow."

"Don't you know who we are?" Trunks asked.

The stranger looked genuinely confused, "Should I?" Trunks promptly turned Super Saiyan, and his quick release of energy blew the stranger down.

Upon the second look, he had a sudden recollection, "Right, one of those golden fighter kids."

Trunks relaxed and powered down, but didn't let up on the stare down, "About time you old fool!"

"Well I don't care who you are, I'm not going back! You'll have to kill me first!"

It was Trunks' turn to be confused, "Go back where? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me you tiny punk! I know the police must have sent you out here to find me. How else would you have known exactly where to look?" the man claimed. As he was speaking, he didn't notice Goten sneaking up to him from behind. Goten reached into the man's coat pocket and retrieved the orange object inside.

"All right, I got it Trunks! The three-star ball!"

"Give that back you brat!" the man shouted as he swung towards Goten. Goten dodged away from the older man's arms, landing next to Trunks.

The man grabbed his shotgun and aimed, "Give it back now!"

Trunks smirked, "What's the point? You already know that won't do any good!"

The man's hands started to shake just slightly, "Please, just give it back!"

Goten stared at the orange orb in question, "Why do you like it so much? Did you have a wish you wanted to make?"

"It's all I have left of her, please!" he begged. At this point, the man had dropped his shotgun and sunk to his knees, openly weeping before the boys. Trunks' eyes narrowed sharply, though Goten didn't know what to make of this.

"Trunks, can a Dragonball be part of a human?" Goten asked.

Trunks face faulted, "No, stupid! Don't be ridiculous!"

"Dragonball? That's what the ball is called?" the man asked.

Trunks nodded, "So who was she? Your wife or daughter?"

The man sniffled slightly, "Wife, we had just married. She found that stone over a year ago when it suddenly fell out of the sky, shortly before the Zerg invaded. She could tell it was special from day one, even though I didn't believe her. Then, a few months ago, it turned into that. She found out she was pregnant on the same day. She thought it was a sign from the heavens that our baby would be a special one. How stupid I was to believe it." The man continued to sob lightly as the skies began to sprinkle a few raindrops.

"So, what happened?" Trunks asked.

"Whatever that ball is for, it's valuable enough to kill for. She gave it to me two weeks ago for me to protect. When I came home the very next night, I found her lying in a pool of her own blood," the man admitted.

"Is that why you're hiding out here?"

"Partially. Whoever killed her planted evidence pointing to me. After all, I am a former marine. If I ever find out who did it, I'll avenge her, I swear it!" Trunks stared at the ground for a moment while Goten was chasing a nearby rabbit.

Trunks sighed slightly, "If we help you find out who did this, can we keep the ball?"

"You already have it, and it's pretty much common knowledge that I wouldn't be able to stop you. But if you can find and prove who's guilty, you can have it with my blessing," the man said.

"It's a deal then, my mother always says you should compromise to get ahead," Trunks said.

"Smart lady, I'm Marcus Satsu."

"Trunks, and that's Goten," Trunks pointed as he and Marcus shook hands. Just as he did, Trunks suddenly became very dizzy and his vision blurred. Barely a second after it did, it warped into a fuzzy gray image of Marcus and a woman. The woman was handing him the Dragonball.

"_Take care of this Marcus, I feel it will be safer away from me and the baby_," she claimed.

"_They may come after me then, but that's fine. You know I can take care of myself, actually I prefer it this way. Don't worry about me Catalina_," Marcus replied.

"_Oh you marines and your macho-attitude!_" Catalina said in a playful matter.

"_Former marine, I retired remember?_"

"_Which was barely four months ago, you still got it in you hot shot!_" The two kissed and the image flashed white. Before he knew it, Trunks was staring at his hand coming away from Marcus' own. Trunks jumped back by reaction as his head seemed to clear up.

"Something wrong kid? I know my handshake isn't that firm, and I doubt you would feel it," Marcus pointed out.

"Uh, no. Just got dizzy for a second, used to happen all the time around new people. Nothing wrong here," Trunks lied. He stared at his own hands as Marcus was gathering his things up. _What was that,_ Trunks asked himself. Goten walked up from behind, a tad curious to Trunks' lack of movement.

"Trunks?"

Trunks sighed heavily, "It's nothing. Tuck the Dragonball away, this might take a little awhile." Goten nodded and helped Marcus put out the smoldering coals as Trunks stared off into random emptiness. _What the hell happened to me?_

**Next time on DBV: Trunks and Goten travel back to Marcus' hometown to help him investigate his wife's murder. It isn't long before they realize that there are others searching for both Marcus and the Dragonballs, and a scramble for the magical orbs begins with both old and recent foes.**


	47. Scramble

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 46: Scramble**

"So, why hide so far away from home if you wanted to find the bad men?" Goten asked Marcus Satsu. Trunks was immediately muttering under his breath as the three soared above the ground. Marcus had told them that he had lived in Pepper City, and they were flying there, with Goten carting Marcus on his back.

"Ignore him," Trunks said with a scowl.

"No, it's fine. The police were after me, some phony eyewitness account. At the time, I figured that I should leave until things cooled off. I was too distraught over my wife to be spearheading an investigation anyway," Marcus explained. Goten looked puzzled at this, which allowed Trunks to roll his eyes up even further.

"What he means is that since the cops think he did it, he should hide from them until they stop looking for him. And that he was too sad to come back and look for the real killer," Trunks translated.

"Oh, okay," Goten nodded.

"Goten, you shouldn't hang around your dad so much, it's causing too much damage to your brain!"

"Oh yeah? It's more fun than hanging around with your dad!" Trunks paused to think of a good rebuttal, coming up blank for the moment. Just as he was about to fire back, Marcus interrupted the two arguing tots.

"Is that it up there? We should land outside of town!" he suggested. Both boys agreed and the trio descended and landed in the hills just outside of Pepper City.

"Alright, let's stay here until the sun goes down. It'll be easier to slip in under the cover of night. Goten, hand me my knapsack," Marcus said as he held out his hand. Goten handed it over and Marcus dug out a set of camouflage clothing. Trunks stared into the city under the sun-splashed sky, slightly bored already.

"Um, how long until the sun goes down?" Goten asked, "Mom will be mad if I come home late!"

"It will probably be okay if we head down there in about an hour or so. I'll be right back," Marcus said as he took his change of clothes and walked over to a nearby crevice in the land. Trunks sighed and sat down as he pulled out the Dragon Radar.

"Whatcha doing Trunks?"

"I'm gonna see if there's another Dragonball around here," Trunks replied as he turned it on. As soon as he did, his eyes went wide while the radar beeped.

"Goten, there's three other balls down there! Two of them are on the east side of the city and are moving together!"

"So, someone else is trying to find them too?" Goten asked with a finger to his chin.

"Yeah, it looks like it. And look, the other one is moving around too, almost on the edge of the city at the bottom of this hill! We should go get it!" Trunks suggested.

"What about him?" Goten pointed towards where Marcus had gone.

"Aw, it'll be fine to leave for a few minutes. He's a grownup after all; he can take care of himself! Let's go!"

"Okay, I hope you're right Trunks."

* * *

Both boys raced down the hill and into a busy marketplace that spanned several streets. Trunks kept the radar in his hand as they entered the crowd, trying to get an exact fix on the Dragonball's location without drawing too much attention. The ball was difficult to get a fix on since it was moving around the randomly sized mob. It finally stopped when Trunks walked by, holding still at a fruit stand with only three people there besides the vender. Trunks was able to eliminate two of them right away. Both were elderly and simply picking up a light meal. It was the man on the left that Trunks locked onto, the one wearing a pink martial arts outfit with red lettering. There was something wrong about him. His body just looked so…artificial. When the man turned around, Trunks saw his face, or rather, his cybernetic face. A stroke of realization hit, and Trunks suddenly recalled that he had seen this man before, or someone just like him.

"Hey Goten, check around on the next block over, the signal is getting a little fuzzy," Trunks whispered. Goten nodded and ran off in the other direction. The truth was, Trunks knew exactly who had the ball and how potentially dangerous he was. He had seen video from the twenty-third World Martial Arts Tournament, and this guy had been in the first match. He was a notorious mercenary that had even pulled a knife on his opponent, regardless of the rules. It hadn't mattered at the time though; he was unlucky enough to be facing Tienshinhan that day, who lost to Goku in the very next round. Trunks couldn't recall the man's name, but he did hear that the reason this mercenary even had cybernetic body parts was because of Goku. Trunks scoffed slightly though, as he didn't feel quite as worried anymore. He knew that Goku was exponentially weaker than Trunks at that time. _If Goku beat this guy back then, I have nothing to worry about._ Trunks scanned the mercenary's ki level just in case. It was a little subdued and definitely strong for a human, but nothing for him to worry about. Trunks stepped up to just about a dozen feet behind the mercenary, who was currently berating the fruit vendor and scaring the bystanders.

"You call this garbage quality fruit? It makes me quite nauseous!"

"I'm so sorry Mister Tao! I'll give you another one, free of charge!" the vendor offered.

"You were actually going to demand compensation for this rubbish? You should be paying me to eat this!" Tao demanded.

The vendor's knees sank, but he gave in, "Oh of course sir! Take every zeni, just don't kill me!" As the vendor was shoveling the cash drawer into a bag, Tao stroked his mustache and grinned. The vendor handed him the bustling bag and Tao suddenly scowled.

"On second thought, I never did like beggars. They're as annoying as sewer rats, and you're no different!" Tao claimed. The vendor began running away in fear, startling the entire street as Tao stepped into the middle of the road. In his metallic hand, a small dagger was revealed. Tao lazily tossed the blade at the fleeing vendor. A loud gasp sounded when the vendor went down, but he was unharmed. Trunks had pushed him out of the way when he snatched the small knife out of the air.

Tao was slightly surprised by this sudden development, "And who, pray tell, are you?"

Trunks smirked, "Trunks, son of Vegeta and the prince of all Saiyans!"

"A prince, of what kingdom again?" Tao asked.

Trunks' face turned red, "Of Saiyans!"

"Whatever, kid. I think your imagination is overactive today. Move along before I do something nasty to you!" Tao warned.

"I don't think so, jerk!" Trunks slid into his battle stance, prompting a hearty laugh from Tao.

"You obviously have no idea who I am, do you? I'll have you know that I once killed a man with nothing but my tongue. Now imagine what I could do to a half-pint like you!" Tao claimed.

"I guess I'll start with your tongue then. That seems to be the natural body part that you can still use!" Trunks countered.

Tao scowled at the insult, "Alright, you earned a painful beating. I usually charge my clients extra for mission complications, but you're for free!" Murmurs erupted randomly from the gathering crowd.

"Uh oh, Tao's gonna kill another one. Who pissed him off this time?"

"Isn't he getting too old for this stuff?"

"Hey wait a second, that's the golden kid that won the junior martial arts tournament and knocked out Mister Satan!" Tao's eyes shifted at the whispers and he eyed Trunks a little more carefully.

"So, they still let children compete at the tournament, how incompetent! But you might be worth the effort if you were able to knock out that overly loud paper champion. At least now I know where the heroics are coming from, flawed as they may be! Alright then brat, I'll be the gentleman and let you have the first shot!" Tao said.

Trunks grinned again, "It'll be the only shot!" Trunks inched forward carefully as Tao confidently stood his ground. Trunks knew that if he was willing to pull a weapon in the tournament, then there was no telling how far he would go. The usual arrogance that Trunks inherited subsided in the face of Tao. The man may not have been all that powerful, but he had an overwhelming edge in experience. Just as Trunks got within striking range, a familiar voice starting calling for him.

"Trunks! Trunks!" Goten called out. Trunks rolled his eyes as Goten pushed his way through the crowd and joined his friend's side.

"I can't find the Dragonball Trunks, can you check the radar again?" Goten asked.

"Can't you see I'm a little busy here?" Trunks grumbled.

Goten looked up and then back at him, "Doing what?" Trunks glanced back towards Tao, only to see a small cloud of dust. Up the street, Tao was running for his life, as if he had seen a ghost.

"No! Not him again!" Tao cried out. Trunks glanced at Goten and smirked evilly as he made the connection.

"See that guy in pink that's running away? He's got the Dragonball, he's all yours Goten!"

"Yay!"

* * *

General Tao caught his breath as he hid in an alley, eyeing the streets. He had been ready to put that cocky purple-headed kid in his place. That is, until Goku's clone showed up. _Why is it that every time I'm hired to find these damned balls, I run into him or his kin?_ As Tao was lost in his own bad luck, he felt a tap on his back and stiffened up.

"Excuse me mister, can I have the Dragonball?" Goten asked innocently. Tao panicked and broke into a dead sprint out in front of traffic, dodging cars and startling more people with his super human speed.

Goten looked perplexed, "Well that wasn't very nice!" Tao dashed through the marketplace at his best speed, frightening random people and crashing through several shopping stands. His horrified expression intensified when Goten ran up beside him and kept pace.

"Why are you running away? Are we racing?" Goten asked. Tao didn't answer and changed directions. He jumped from the ground to a small ledge on the side of the nearest building and then jumped to another. He zigzagged up to the rooftops and then shifted directions again, running and jumping over the alleyways with ease. Checking over his shoulder, he didn't see Goten following and grinned. He slowed and stopped before wiping his brow in relief as he double-checked his own path. When he turned again, Goten was floating at eye level.

Tao's mechanical eyes nearly popped out of his head as he screamed, "Ahhhhh!"

Goten rubbed the back of his head, "Does that mean I won the race?"

"You get away from me!" Tao shouted. Tao turned and leapt across a wide street to another rooftop, leaving Goten slightly puzzled.

"I wonder if he's afraid of little boys?" Tao didn't bother stopping and proceeded to leap high over several more wide streets. Once across the fifth street, he turned suddenly and dropped into another darkened alleyway. Dashing in his original direction, he found another path adjacent to his own and bolted into it. It was a dead end, but it was tight enough that any normal being would have trouble seeing him, especially while crouched down in the shadows. Goten was far from normal though. Tao cringed when he heard Goten land on the roof above and promptly looked over the side right at him.

"I found you! Can I hide next? I don't like being it!" Goten claimed.

Tao's dismay eased just slightly, "Um, sure kid. Go hide, I'll count to a million!"

"A million? That sure is a lot! The most Trunks ever gives me is fifty! Hey, you better not be trying to trick me!" Goten warned.

Tao grinned and held up a victory sign, "Cross my heart! One, two…" Goten vanished from view and Tao stopped his count while waiting patiently. He had just barely seen which direction Goten had gone, and hoped that the kid would lose him before he realized it. After nearly a minute, Tao ran off in the opposite direction with a fat grin on his face. A few blocks away, Goten peered out from the bush he was hiding behind, flustered that Tao had run away and given him the slip.

"Aw, what a mean man!"

Meanwhile, someone had seen where Tao had gone and was following. Trunks had watched the show between Tao and Goten and had laughed the entire time. Now that Tao had finally gotten away, Trunks decided to get down to business. On the far end of the city, the gentle hills turned into rugged mountains, an easy place to get lost in. Tao was heading right for them, even though Goten had now given up the chase. Trunks realized this and flew faster, cutting off Tao before he could get there.

Tao came to a quick stop, face flustered, "You again? Get out of my way, I'm in a bit of a hurry!"

"Just as soon as you give me the Dragonball. I know that you have it, and it probably isn't for anything good," Trunks added.

"Hmph, you should respect your elders, especially when you have no idea what you're in for!" Tao claimed. Tao rushed towards Trunks and punched forward with his metallic left hand. Trunks caught the punch easily and let Tao have it in the face. Just as he connected, his vision blurred and distorted just like before. He saw a pint-sized boy that looked like Goten taking on what had to have been Tao before he had cybernetic implants. The small boy was tearing Tao apart, and Trunks quickly realized that it was actually Goku he was seeing.

Goku landed as Tao was pulling himself out of the ground and shaking with anger, "_Bah, that's the second suit you've destroyed! Do you have any idea how difficult it's going to be to find another decent tailor?"_

"_You should worry about your fighting, not your looks!"_ Goku claimed.

"_You dare question my abilities? Well then, taste my Dodon Ray!_" Tao declared.

"_Go ahead, I'm ready for you this time!_" Goku claimed as he lifted his hands into a block attempt.

"_Dodon!_" Tao shouted. Tao fired the one-finger ki beam and Goku caught it immediately. The beam pushed Goku backwards for a few feet before dissipating. Tao shook in slight fear, as the only thing his attack did was burn Goku's hands a little bit.

"_It's impossible! No one has ever withstood that attack!_" Tao claimed.

"_It can't hurt me anymore!_" Goku said. The vision faded as Trunks came back to reality just as Tao was flying backwards into the hillside.

"Ow! You little brat, you're going to pay for that!" Tao stated. Trunks was still a bit dizzy, but quickly refocused onto the older assassin. Tao didn't look so confident anymore, no doubt because of the bruise forming on his face. The mercenary's hand fell off, and he lifted a small cannon-like device towards Trunks.

"My employers prefer it if I complete my missions, and you're in the way. Nothing personal," Tao said.

"Go ahead, take your best shot!" Trunks dared.

"You'll regret those words kid, if you live!" Trunks stood ready as Tao's cannon lit up with gold.

"Super Dodon Wave!" The beam rushed out and exploded at Trunks' blocking hand, blinding the area with light. When it cleared, Trunks remaining completely unscathed amidst the falling rubble. Tao was nowhere in sight, and Trunks floated upwards to get a better look. It didn't matter though, Tao was long gone, and Trunks couldn't sense him either.

"Damnit!" Trunks shouted as he pounded the ground. Another problem loomed though, he was more aware of what had happened. _I must have read his mind or something when I touched him, something about his memory of when Goku beat him. I wonder how I did that?_

* * *

Marcus Satsu glanced up at the sunset as he repacked his knapsack. _Where are those damn kids? Why couldn't they wait for a few minutes,_ he pondered. Marcus had spotted some brief aerial activity in the city, but whatever had happened quickly raced towards the horizon and out of his sight. Marcus shifted nervously as twilight took over the sky; things seemed far too quiet for him. A twig snapped just behind him and Marcus quickly turned. There was nothing there, outside of a few falling leaves. A stiff, swirling breeze hit him, causing him to tense up. The wind increased in intensity and Marcus struggled to stay on his feet. Not far away, he saw a darkened figure coming closer. The stiff breeze got even stronger until Marcus was finally knocked over, and the figure arrived. Marcus was barely to his knees when his knapsack was suddenly split open and its contents flew in various directions. The newcomer didn't appear to have moved at all, yet it was apparent that he had.

"And you are?" Marcus asked. The speedy stranger didn't answer, opting instead to simply glare back. Marcus stood up carefully before taking note of the glassy expression the young man had, as if the lights were on, but no one was home.

"Alright, what do you want?" Marcus asked again.

"Ball."

Marcus couldn't quite understand the response, "What? Say that again."

"Ball!" Marcus still didn't know what to make of this, until he heard a distinct feminine giggle behind him.

"You'll have to excuse Supido. Normally he can't ever shut up, well normally."

Marcus turned and eyed the girl, "I know you, from somewhere."

"I imagine you might recognize me, it happens sometimes. Let's be proper about it this time. My name is Ranso Teziwari, and yours is Marcus Satsu. Your memory might be a little fuzzy about our first meeting, but that's to be expected since soon after you were no doubt in mourning. After all, your wife wouldn't have died if not for me," Ranso stated. Marcus' reaction was immediate, but Supido knocked him back down quickly.

"You killed her?" Marcus growled.

"Technically, no. But that's water under the bridge now. What I want is the orange ball with the stars inside, and she had it up until her demise. I now know that she gave it to you, so where is it?" Ranso asked.

"I'd never tell you, crazy little bitch!" Marcus snarled.

"Tsk, tsk. Oh well I guess. I was going to handle this the easy way, but so be it," Ranso shrugged as she stepped closer. Marcus stood firm as he pulled a small gun from his back.

"I am a trained marine little girl, I doubt you or your boyfriend really want any of this!" Marcus warned. Ranso stopped and glanced back at Supido,

"Your turn." Supido grunted lightly and moved in towards Marcus.

"Back off, or eat lead!" Marcus shouted as he took aim. Supido didn't answer and kept coming.

"Fine, it's your funeral!" Marcus fired once, and Supido suddenly shifted several feet to his right without breaking stride. Marcus cringed and fired again, only to see a swirling wall of dust go up. Supido was gone before Marcus could even pull the trigger, and was now running circles around the older marine.

"What the hell?" Marcus asked. He fired four more times, each bullet passing through the dust cloud and beyond. Marcus suddenly saw his gun fly away from his hands just before he was knocked over by a blow to his head. Marcus lay unconscious as Supido rapidly searched him, coming up empty.

Ranso grimaced slightly, "He must have hidden it somewhere around the city. Since our location device was destroyed with the lab, I guess we'll just have to force him into telling us where it is. Take him, we're going back to the warehouse!"

**Next time on DBV: Trunks tracks down Marcus and fights against Dr. Cash's remaining henchmen. In the heat of the battle, General Tao steals the other Dragonballs and takes them directly to his new employer. Before Trunks can give chase though, he must finish the battle, and in turn, has to witness the ugly side of humanity.**


	48. Detective Trunks

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 47: Detective Trunks**

Trunks eyed the dismantled knapsack with suspicion while Goten glanced around the hill.

"You think he went home?" Goten asked.

"No, there had to have been some sort of struggle. Look at how all of the grass is smashed down in places, like a strong wind came through here, or someone incredibly fast," Trunks pointed out.

"What do we do then? Mom will be mad if I don't get home soon!" Goten claimed.

"Your mom is always mad about something. Here, I'll take the Dragonball for now and you can go home. No sense in both of us getting in trouble. Besides, I can always lean on my dad for support. He doesn't care what I do as long as it doesn't bother him!"

Goten handed over the ball, "What are you gonna do then?"

"I'll look for Marcus. If I can't find him, I'll look for that creep that has the Dragonball. The one that got away from both of us," Trunks added.

"Won't you need help?" Goten asked.

Trunks grinned, "Nah, that guy is a weakling!"

"Okay, I'll come back in the morning!" Goten flew off and Trunks darted back into the city under the night sky. Trunks immediately turned on the Dragon Radar and saw that the other two Dragonballs were still in the city somewhere. The ball that he knew Tao possessed was reading farther away and was remaining stationary.

_Tao couldn't have been the one to attack Marcus, he was too busy running from us. It's possible that some cops came through, but unless they were tipped off, I doubt it. And they'd probably still be around. I'm betting that whoever has the two Dragonballs must have come after Marcus, not realizing that me and Goten had it. I don't sense anything unusual, but that doesn't mean anything._ Trunks walked at a brisk pace once he hit the streets, all the while keeping an eye peeled for Marcus. It wasn't long before he came up to a dimly lit warehouse, one that had seen better days. On the west wall, Trunks found a broken window that provided a big enough gap for him to slip through. Once inside, Trunks elected to stray close to the darkened ceiling in an effort to stay concealed. This plan backfired when Trunks suddenly lost control of his flight and plummeted to the ground.

"OW!" Trunks immediately realized that he might have blown his cover and ducked behind a large box to hide. Nothing happened for the next thirty seconds or so, allowing Trunks to breathe easier. He scanned around the area, quickly noticing that he couldn't feel any energy levels, not even his own.

_Not again! Why can't these bad guys ever play fair?_ Trunks sighed heavily and moved deeper into the dark warehouse, keeping close to the shelving in the isles. It wasn't long before he heard voices and then spotted a brightly lit room with the door open. As he got closer to the large doorway, he heard Marcus inside.

"I told you already, I don't have it!" Marcus claimed. A distinct smack reached Trunks' ears, confirming that Marcus had been thrown across the room before striking pavement. Trunks peered in and saw Marcus struggling to get to his knees after an apparent blow to his knee. Not far way from him were two tall, teenage twins wearing matching black jumpsuits. Both of them had glassy-eyed, emotionless expressions on their faces. Behind them stood a smaller teenage girl with brown hair. Just to her left sat a small table with the two Dragonballs sitting on it.

"Come now Mister Satsu, I already know you don't have the Dragonball. I want to know where it is, or specifically who you may have given it to," Ranso stated.

"I lost it. Floated down the river weeks ago, maybe you should go drown yourself looking for it," Marcus suggested.

"You are not a very good liar. We know you had it when you became a fugitive. Your wife had it before and likely gave it to you prior to her death. Now just tell me where it is and this will go smoothly."

"Ha, you'll have to do much worse than this to break me," Marcus claimed.

"I could force you myself, but I prefer my victims to hand over their free will on their own. Sort of like these two did, though I doubt they realized what they were doing at the time. I can be rather persuasive even without my little talent," Ranso said with a deep grin.

"Like that would happen even if your two grunts break every bone in my body. I've already lost what matters to me, nothing you do will change that!" Marcus said in defiance.

"Tsk tsk. I guess that wouldn't work would it? There's always knowledge then," Ranso said as she reached into her pocket and slipped on a glove.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marcus asked. Ranso didn't answer as she pulled out a small revolver from a different pocket and held it up with her gloved hand.

"This right here could be called the smoking gun. It was also the gun that killed your wife. Fingerprints were extracted from it, do you know who last touched it?" Ranso asked slyly.

"Probably the killer," Marcus grunted.

"Yes, you!" Ranso declared.

"Whatever witch, I think you're the one in denial now!"

"No, I'm not. When I touch someone, they become my slave for however long I need them or until their task is complete. If I so choose, I can also implant a suggestion in the back of their mind that triggers upon a certain situation. This way even those that know about my power and think they got away after contact are sadly mistaken. After you left at the behest of your wife, we met and I implanted the urge to go back to her. Once you did, another suggestion triggered, the urge to kill. So the police did get it right," Ranso explained. Trunks' jaw dropped when he heard this; _So this is that girl that tried to make Gohan her boyfriend. And she kidnapped Mom for Doctor Cash!_

"No! That's impossible!" Marcus said.

"Trust me, it isn't. Haven't you noticed how these two are completely silent and obey every command I give them? With that in mind, your small mind should be able to grasp the truth, you killed your wife!" Ranso pointed out.

"I don't believe you. I could never do that!" Marcus proclaimed.

"Never say never. Would you like a demonstration?" Ranso offered. Marcus didn't answer, but maintained his glare.

"Fine, you obviously need one. Ryo, Supido, go retrieve the first two people you find and bring them back here. I don't care if it's a toddler or some old hag with a walker, the first two you see. Then I'll make them tear each other into tiny pieces until you get the point! You'll see first hand what I can do Mister Satsu!" Trunks stood up and hid behind the corner as the twins approached the doorway, unaware of his presence. Trunks considered letting them leave and taking the unguarded moment, but he knew that whomever they brought back would be in danger.

"Hey, tool brigade!" Trunks shouted. Both twins turned just as Trunks charged towards them. Supido promptly phased out, causing Trunks to turn his head in wonder when he passed him. Ryo's fist made contact with Trunks' small head a moment later. Trunks went flying through the wall before landing on the other side of the lightened room.

"Trunks!" Marcus called out.

Ranso looked amused, "So, it's the other Briefs brat this time. How convenient."

Trunks got up warily and wiped the dirt off his face; _Man, that guy hits like Dad. And the other one is really fast, this may not be as easy as I thought without my energy. Wait a sec…why didn't I get some creepy vision when he punched me?_

"Tell me, is your brother joining us tonight? Or maybe that pumped up alien you call a father?" Ranso asked.

"Hmph, I don't need either of them to beat you three!" Trunks boasted.

"Now that's doubtful little Trunks. Without your Saiyan energy, you're helpless! Ryo, Supido, you can rough him up a bit, but don't kill him yet!" Ranso ordered.

"Trunks, run! Get out of here!" Marcus shouted. Trunks ignored him and tossed his jacket aside, grinning slightly as he sunk into his stance.

"No way, I'm gonna kick the crap out of these two idiots!" Trunks claimed. Trunks ran towards the slower Ryo first, but stopped short when Supido started moving again. Trunks tried to track his moment, only to have Ryo move in on him. Trunks jumped back, right into Supido's sweeping leg, tripping him. Ryo ran at Trunks with his fist drawn back, but only hit concrete. Trunks countered the charge with a kick to Ryo's head, sending him back into the deeper part of the warehouse. Trunks landed and dashed towards Supido, who was already running at him. Trunks narrowly ducked Supido's fast jab and was barely able to tag him with an uppercut. It was enough for Supido to crash into a shelf before getting up and running towards his brother. Trunks paused for a moment and stared at his fist, _I didn't get a weird vision that time either. But maybe it's because these two are under mind control. Well good, it won't distract me then!_

Louder sounds of scuffle activity came through the door as the three bashed each other around the warehouse. They were knocking down shelving and breaking many other things in the process. Ranso patiently watched some of the action, but Marcus had no intention of waiting around. At the earliest chance, he jumped up and ran for the gun next to the Dragonballs. Ranso realized what was happening and dove for the table as well. They both hit it at about the same time and it flipped, sending all of its contents in two directions. The gun landed behind Marcus and he grabbed a hold of it. Ranso had watched the Dragonballs fly into the warehouse, but stiffened when she heard the distinct click behind her. Marcus had her pinned and she knew it.

As Trunks was fending off the twins, he saw the two Dragonballs fly through, both nearly hitting him in the head. They rolled through the combat zone, rolling to a stop near a set of boots standing on broken glass. Trunks' eyes widened when he saw the figure bend down to retrieve them.

"Well, it must be my lucky day," General Tao said as he picked up both balls. Trunks ran towards him, only to be cut off by Supido as Tao was jumping through the window.

"Get back here you big chicken!" Trunks shouted.

"Sorry brat, the room looks to be a little crowded. Sayonara!" Tao waved. Trunks threw Supido to the side, where he crashed into a rubbish pile and kicked up plenty of dust. By the time Trunks could clearly see again, it was too late to determine which way Tao had went. Trunks reached into his pocket for the Dragon Radar. _It doesn't matter, I'll find him easily with this!_ The stronger Ryo suddenly hit Trunks from behind, and he fell right on top of the radar. When he got up, it was completely smashed. In his rage, Trunks turned and hammered Ryo in the stomach, taking out a pillar when Ryo flew through it. Trunks started to run after him when he was suddenly surrounded by a wall of dust created by Supido's speed. Trunks could just barely detect the fast human, and watched for his opening.

_Damnit, I can't isolate one without the other jumping in. I need to separate them to put one of them down before I take on the other. Then I can knock them out, end this and go after Tao. If I don't hurry, I'll have to wait until the radar is fixed!_ Lights suddenly flashed into the warehouse from outside, distracting everyone present. Red and blue police lights blinked intermittingly from the windows as sirens sounded. The brief distraction was all Trunks needed to jump out of Supido's fading dust swirl and hammer Ryo over the head as hard as he could. Ryo dropped like a sack of bricks, his head smashing through the concrete when he landed. Supido dashed towards Trunks as the warehouse doors flew open behind the small Saiyan. The bright light blinded Supido long enough for Trunks to side step him and then attack from the side. Supido crashed against one of the sturdier pillars and bent around it slightly before falling to the ground. He let out a muffled groan when he smacked pavement, but didn't move afterwards. Trunks ran back into the lighted room, slightly nervous upon seeing Marcus holding Ranso at gunpoint.

"It's over, the cops are here!" Trunks claimed.

Marcus barely regarded him, "It won't be over until I finish the job!"

"But, you can't. They'll take her to jail for what she's done, won't they?" Trunks asked.

"Even if they did get her into a jail cell, she'd be out of there within an hour with her power to control others," Marcus pointed out.

"Please, I'm sorry for making you kill your wife. It was only business, nothing personal!" Ranso pleaded. The police ran up behind Trunks with their weapons drawn.

"Marcus Satsu! You're under arrest for the murder of your wife Catalina Satsu! Drop your weapon!" the chief ordered.

"Surely there's a better way than this!" Trunks said.

Marcus didn't react to anyone except Ranso, "Nothing personal huh?" Ranso nodded nervously as she stood up slowly. Marcus' gun snapped up instantly, freezing her movement again.

"Neither is this," Marcus said as he fired. The shot went right through Ranso's head and her body slumped to the floor. Marcus then dropped his gun and held his hands up as Trunks gasped.

"Sorry Trunks, I had to. I'm sure you'll understand some day," Marcus stated. Trunks grimly stared at the ground as Marcus was being handcuffed, stunned at what he had just seen. He had gone through the madness of the Zerg war and the fight with Majin Buu, but seeing one human kill another appeared to have been too much for him to handle.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law!" the chief read off.

Marcus ignored him, "Don't get down on yourself kid. You did a good thing by finding me and ending her terror spree. Without you, I would have never found out who was responsible for Catalina's murder, and I certainly wouldn't have been able to find justice for it. Keep your chin up lad." The police then carted Marcus towards the patty-wagon and Trunks merely stared off into empty space for a while.

* * *

An hour later, the police were still picking up the scene when Gohan showed up in his Saiyaman suit. He arrived long enough to see that it was Ranso that had been killed, but the chief immediately told him that Trunks hadn't done it. Trunks still hadn't moved even as the coroner had taken Ranso's corpse away. Gohan managed to locate the ki disruption device hidden in the ceiling and shut it down. During this time, Ryo and Supido both woke up, and neither of them could tell Gohan what had happened. They were also very banged up after their fight with Trunks, but were confused as to why they weren't in North City anymore. Gohan explained to them that Dr. Cash was dead and that Ranso had likely taken control of them for the time being, angering them both to an extent. Due to their injuries, they settled on being taken to the nearest medical facility, and Gohan promised to check on them in the morning. After listening to the chief's explanation of the chain of events, he tended to the silent Trunks.

"Hey, what went down around here?" Gohan asked.

Trunks didn't answer directly, "Gohan, is it right to take a life in revenge?"

Gohan's eyes flew open in surprise before settling, "I wouldn't say it is, even if I've been guilty of at least considering it."

"But you killed Cell out of revenge for your Dad, right?" Trunks asked.

"No. Cell had to be stopped for the greater good. The time in which I would have been taking revenge was before Dad died. And Cell **did not** kill him that day, don't ever let anyone tell you different. Now tell me what happened here."

Trunks told him most of the details up to the point where Ranso was killed, including their encounter with General Tao.

"You did the right thing in helping that poor man, even if it left a bad taste in your mouth. There wasn't much more you could have done without your energy," Gohan assured.

"Yeah, it just sucks that the Tao guy got away with three Dragonballs. And the radar was busted before I could figure out which way he was going!" Trunks pointed out.

"Well your mother can fix that problem fast enough. You just hold onto that Dragonball for now and you'll probably get another chance at him. Why were you collecting them anyway?" Gohan asked.

Trunks cringed slightly, "I just figured we might need them again eventually. Why not save some time?"

Gohan shook his head slightly, "Alright, you can tell me another day. Come on, I'll head back to Capsule Corp with you."

As the two were flying back, Gohan felt more tension from Trunks, but he could tell that it was for a different reason.

"Trunks, is there something else bothering you?" Gohan asked. Trunks didn't answer for a moment, but drifted a few feet further away from Gohan in the air.

Trunks took a deep breath, "You know how some people are being affected by you and Verto's special energy. Like that girl was?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"That can affect Saiyans too, right?"

Gohan sighed, "Let me guess, you think you've developed an ability that you didn't used to have?" Trunks nodded nervously.

"What happened to you, or to someone else?" Gohan inquired.

"Everything was fine throughout the day until I shook that Marcus guy's hand. My vision got all weird and distorted and I saw him talking to some lady, his wife I think. Then later when I punched Tao in the face, I saw him fighting Goku when he was a kid. But it didn't happen against those two weirdo guys that were helping Ranso. Then again, they didn't seem to be doing much thinking at all," Trunks noted.

"It sounds like you were reading their memories, at least any relevant ones based on whatever was on their mind. Let me know if it happens again," Gohan suggested.

"Please don't tell Mom or Dad," Trunks begged.

Gohan gave him a curious glance, "Why not?"

"Just promise me that you won't tell anyone."

"Alright, for now. But if this turns into something that you can't control, the deal is off," Gohan bargained.

Trunks slowly nodded, "Okay."

* * *

On the outskirts of West City, General Tao jumped off the tree trunk he had been riding just as it crashed into the ground. Before him stood a seemingly simple looking metal shack that was barely larger than a standard bathroom. Stepping inside, he shut the door and flipped on the light switch. He found himself standing on a metal platform and noticed that there was quite a long way down underneath it. There was also a small computer screen on the wall ahead of him, along with a large red button. Tao pressed it and the screen displayed a thin green line that kept moving across while an annoying ringing went off, much like a telephone.

The ringing stopped abruptly when a gruff voice answered it, "What do you want?" The green line erupted randomly, displaying the approximate audio wavelength of whoever was on the other end.

Tao grimaced at the grumpy tone, "I have three of the Dragonballs, and I'm here to collect my fee." There was no direct reply, until the platform along with Tao suddenly descended. It dropped slowly but steadily for nearly a hundred feet before it stopped at the bottom. A door opened for Tao and he promptly got off the makeshift elevator. The small room that followed was maybe three times bigger, but still not enough room for Tao's taste. The elevator door shut quickly, but another door opened before Tao, revealing the source of the agitated voice.

"Hmph, hard to believe that Kakarot ever had trouble with you," Vegeta said as he glanced over Tao.

"Am I supposed to be honored or insulted by that?" Tao asked.

"Pick one. If it were me, you would never have lived past the first minute," Vegeta claimed.

"I didn't come here to trade words with a little man and his oversized ego. If you won't want the Dragonballs then I'll take them to whoever pays the most," Tao threatened.

"You're assuming that I'll let you leave," Vegeta dared.

"Vegeta!" Bulma shouted as she walked up from behind, giving him a scornful glance.

"What woman?"

Bulma ignored him and faced Tao, "Don't mind him. How many were you able to find in such a short time?"

"Three. Others were looking for them also. Fortunately they were too busy fighting with each other to notice my retrieval. Twenty million zeni a piece," Tao declared.

"Alright, hold on," Bulma said as she pulled out a small hand-held personal computer and began accessing it.

"I could have delivered these to your residence with no extra charge. Why this place?" Tao asked as he eyed every detail of the room.

"We're trying to be discreet about this for now," Bulma replied.

"Waste of time," Vegeta muttered.

"Oh shut up, it was your idea! Anyway, I'll wire this to your bank account Tao, it that's alright?" Bulma asked as she typed something in.

"That will be fine," Tao acknowledged.

"By the way, you ever think about being something other than a mercenary?"

Tao barely shifted, "What would be the point of that?"

"Well, it just seems extremely dull that you've done it for so long now."

"Cybernetic maintenance isn't cheap. Besides, what would I do, join your little save the world club? I'm not that desperate!" Tao claimed.

"Well, it was just a thought. There you go, sixty million transferred. We'll take those," Bulma pointed. Tao handed the Dragonballs over to her with a curious expression.

"Am I to track down the rest of them as well?" he asked.

"No, but we'll keep you in mind. Good night," Bulma said cheerfully. Tao nodded and turned, nearly into Vegeta's glaring form.

"Excuse me, but can you get out of my way? I have two contract killings due by tomorrow night and they're both on the other side of the world!" Tao said.

Vegeta snorted, "You're lucky that my son didn't rip you to pieces earlier."

"That purple-headed kid was your son?" Vegeta smirked and nodded as Tao sweated nervously on his way out.

His scowl returned the instant Tao was gone, "I could have just killed him and taken the balls. No need to waste money."

"Oh stop it. At least this way we can keep a certain level of discretion about it. How long did you say we have?" Bulma asked.

"Only four months, five at the very most. We have to keep these hidden if we're going to pull this off. It still irritates me to resort to this just for the Dragonballs," Vegeta grumbled.

"Do you suppose it's possible that she anticipates this and interferes?"

"I'm more concerned with that bothersome Supreme Kai. How long until this place is finished?"

Bulma frowned slightly, "With Verto and Lenz mostly out of our hair for now, not long. The Protoss technology made things a lot simpler for manipulating the metal alloy; I just wish I would've thought of it sooner. If Cash could do it, there's no reason I can't improve it. Still, why not at least tell our friends and family about it?"

"This place should only be on a need to know standard. The boy hasn't been himself after all," Vegeta added.

"Yeah I suppose. You want to go get the three-star ball from Trunks or should I?"

Vegeta paused in thought, "No, let Trunks go about collecting the rest at his own pace. It will buy us more time just in case someone is watching. And then you can save your ridiculous money for something worthwhile!" Bulma snorted lightly as she opened the door, entering into a large tunnel with very bright light coming from it.

**Next time on DBV: Piccolo and Lenz are interrupted during training by a mysterious and seemingly unknown stranger, asking to meet with Verto. This stranger proves to know a great deal about Verto, despite having never having met before. The stranger proves to be very powerful and crushes Lenz when she challenges him. Before he can finish her off though, Verto arrives to fight him. What is the secret of this newcomer?**

**VB: **WDG is on vacation, so I had to wing it this time.


	49. Agent

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 48: Agent **

A large brown boulder was suddenly smashed apart by a lighter colored fist. Its owner snarled in frustration as she had missed her intended target by quite a bit. Lenz glared daggers at Piccolo, who landed nearby.

"You're losing your patience again, even faster than yesterday. Losing your patience will only cause you to waste your energy," he explained.

Lenz merely growled back, "Oh zip it!"

"You'll have to make me girl. Remember, you can't turn Super Saiyan, or else we switch," Piccolo reminded.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it!" she shouted back. Piccolo smirked as Lenz prepared to charge him again. He knew she was literally dying to transform so she could try to match him fully, but that would have defeated the purpose of the exercise. He honestly didn't know what she was most upset about, the fact that she was forbidden to transform, or that Verto suggested it. The deal was that if she did decide to power up all the way, Verto would spar with her instead. Though in this case, it was evading, not sparring. Lenz already had a good idea about what trying to catch Verto was like, so she accepted the agreement. While she probably thought of this as a stupid game to match her against clearly stronger opponents, that wasn't the true purpose. It was an effort to increase her reaction time and an alternate way to teach her patience. They had tried focus meditation, but she had already shown many times that she couldn't stay focused for more than a few minutes. Verto had claimed that she performed better in actual combat simulation rather than relaxed sessions, so they agreed on this exercise instead. Her reaction time was surprisingly slow for a Super Saiyan at her level. It was made very clear once Piccolo knocked her out after only four of his maneuvers with minimal power. It had been partially her fault when she claimed she could beat the mighty Namek in three moves without any effort. She had a much better view of things after she woke up, even though she was furious. Verto blamed it on Vegeta's brutal training, though Piccolo thought she was only distracted, which she was.

_She needs to keep her focus on her opponent and not elsewhere. It's obvious that she's trying too hard._ Piccolo understood why, and figured that the reason for this lack of focus was a fear of disappointing Verto, who had put a truckload of confidence into her latent energy. Piccolo shook his head slightly as he glided backwards in the air, stealing a glance at the smaller boy on the ground. He was currently meditating, or so it seemed. The gentle and occasionally brisk breeze that flowed through the bushes said otherwise. Piccolo could barely sense anything past a subtle distortion, but nothing subtle will deflect rogue energy blasts that come flying out of the blue. Nor does it leave small scorch marks in the grass much like a lightning strike. More than once Piccolo noticed his mood darken, which caused any animals nearby to quickly scatter as a result. Piccolo knew what Verto was trying to do, even though he disagreed with it. He was trying to continuously control the depths of his raging spirit energy. While Piccolo couldn't sense the energy, other signs told him when he got close to releasing it. For one, Lenz would take notice with extreme concern, which added to her distractions. There was also a significant heat burst when Verto began to channel it, and the area would start to glow red. Whenever Verto got very close to the breaking point, his ki would spike suddenly, and the entire area would cool off almost instantly as a result.

Piccolo couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him, _That power isn't like the Super Saiyan, at least not like we're used to. I doubt he'll ever be able to fully control it because of his ki. May the gods help us if he ever does._ Piccolo had noticed one minor change that went along with this training; Verto's eyes had the tendency to shift from blue to red when he was agitated or angry. In most situations, all this earned was a rude comment or two, which was nothing out of the ordinary. It didn't release the terrible Psionic energy, but it did alarm anyone nearby who knew about it. Nor did it happen when he was powered up unless he was trying to dig at his power again; it only happened when he was at rest. That made Piccolo feel about as relieved as he was ever going to get.

Several days passed quickly in this way. On the seventh day, Piccolo took Lenz out to the desert so Verto could have some peace and quiet. The boy had been especially winded when he turned in the night prior. He claimed that it wasn't due to the negative energy he was trying to channel, even though he had been attempting it most of that day. Piccolo wasn't so sure, Verto hadn't been saying much to either of them the whole week. He was tired for most of the week, even if he hadn't been exerting himself physically. Piccolo wouldn't have left if he knew what would transpire that day. They had just finished warming up when Piccolo first sensed the intruder.

"So, can I at least try to take you on at full power this time? Little brother isn't here after all, and it would be nice to see if I actually made progress before he wakes up," Lenz suggested. Piccolo didn't answer as his ears twitched just a bit and he looked towards the northern skies, just to Lenz's right.

"Hello? I know you heard me!" Lenz raised her voice.

"Quiet girl! I sense something coming this way," Piccolo replied.

"He sure didn't give us long, I figured he would eat before coming out here to watch," Lenz grumbled.

"It's not Verto," Piccolo said.

"It isn't? Feels kinda like him. Well, when he's in a good mood, that's never. I guess you're right, I still feel him over there," Lenz agreed as she pointed to the east. Piccolo's eyes narrowed at her vague observation, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. A bright white vapor trail soon came into view, and the only part of its owner that looked like Verto was the humanoid appearance. He landed gracefully before casting dark, yet seasoned purple eyes towards Piccolo and Lenz. He had long blue hair over lightly pale skin. His outfit consisted of long purple robes covering a white tunic and black pants. At his side was a medium sized sheathed sword that seemed to glow with energy.

"Who is this guy? Kinda cute, but creepy," Lenz noted.

"I don't know. Who are you and what is your business here?" Piccolo asked the newcomer. The man's eyes widened just as Piccolo felt a portion of his energy. It had the Namek shaking just a bit before he even answered.

"Good afternoon, my name is…" the man began.

"It's morning here, idiot," Lenz muttered aloud.

"Lenz!" Piccolo scolded.

"Hmph, no manners, but I didn't expect any. I trust you are Kami? Or do you prefer to be called Piccolo now?" The newcomer demeanor was very calm and soft-spoken, which barely made Piccolo breathe easier after he felt the initial energy surge.

"The latter. Who are you?" Piccolo repeated.

"My true name is hard to pronounce in your common tongue. The rough translation is Etarb Erec, or just Etarb for short."

Lenz snorted, "Maybe **retard** fits you better!" Piccolo growled a warning, but Etarb beat him to it.

"Know your place girl. Especially in unknown contact situations which may see your life on the line," Etarb suggested.

"Hmph, like you're a threat, pretty-boy."

"Lenz! Knock it off!" Piccolo ordered.

"You really should listen to him. He is much smarter than you after all. Rude and foolish is a rather bad combination, it's a pity that it typically goes together in amateur warriors," Etarb added.

"Okay, that's it!" Lenz growled as she began stomping towards him. She stopped when Piccolo cut her off, blocking her with his arm.

"Oh come on! He asked for it!" Lenz claimed.

Piccolo shook his head, "And you started it. Never charge an enemy you know nothing about. It rarely ends well."

"Enough with the little girl, she isn't why I'm here. Where may I find the Saiyan named Verto?" Etarb asked.

"What do you want with little brother? I'll flatten you before you get anywhere near him!" Lenz warned.

"Are you finished yet, child? Your impatient attitude is growing increasingly annoying. How do you stand it?" Etarb smiled as he directed the question to Piccolo.

"Through constant headaches. What do you want with the boy?" Piccolo asked.

"I want to fight him," Etarb said simply. That stirred up Lenz again as Piccolo held her back. She started muttering random words as Etarb chuckled mildly.

Piccolo frowned, "Why? Are you an enemy to us?"

"Right now, no. I just wish to have a friendly contest of strength and skill. You must understand what I mean, do you not?" Etarb asked. Piccolo's tension eased slightly, even though he was still very suspicious of the newcomer. Lenz finally stopped squirming once she heard Etarb's claim.

"Ha! He'll tear you to pieces! Of course, that's assuming there's anything left when I'm done!" she boasted.

Etarb's eyebrow went up, "Is that so?"

"Damn right. Let me at him!" Lenz demanded. Piccolo frowned deeper at Lenz's eager attitude, but did let go of her arm.

"It's fine, I don't mind putting the girl in her place. It's obvious that a tomboy like her doesn't spend enough time in the kitchen," Etarb said with a tight smirk. Despite the insult, Lenz didn't go completely bananas over it since Piccolo elected to let her go. In fact, her confident smirk was stretched nearly ear-to-ear as she prepared to attack.

"I suggest you come at me with everything you have. Otherwise this won't last very long," Etarb suggested.

"You're gonna wish you never said that!" Lenz declared as she promptly powered up. She quickly turned Super Saiyan and went straight to her maximum power. Piccolo watched Etarb closely for any reaction, but he remained calm the entire time. That bothered the Namek even more. Etarb's cool, calm eyes finally seemed to turn serious once Lenz was finished, but he didn't budge.

"You can have the first attack if you want, pretty-boy," Lenz offered.

"How generous. It's too bad that I cannot accept, for you don't possess any significant threat to me with that level of power. I respectfully defer that honor to you," Etarb countered. Lenz scowled and flew at him quickly. Just as she tried to kick his head off, Etarb subtly sidestepped and spun completely around. In a flash, his sword was revealed and was barely touching Lenz's shoulder before she even landed. Piccolo's eyes widened as Lenz froze in surprise. The Namek himself had barely seen the movement, never mind the weapon being drawn. It was a typical looking sword at first glance, but Piccolo could feel some of Etarb's energy intertwined with it.

"You're beaten. Give up," Etarb said.

"H-How…" Lenz stuttered.

"Never underestimate your enemy, and never put such a high percentage of your energy into the first attack when you don't know anything about your opponent. It can and will be very wasteful if you don't connect," Etarb explained. He backed away and put his sword away, allowing Lenz to stand up. She was fuming already, but didn't advance on him since his hand was still on the sword's handle.

"I've proven I can defeat you girl, now run along. I wish to see Verto now," Etarb said. Lenz's blazing gold aura appeared the moment he said Verto's name, ending what restraint she had on herself.

"Not a chance!" she shouted.

Etarb sighed, "So be it. It seems you refuse to learn otherwise." Lenz flew at him again, but abruptly stopped and flew upwards. Once she was high enough, she spun around, her hands sparking with golden ki. Piccolo bore a worried expression as he watched Etarb, who did nothing but smile.

"You won't be smiling for long!" Lenz shouted from afar. She promptly fired off rapid ki blasts, all aimed at Etarb, who didn't budge. The first several blasts bounced off a thinly spread energy shield, which only appeared where the blasts collided with it. They landed close and kicked up dust and dirt, covering his position. Lenz fired dozens more into the growing dust swirl, but saw most of them go flying in random directions before exploding.

"Damnit!" she glowered as she dropped towards the ground. The air slowly cleared, showing Etarb completely unscathed.

"You'll have to do much better than that little girl!"

Lenz snarled at him, "Shut up! I'll wipe you off the map!" She pulled back and charged up a much bigger attack.

Piccolo cringed, "No Lenz!"

"Take this! Super Galic Gun!" she shouted as she fired the golden beam. Etarb seemed to take real notice this time as Lenz brought her arms forward, but soon he merely shrugged and cast his hand forward. Bright white energy flowed out from each of his fingers until it formed a sparkling ball the size of a dinner plate before he released it. The golden Galic Gun slammed into the smaller blast as Etarb jumped back a few feet. Piccolo's eyes widened further when Lenz's attack stalled out. Etarb's energy ball swelled in size just as Lenz's beam shrank away. Piccolo couldn't sense much from Etarb's energy, but he did recognize the effect it had. _That's Verto's Feedback Wave, or essentially the same thing._ Once Lenz's beam was completely absorbed, Etarb pulled the energy ball back to his palm and extinguished it harmlessly. Lenz on the other hand, looked like she had seen several ghosts.

"Not even your strongest attacks will work on me dear, now back down and end this futility," Etarb advised. Lenz started shaking in what might have been seen as fear, but Piccolo could sense otherwise. Her golden aura blazed with raw fury as she seethed in anger.

"That's it! Now I've had it with you! Kaio-ken!" she shouted. Etarb's calm expression faded to a frown as he prepared another white ball. This one intensified and became wrapped in lightning as Etarb kept his serious eyes on Lenz. She appeared to be adjusting to the power up, and Piccolo could see blue streaks in her rapid flowing red aura. Once Lenz had settled into her temporary power, she charged towards Etarb with incredible speed. Etarb let the ball go quickly, and Lenz pulled her hand back to deflect it.

"Lenz, don't touch it!" Piccolo shouted. In her blind rage, Lenz didn't listen, and made contact. She figured it out quickly enough when her Kaioken-enhanced energy turned on her body. Lenz fell face first as the white lightning surged through her over and over again. She struggled to move as she lost the Super Saiyan traits within a few seconds. She kept trying to power out of it, but to no avail as she continued to be defiant. Etarb walked towards her slowly while Piccolo readied himself to jump in.

"I can see that this world would be much better off without you, girl. Your evil latent energy may not be detectable by your friends yet, but I am no fool. Prepare yourself, I will make this quick," Etarb said as he drew his sword. Lenz tried to crawl away, and cried out in pain when the lightning surged heavily. Piccolo phased in between them, cutting off Etarb.

"I don't think so. Explain yourself, otherwise you'll have to go through me first!" Piccolo warned.

"This creature must be destroyed immediately. It is for the good of your galaxy and beyond. She will only bring death and despair," Etarb claimed.

"Let's wait for destiny to decide that. If you want to fight the boy, then I suggest you wait patiently and don't start trouble," Piccolo replied.

"If I recall, she started the battle and I allowed her the chance to retreat. Now stand aside, that creature must be silenced!" Etarb said as he walked past. Piccolo wasn't about to let him go, and his forearm swelled up with energy. Etarb spun around cautiously just before Piccolo fired, not three feet from Etarb's face. The blast pushed him into a distant hill before detonating, taking the hill out and leaving behind a nuclear shaped cloud.

Piccolo sighed with uneasiness as he checked on Lenz. She had stopped struggling and was now crying softly, wincing whenever the Feedback wave pulsed. Overall she was fine, though her pride would no doubt be wounded. Piccolo had no idea how to cancel out the special attack's effect, but he knew he didn't have the time. He could hear Etarb recovering and flying back in their direction. It wasn't long before he landed and much to Piccolo's dismay, there wasn't even a trace of dirt on him.

"Your sympathy for this thing is foolish. If only you could sense it. No matter, it appears that her execution has been put on hold, but only for a moment. You won't be able to protect her for long, surely you know this," Etarb said.

"What the hell do you want?!" Piccolo shouted back. Before Etarb could answer the repeated question, the lightning churning through Lenz subsided. Etarb's Feedback orb rose out of her and hovered for a moment before dropping into the ground and dispersing.

"What's this?" Etarb asked. Piccolo also had an amazed expression as Lenz sat up, staring at her hands. There was a sudden crackle and hiss of energy that sounded, and Piccolo turned to see Etarb standing still with a blade of blue next to his neck.

"I suggest you answer his question before I start giving you scars," Verto said as he faded into view.

"Little brother!" Lenz said happily.

Etarb smiled lightly, "You must be Verto. I doubt that anyone else on this planet could have snuck up on me like that. Excellent form."

"I'm glad you're impressed, but you can dwell on that later, if I let you live. Answer the question," Verto replied.

"I merely wanted to meet you and have a polite discussion," Etarb said. Verto's eyes narrowed as Etarb closed his own, keeping his smile. Verto cringed slightly and swung upwards, slicing Etarb's head clean off.

"Huh?" Lenz asked in shock.

"Verto! You didn't even find out which side he's on first! He may not have been an enemy!" Piccolo scolded.

"He tried to kill me, good riddance!" Lenz countered.

Verto closed his eyes and disengaged his sword, "I wouldn't worry about that. Now whoever you are, show yourself!"

"There's no one else here boy," Piccolo claimed.

Verto ignored him, "My senses aren't fooled as easily as theirs! You made a copy of yourself out of stone! You used a technique I've never seen before, but I didn't miss it, now come out!" Both Piccolo and Lenz glanced at the headless corpse, finding that there was indeed smooth tan stone instead of flesh where Verto's Psi sword had cut through.

"Very good. I was wondering if you were able to detect that," Etarb said from behind. All three turned to see him stepping closer. This time, Etarb did have a few clods of dirt accumulated on him and his clothes, but nothing more than that.

"So, state your business. I missed breakfast because of this, so I suggest you be quick about it," Verto said.

"I heard you were a great fighter among some of this galaxy's most impressive warriors. I wanted to see it for myself," Etarb claimed.

Verto's scowl deepened, "Is that all? You should have tried Other World first before dropping by here."

"That's true, but I doubt any of them have the blend of strength, speed, stamina, energy and skill that I wish to face. A good warrior has at least two to four of these traits, but suffers with what they are missing. A great warrior excels in all five aspects and an opponent is forced to find his or her weakness, or perhaps make one on their own. As you probably know, tactics must vary and adapt depending on the situation. That is the kind of challenge I want to face!" Etarb explained.

"And that's why you want to fight? You should have come straight to me first instead of these two. In doing so, you've earned your match by pissing me off!" Verto retorted.

"Get 'm little brother!" Lenz cheered.

Verto turned for a moment, "You two stay out of it, I'll do this alone!"

"Verto, you've been exerting yourself too much this week. At least eat and regain some of your strength first," Piccolo suggested.

"I'll be fine Piccolo."

"That Namekian may be correct. Allow me to share some of my field rations," Etarb added as he pulled out a small brown tablet the size of a peppermint.

Verto grimaced, "No thanks."

"Oh, it's perfectly fine to eat. It should provide you with all the nutrients you require for a day or two. I hear that there's an old prophet that harvests similar food on this planet. Do not worry, I am not the type of person that would deceive or poison the opponent I wish to fight. I want a fair match," Etarb exclaimed. Verto locked eyes with Etarb's whole face and hesitated. After a few seconds, he took the tiny morsel and began to chew it down.

"No little brother, you can't trust him!" Lenz cried out.

"But for some reason I do," Verto replied softly, "By the way, this tastes like shit."

"Most things that are good for you often taste lousy. That aside, it seems your awareness has improved. Shall we begin?" Etarb asked. Verto's eyes resumed their narrowed state just before as his body twitched involuntarily. They widened when his energy surged out into his full aura.

"So, that restores spirit power too?" Verto asked in amazement.

Etarb nodded, "Specifically, it restores all strength and energy to your body's current limits. Anything past that depends on your own skill."

Verto snorted lightly, "Aren't you honorable. Most would prefer to take me out while I'm weakened. Fine, you've got your match, and you have the first move!"

"Accepted!" Both warriors tensed up for a moment, but settled into a stare down as Piccolo motioned Lenz into the air.

"I think we should back off and get out of their way, this is probably out of our league," Piccolo suggested.

"Oh please! That guy has no idea what he's in for!" Lenz claimed.

"Perhaps, but I have my doubts. It's unlikely that he'll be able to match Verto in a direct battle, but we also know nearly nothing about him."

"No way, I give him five minutes at the most!"

-

Verto continually scanned Etarb's energy levels for some sort of hint as to what he should expect. The more he searched, the more confused he was. It felt as if Etarb's energy was in a constant state of flux. He could sense ki, Psi and Chi, all at different levels within the mysterious fighter, and they were constantly changing. Etarb smiled lightly as he raised one hand to his front, holding it vertically. Verto still wasn't sure what the first move would be until Etarb swung outwards. Verto dodged just as a barely-visible bubble of energy cut into the ground and passed by him before dissipating. _What the hell was that?_ Etarb pulled back and fired another, which Verto also dodged. He could barely see or sense the energy bubble until it was well on its way to him. _He's generating nearly invisible energy waves, trying to bait me into the air where I'm less likely to see them coming. I'll have to return fire to put a stop to it!_ Verto stopped long enough for Etarb to take aim, and fired a quick golden ki blast just as Etarb's hand budged. The blast collided with the energy bubble and detonated, covering Verto's next move. He phased out behind the light and quickly rushed around it, coming up and Etarb from behind. His kick struck a small energy shield, alerting a surprised Etarb to his position. Etarb glided out of the way as Verto gave chase.

"Nice maneuver, I'm glad to see you didn't take the air route," Etarb admitted as he glided backwards.

Verto smirked, "Too obvious. You're not gonna hide behind that shield the whole time are you?"

Etarb bowed his head slightly, "If you're anything like I expect, I probably won't be able to."

"Good." Etarb's glide speed suddenly increased by several factors, but Verto matched it almost instantly. Etarb frowned slightly and grabbed his sword's handle, tipping Verto off enough to slow down and give him some leeway. Etarb hit the brakes and spun around as he drew his glowing metal sword, coming at Verto quickly. He sliced right through an afterimage and frantically turned around to try and catch Verto's movement. When he didn't see it, Etarb stopped and put away his sword before closing his eyes, trying to sense his opponent.

"Where'd little brother go?" Lenz whispered to Piccolo as they stood on a far away cliff. Piccolo didn't answer, but he did have his eyes locked on a moving object. Etarb's eyes snapped open just as Verto appeared behind him, a power punch pulled back and glowing gold. Etarb blocked his vitals just as Verto's punch collided with the energy shield. A loud sonic boom rippled off the collision, followed by mass amounts of wind. Verto kept driving into the shield as multiple shades of energy displaced into the air. He was nearly halfway through it when Etarb pulled his guard down. The shield vanished and Verto flew forward, out of control. Etarb landed a spin-kick to Verto's left shoulder as he went by. Verto flipped off the dirt and phased out, quickly reappearing in front Etarb and leveling his face with a right hook. Etarb fell backwards and lay on the ground, seemingly stunned.

Verto landed and snorted lightly, "You won't do any damage to me with soft hits like that last one. Get serious about this if you wanted to fight me so badly."

Etarb chuckled a bit as he slowly sat up, "Sorry, I forgot to mention that I am slightly handicapped for now, more so than you were earlier."

"What, you're exhausted too? Maybe you should've taken your own medicine. Go ahead, I'll give you the time," Verto offered.

"No, you don't understand. My physical body has been in hibernation for quite some time, and it takes longer for me to regain its full strength and energy. I'd guess that I am limited to nearly sixty percent of my full potential. Field rations only recover one's strength to current limitations, and not what was lost to time," Etarb explained.

"If you wanted a good fight, why come here and face me under such a burden? Not only that, but why allow me to recover when you might have had an advantage? It seems a little strange and not all that smart," Verto pointed out.

"Oh, I think we will still match up fairly well with the slight exception of physicality. I already knew I wouldn't win against a Saiyan of your caliber like that. The warm-up period can most often determine a battle. This is especially true when the opponent is like you and hasn't completely mastered his own power yet!"

"What?" Verto asked. Etarb didn't answer, but did start to charge a white energy ball. Verto felt the positively charged Psi almost immediately and calmed himself. Then he started forming his own to counter it, which caused Etarb to stop.

"I see, I guess it wouldn't be worth using this technique on you. You already know how to counter-act its effects," Etarb claimed.

"Rather simple, just use another and it cancels out. There are other ways, but that is the simplest. I haven't taught it to Lenz yet, otherwise she wouldn't have gone down to it," Verto replied.

Etarb extinguished his own Feedback ball and frowned deeply, "I really advise against attempting to draw out her latent power. That can only bring tragedy to your life and leave you in a bloody pool of despair." Verto tossed his incomplete energy ball into the ground before allowing his expression to darken.

"I've heard that one before. Is there a particular reason you feel that way? Coming from a complete stranger, it doesn't mean much to me," Verto growled.

"No, I suppose it doesn't. I apologize for that. If I were allowed a proper introduction at this time, then you would probably trust my intentions, even if you didn't agree with them. I know you have hidden feelings for the girl, even at your current age. That's unfortunate, but it can't be helped I guess. Let's push that aside for now and continue this match. I would like to see what you've learned since destroying the Overmind!" Etarb exclaimed.

Verto's eyes shot back open, "How do you know about that?"

Etarb smiled lightly, "All in due time, my young friend."

**Next time on DBV: Verto's battle with Etarb continues as the stranger uses both familiar and unfamiliar techniques on him. But who is Etarb, and what does he want? All of the answers may not be coming, but some of them are, next time!**

**WDG:** Well, Lenz's reaction seemed unprovoked enough. In fact, I nearly flagged it as out of character, but I'll assume you know what you're doing and that it's planned… I wonder if Etarb's strange aura shook something loose in her. In any case, it seemed pretty foolish and self-destructive… hmm, maybe it wasn't that out of character after all!

**VB**: I don't pretend to know what a girl or woman thinks at any given time, so I just take a stab at it. However, let's just say that being the author has its advantages in that regard. As for the little bit about being OOC, don't be surprised if you see it again.


	50. Agent 2

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 49: Agent 2**

Verto's amazement turned to determination even as Etarb's odd smile didn't fade.

"I don't turn down requests in battle, but I do choose when to play my cards. You don't want to see everything I've got," Verto claimed.

"I see. Tell me, did you at least figure out how to use your Feedback technique without wasting energy in your transformed state?" Etarb asked.

Verto's confusion returned as he answered, "Yeah, it's a low level Spirit Bomb."

"Good, let's continue," Etarb suggested. Verto shook off his next question and refocused on Etarb, whose confidence didn't seem to be fading anytime soon. Before Verto decided on his next move, Etarb changed his stance. He brought up his hand vertically like before, but then crossed it with the other. As soon as he did, Etarb began to sink into the ground, though the ground itself remained solid. His entire being turned brown, matching the color of the dirt. Verto stared at the apparent technique, trying to figure it out. Before he could, Etarb's head passed through the surface and vanished. Verto considered jumping into the air, but felt at ease when he easily locked onto Etarb's energy signal. A moment or two passed before Etarb surfaced again, slowly coming out at the same location. Just as his skin and clothing turned back to normal, a second form of Etarb rose from the ground a few feet away. This one also returned to a normal appearance, and both stood ready.

_This must be that clone technique again. Which one is real though, the energy level feels the same?_ Verto resumed his ready stance when a third Etarb rose from the ground. Once again, Verto sensed equal energy levels from each one, and was unable to determine which one might have been the real Etarb. All of them appeared to be equal in every way, and Verto detected no drop in energy at all.

"If you're trying to see through this, don't bother," the first Etarb said.

"My power is spread evenly between these three," Etarb-two claimed.

"So you'll have to find out which one is which the hard way," Etarb-three finished.

Verto stared down the three Etarbs before grinning slightly, "Maybe, but splitting into three should have reduced your strength. I don't sense any major difference from before, so this appears to be a ruse."

"Oh? I wouldn't count on that," Etarb-two suggested.

Verto waved them on, "Try me then, I'll prove it." Etarb-two flew forward while the other two split off and came towards Verto from either side. Verto deflected Etarb-two's power kick, ducked under Etarb-three's punch, and flipped over Etarb-one's knife hand. All three clones nearly collided with each other, giving Verto time to back away. He landed a short distance behind Etarb-one and fired a quick ki beam. The clones separated to avoid the explosion, giving Verto the opening. Both hands glowed blue as he glided towards Etarb-three, but he opened them to reveal two spinning Psi orbs. Etarb-one and Etarb-two both drew their metal swords and moved to intercept, but Verto was closing too fast. Just as he was about to hit Etarb-three, he quickly changed directions and flew backwards to his right. When he did, Etarb-three had to turn to see his path, and Verto took advantage.

"Psi Freeze!" Verto tossed the first orb right into the unprepared Etarb-three. Wasting little time, he fired the other at Etarb-two, who was the next closest clone. Etarb-one stopped long enough to see the third clone being incased in ice. Etarb-two saw this and attempted to deflect the energy orb with his sword, but this backfired in a big way. Once both clones were completely iced over, Verto set his eyes on the very first one while creating another cold ball. Etarb-one saw what was coming and backed away carefully as Verto glided towards him. Just before passing Etarb-two, he fired a small blast at Verto. Verto's energy ball extended outwards at his command and formed his Psi sword, just in time to deflect the blast. Etarb-one kept his distance, allowing Verto to fly right to Etarb-two frozen form and slice it in half. Etarb-two split cleanly at the waistline, revealing the clone of stone underneath. Verto's eyes quickly darted to Etarb-three, and saw that he hadn't broken out.

_Just as I thought, either the first one is the real one, or all three are clones and he's able to transfer his energy into them at will._ Etarb brought Verto's attention back by firing nearly a dozen small ki blasts in succession. Verto deflected them all with his energy sword, but slowed when Etarb-one began to charge something bigger. Verto's eyes widened when he recognized the stance, and quickly disengaged his sword.

_That's my move, how in the hell would he know it?_ Verto carefully scanned every bit of the charging attack and immediately began to focus energy into his fingertips. As this energy condensed into a vivid flashing light, Etarb-one fired.

"Galic Gun!" Verto elected to jump aside and then fly upwards to avoid it. Etarb-one turned his hands slightly and the massive beam hooked around, reforming into a large ball.

"You're going to have to face this one, one way or another!" he called out. Etarb-one sent the giant ki ball after Verto, who picked up speed as he prepared to take care of the problem.

"_Piccolo, you might want to get down! Then cover those sensitive ears of yours!"_ Verto called out telepathically as he headed for the Namekian.

"Lenz, get down!" Piccolo shouted as he dropped to the ground. Verto passed by them both and glided backwards as the ki ball homed in on him. It flew just over Piccolo and Lenz's position, kicking up rock chunks in the wind. Verto made his way back towards Etarb-one, who grinned slightly.

"I hope you don't think that will work on me," the clone said.

"Like you said, appearances can be deceiving! I hope you can avoid it, but then again, I have my doubts that this is the real you!" Verto claimed. Etarb-one laughed a bit and nodded as he prepared himself. Verto rushed towards him as he curled up his glowing fingers into a fist. Etarb-one frowned at what he saw, and realized that he couldn't tell what the younger boy was about to do. Just as Verto was within range, he pulled his fist back. Etarb-one attempted to block, but as soon as he did, Verto phased out. Etarb-one's eyes went wide as the Galic ball quickly closed in on him. He cast his hands out and managed to slow it down until it stopped before him, allowing a sigh of relief. Etarb-one turned to his right and spotted Verto standing by, refocusing power into his fingertips again.

"I nearly fell for that trick. Pity eh?" Etarb-one asked.

"The trick ain't over yet," Verto admitted.

"What do you mean?" Etarb-one asked. He found out quickly when Verto's hand extended and the energy came rushing out.

"Shock Cannon!" Etarb-one tried to get away, but Verto's condensed beam was much too fast. Just as it pierced the Galic ball, Verto blocked against the expected force. Bang! The green ball expanded to the size of a small factory before dissipating. Once the residual Chi energy bands faded, Verto dared to fly over the small crater. Etarb-one appeared to have been vaporized. Verto saw that Etarb-three still hadn't broken out from the Psi Freeze, and he sensed no energy initially. At the same time, he didn't think it was over just yet.

"Come on out, I know that wasn't the real you either!" Verto called out. The ground behind him shook a bit as a much dirtier Etarb burst out from the ground.

"Well done. Your training was much more thorough then I thought it would be," he admitted.

"To be honest, that one was an accident the first time I used it. I've gotten the hang of it though," Verto replied.

"I see, it's also a little risky for you to be using in an unknown fight like this, isn't it? I can sense a significant difference in your spirit power," Etarb pointed out.

"Yeah, I might have used about a tenth of it right there. I figured it was worth it since you put that much force into the Galic Gun," Verto countered.

"Oh, that move seemed familiar did it?" Etarb asked.

"I would know, it was the first finishing move I learned. Which makes me believe that I've met you before."

Etarb shrugged, "Possibly."

"It's more than possible. You move a lot like I used to as well. It's a slightly different style, but I can tell. The only thing I haven't figured out yet was how you made those stone clones."

"Spot on analysis. There was one other thing I would have liked to test out in this warm-up period, though I doubt you would have had any problems with it. I would prefer instead to take this contest to the next level!"

"Oh? Don't tell me that you're still holding back for my sake?" Verto asked.

"Sort of. Though it is in a similar manner to how you are holding back," Etarb replied.

Verto's eyes snapped to attention at this, "What?"

"It's a pity that this won't last very long once I do this, but at least we can get a good idea of where we both are!" Etarb's eyes flashed with purple intensity as his hair stood on end. Verto felt what was coming immediately, and he couldn't understand how. Lightning crackled a bit as Etarb produced a light silver aura. Not far away, both Piccolo and Lenz took notice of this increase in power.

"Whoa! Where'd that come from? I didn't think this guy's abilities were really like little brother's, but…wow. I wonder who is stronger between the two?" Lenz asked.

"I think we're about to find out," Piccolo replied. Etarb's smile never left his face as his hair changed from blue to silvery-white. Verto couldn't believe his eyes as Etarb transformed into what appeared to be his version of Super Mystic. The only main difference was that Etarb didn't appear to be of Saiyan blood, and his eyes remained a glowing purple.

"Yes, I thought you might be a tad surprised at this. Your turn," Etarb said. Verto quickly regained his focus and built his power up in the same manner. In no time, he transformed as well, and both warriors took the opportunity to compare each other's energy.

Etarb relaxed, "As I thought, you are the stronger one currently. You're not quite to your friend Gohan's level, but his abilities are different than yours. I suspect that may change when you're older," Etarb admitted.

"Maybe, but Gohan can learn these techniques too. How about we skip straight to the point? I have a feeling that we may get interrupted if we stay like this," Verto suggested.

"Most likely. Do your tactics change when you take this form?" Etarb asked.

Verto grinned slightly, "A little."

"Good." Etarb rushed towards Verto as he drew his glowing metal sword. Verto blocked it with his own energy blade and the two attempted to overpower the other. Etarb kicked with his left leg, opposite his sword hand. Verto blocked with his forearm and returned the attack. Etarb dodged aside and glided away. Verto phased out and immediately appeared behind Etarb. The surprised stranger barely blocked Verto's Chi blade. Etarb's slower reaction saw him in a very bad position and off-balance. Verto kept applying pressure with his sword hand and prepared his other fist with glowing green energy. Etarb quickly pulled away and got back into the air. Verto grinned a bit and stuck his fist out anyway, as if to simulate how close Etarb was to receiving significant damage. Etarb sheathed his sword his before concentrating a great amount of energy into his palm. He reinforced it with his other hand just as more lightning sparked. Verto kept his left hand full of energy and cast it forward with an open palm as if he was going to fire a blast. Etarb grunted a bit as he finished his preparation.

"I don't suggest trying to counter this one with your usual energy beams!" Etarb recommended.

Verto nodded slightly, "Let's just see what happens." Etarb groaned loudly as he unleashed a Chi based lightning burst. Verto's eyes narrowed, but he calmly shifted his stance a bit. The lightning bolts pinged off an energy shield and scattered into the air. Etarb released another round of lightning, followed by several small blasts. Verto's shield managed to block and deflect all of them before Etarb let up. Verto smirked in tune with Etarb's returning glance. As soon as Etarb let up, Verto re-gathered the shield energy back to his palm, letting Etarb see it for a moment. Etarb nodded knowingly as the last spinning Chi streams were reabsorbed.

"You've learned how to conserve your energy well, very good," Etarb pointed out.

"I've got time for a little more if you want," Verto said.

"I'd say we both do. One more thing, I wish to see your spirit destruction attack. It's the one that allows you to burn your opponent's soul and more or less erase them from existence!"

Verto's frown was immediate, "No."

Etarb turned his head, "Are you afraid of using it?"

"It's not that, well, not completely. Drawing on that evil energy turns me into someone that I don't want to be, someone who doesn't keep full control at all times. I don't use it unless I'm out of options or have been backed into a corner. Every time I've gone to that dark power, something bad happened," Verto replied.

"I understand, and I am slightly relieved. If you were content and willing to attack me in that manner, I had orders to kill you via assassination," Etarb admitted.

"Orders from who?" Verto asked.

Etarb bowed his head slightly, "I'm afraid that's classified. But know that you have nothing to worry about. And it seems our time is up." Verto sensed a presence directly behind him and spun to see another stranger. This one however, needed no introduction. She did however sigh a bit and frown at the apparent battle that was taking place.

"You!" Verto growled.

"Don't act surprised kid. I am merely keeping your best interests in line. As for you, Etarb Erec, you know that you're not supposed to be here! Be gone from this place!" Leira ordered.

Etarb sighed, "Same old Leira, pity. It was good to finally meet you like this in person Verto. I look forward to hearing more about you in the future. I take my leave." Etarb abruptly powered down and took off into the skies, flying northeast. His power signal vanished within a minute, and Verto faced Leira instead. Leira ran a hand through her red hair as she watched Etarb leave, then returned Verto's stare.

"Sorry that he disrupted your training, I'll see to it that he doesn't do it again. Until then," Leira said with a nod as she turned.

"Wait," Verto whispered.

Leira glanced back, "Hmmm?"

"Who was that, really? I've never seen him before, but I just know that I've met him."

Leira smiled, "Yes you have. Farewell." Leira promptly vanished, leaving Verto confused as to what had happened. He powered down as Piccolo and Lenz landed next to him.

"Man, what was that all about?" Lenz asked.

Piccolo eyed Verto carefully, "You're sure that you've met that guy before?"

"I'm certain of it, but his face didn't match any that I remember. Weird," Verto replied.

"So, now what?" Lenz asked.

Piccolo snorted lightly, "What do you think girl? Back to work!"

Lenz grumbled an inaudible answer as Verto chuckled, "You shouldn't have asked."

* * *

Deep in the wilds of a nearby forest, Leira passed through a clearing on foot. She bore only a sleeveless v-neck shirt with matching black pants instead of her usual leather. She appeared to be in no general hurry, getting a feel for the wind that whipped around her as it tussled her vivid but dark red hair. Just as she was losing herself in the breeze, she suddenly looked determined. Her Kunai-like dagger flipped out and she embedded it into a tree to her left. Her apparent target faded into view barely two feet away.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, though you wouldn't be able to hit me at this level," Etarb said as he stepped out.

"Spare me the obvious, why did you come?" Leira demanded.

"And here I was hoping to chat. How long has it been?" Etarb asked.

"Not since I implanted your spirit into that infant creature. I can't imagine how you avoided the stench."

Etarb chuckled lightly, "Luckily it didn't take too much effort. At least things improved once I met the boy, but it's too bad that I couldn't tell him how proud he's made us just now."

"The real tests are still to come, but at least he has some time to himself for reflection now," Leira claimed.

"Maybe not. Another incursion was made, and I believe it has hastened the foreseen events," Etarb said.

"What?" Leira growled.

"It gets worse. The culprit was the one responsible for the rift that Babidi crossed," Etarb explained.

Leira's frown melted into extreme anger, "Did _he_ have help this time?"

"I don't believe so, and I also don't think he knows about this place yet. He's been running around on that ship for a while now, agitating the Kold Empire. Obviously he has avoided its ruler in the process, and I suspect that the empire might try something desperate. But the incursion has formed another rift, and I believe that technology might have come into play. I expect that Kibito Kai will know within a month or two, and knowing him, he will take a drastic step to fix things. How will you approach this?"

Leira snorted sharply, "I'll stop that son of a bitch myself. It's my fight after all, considering what he did to my brother!"

"Stop and think about this Leira. You don't have the strength right now because you volunteered for this mission. Your current form is far too weak to face him. Only assassination would work, but you would have to be extremely lucky as things are. And I wouldn't be able to face this threat either, even if it were allowed," Etarb explained.

"Then there's only one way," Leira surmised.

"Surely you're not considering using the boy, he is not ready!" Etarb stated.

"What choice do I have?" Leira countered.

"You could use Frost, after all you interfered with his youth specifically for that purpose!" Etarb suggested.

"That fool would only serve as a punching bag, besides I had a different target in mind for him. Perhaps he may have been of some assistance if he could be trusted. I'll wait until the Kais stick their annoying noses into this before I decide on how to proceed," Leira compromised.

"Very well, I guess that will have to do. I'll gather what intelligence I can and inform you as soon as I find out what _he_ is up to," Etarb agreed.

"And you had best leave here before the Kais discover who you are, or more specifically who you used to be. Right, Cerebrate?" Leira asked with a grin.

"Please don't call me that. Like you said, the stench was bad," Etarb said as he turned to leave.

**A/N: As usual, we're rolling right along with the dramatic plot twisters. If you didn't catch the name pun the first time, Etarb Erec is Cerebrate spelled backwards.**

**Meant to post this chapter about a week ago, but the uploading servers were down.**

**Next time on DBV: Only eight days after Etarb's visit, Verto, Lenz and Piccolo are visited by another stranger. Only this newcomer has a message and an invitation… from Frost.**


	51. Invitation

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 50: Invitation**

"Why does this have to be so damn hard?" Lenz asked as she shook with tension.

"Relax, it's similar to how you release ki for the first time. But since you did it by accident, I guess you wouldn't know that. You can do this, but maybe you just don't have the right motivation yet. I was desperate when it happened to me, and occasionally it started to happen whenever I acted recklessly or became very emotional," Verto explained.

"That's confusing! You and Vegeta both taught me to try and control my emotions during battle. Now you say that I shouldn't?"

"Yeah, I know it's basically the opposite, but you might as well get used to something different with this. Look at it as a break from the usual training. It's not like you've followed that advice very well anyway. Once you release and control Psionic energy, you can use it to passively increase your self-control. Just be careful though, it is very easy to lose it again if you become distracted," Verto replied.

Lenz huffed a bit, "Well at least I can say that I won't go off the deep end like you have."

"Uh huh, because that performance the other day sure showed how patient you can be," Verto countered. He caught the punch aimed for his face a split second later, adding his own smirk. It had been about eight days since his match with the stranger Etarb. Ever since then, it was as if a gloomy storm around Verto had cleared out and it was sunny again. Both Lenz and Piccolo had noticed, but hadn't said a word about it. Speaking of the Namek, he was quietly meditating on the side of a nearby hill, catching the conversation easily.

_Perhaps that stranger's arrival was more helpful than I thought. Verto is in better spirits than he has been for a while now. He's even stopped trying to access his dormant dark power. There's more hope for him now. Maybe it was just a short phase due to the aftermath of the Zerg and the other occurrences lately. We shall see._

Piccolo was about to resume his concentration when his ears picked up on a new sound. Piccolo turned and glanced towards the orange tinted skies of the west. There, barely detectable, he saw an object moving quickly through the atmosphere, obscured by the sunset. Even with his eyes, Piccolo probably wouldn't have seen it had it not been emitting extreme heat. To anyone else, it would have been considered nothing more than a shooting star. Piccolo would have dismissed it as such if not for the crash into the Earth. Verto and Lenz wouldn't have heard it, but Piccolo did. He immediately scanned the general area for any energy signals. It took a moment before he picked up anything, but sure enough, he did. It was an above average power, but it was far from impressive. Piccolo barely even blinked at the low reading, but still felt slightly compelled to investigate. It didn't feel like this newcomer knew how to hide his or her own energy very well, which gave Piccolo even more reason to feel at ease. He stifled a laugh momentarily, thinking back to when this level of power was a threat; Nappa. He distinctly heard Verto and Lenz heading back to the Capsule house for dinner and decided to look into this one himself. He knew that Verto wouldn't expect him to stick around all the time, so the young Saiyan wouldn't be alarmed. Piccolo stood up and donned his weighted cape before taking off towards the sunset.

He didn't fly nearly as fast as he could have, since he didn't want to alert too many people yet. He still arrived in under five minutes despite this. There, in the midst of a clearing, was a decently sized spider-like ship. Piccolo recognized its design and prepared himself for anything. He only sensed one power signal on board, the same as before. Within a few moments, the ramp dropped down and the one on board came into view. Piccolo was more than a little surprised to see this newcomer's appearance. His hair was a spiky jet-black and standing straight backwards off his head, similar to Vegeta but at a different angle. His face was a tad rough due to some sort of complication that Piccolo assumed must have been several battles. His eyes were an odd orange and brown hybrid color. He was also bearing white armor covering a black jumpsuit. But the most important feature was the tail, which was also black.

_A Saiyan?_ The new Saiyan immediately turned on his scouter, prompting Piccolo to suppress his energy a bit. He was going to remain undetected, but seeing as no one else was there to make contact, he felt up to the job. The Saiyan glanced up and spotted him quickly, but remained calm. Piccolo slowly descended until he was facing him from only a dozen feet away.

"You're a Namek, right?" the Saiyan asked.

"Yes, my name is Piccolo. You're a Saiyan. What is your business here?"

"My name is Fuzai, and I'm only half Saiyan. I'm here as a peaceful emissary for Lord Frost. Specifically, I'm looking for a Super Saiyan with silver hair, I'm told that is quite unusual," Fuzai explained.

Piccolo's stare hardened, "A Saiyan on a peaceful mission on behalf of the son of a galactic tyrant? The mere thought of that is laughable."

"Believe what you want to Namek, I don't really care what you think. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a mission to complete."

"And just what do you intend to do should you find this Super Saiyan you're looking for?" Piccolo asked.

"That is my business Namek. I suggest you stay out of it." Fuzai said as he lifted into the air.

Piccolo blocked his path, "Make use of that scouter and you'll see that you won't bully me around."

Fuzai didn't bother with it, "Am I supposed to feel intimidated by you? You clearly know very little about me or Lord Frost. Now get out of my way!"

"I know more than you think. I'd guess that you are a Rotarian-Saiyan hybrid, seeing as all other pure blood Saiyans are on this planet. Even the prince Vegeta is here," Piccolo pointed out.

"Hmph, what is your point? I could care less about the Saiyans or their prince. I only live for myself and don't care what I have to do to survive," Fuzai snapped back.

"Even if that means following the one who destroyed your people and your planet?" Piccolo pondered.

"I won't say that it doesn't bother me to some extent, but I'm not dumb enough to openly oppose Lord Frost. I'd rather be on the winning side, even if that means I'm going against my own people. My sister was a good example of what not to do," Fuzai replied.

Piccolo smirked, "Your sister eh? Sounds like she inherited the brains of the family."

"Watch yourself, Namek. As for her, it was her own fault that my people were reduced to a few hundred. She betrayed Lord Frost and he punished them for it. I won't do something so foolish as to rebel like many others have!" Fuzai growled.

Piccolo's smirk held, _So that's who this is. He's just angry at the galaxy for his personal loss. This should be easy to turn around on him, and then I'll find out what he's really here to do._

"What are you smiling about green man?" Fuzai grumbled, "Last I heard, your planet was torn to pieces by Lord Frieza!"

"No need to remind me. Whatever you're here to do, it can wait. I know someone who would like to meet you first. Would you like me to show you to her? Or do you want to wait here?" Piccolo offered.

"Whatever you're up to, I have no interest. All you're doing is delaying my mission, and I can't have that!" Fuzai claimed.

"_Verto, can you sense where I am?_" Piccolo called out silently.

"_Yeah, why?_"

"_Come here at once, and bring Lenz along. She'll want to see this if my guess is right!_"

Piccolo could already hear Lenz complaining even through Verto's thoughts, "_Fine, but this better be worth it. We just sat down to eat!_"

"So, Fuzai is it? Can you sense energy levels without the use of a scouter?" Piccolo asked.

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?" Fuzai countered.

"There will be two others here shortly, and one of them is just like the Saiyan you're looking for."

"Fine, but no tricks Namek. You've delayed me long enough!" Fuzai then turned on his heel and went back into the spaceship.

"What's wrong? Ran out of patience already?" Piccolo said in a mocking tone.

"Obviously your people have no need to relieve themselves. That might explain why you're green," Fuzai calmly stated. Piccolo ignored the insult as Fuzai entered the ship. Within a few minutes he was back, a bit perplexed as he turned on his scouter.

"Two incredible powers are on their way here. What is the meaning of this?" he asked.

"You'll see," Piccolo said.

Fuzai grimaced, "If it's a fight you want, I'll have to decline!"

"No it isn't, though that does depend on what you plan to do here. Do not take my words the wrong way. I'm not threatening you, I'm merely curious. As the former Guardian of this planet, I have every right to know what you are doing here," Piccolo warned.

"Hmph, you sure do talk a lot Namek. If my scouter hadn't told me your strength, I wouldn't have minded to remove you from my sight!" Fuzai claimed.

"Don't presume, only weak-minded fools do that on such a regular basis."

Fuzai snarled, "If you don't shut up, I'm gonna…" Fuzai stopped cold when his scouter beeped loudly just before Verto and Lenz dropped in next to Piccolo.

"Alright, what's the emergency?" Verto asked.

"Maybe Piccolo ran out of water, try the lake over there!" Lenz pointed out. Neither of them noticed Fuzai yet, who appeared to be at a loss for words.

"I don't sense anything significant, so what is it?" Verto asked again. Piccolo motioned towards the newcomer, drawing Lenz's wide-eyed stare.

"B-Big Brother?" she asked in a shaky voice. Fuzai was hard to read at first, but it was clear that he was happier to see her than he showed.

"I thought you were killed by Lord Frost?" he asked first. Lenz nodded slightly as a wide smile spread across her face.

Fuzai remained confused, "Then how?" Lenz didn't answer, but did rush forward to embrace the shocked demi-Saiyan.

Verto grinned slightly as he glanced at Piccolo, "_I see why you insisted on this, nice call._"

Piccolo nodded and responded accordingly, "_His motives and mission are still unknown, but for now it's fine._"

* * *

"…And that's how I came back to life. Thanks to this little guy, I'm much stronger than I was back then!" Lenz boasted as she filled in some of the blanks for her elder brother.

"So the supposed Namekian legend is true after all?" Fuzai asked as he glanced at Verto and Piccolo.

"Only if they trust you enough to warrant using them. And they have to use their own language to even speak a wish. Besides…" Verto explained before he promptly smacked Lenz's backside. This drew a heated glare from Lenz before she tried to continue the subject.

"What was that for?" Lenz shouted.

"Insurance, and you called me little again," Verto smirked.

"You are little!"

"Only in body." Piccolo smirked slightly as it appeared to him that neither Lenz nor Fuzai had caught on to Verto's antic.

"_Nice play kid. We'll teach her about trust and suspicion next,_" he thought out, though Verto didn't answer.

"So, you're still into children, eh sis?" Fuzai laughed.

Lenz blushed, "No! This one is different. Besides, ya gotta start em young or they'll never learn!"

"I guess I'll remember that next time we do a patience drill. I'll probably age a few years before you catch up," Verto said. Lenz grumbled a bit, but said nothing.

Fuzai chuckled lightly before glancing at Piccolo, "So, Namekian, where do you suppose I can find the Super Saiyan I'm looking for?"

"What? It's not me?" Lenz asked. Verto grimaced slightly as Piccolo did the same.

Fuzai's eyes narrowed, "Are you saying you're a Super Saiyan, Lenz?" Lenz promptly built her power up and transformed, nearly blowing Fuzai down with the energy surge just before the scouter exploded. Fuzai stared in wonder as he looked Lenz up and down in pure disbelief of her golden state.

"What? Does my hair look that bad like this?" Lenz asked.

Verto snorted, "I'd say it's a perfect match. Blonde hair, blonde attitude."

"You be quiet!"

"That'll be the day."

"Incredible," Fuzai said as his body trembled.

Lenz powered down with a deep grin of satisfaction, "Yeah, I am awesome!" Verto cleared his throat, drawing her glare again. Piccolo rolled his eyes at this and decided to get back to the point.

"So, would you like to tell us why you're looking for a Super Saiyan with silver hair?" he asked. Verto's eyes were instantly narrowed while Lenz was confused.

"That business is only for that person to know. So until I find him, you will know nothing," Fuzai replied.

"Oh, I know who you mean. We could go…" Lenz stared.

"Lenz!" Verto interrupted.

"What?" she said as she flinched.

"Your mouth overrules your brain, girl!" Piccolo added.

"He's my brother, we can trust him," Lenz argued.

"He works for Frost," Piccolo pointed out.

"Every Rotian-Saiyan does!" Lenz shouted back.

"I understand, I'll find him myself," Fuzai said as he began to lift off. He had barely gone two feet into the air before Verto stopped him.

"No need," he said. The wind kicked up sharply as Verto's powerful aura appeared just as he transformed to Super Mystic within a few seconds before stopping.

Fuzai's eyes were wide, "So you're the one I'm looking for, somehow I expected you to be older."

Verto's eyebrow went up, "Perhaps, but it will suffice for now. Tell me what you want here." Fuzai wasn't sure what to make of this development quite yet.

"Is it just me, or does he look like our younger brother?" Fuzai asked Lenz.

"That's what I said, why do you think I call him little brother?" she said without thinking.

A spark of lightning struck the ground near Verto's feet, "Enough stalling!"

Fuzai stepped back cautiously, "I came here primarily on orders from Lord Frost. He wants to parlay with you on a truce."

"But he wants every Saiyan dead! I heard it from Frost himself!" Lenz remarked.

"Maybe, but rather that's the case or not, why didn't he come here himself if he wants a truce?" Verto countered.

"He likely thought that you and the others would attack him. His reasoning is simple: Coming here and conquering this backwater planet will only hurt the empire both strategically and financially. He is very aware that the combined efforts of the Super Saiyans here could destroy him and so…" Fuzai continued nervously before Verto cut him off.

"So he wants to call a truce to focus on efforts elsewhere I'm guessing. It sounds smart and mutually beneficial, however…" Verto stopped cold for the moment and gave Fuzai a hardened death glare.

"What?"

"Pull that listening device out and shut it off. I won't discuss anything more until you do," Verto warned.

"What? How can you tell if he has one or not?" Lenz asked.

Verto ignored her, "I can sense that you're nervous about something other than me right now, which is not very prudent when you don't know what I'm capable of. If Frost actually does want to discuss a peace treaty, then he will understand." Fuzai sighed and pulled a small button-like device from inside his armor and crushed it in his palm.

"Impressive perception," he complimented.

Verto powered back down to his normal form, "If Frost wants to call a truce, I can only think of two reasons for it. One, it's simply a trick in order to take a few of us out, and that won't work. Two, the more likely case, he's come into conflict with another force and he doesn't think he can win two wars at once. While we aren't officially going after him at all, he has realized that we know exactly where his home base is, and we could strike without much warning."

Lenz stared in wonder at Verto, "Little brother, you can't possibly know…" She stopped talking immediately when Verto's glare shifted to her for a brief second.

"That is correct, multiple bases have been attacked and raided for all supplies in the past few months, though this particular attacker has been seen randomly over the past year and a half. At first we believed them to be the remaining Rotian-Saiyan rebels because of the residual energy detected was Saiyan in nature. But that doesn't appear to be the case," Fuzai said.

"And why is that?" Verto pressed.

"I don't have the fully confirmed details, but it was said that their power signals were in a constant state of flux. I'm afraid I can't give you any more accurate information than that. As for why it couldn't be my people, well there's only about two hundred of us left, and the invaders were said to be very powerful by comparison. Up until just a moment ago, the strongest Rotian didn't exceed a power level of ten thousand."

Lenz looked confused again, "How can there only be two hundred of us left? Most of them were hidden in the military and Frost doesn't know about any other secret bases!"

"Frost found them a few months ago, and either he or Lord Bojack took care of most of the rebels. Anyone with half a brain decided that rebelling wasn't worth extinction. And someone specifically told Frost where all of the bases were anyway, so it was fruitless to resist. I can't say that they've been treated well, but at least they're still alive, right?" Fuzai countered.

"A traitor? Who would do such a thing?" Lenz wondered.

Fuzai hesitated, something that only Lenz missed, "He was probably very desperate."

"I don't doubt that," Verto sneered slightly, "So is that all?"

Fuzai nodded, "That was half of my mission. The other part is escorting you personally to Lord Frost's capitol, where you've been before. Let's go."

"Not so fast, we will not leave until we have discussed all of this with Vegeta and the others," Verto ordered.

"Only the silver-haired Super Saiyan was invited, no one else. There's a limited amount of time I can spend here before we have to leave, otherwise we will miss the shortcut I found to get here and it will take nearly three months to go the long way. This passage won't be open for another year, and it will only take two weeks if we leave now. However, I doubt Lord Frost will mind if my sister and the Namek were to tag along," Fuzai explained.

"Clean out your ears, I said we will discuss this with the others before anyone leaves, including you. I don't care about your shortcut because it may not get used," Verto said a little louder.

"I don't take orders from toddlers," Fuzai replied. Lenz cringed as Verto's death glare came back, and his eyes threatened to flicker from their normal blue state.

"We could do this the hard way, and I think even you understand how that will go. What's it going to be?" Verto asked.

Fuzai sighed heavily, "Fine, lead the way."

"I'll guard your ship so that no one decides to make use of it," Piccolo offered.

"Just don't step inside. There's a security lockout in place. If anyone but me tries to use the ship's computer in any sort of way, the whole ship will blow up!" Fuzai claimed.

Piccolo hid his surprise, "Good to know."

* * *

After all three Saiyans tore apart the remaining Capsule food, Verto and Fuzai stared each other down while Lenz told battle stories. Only when she seemed to have had enough and went to bed did either of them speak a word.

"So, you trained my sister to be a Super Saiyan? Has she trained you into her submissive pet yet? It seems like you're well on your way," Fuzai pointed out.

"If you have a problem with me, then spit it out. I'm her teacher because no one else is qualified for it," Verto replied coolly.

"Or she goaded you into it so you could feel her up on a regular basis and get away with it. She likes the attention if you haven't noticed. I know how a teenage Saiyan mind works, those little urges can be difficult to control at first," Fuzai said with a deep grin.

"I'm not quite there yet, at least I don't think so. And at times I wish it were that simple, but it isn't. As far as our unusual arrangement goes, I usually have to pull her ass out of the fire when she gets in over her head," Verto explained.

"I don't see how that can be since everything is over your head. Maybe you should start nursing off of her and see if you can actually get past waist level," Fuzai countered.

"The short jokes are getting old. Besides, she's the one who makes the advances."

"Didn't seem that way earlier, nor did she seem to mind. Most females would have probably killed any idiot that tries to cop a feel like that, but again, she likes attention," Fuzai hinted.

"What's sad is that you can't see what I did. Lenz has a bad habit of saying too much in front of people, rather she trusts them or not. I'll break her off that eventually."

"How did you meet her anyway, did you stumble into the whorehouse? And why are only you qualified to instruct her, surely the all mighty prince Vegeta could have thought of a better teacher?" Fuzai asked in a mocking tone.

"Hmph, I thought you already knew how I met her? As for why only I can train her, it's because of her hidden potential. It's not unique anymore, but only a select few Saiyans can achieve it and use it properly right now."

"I see, and how is that?" Fuzai continued.

"She can tell you that later, though I heard that all Rotian-Saiyans have special talents, what's yours?" Verto asked as he flipped the conversation.

"Mine is…complicated. And I'd have to show you, it's a lot easier than explaining it," Fuzai claimed.

"I can figure things out fairly well if you can't tell. If it's something that powerful, I prefer the verbal way," Verto said.

"To be honest, it works differently with people. Specifically, it only works best when I use it under a certain set of circumstances. It's a mental power that creates a metabolic abnormality in others."

Verto's eyebrow went up, "That probably covers a lot of dangerous ground. What does this abnormality end up doing?"

"It will eventually slow down the target's metabolism while creating a disruption in the biological cycle so to speak. It only takes a couple of seconds to kick in, and the effect is temporary. The actual danger with this ability is minimal."

Verto yawned, "Slows down metabolism while disrupting the cycle…you mean it induces a coma?"

Fuzai smirked slightly, "More or less. The deep state of unconsciousness lasts longer if the target has had a full meal, but I've never been able to make it go more than two full days. Fortunately, I can use it on more than one person at a time as long as I have eye contact for at least five seconds. It may not work for very long on your Namek friend, but it will be enough," Fuzai explained. Verto gasped as he tried to move, but he was only able to lift up about two inches before he sunk down into his chair, eyelids drooping.

"No doubt you've noticed how dizzy and weak you feel now. I suggest you just let it happen, you won't be able to concentrate any energy at this point. Don't worry, you will wake up and you won't be hurt, but I'm afraid it will be too late by then. No matter how strong you are, you are no threat while you're asleep. My apologies, but you gave me no choice," Fuzai said. Verto managed to look Fuzai in the eye once more, shaking as he struggled under the gaze.

"When I wake up, you're fucking dead," he whispered. He slumped down into sleep and barely even twitched after that.

Fuzai snorted at this, "Right. Now for my dear sister."

**A/N: Cliffie of doom strikes again! But the Verto-Frost encounter is now in motion, so be happy with that at least!**

**Next time on DBV: Gohan, Vegeta and Goku find Piccolo unconscious with Verto and Lenz missing. After hearing what happened, they contact Kibito Kai for help. Meanwhile, Verto and Lenz wake up on the ship, heading straight for Frost's base. Verto accepts the eventuality, but not without taking some of his anger out on Fuzai.**

**WDG:** Not sure if it should be classed as an 'invitation', seeing as they're being kidnapped… :P And Fuzai is going down the fast track to great-pain-and-generally-not-feeling-very-whole, I imagine. One thing I wonder is how Bojack fits into this, though that's probably because I missed something in an earlier chapter.

**VB**: Meh, call it what you want, since when do I name a chapter that says exactly what's going to happen all the time, no fun if I keep doing that. You likely didn't miss anything with the Bojack angle, though it will get some exploration at some point.


	52. Search

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 51: Search**

Gohan quietly flew through the morning sky. He wanted to meet with Verto about a training exercise before dealing with his mother and eventual wife for the day. He had about two weeks before the senior prom at high school, and was getting at least ten reminders from each woman about it, per day. _I hate wearing formal clothes. Nothing about it is nice and I have to stay as stiff as a board or they'll tear too easily. I don't understand why it's even necessary to dress up and basically lie to others the entire time. It's like, hi, how are you? Oh I'm glad to meet you too, now hurry and leave so I can change into something that normal people wear!_ Gohan sighed at the thought of tuxedo shopping before scanning ahead for Verto's exact position. He didn't feel any significant presence nearby at all.

_That's strange, he should be around here somewhere._ _I don't sense Piccolo or Lenz either._ Gohan expanded his sensing range, picking up on both his father and Vegeta almost instantly. Both of them were coming his way from different directions. Gohan came up on the Capsule house and landed at the door before knocking lightly. Nothing happened, nor did Gohan detect anyone inside. He did however sense something faint just a few miles to the west. Gohan took off in that direction quickly as a feeling of dread came over him. As he approached, he saw the ground had been disturbed in spots and a few trees had been flattened. Gohan's eyes widened when he saw Piccolo lying next to one of the fallen trees. Gohan rushed down and tried to shake him awake.

"Piccolo, are you alright?" Gohan asked. The Namek didn't respond, but did appear to be breathing slowly. Gohan glanced around for any signs of battle as well as anyone nearby that he might not have detected before. _What the hell is going on? Whoever did this must have been very powerful if they can take down Piccolo without anyone knowing it._ His thoughts were put on hold when Vegeta landed.

"What happened to the Namek?"

Gohan glanced back at him, "I don't know, I just got here. It looks like Verto and Lenz are missing!"

Vegeta growled, "Well that's just perfect! Maybe he knows what happened, wake him up!"

"I've tried, it's like he's in a coma!" Gohan claimed.

Vegeta grabbed Piccolo's cape and pulled him up to his face, "WAKE UP!" Vegeta dropped him when there was still no response.

"I've never known Piccolo to even sleep unless he was knocked out," Gohan pointed out.

"He'd better wake up soon, I don't like waiting!" Vegeta said as he glanced upwards. Goku was dropping in with a curious expression on his face.

"Hey guys! What's wrong with Piccolo?" he asked.

"We were trying to wake him up when a clown arrived and rudely interrupted us!" Vegeta retorted.

Goku ignored the insult, "He won't wake up? That's weird, have you tried shaking him?"

"Yeah dad, Vegeta even yelled at him, no luck," Gohan said.

"Well I know a surefire way of waking someone as stubborn as Piccolo up. Now let's see, how does it go again?" Goku asked himself as he scratched his head.

Vegeta chuckled lightly, "Don't tell me you have some great secret technique stashed away for just such an occasion?"

"Not quite, I haven't done it much myself. Master Roshi liked to use it around beautiful women and I think Gohan used it while playing with his pet dragon a long time ago before Piccolo told him to stop. Let's see, take a deep breath, pucker my lips real small and then slowly let out the air. Okay I'm ready to try it!" Goku said. Gohan cringed and glanced down to see that Piccolo was starting to stir.

"No dad, don't!" Gohan urged. Goku completely missed Gohan's words and started whistling. Within about three seconds, Goku was hammered down by an angry Namekian's green fist.

"How many times have I told you? DON'T DO THAT!" Piccolo roared.

Goku rubbed the sore spot on his head, "Oh yeah, sorry about that." Vegeta couldn't help but laugh at Piccolo's predicament, forgetting the subject momentarily.

"So what happened here Piccolo?" Gohan asked.

"It was that damned kid, he somehow knocked out Verto and Lenz. He's probably taking them back to Frost!" Piccolo began.

Vegeta's grin melted off, "What?"

Goku became confused, "What kid?"

Piccolo rolled his eyes, "Let me explain." He told them every detail of Fuzai's short visit up until Piccolo was out of commission.

Gohan grimaced, "That's terrible. Dad, can't we use instant transmission to find them?"

"I can't sense them anywhere near Earth right now, and since King Kai's planet is gone, traveling to Other World won't help any!" Goku claimed.

"But you can sense things from the afterlife right?" Gohan asked.

"Only at King Kai's and on the Supreme Kai's world, I'm not sure why that is," Goku pondered.

"Then we should contact the Supreme Kai instead, he should be able to track them down anywhere in the universe," Piccolo suggested. Goku and Gohan nodded, promptly teleporting out and leaving Vegeta and Piccolo behind.

"That boy, getting taken down by a weakling," Vegeta grumbled.

"There's no way he could have seen it coming Vegeta. Be glad that he was being cautious about things for once instead of eagerly going after an enemy."

* * *

"So can you find them?" Gohan asked.

"It may take some time if they're being kept under, but it shouldn't take too long. If Kibito can't detect them though, we may have to wait until they arrive on the edge of East Galaxy," Old Kai said as he created his viewing ball.

"Alright, do the best you can, we're counting on you," Gohan said.

"Thanks again!" Goku added. Both of them vanished and Kibito broke his silence.

"This is going too far Elder! We have to put a stop to this!" he argued.

"We can't and you know it. I don't like the Guardian's terms anymore than you do, but if it saves this realm from total annihilation, then we have no choice!" Old Kai fired back.

"This is wrong and you know it! It's no longer a mere test, this is something different that we've allowed to go on for too long!" Kibito shouted.

Old Kai glared at him, "I agree, so you had best be ready to act when it is time. I can't imagine that Leira really set all of this up by herself, but it is possible with all of this time traveling. It's obvious that neither of us would have noticed this in the past, with me being sealed up and you searching for Buu. Still, poor girl, it's a pity that it's going to end so badly for her when we have no idea what kind of potential she had. This chain of events is unavoidable I'm afraid," Old Kai softened suddenly.

"Verto is going to be devastated, even more so when he finds out why she has to die. I pity him," Kibito added.

Old Kai snorted, "Save your pity for both Frost and Leira. I certainly won't envy those two when the fireworks begin…"

* * *

Verto slowly became aware that he wasn't lying in his usual sleeping position and shifted a bit as a result. Then he realized that the bed felt like a slightly different brick, rather than the Capsule house version. It wasn't until he rolled over and brushed something warm that he woke up. As he opened his eyes, he saw a young, beautiful girl sleeping soundly with her purple hair strung all over her face. His disorientation began to clear and he sat up and looked around. There were average beds stacked everywhere with only one white sheet on each. When he saw the room design though, he quickly deduced what happened. The room was identical to what he knew to be that of the Kold Empire. The girl next to him was Lenz, looking like she was just as out of sorts as Verto was. He only detected one other power signal nearby, Fuzai's.

_The son of a bitch abducted us. Great, how long have I been out?_ Verto reached out with his senses and felt little to nothing around the spaceship, but it was a little cloudy due to the speed they were traveling at. He couldn't sense any significant energy nearby, outside of what was probably a star they were passing by. Verto checked himself over carefully, wincing when he noticed mild stiffness in his legs. _Had to have been out at least a day if I feel like this, maybe two. Alright, let's find a way out of this._ Verto already knew he was too far from Earth to rely on Goku or Gohan, so he tried a higher target.

"_Supreme Kai, can you hear me?_" he called out telepathically. There was no response, nor was there after another minute when he tried again. _Damnit, looks like I can't reach him from here after all, and I'll bet King Kai isn't monitoring either. Looks like I'll have to get out of this the hard way._ Verto reached back without looking and lightly grabbed a hold of the soft skin of Lenz's arm.

"Hey, wake up!" he rasped.

Lenz stirred slowly, "Wha? What's going on?"

"Not sure, but I'm guessing that brother of yours is responsible. We're on his ship, not Earth," Verto explained briefly.

Lenz giggled in her usual suggestive tone, "So does this mean you're _feeling up_ to some fun?"

Verto became a tad confused but didn't turn around, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You tell me, you're the instigator!" Verto turned to see that it wasn't her arm he was holding onto. He quickly pulled back, earning her sly grin as she sat up.

"Did you at least enjoy that?" she asked.

Verto returned the glance, "Well, I won't complain. At least those balloons don't seem quite like monsters anymore, must be the strength training."

Lenz moved a bit closer and batted her eyes a bit, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Like I said, I won't complain," Verto replied.

"Well that's positive. Is there anything else you want to examine while we're at it, young stud?" Lenz asked.

Verto snorted as his expression darkened, "No, I'm going to be busy, tearing your brother apart."

* * *

Verto and Lenz slowly made their way to the bridge, checking other rooms along the way. Lenz suggested that they stop at the mess hall and eat first, but Verto kept going towards Fuzai's ki signal. The half Saiyan turned just as the door opened, though his positioning said that he was expecting them.

"Finally awake huh? That didn't take as long as I expected, but it doesn't matter at this point," Fuzai said.

"Why did you kidnap us big brother?" Lenz asked angrily, "You could have waited and we probably would have come willingly!"

"No, I couldn't. The mission was far too important and timing was everything. If I had waited, the odds are that all of your new friends would have come along. Lord Frost made sure that it didn't happen that way," Fuzai claimed.

Lenz's eyes narrowed, "How could he do that?"

"There's a bomb on this ship that is wired in to the life form scanners. If I hadn't left within twelve hours of landing with at most three passengers, boom. It also has a general lockout in place on everything save for the food dispensers and the medical equipment. We're stuck on autopilot for two weeks until we arrive. We passed through the interspatial shortcut I mentioned a little while ago, and now it is closed. You might as well enjoy the ride," Fuzai suggested.

"So, it was a trap all along. Guess it's a good thing you told us all of that before I decided whether or not to kill you. Alright, there's more than one way out of this, how far away are we from Earth now?" Verto asked now.

Lenz glanced at him with concern, "Little brother, even your energy couldn't possibly sustain…"

Verto gave her a dark stare that stopped her words, "Shut up Lenz. Answer the question Fuzai."

"We left around twenty hours ago, and according to my latest check, we've traveled around fifty-point-seven light years. That is not including the distance covered with the interspatial rift," Fuzai answered.

"Forget that idea then," Verto muttered.

Lenz grunted, "Hmph, told ya!"

Verto ignored her, "So, what did you do with Piccolo? I can't imagine he just let you waltz into the ship with us out cold."

Fuzai grinned slightly, "The Namek never saw it coming, much like you two."

Lenz's eyes widened, "What did you do to me? Your own sister!"

"I've done what's necessary to survive, my foolish little sister. Maybe you should have thought about the risks before helping this brat in destroying the empire's super computers. It's because of you that most of our people are dead!" Fuzai stated. Lenz's eyes watered up as she cried softly.

Verto stepped in front of her as if to shield her from her own brother, "You're pathetic. Blaming her for having more guts than you even though she couldn't stand up to Frost."

"I won't be scolded by a tiny thing like you. You're obviously too soft to be a Saiyan anyway," Fuzai declared. Lenz stopped crying long enough to back away when the energy in the room shifted dramatically.

Verto maintained his calm but serious glare, "You'll find out just how _soft _I am soon enough. As for you, you're a complete and utter fool."

Fuzai was puzzled, "How so?"

Verto smirked just slightly, "You kidnapped the wrong Saiyan."

"Whatever kid, I know you're just trying to scare me," Fuzai said.

"It's true big brother. Our friend Gohan is the one that Frost would be after, I didn't meet this little guy until I was dead," Lenz pointed out, earning a frown from Verto at the little reference.

"So what? He asked for a Super Saiyan with silver hair, why does it matter?" Fuzai countered.

"There are a few subtle differences between myself and Gohan, but we will get to those a bit later. You said only the food dispensers and medical equipment will work for us, right?" Verto asked.

"That's right," Fuzai confirmed.

Verto turned to Lenz, "You feel like taking care of the food issue Lenz? Give me a few minutes and I'll join you."

Lenz recognized the look in Verto's eye and nodded, "Yeah sure, don't be too long." As soon as she was gone, Verto's deathly glare came back as he focused on Fuzai.

"So what was the point of that?" Fuzai asked.

"I didn't want her to see this. As I said, there is a very distinct difference between Gohan and myself, and that is that he doesn't like to hurt things even when he's angry," Verto explained.

"And that means what to me?" Fuzai asked. He didn't even feel the first blow until his head went through the plating of the computer console. His muffled cry of pain didn't affect Verto, whose eyes had now shifted to a deep red. Fuzai tried to pull himself out, but didn't need to when he was aggressively yanked out by his leg. Fuzai flew into the wall, smacking into it face first and leaving a generous trail of blood from his nose and mouth as he fell.

"Get up!" Verto growled. Fuzai held his face tightly as he cringed in pain. He looked up just in time to see Verto's fist coming at his stomach. Fuzai groaned in surprised agony as he dropped back to his knees, his head draped across Verto's left shoulder. Verto pushed him backwards with one finger before flinging him harshly into the wall again, leaving a Fuzai-sized dent.

"Don't look so surprised you piece of shit. You should have already known that my power made you look like a blade of grass by comparison," Verto said in a calm, uncaring voice. Fuzai managed to pull himself out and held his stomach as more blood dripped from his mouth.

He managed a small smile, "There was one other thing, Frost expects me back. So if the ship detects that I have died, then guess what happens? You die!"

Verto's expression didn't change, "I never said I was going to kill you. I have ways of making sure you survive every minute of this. Fortunately for you, I don't torture others for very long."

Fuzai chuckled painfully, "Then I was right. You may seem like an overpowering killing machine, but against an equal opponent your softness will be your undoing. Saiyans are killers by design, it's obvious you don't have the nerve for it!"

"Don't tempt something you know nothing about. You have no idea what a killer is. Ending a life is one thing, boy. Ending an existence even beyond the fires of hell is another. I've done both, so don't pretend that you have any control of the situation with just your words. They won't do you any favors," Verto explained cryptically.

"Hmph, why don't you get it over with then? We both know that you're itching to finish me off, you can't ignore your instincts forever," Fuzai pointed out.

Verto flashed him a very brief smirk, "Oh, I don't ignore them." Fuzai's perception was introduced to a whole new level of pain suddenly as a burst of red lightning hit him. Fuzai completely fell over as his body smoked in various places. He twitched and struggled to move, unable to do much when Verto came within melee range again. Fuzai barely felt Verto's forearm smash into his left leg, but he certainly felt the bone crack under the pressure. Fuzai screamed loudly as he reached for the broken limb, but the scream stopped abruptly when Verto's next punch shattered his right shoulder at the joint. Fuzai's breath came short as his eyes remained wide, and he somehow sat up, but with a blank expression. He stared at his rubbery arm, dangling slightly as he had no control over it. Fuzai couldn't even form words in his mouth as he stared at Verto, who had his hand extended. Fuzai suddenly lifted slightly into the air, completely out of his own control. Verto was lifting him with his energy, and Fuzai's whole body shook when the smaller Saiyan stepped closer again.

"If you're wondering why you can't talk, it's because that lightning burst likely damaged your nervous system. Since you probably can't feel your broken bones anymore, I'll end this," Verto said in disgust. Verto held him up long enough to unleash a few more vicious fists to Fuzai's torso, allowing him to make another dent in the wall. Another red burst of lightning hit Fuzai just as he slumped down. Fuzai's body reacted accordingly, and he tried to scream out in pain again. Only this time, there was no sound. Fuzai's surprised gasp held its form when he passed out, long before Verto was finished.

**A/n: And the violent one returns. Good thing or bad thing, meh, you decide, I just write this. This chapter was shorter originally, but I decided to extend the last scene. After all, I'm not mushy about this kind of thing.**

**WDG:** Mushy you aren't. I suppose we'll have a laugh later. ;)

**VB**: I'd say a laugh is coming. Whether or not its by review or by next update, hell it's probably both, it's coming.


	53. Suzy

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 52: Suzy**

Lenz was munching slowly when Verto finally entered the small mess hall.

"About time, I'm almost done!" she claimed as she pointed at the lack of food before her.

"Sorry, took me a minute to figure out how to use the recovery tanks. Guess it's a good thing that they're mostly automatic," Verto replied.

"Why would you need that, you don't look hurt to me?" she asked.

"I didn't, your brother did after I was through with him. Hopefully he'll get the point," Verto added.

"You didn't have to do that you know," Lenz said.

"Like I said, I wanted to get my point across. He'll live."

Lenz grimaced, "How long till he's healed?"

Verto shrugged, "Couldn't tell you, I can't read the language. Probably be awhile though. Until then, I have something I need to teach you before we get much further."

Lenz brightened up immediately, "Really?"

Verto nodded, "It's something I wanted to wait on since I know you'll probably make too much use of it. But since your mouth runs faster than your brain, it's necessary. Then, next time I won't have to change your thought process by smacking your ass."

"Aw, and I was thinking you were hinting at something else. Oh well, what did you want to show me?" Lenz asked in a disappointed tone.

"Telepathy."

* * *

"So, I take it you and Goku weren't able to find Verto and Lenz?" Videl asked.

Gohan shook his head, "Not even a trace of their energy. We have Supreme Kai looking into it, but it's been three days already and no word. I trust the Kais, I really do, but I'm also getting the feeling that they haven't been honest with us lately."

"Well, you're in the same boat as the kid then. He always turned gloomy whenever Kibito showed up," Videl claimed.

"Yeah, but I think there's a different reason for that," Gohan pointed out. The two silently sat for a few minutes as the rest of class filed in before the first bell. The teacher, Miss Edison, walked in a few minutes late, but with a new student in tow. Once this person arrived, everyone in the room stopped talking and took notice. It was easy to see why, there was an incredibly attractive girl standing there, with curves toned to perfection. Her hair was long and bright blonde, and her eyes were crystal blue. At first, Gohan thought it was Lenz in her Super Saiyan form, but there was no significant ki coming from the new student and her body's proportions were much more even despite being shorter. Within seconds, most of the boys were drooling, and the girls were primarily annoyed.

Some didn't mind though, and Erasa was a prime example, "Oh my, she's pretty. What's her name?"

Videl grumbled a bit, "I don't know, but she's had nearly every boy in the school following her around and asking for a number. She's only been here a week and she transferred from North City."

"Attention class! We have a new student today, some of you may have noticed her last week during orientation," Miss Edison announced.

"How could we not?" Sharpner asked just before Erasa gave him a sharp nudge in the side.

"It's easy to see where your mind is today Mister Pencil. Maybe if you addressed your studies with that kind of focus, you would be averaging better than a C on your math tests," Miss Edison suggested as the class laughed at Sharpner's expense, "Anyways, please welcome her better than you usually do. Go ahead and introduce yourself young lady."

"Hello! My name is Suzy Marie!" the girl said with a slightly excited voice.

"Hello!" all of the boys save for Gohan shouted.

"Oh god, I hope she's not a mutant," Videl muttered.

"Videl, that's not very nice," Gohan scolded.

"I seem to recall someone else that started off a lot like this," Videl reminded him.

"I don't sense anything strange, and none of the other guys seem to be under any mind control," Gohan claimed.

"With that look, she's practically got them all wrapped around her finger already!" Videl pointed out.

"Videl, you can't assume every new person is a villain just because you don't like them," Gohan replied calmly.

Videl sighed, "Yeah, I supposed you're right."

"All right Suzy, you may sit wherever there's an open spot," Miss Edison said. Suzy looked around the room, especially over Videl's annoyed glare and Gohan's naïve stare. There didn't appear to be any empty seats, but she climbed the stairs anyway.

"Hmmm, hold on Suzy, I'll go borrow a chair until we can find a place for you," Miss Edison said as she left the room. Suzy kept coming closer to Gohan and Videl's position, angering the latter.

"Can I please sit next to you until I get my own spot? I'm new and I don't feel comfortable anywhere else," Suzy claimed. Videl's scowl deepened while Gohan rubbed the back of his head.

"I guess that's okay, just don't fall down the steps," he said sheepishly.

Videl abruptly cleared her throat, "Out of all the places in the room, you picked here. Is there a particular reason for that? You don't seem too nervous to me!" Suzy ignored her, which didn't help matters.

"You're that guy that dresses up as a super hero, right? How do you dye your hair so fast when you make it golden?" Suzy asked.

Gohan blushed slightly, "I uh, it doesn't work that way." Suzy leaned closer until her head was only a few inches away from Gohan's, far closer than Videl would have preferred. Gohan leaned towards his right by reaction until he was nearly out of his chair.

"Could you teach me how to fly? I really wanna know!" Suzy said with a bright smile. Erasa giggled slightly, which covered up the evil noise that Videl produced.

Gohan wasn't sure how to get out of this just yet, "It's complicated. There's a difficult process that you have to follow and it can be very exhausting, right Videl?" Suzy glanced at Videl, or rather, the raging animal that looked ready to pounce.

Suzy smiled brightly again and grabbed a hold of Gohan's arm, "Pretty please?"

"Hey, let go!" Gohan pleaded. Suzy didn't, and even dared to snuggle up to him and lean her head on his shoulder. Gohan sensed the rapid change in energy sitting next to him and stood up suddenly. Suzy tumbled into his chair, groaning slightly when she tried to get up.

"Sorry, are you okay?" Gohan asked.

"You big meanie, I was just trying to ask for help! You didn't have to freak out and make me fall" Suzy scolded. The whole class stared at the scene with varied expressions and Gohan attempted to save face.

He carefully helped her up, "Sorry, I just get claustrophobic sometimes."

"So, will you teach me to fly then?" Suzy asked again with her positive face. Gohan was a bit surprised at how quickly her mood had regained form, and Videl's annoyance grew as a result.

"For someone like you, it would be really tough," Gohan said simply.

"Wahh! You're saying I'm ugly and won't teach me!" she cried out.

Gohan held up his hands as if to shield himself, "No that's not what I meant!" A sudden crack went through part of the table, though Gohan didn't need to trace it to know what had caused it. Videl's current power level was enough to know.

Suzy brought more waterworks into the scene, "He said I'm ugly!"

"No, I didn't say that! You're very pretty!"

Suzy's crying halted for a moment, "You think I'm pretty?"

Gohan sighed, "Yes, you are. Anyone that tells you otherwise is crazy." Inwardly, Gohan was just trying to get out of the situation before Videl blew something up, but he was only digging a deeper hole. Suzy jumped out of the chair and hugged a rigged Gohan, who wasn't sure what to do.

"Gohan, will you be my boyfriend?" Gohan's eyes widened, _Oh crap._ Barely half a second passed before Videl had pulled Suzy off and had pinned her against the wall. The whole class gasped in surprise, save for Gohan, who only smacked his head.

"Back off if you know what's good for you! He's taken, so find somewhere else to sit you hussy!" Videl bellowed.

Suzy stared at her attacked before coming to apparent realization, "Oh no, are you his jealous ex-girlfriend? You shouldn't get jealous, it causes frown lines and you will age faster!" Gohan cringed slightly when Videl's ki spiked again, and this time she punched a hole through the wall next to Suzy's head. The light from outside could clearly be seen as the remaining drywall fell to the grass.

Suzy didn't appear to be impressed or scared of this, "You're too much of a tomboy. Someone as handsome and strong as Gohan needs a well-rounded girlfriend who will love him forever. Not some poorly shaped, temperamental hothead that would beat him to death if she gets jealous. It's obvious that he's more interested in the fairer creatures of the world. Just because you were cursed with bad looks doesn't mean you should treat beauty as a crime. Maybe you could try cosmetic surgery, fake beauty is better than natural ugly!" Other students frantically dove under their tables and protected their heads in fear. Videl's glare at this point put most others to shame, and it only intensified when her aura poured out.

"What's going on here? What are you doing Miss Satan?" Miss Edison shouted from the door. The surprise return of the teacher brought Videl back from the imminent explosion, and she let go of Suzy's shirt.

"Nothing," Videl said as she stared at the ground.

"It seems like an awfully rough nothing. Go stand in the hall, you know where the buckets are!" Edison pointed.

"Yes ma'am," Videl grumbled. As Videl was filling up her bucket, she cast an evil eye towards Suzy, who had taken Videl's seat next to Gohan. _When this day is done, you're all mine!_

* * *

The situation didn't change for most of the day. Videl remained furious and Suzy would not stay away from Gohan. This was particularly evident during lunch. Gohan and Videl were at their usual table, which was full of food. Suzy found them and sat down during the half-Saiyan's usual gorging.

"What do you want now?" Videl scowled at her.

"Oh my, where does he put all that?" Suzy asked.

"I've been wondering that for some time," Videl replied. Gohan chose not to speak this time and kept eating, hoping that maybe his eating habits would drive Suzy away. It didn't happen quite like he had hoped.

"Is there a reason you're following us around?" Videl said sharply. Suzy ignored her completely and kept her attention on Gohan while he devoured a bowl of rice. He stopped with his mouth full when he saw the gleaming look in Suzy's eye.

"Whaf iff it?" he asked.

"Say Gohan, will you go to the prom with me?" The rice in Gohan's mouth went flying through the air, joined quickly by multiple plates and random food. The table soon followed once Videl hoisted it up. Suzy's survival instincts seemed to finally kick in and she backed away towards the window as the champ's daughter looked to be out for blood.

A passing teacher quickly ran in though, "Miss Satan, what is going on here? Are you harassing the new student?" Videl threw the table into the wall, where it fell to pieces.

"More like she won't leave us alone!" Videl argued.

"Suzy?"

Suzy's tears flowed almost on command, "All I wanted was to make friends with you, wahh!"

"Videl Satan! You really should know better, after all you should be setting an example for everyone here. Detention, right after school today!" Videl growled in frustration and stormed off towards the nearest restroom.

Suzy's tears evaporated once Videl and the teacher were gone, "So, about our prom date, should I wear red or white?"

Gohan paled slightly, "I never said yes. I'm going with Videl."

Suzy looked like she hadn't heard a single word, "Maybe pink, or blue. What are you going to wear?"

Gohan blinked sharply and repeated his words, "I'm going with Videl, and you'll have to find someone else."

"Hmmm, strapless or not. Tough choice, I'll look good either way. What do you think Gohan? I need some opinions here; otherwise everyone will think my boyfriend is shy!" Gohan groaned and smacked his head for the second time of the day, wondering what was next. He needn't look far; Sharpner and Erasa were already coming his way.

"Hey Gohan, where's Videl?" Erasa asked.

"Probably cooling off, I wouldn't use the girl's restroom for awhile," Gohan suggested.

"You're that hot new student! Why would you hang out with nerd boy?" Sharpner asked Suzy.

Suzy latched onto Gohan's arm again, "He's just the cutest thing!"

Erasa couldn't help but laugh at Gohan's dismay, "Videl's not going to like this."

Gohan pried Suzy off him and gently set her back in her own chair, "Seriously, cut it out."

"I still don't get how a bookworm saves the world and gets the chicks too," Sharpner muttered.

"You saved the world? From what?" Suzy asked.

Gohan sighed deeply, "From horrible aliens and monsters."

Sharpner chuckled at Gohan's misery and elected to further it along, "Don't forget the Zerg."

Suzy seemed surprised, "Oh wow, you actually fought those nasty things?"

Gohan shook his head lightly, _Doesn't everyone know that by now?_

Sharpner laughed, "Oh yeah, he's been in tons of battles with the Zerg and those other aliens that showed up. Then he went into space for awhile, then he came back and was totally weird and then…" Sharpner stopped when Gohan's rare glare found him, which seemed to spark a particular memory.

"And what happened then?" Suzy asked.

"I think I'll just shut up now," Sharpner backed off.

"Good idea," Gohan replied.

"So Suzy, where are you from?" Erasa asked, trying to change the subject.

"I just transferred from North City. Our high school got blown up," Suzy said, grabbing Gohan's attention.

"Oh wow, you were lucky to make it out of there! I heard a monster tore up most of the city! Gohan, did you get involved with that battle?" Erasa asked.

"A little, there was a crazy scientist to blame for most of that though," Gohan added.

"I was lucky enough to be out of bed when a bright red light burned my house, it missed me by only a few feet. I'm not sure what it did to me, but I woke up in a hospital room after that with just a bad headache," Suzy explained.

"You don't know how lucky you are to be alive after all that," Gohan pointed out.

"And now I won the jackpot when I got you for a prom date!" Suzy declared.

Erasa gasped, "Is that true?"

"NO!"

* * *

Videl nearly broke the outer doors of the high school once she left. She managed to get through the rest of the day without incident, including detention. Gohan had long since gone home after patrolling the city. Videl wasn't concerned though, she had another matter to attend to. She pulled out a small piece of paper and glared at the address written on it before taking off into the air. She was at her destination within a few minutes on the outskirts of the rebuilt Satan City. There, a relatively new apartment complex stood facing the sunset. Videl proceeded inside and used the elevator to access the sixth floor. Upon reaching the third door on the right, she knocked loudly. The door clicked and opened up, allowing Videl to spot Suzy watering a plant in her living room.

"Come in," Suzy said without looking. Videl glanced at the door as she stepped inside, noticing that no one had opened it. _Must be both automatic and voice activated, fairly high tech for a refugee. _A small brown puppy ran over and sniffed Videl's feet before pouncing on a nearby toy. Videl barely examined the room before locking onto Suzy. The door closed on it's own before Suzy even turned her head.

"Oh, hi Videl. I didn't think it would be you," Suzy said.

"Yeah, that's obvious. I only came here to remind you that Gohan is off-limits," Videl said.

"He is? It didn't seem that way to me. He poured his precious heart out to me this afternoon. He only wants to be loved, not abused. I can provide that much better than you can!" Suzy claimed.

"Yeah right, like I'm going to believe that! You have no idea who you're dealing with, so keep your little hands to yourself!" Videl warned.

"I understand enough, he looks like he was kept in his room most of his childhood by his abusive parents. The poor guy, I'll rescue him from cruelty!"

Videl stared at her, dumbfounded; "What world do you live in? Gohan's one of the strongest guys on the whole planet! He doesn't need anything from you!" Suzy ignored her and skipped over towards the window to stare at the sunset.

"Someday soon darling, I'll save you from your horrible life! You won't be miserable anymore!"

"Were you dropped on your head too much as a kid or something? You barely even know Gohan!" Videl pointed out. That's when she noticed all the pictures on the walls. Nearly all of them were photos of Gohan from various timeframes, especially when he was decked out as Saiyaman. Suzy sighed deeply and continued to stare at the sunset.

It was Videl's turn to sigh once she realized that this apparent infatuation had some history, "Alright look, I don't want any hard feelings. Me and Gohan have been going steady for over a year now. So don't try to butt in and we'll be fine," Videl said as she turned to leave. She pulled on the door handle, but the door didn't budge, flustering her. She pulled a little harder and the handle broke off easily, but the door stayed shut.

"What's wrong?" Suzy asked.

"Your door is stuck, is it on voice command or something?" Videl asked.

"No silly, it's made of wood," Suzy chuckled.

"Then why won't it open?" Videl asked.

"Maybe you're just too weak," Suzy suggested. Videl scoffed at this and punched the door. Her fist went right through and left a decently sized hole, but the rest of it remained closed.

"Oh shoot, now you broke it. Such behavior isn't befitting for a woman. Even more evidence that your only talent is violence. This is exactly my point you know. Gohan deserves the perfect woman, and you're just a tomboy!" Suzy explained.

"If you don't shut up and leave us alone, I'll show you a level of violence that you've never seen. Besides, I can do other things besides fighting, I'm just really good at it," Videl said with a venomous tone.

"I doubt it. Even if you have some sort of special talent, it can't possibly be better than mine!" Suzy claimed.

"And what would that be?" Videl asked.

"It's a performance that I plan on saving. Everyone will see it at the dance, and then Gohan will accept me as his destiny!"

"Fat chance of that," Videl remarked.

"You don't think so? How about a little wager then?" Suzy offered.

"I'm listening."

"As you probably know, there is a prom queen talent show for all the candidates this year. It can be anything, except fighting. So, enter the running, conjure up whatever skills you have that aren't violent and try to win. Whoever impresses Gohan the most and wins the crown, wins Gohan!" Suzy exclaimed.

Videl smirked, "I've already got the man, why would I wager him for a meaningless contest?"

"Because I'm making you do it!" Suzy replied.

"Whatever Blondie." Suzy's eye twinkled slightly as the door suddenly creaked open.

"What the, how did it come unstuck?" Videl asked. Suzy didn't answer, and Videl suddenly felt some sort of force push against her. She was flung into the nearest wall face first within a moment. It didn't hurt, but it was a surprise. Videl pushed off of the crumbling sheet rock and flipped around to face Suzy.

"I knew it, you're a mutated human!" Videl cried out.

"What did you call me?" Suzy asked.

"I'll say it with simpler terms: A Freak!"

Suzy wailed; "You're so mean! How could you call someone as perfect as me a freak?"

Videl blinked sharply, _She's not like Ranso at least. Not sure if that's good or bad though._ Suzy's mood shifted back to angry quickly, and Videl was pushed into the same wall by the invisible force.

Videl smirked, "You'd better stop that, or this won't be good for your _ugly_ face!"

"You take that back!" Suzy ordered.

"No."

"Take it BACK!" Suzy screamed. Videl suddenly felt as if she was being crushed by the air around her.

"Bad move girlie!" Videl declared as she began to power up, igniting her white aura in the process. Even as her strength increased, the force on her felt the same. Videl tried to push back with her energy, but she couldn't even budge. Suzy's determined glare seemed to hold her firmly in place. _What a strong ability._

"Are you going to say you're sorry or not?" Suzy asked.

"Let me go and I'll think about it," Videl replied. Suzy didn't let her go at first, but when her puppy bounded back into the room she seemed to relinquish the hold. Videl jumped at her quickly, but her fist stopped short, only inches from Suzy's face. Suzy frowned as Videl's fist shook in mid air.

"I don't like violence, it isn't becoming of a lady," Suzy reminded. Videl pulled back and charged up a small ki blast, surprising Suzy.

"How about explosions then?" Videl asked, "You ought to be used to those by now." Suzy's scowl deepened and random items around the room lifted into the air and hovered freely. Even the small dog floated, whimpering in fright. Videl fired from only a few feet away, but to her dismay, the small golden missile didn't fly far. It stopped inches from Suzy's face and stayed there.

"That would have bruised my face!" Suzy claimed.

Videl was flabbergasted, "How in the hell…" She was stunned again when Suzy gestured to her right and one of the windows slid open on its own. Suzy pointed at the small blast with a single finger and directed it out the window. The blast flew outside quickly, vanishing from view in a matter of seconds.

"Please don't do that anymore," Suzy said.

"That was impressive," Videl admitted.

"Why thank you. Good luck topping something like that at the talent show. That isn't all I'll be doing, but it's part of it," Suzy claimed.

"I never agreed to anything, so you can forget it!"

"Then I was right, you are just a violent tomboy with no skills!"

"Give me a break! I've studied martial arts all my life! When did you get this telekinetic power, last week?" Videl asked.

"Sometime last year when those nasty Zerg showed up, I can't quite remember when I first noticed it," Suzy replied.

"Either way, it's no different. Comparing each other's abilities doesn't mean anything, and it won't change Gohan's mind!" Videl said sternly.

"You misunderstood me. I have other talents as well, that's the only one that is unusual. I want you to find something others would consider normal and pit it against me in the talent show. Show me that you're worthy of even competing for Gohan's love. Like I said, whoever impresses him the most wins!"

"How about no? I don't need to impress him, and I don't need to enter a stupid prom queen contest!"

"Are you scared?" Suzy taunted.

"Of course not!" Videl claimed.

"I think you are. You're scared that I'll expose you for what you are, a talent-less hack that can only punch things! Oh well, I suppose that's only natural for a tomboy like you!"

Videl smirked, "Fine, whatever you want to call me, I'm still not going to do it. It's not like it'll matter and you won't be able to make good on your threats!"

Suzy grinned slyly, "I didn't say you could refuse. You're in it whether you like it or not! And if you try to back out or tell Gohan about this, you'll never be able to go within a mile of him again!"

"Oh yeah, you think you can stop me?" Videl dared. Suzy's window was smashed apart when Videl went flying out of it. Videl tried to slow down, but she couldn't focus enough to stop her momentum. Satan City quickly vanished over the horizon as Videl flew out of control towards the sunlight. The orange sky became blurry blue and randomly cloudy, but it was very hard for Videl to detect even that. She became vaguely aware that she was passing through time zones, but she wasn't sure. She finally felt herself slowing down and was able to focus enough to stop in mid air. She gasped slightly when she found herself hovering over a different city that was still enjoying the afternoon lighting. Upon getting her bearings, Videl saw that she was rather close to Capsule Corp headquarters. _Ah hell._

**A/N: Some of you might have caught the hint of the eventual outcome, and then again, some of you may not have. And yes, this is a partial rip on a particular type of character.**

**WDG: **Don't you just love fillers?

**VB**: Sometimes yes and sometimes no. However, I love poking fun at things, making them nice and over the top while teaching a semi-valuable lesson. I can't say that there's a lesson to be learned here though, other than don't go near pretty blondes that are clueless to everything except themselves, to which they are completely full of. If they didn't have a goal or a dream, they would probably marry a mirror. Two-thirds of the time, they are evil whores, and that is a fact.


	54. Prom Night

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 53: Prom Night**

Videl was rather quiet the next morning while out on patrol.

"Is something wrong?" Gohan asked with concern.

"Not really, why?" Videl countered.

"You just seem distant. Was it that bad yesterday?"

"I just have a lot on my mind, that's all," Videl replied as she looked away.

"If you say so," Gohan said as they changed directions in the air. Things didn't improve much after that, though beating up a few thugs helped to curb Videl's gloomy mood. Fortunately, the homeroom teacher had cleared out a seating location on the far end of their row for Suzy. Videl thought that would at least get her through class. It did, until third period when she got a police call. It was a car theft report, something minor for her and Gohan.

"You want to handle this one?" Videl asked.

"I suppose I could, but why? It's not something you couldn't handle on your own," Gohan reminded.

"It's just that, I don't trust that girl around you. I'll feel better if you go so I can keep an eye on her," Videl claimed.

Gohan narrowed his eyes, but sighed as he raised his hand, "Miss Edison! May I please…"

"Go ahead Mister Son, just don't use the roof access, it's under repair for the rest of the week!" Edison said without looking. As Gohan was passing Suzy, she jumped up and embraced his arm, looking incredibly concerned.

Gohan was slightly puzzled, "What, what's wrong?"

"Oh, please be careful Gohan! If it gets dangerous, get out of there!" Suzy pleaded.

"I'll be fine. A little car chase isn't anything for me to worry about," Gohan said reassuringly. As Gohan was leaving, Suzy folded her hands together as if she were saying a prayer.

"My Gohan is so brave!"

Videl grunted slightly as she shook her head, "Give me a break."

"You jealous of her Videl? That would be a first," Sharpner snickered.

"Nah, Gohan wouldn't dump you for her. You're getting worked up over nothing," Erasa said.

"I dunno, Gohan's been acting strange lately…" Sharpner pointed out. He promptly shut up when he saw the slightest bit of golden light erupt from Videl's outstretched finger.

"Another word, and I'll fry your ass!" Videl rasped. Sharpner cowered in his chair as Videl returned her glare to Suzy. _This act had better stop soon, I'm getting really tired of it._

* * *

Lunchtime allowed Gohan and Videl about four minutes together before Suzy showed up. She had something hidden behind her back, though Videl could see protective gloves and steam.

"Hi Gohan! Does my hungry boy want something good to eat?" Suzy asked.

Videl cleared her throat, "Ahem, whose hungry boy?"

Gohan already felt the heat from Videl's ki and politely shook his head, "No thanks, I already brought enough for me."

"But you need your energy if you're gonna fight the bad guys! I made you a fresh chicken pot pie!" Suzy declared as she revealed the pan. She dropped the pie right in front of him, smashing the rice bowl he was working on. It didn't matter though; she got the desired reaction as he tore into the food.

"Alright, this is delicious!" Gohan claimed as he devoured the presented platter. Videl grumbled inaudibly as Gohan ripped apart the pie in a matter of seconds.

"I could cook for you everyday forever. It's obvious that someone needs to if all this is the best you ever receive," Suzy hinted.

Videl was quickly shaking in anger, "I can cook just fine you lousy tramp!"

"Oh, reduced to name calling already? Well don't worry; it's obvious that caring for Gohan is too much of a chore for you. Well don't worry, soon you won't have to!" The whole room stared as Suzy walked off, seemingly satisfied.

"What was that all about?" Gohan asked as he munched down an ear of corn.

"Shut up and eat, it's my problem," Videl grunted back.

* * *

By some miracle, nothing much happened until it was time for gym class. They were scheduled to play baseball, but upon picking teams, Videl was unlucky enough that Gohan and Suzy were on the other team. Normally this wouldn't have mattered to her, until Suzy asked Gohan to show her how to bat. When he did, she suggestively stood in front of him and intentionally backed up a step. Only Gohan's usual shy reaction stopped Videl's next warpath. Sharpner had laughed at the scene the entire time, leaving Videl to believe that he had set things up on purpose. The gym teacher saw how upset Videl was getting and decided it would be best to _not_ remind her to hold back when she was up to bat. Thus the baseballs went screeching out of the city for the first few innings. In the middle of the fifth, Videl finally seemed to get into the game and regained a measure of control. She then decided to give Suzy a taste of her own medicine. Suzy was in right field, and Videl changed her batter's stance enough to heavily alter the usual direction of her aim.

"Try not to kill this one Videl, we only have a few baseballs left and your team is already up fifteen to three!" the teacher reminded her.

"Hmph, no promises," Videl said in a low tone. Sharpner threw the pitch and Videl carefully tapped the ball towards right field. She had hit it in a way that went over Suzy's head, but not enough to clear the fence. Just as the ball was over Suzy, it suddenly fell out of the air and landed neatly in Suzy's glove.

"Yay, I caught it!" Suzy cheered.

"Good catch. You're out Videl!" the teacher said plainly. Videl cringed as the bat broke in her grip before she went back to the dugout. It was obvious to her what had happened, even though she couldn't sense it. Suzy had used her ability to stop the ball's momentum, more or less cheating. It would have gone unnoticed if anyone but Videl or Gohan had hit it. Videl elected not to start anymore of a scene that she had already made and kept quiet. That did not stop her from whizzing a fastball by Suzy's head in the next inning, which left a gaping hole in the chain link fence.

* * *

Videl sighed heavily as she shut her locker after changing. _Only one more period to go before the weekend._ That knowledge kept her relieved for the time being, until it was disrupted.

"Hey Videl, is it true that there's a talent contest being held during the prom?" Erasa asked. Videl's head whirled around to her friend, who was holding up a small flyer.

"Let me see that," Videl growled as she nearly ripped it out of Erasa's hands. Her anger grew even more upon reading it.

"So, all of the prom queen candidates including you are having a contest? I didn't even know you were going to be entering, must be a good prize," Erasa pondered.

"I really hate her," Videl shuddered.

"Oh you mean Suzy? Yeah it's weird, she's already in the running for prom queen and she's barely been here for two weeks. That's okay, if you enter, you're sure to win over her! I'm sure you'd be a good prom queen!" Erasa said.

"Maybe, but all that prom queen crap really isn't my style," Videl replied.

Erasa shrugged that off, "So what are you going to do, martial arts demonstrations?" Videl didn't answer as the bell rang and she left the locker room. Erasa followed with concern, as Videl's eerie silence was starting bother even her.

"So, did you hear what band is supposed to be here? They haven't announced it yet so I thought maybe you'd know," Erasa said.

"An actual band? Don't they just have the student jazz group do that stuff?" Videl retorted.

"No, where'd you hear that?"

"I don't go to school dances that much," Videl admitted.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you've gone to any," Erasa countered.

"Not sure, I got pulled along to Dad's photo shoots enough that it's hard to tell the difference," Videl said.

Erasa grinned deeply, "Well, it's the perfect chance to impress Gohan. Maybe you could do something with the band. Hey I know, sing!"

Videl was taken aback to this suggestion, "Me? Sing?"

"It's not hard, you have a good enough voice for it. Treat it like Karaoke night!"

Videl frowned, "The last time I went to one of those with you, I embarrassed myself. Then I got into a bar fight with that drunk."

"You weren't that bad Videl, just nervous. Practice a song you like and get the band to play for you, I'll bet that'll work!" Erasa claimed.

Videl thought it over for a moment, "I guess it's worth a try, but I need something really good. That freaky girl said she would be doing something that was supposed to be amazing, and I want to beat her at her own game. I wouldn't doubt it if this was what she had in mind, probably with some crazy dance routine that she couldn't manage normally."

Erasa became a bit confused, "What do you mean by that. Is there something wrong with Suzy that you're not telling me?"

"Never mind that. Gimme two hours after school and then come over to the mansion. I need to go borrow something from Capsule Corp first!"

* * *

Lenz held her head and shook it a bit, as if to clear some cobwebs.

"You heard me, didn't you?" Verto asked.

"Yeah, it just felt weird to receive the message. It was like sensing energy levels, but I could feel the emotion along with it," Lenz explained.

"All I said was 'can you hear me'. We didn't make much of a mental connection, and believe me, we won't. If you were reading all of that, then you're trying too hard. Relax, take a deep breath, and try to send me a thought again. You don't need to open up your mind completely to do this," Verto suggested.

"I still don't understand that either," Lenz said.

"Most closed-minded people don't."

Lenz grimaced but closed her eyes and concentrated, "_Can you hear me, little brother? Am I doing it right?"_

Verto scowled a bit and took a moment to respond, "Clear your mind of distracting thoughts. I understood about half of that."

"How do you manage that? It's like you can just think of nothing all the time. It's not fair," Lenz complained.

"Well I suppose you're right, it's a male trait. Everything has a nice and organized place, and thus is easily assessable when we need it, especially the 'nothing' area. I've had to take a trip or two into my own mind, and there was a lot of empty space. That might be considered an insult to myself, but I don't think of it that way. Whereas females probably have an impossibly complex ball of wire that connects every little thing together in their minds. So in other words, quit thinking about everything," Verto said with a grin.

"That's not true! We don't think that way!" Lenz argued.

"Maybe you in particular don't, but most women do. That's probably how they can nag people to death and argue until they pass out or get their way," Verto snickered.

"You take that back runt!"

"Prove me wrong and do it then."

Lenz huffed slightly, "Fine, I will!" Verto smirked when Lenz shut her eyes, _Works every time._ Lenz's next telepathic attempt was interrupted by her actual brother when he walked in, dripping wet.

"Look, it's alive," Verto pointed out.

"I should kill you for that," Fuzai claimed.

"You're welcome to try, maybe I won't be gentle this time," Verto warned.

"I could just put you into another coma, and keep doing it for the rest of the trip. That would keep you complaint," Fuzai declared.

"Perhaps, but you'd slip up somewhere and I'd take advantage of it. Besides, now that I've seen your ability, you likely won't be able to do it again before I stop you," Verto said smugly.

"Oh? Is that a fact? Let's test your theory." Verto phased out just as Fuzai finished speaking, appearing behind the older Saiyan. Fuzai froze in surprise, even though Verto did not touch him.

"Before you turn around, I want you to bear in mind that I could have killed you in about twenty different ways just now," Verto said.

Fuzai's eyes lowered, "Then what's stopping you?"

"My compassion at the moment, but it isn't for you."

Fuzai laughed, "You're even softer than I thought. Why bother having such a great power if you're not going to use it?"

"You really like to play with fire don't you? That soft side of me has a breaking point that you've already seen. And I've revisited it more than once. It isn't pretty and it had a few of this galaxy's greatest villains shaking in fear even in the depths of Hell. Don't push me, that is your last warning," Verto threatened.

"Whatever you say, tail-less wonder," Fuzai grinned. He was promptly struck in the head by Lenz's boot.

"That's not nice big brother!" she scolded.

"Saiyans aren't supposed to be nice. All that time in the whore house must have been too easy on you, never mind hanging around this runt!" Fuzai said as he finally turned to glance at Verto's piercing glare.

"So, how long does a standard trip to the regeneration tank take, on average?" Verto asked suddenly.

"That depends on the severity of the injuries. Anywhere from a standard hour to three days. Typically, patients are in there for three to five hours. Wait…why?" Fuzai asked with concern.

"I once spent a day and a half in one of those things after a battle on Earth. I can remember what it took to receive that much treatment, so insult her again and you'll beat my record," Verto replied calmly. Fuzai grimaced but didn't respond to the threat. In fact, no one said anything for nearly a minute before Verto stood up.

"Alright, come with me, I've got a few unrelated questions for you. We'll leave her alone so she can focus," Verto said as he motioned Fuzai out of the room.

"I can concentrate just fine, you don't need to leave!" Lenz argued.

"Normally I wouldn't care, but it's sensitive information. I imagine it will come up again later, and I'll fill you in as needed," Verto explained quickly before walking off. Lenz grumbled and shut her eyes again while Fuzai merely shrugged and followed Verto out.

* * *

They went all the way to the bridge before Verto even broke stride.

"Do you have any other information on this other force that Frost has come into conflict with? You mentioned that the energy signals were at least partially Saiyan," Verto reminded him.

"That's about all I know about them for sure, which is about as much as anyone else knows. They've been sacking old Kold Empire bases and stealing equipment and supplies, leaving no witnesses. There was only one survivor that we were able to recover after the fifth attack, but his voice box had been ripped out. His reactions to standard questioning were enough to know that these were no ordinary foes," Fuzai said.

"Then whoever they are, they're trying to cover their tracks. I take it that no one has managed to track down a base or a space ship?" Verto asked.

"Actually we have detected an unidentified ship just before the attacks. We've called it the Marauder. It has appeared out of thin air at times. There's an ion trail left behind when they arrive and depart, but once they've traveled a few parsecs it vanishes."

Verto's eyebrow went up, "The trail vanishes?"

"Yes, it's as if the ship just disappears from the galaxy, like it never existed."

"Do they have some way of concealing themselves, maybe some sort of cloaking device?" Verto suggested.

"If they do, it's highly advanced to hide a ship of that size. We estimate that it can hold up to a thousand soldiers easily, but that is only a guess. Its armor and weaponry are another question all together."

"Okay, do you have any idea about what they want with all the stuff they've stolen?" Verto asked.

"No, it's only been basic items. Food, body armor and medical supplies, very rarely anything else. This was why we thought they were Rotian rebels at first," Fuzai claimed.

"Understandable," Verto said with a nod.

"Still, I feel as if I should know them," Fuzai said with a finger beneath his chin.

"I thought you said you hadn't encountered them?"

"I haven't. But when I was a child, Rotaria did have visitors that were at least partially Saiyan. My sister was too young to remember them, but I do. They weren't there very long after they spoke with my parents and the other adults. We were told to forget about them. Well that was easy, because the next day, Lord Frieza killed everyone," Fuzai said with a deep scowl. Verto felt a very distinct chill run down his back, but hid it well. He briefly recalled some of what he had learned inside the pendulum room, and decided to inquire further.

"Was there anything else?" Fuzai asked impatiently.

"You and Lenz are second generation Rotians, right?"

"That's right."

"What do you know about your grandparents then, specifically the Saiyan side?" Verto asked.

"Only that they were third class Saiyans that Lord Frost gathered from Planet Vegita prior to its destruction. They were kept a secret from most of the empire until after Lord Frieza and King Kold were destroyed. Our understanding was that a Super Saiyan named Goku defeated Frieza on Planet Namek. Both were believed to have survived Namek's explosion prior to clashing on Earth again, where Goku killed Frieza and King Kold over a year later," Fuzai recited as if he had heard the story a few times.

"That part is mostly correct. What I want to know is if there are any specific traits that your Saiyan ancestors had that might have been passed down? Your special ability for example," Verto pointed out.

"None that I am aware of, at least from the Saiyan side," Fuzai replied. Verto sighed with very slight relief, _Maybe Lenz is just unique then, or she's been around me too long._

"But, it has been noticed that Rotian hybrids overall were quite a bit stronger than their Saiyan parents," Fuzai claimed.

"That's nothing new, human hybrids are the same way. Ultimately, I doubt it matters as long as anyone with Saiyan blood is trained to handle their own potential," Verto said.

"I see." Fuzai looked unsure about something, catching Verto's attention.

"Well?"

"There is something, it's regarding the remaining Rotians," Fuzai said with uncertainty.

Verto's alertness skyrocketed, "And that is?"

"Sometime shortly after Rotaria was destroyed, several of them began to emit strange energy waves. Some of it was similar to the readings received from the bases the Marauder attacked, but not entirely," Fuzai explained.

"Has this source of energy been identified yet?" Verto asked as his eyes widened just slightly.

"This is extremely classified information that I'm not supposed to know about. It was mentioned that this energy was similar to what was observed from an alien race that passed through this area of space a year ago shortly after the Marauder appeared for the first time. I believe they were called the Protoss."

Verto held his breath for a brief moment, "And this energy pattern was the same with the Marauder?"

"Not completely. With the Marauder it was potent, but also very unstable. With the other Rotians, well that wasn't quite the case, you'll see what I mean soon enough. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to speak with my sister alone," Fuzai said as he left the room. Verto grimaced as Fuzai departed, feeling the full impact of the possible future. _This can't be good. Now there's even more Saiyans that could have power they shouldn't have. They could be like me, but I seriously doubt it. Just what the hell is going on?_

* * *

"Gohan! Aren't you ready yet?" Chichi shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Almost Mom! I'm trying to tie this stupid bow!" Gohan shouted back.

"Well hurry up!" Gohan rolled his eyes slightly as he continued to attempt to finish the bow tie without breaking it. It had been about eight days since the prom queen talent show had been announced, and Videl had been rather scarce. Gohan had no doubt that Suzy would probably win the prom queen title considering her ever rising popularity, but he didn't think Videl would really mind that much. All that he hoped was that he didn't get voted in as prom king. He hadn't put his name in for it, but he didn't have to hear the rumors to know that there was a strong chance of it happening. He was more concerned with the lack of contact with Videl, aside from school and Saiyaman patrols. For awhile he thought she was mad at him for what had been happening with Suzy, but that didn't appear to be the case. The most he was able to get from Mr. Satan and Erasa was that she was working on her talent presentation. Like everyone else, Gohan assumed that it would be martial arts related, until she assured him that it wasn't. _Why do I get the feeling that something will blow up tonight? _

"Gohan! What's taking you so long?" Chichi screamed again.

"Don't worry Mom, I can teleport there with Instant Transmission!" Gohan claimed.

"So what? Late is still late, even if it's instant! Now hurry up! This is one of the most important nights of your life!" Chichi reminded from the stairs. Gohan sighed as he finally managed to get the bow tied. Once he tugged it snug, it tore completely in half.

"Damnit," he grumbled. Chichi came storming in a moment later, wondering why her first born was still in his room. Upon seeing his dilemma, she produced a spare and put it on him herself.

"I see my big strong boy still needs his mother after all," Chichi said in a scornful manner.

Gohan nodded sheepishly, "No wonder Dad hates clothes like these. I don't like them either for this very reason."

"You should get used to it son. When you're done with school, you will probably have a great career that involves working with the smartest people in the world. Formality will be expected of you," Chichi explained as she finished the bow, "There, picture perfect. You'd better get going so you can pick up Videl."

"Actually, I'm meeting her there. She already said she'd be running a little late," Gohan said.

"How the times have changed. I can remember the days when the guy was always running late," Chichi said as she appeared to be in a partial daydream. Both of the perked up to the sound of Goku's voice downstairs.

"Chichi! I'm hungry! When's dinner gonna be ready?" Goku whined aloud.

Chichi shook her head and came back to reality, "Go on, get outta here so I can cook for the bottomless pit!" Gohan nodded and vanished a moment later.

* * *

Gohan calmly walked into the high school gym, ducking under streamers and other hanging decorations. To his dismay, half of the room noticed him immediately. He faked his typical grin and waved while looking for a place to hide that didn't involve flying, finding none. He didn't see or sense Videl nearby, so he instead hung along the wall, trying to be as invisible as possible. It was still a bit early and the band hadn't even come out yet. Within a few minutes, Erasa spotted him and dragged Sharpner over with her. The bulky blonde had on a white tux that didn't seem to fit well, whereas Erasa bore a long green dress with white trimmings.

As usual, Sharpner was the first to point out the obvious, "So where's Videl? Don't tell me you forgot to pick her up!"

Erasa scowled at her date and cleared her throat ominously, "Don't start anything, not tonight!"

"She said she'd be running a little late," Gohan answered.

"I know why, don't worry about a thing Gohan. She'll be here," Erasa said reassuringly.

"So, brains, did you see Suzy yet? She's totally looking for you," Sharpner declared with a tight grin. Erasa's frown deepened as she gave Sharpner a warning nudge.

Gohan attempted to act as disinterested as possible, "No not yet."

Sharpner pulled a small camera out and handed it to the demi-Saiyan, "Well make yourself useful then and take our picture." Gohan grimaced as he took the small device while Sharpner and Erasa posed. Gohan regretted taking the picture immediately, because the flash drew far more attention than he wanted.

"OH! Gohan!" Suzy Marie cried out. Gohan cringed as Suzy dashed towards him despite the high heels she had on. She was wearing what appeared to be a modified white wedding dress without the headpiece. The front sparkled in the random lighting and had the crest of an eagle sewn into it. On the back, small but proportionate butterfly-like fabric wings were attached. _What is this, a Cinderella story? The only thing she's missing is a tiara and a pumpkin carriage._

"Gohan, I've been waiting for you!" Suzy said scornfully.

Gohan looked away, "So it seems."

"Isn't this dress just perfect?"

Gohan gulped as she got within arm's reach, "Yeah, it does look nice."

"Hmmm, I think I'll only wear it twice. One is tonight of course, and of course you know when the other time will be, don't you?" Suzy suggestively turned around before pushing up against his tense side.

Gohan nervously smiled back, "Um, no?"

Suzy turned her head back and stared up with the cutest face she could possibly present, "On my wedding day silly. I hope you wear the same suit!"

Gohan stepped back as Erasa produced the evil eyes, "Gohan is Videl's boyfriend, why don't you chase someone else that's available?"

Sharpner grinned, "I don't know, I could get used to Videl being jealous, might be fun to watch."

"I don't see her anywhere, I guess I'll win the talent contest by forfeit!" Suzy claimed.

"She'll be here, maybe you should go change or something. You wouldn't want to ruin your dress!" Erasa suggested.

"Oh? I don't plan on moving around much or dealing with anything filthy. I'm not a dirty tomboy after all," Suzy reminded them. Gohan's eyes widened in fear as Erasa put on a death glare that didn't fit her positive outlook on life.

Sharpner had stayed quiet, but now wisely changed the subject, "So when is the band going to show up?"

"We can always dance without one, right Gohan?" Suzy asked.

"Maybe you should save it for whoever gets voted prom king," Erasa muttered aloud.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure Gohan will be the winner. I nominated him after all, and how can you say no to a guy that helped save the world?" Suzy argued.

"You could say no to a guy that can kill all his fellow students in a mere moment," Sharpner blurted out. He regretted those words when both Gohan and Erasa gave him the dark stare.

He decided to go back to the original topic, "Who all is in this talent show anyway?"

"Didn't you read the flyer? All of the prom queen candidates are. There's only four choices, and you'll be voting for Videl once it's over!" Erasa said sternly.

Sharpner nervously stepped backwards, "Uh, yeah. I'm going to use the facility!" Erasa shook her head slightly as he ran off while Suzy continued to eyeball Gohan.

* * *

The gymnasium was a lot fuller an hour later as the music started over the loudspeakers. The band still wasn't out, but no one seemed to mind the mainstream hits. Gymnast mats had also been laid out for one of the talent contestants. Another area had some sort of booth set up with a few video screens, though Gohan wasn't sure what it was for. Suzy had yet to even hint at what she would be doing for this contest, and Gohan was becoming a bit wary of it. It wasn't until he sensed Videl's presence that he relaxed at all. He did take the opportunity to sneak away so that he could see her. He finally found her in a remote part of the school where no one else was, bickering about something to four others.

"…And that's that! I don't care how much she paid you or whatever she did! Remember who my dad is, you'll get paid double! Besides, her assets were probably all destroyed last month anyway! Transfer students usually don't have any money!" Videl shouted as Gohan got closer.

"Money isn't the problem miss Satan. That girl is freaky weird!" one of the four argued.

"Don't worry about it," Videl said. She promptly tensed up when she sensed Gohan closing in.

Gohan was almost around the corner when she called out to him, "Hey! You get back to the gym. I'll be there soon enough!"

Gohan stopped, unsure of the situation, "Can't I just see you for a minute?"

"I'm a little busy, besides it'll ruin the surprise!" she claimed, "Go tear up the buffet or something!" Gohan turned around and walked away slowly, feeling both relieved and confused. Videl was still being a bit too mysterious for his liking, but not enough to concern him a whole lot. He knew she'd be mad if he tried to poke his nose into her business without her approval. _Then again, she did it to me all the time when I started high school. Maybe I should give her a taste of her own medicine. Then she'd be mad though, and I'd probably never hear the end of it from her, or Mom…oh forget it. Definitely not worth the trouble._ Upon returning to the prom, the scent of snacks and the punch bowl lured Gohan quickly. To his great dismay, Suzy found him again quickly, as did Sharpner and Erasa. Erasa seemed to be the official person in charge of making sure Suzy didn't try anything while Videl was missing. To Gohan, her usually strong bat radar was running at one hundred and twenty percent of normal. She also seemed to have a thick aura of confidence around her, but she didn't say much to it.

"So did you find Videl yet?" Sharpner asked.

"Yeah, she was in the middle of something so I didn't bother her," Gohan replied.

Suzy snorted, "Hmph! It doesn't matter, she can't win!"

Erasa actually giggled slightly, "Are you sure about that? I mean, what are you going to do that's so great?"

Suzy ignored her and stepped closer to Gohan again, "Darling, when this is over, I don't ever want you to go near that tomboy again!"

Gohan bit his lip in slight frustration, "Um, what are you trying to say here?"

"Don't ever go near Videl again. Her violent behavior can't support the perfect love we share. She is a poison to everything she touches! And she'll try to ruin our relationship!" Suzy declared.

Gohan grimaced, "We don't have a relationship."

"Now I've got to go get ready. Be a good boy for me. If that tomboy actually does show up, don't catch her when she trips. Her ugly face isn't worth saving, and a bruise would probably help more than hurt!" Suzy said as she skipped off. Gohan stared in slight shock, though he wasn't sure what he was surprised about at this point.

He wasn't the only one, even Sharpner had to take a second glance, "Wow, she is nuts!"

Gohan glanced at him, "You're telling me?"

"I hope Videl puts her to shame!" Erasa said.

* * *

Gohan nearly fell asleep during the first act. It was a candidate he didn't know attempting to be psychic. At first he paid attention, but sensed nothing unusual about her. Most of it was amateur palm reading anyway, and Gohan dismissed it as such. Next up was the anticipated gymnast who put on a semi-typical show of balance and agility. Once she received her applause, the crowd moved towards the music stage. Gohan noticed the band had finally come out and was getting ready. He turned around and noticed Suzy looking his way from the main door, with a smug expression. The lights suddenly went out, drawing some surprised gasps and cheers. Gohan detected Videl entering the room, with a slight aura of nervousness. Gohan gave her a reassuring mental touch and it quickly vanished as she ascended to the darkened stage. The band started playing abruptly as the lights came back on, and Videl had the microphone in her hand.

_When the night falls down  
I wait for you  
And you come around  
And the worlds alive  
With the sound of kids  
On the street outside  
_

The crowd cheered for her, though it was rather obvious that no one knew the song she was singing. Gohan didn't care though and took in Videl's prom appearance for the first time as she continued. She had on a dark purple dress that sparkled lightly and was cut just above the knees. She had apparently decided to go against her norm and wear makeup this time, bearing purple eye liner and reddened lipstick. To Gohan, she was breathtaking, and no one around would be able to tell him different. Behind him and the rest of the crowds, Suzy Marie's jaw had dropped open enough to drive a truck through. Videl saw this and couldn't help but smile wider as she kept singing.

_When you walk into the room  
You pull me close and we start to move  
And we're spinning with the stars above  
And you lift me up in a wave of love..._

Gohan found himself inching closer to the stage the moment Videl began. In no time he was past the other jumping students until he was only a mere ten feet from Videl. She noticed this movement and beckoned him up to the stage while she sang the chorus.

_Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth ?  
Ooh heaven is a place on earth  
They say in heaven love comes first  
We'll make heaven a place on earth  
Ooh heaven is a place on earth  
_

Gohan opted to move to the side of the stage before Videl motioned him towards the middle while she kept the wireless mike in hand.

"Um, what did you want me to do?" he asked with his usual naïve grin.

Videl kept her smile and pressed a finger to his lips, "_Just shut up and dance with me. I'll tell you when."_

"_Uh, alright."_ Videl shook her head slightly and hit the second verse.

_When I feel alone  
I reach for you  
And you bring me home  
When I'm lost at sea  
I hear your voice  
And it carries me_

Videl approached and moved suggestively around her man before taking his hand and spinning around his arm before pulling closer. Gohan was doing his best not to completely botch up her moment and followed her foot movement. She turned to him and Gohan suddenly felt as if the crowd had vanished and it was only him that she was singing to.

_In this world we're just beginning  
To understand the miracle of living  
Baby I was afraid before  
But I'm not afraid anymore  
_

_Maybe this is what Verto feels with all that music he listens to, no wonder. That's probably where she got the idea._ Gohan detected Videl's smile briefly transform itself into a smirk as she nodded and pulled away to sing to the crowd again. Gohan let her have the spotlight completely and backed off to the side of the stage again.

_Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth ?  
Ooh heaven is a place on earth  
They say in heaven love comes first  
We'll make heaven a place on earth  
Ooh heaven is a place on earth_

Gohan couldn't help but smile as Videl danced her way through the second chorus and into the instrumental portion. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Suzy again. Though it was extremely hard to look her way and not notice someone with a face that red. It only worsened when Videl's ki surged just slightly. In the midst of the instrumentals, she suddenly leapt high into the air as she spun around. She hovered for a few seconds while spinning, catching a few gasps. She then came down quickly and landed in a splits pose with the microphone held high. Most of the crowd cheered loudly at this, as even the most jaded observer knew that the gymnast couldn't have pulled that off easily. Videl jumped to her feet and bowed before singing the last portion of the song.

_In this world we're just beginning  
To understand the miracle of living  
Baby I was afraid before  
But I'm not afraid anymore_

_Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth ?  
Ooh heaven is a place on earth  
They say in heaven love comes first  
We'll make heaven a place on earth!_

As she finished up, Videl cast her eyes back at Gohan, directing the words to him again.

"_Yeah, you bet we will!_" he thought back at her. The song faded and the show's lighting went out before coming back up to the tune of thunderous applause. Videl bowed again as she handed over the microphone to the apparent master of ceremonies before heading Gohan's way with a bounce in her step. She took his arm and they both made their way back into the clapping crowds.

* * *

"_Heaven is a place on Earth_"by Belinda Carlisle

* * *

"We will now open the voting polls for both prom queen and prom king. Remember boys and girls, you can only vote for the other gender! Poles will be open for one hour."

"I thought Suzy had an act too?" Gohan asked.

Erasa scoffed, "Probably too embarrassed to go through with it after Videl's performance."

"Wait, I thought I heard that she was going to do something with the band?" Sharpner said.

Videl laughed, "Well she was. I kind of changed their minds. For once, Dad's money came in handy."

"Videl, did you steal her song? Not very nice," Gohan said with a scornful tone.

"I didn't steal anything, I just beat her to the punch. She wanted to go last after all, so she can't complain. And it would look bad if she were to be copying my idea, right?" Videl asked with a slight grin. Suzy came storming up a moment later, incensed at the sight of Videl latched onto Gohan's side.

"You no good dirty tomboy! That was my act you stole!" she screamed, drawing more than a few looks.

Videl remained calm, "I don't see how that could be, it was a different song, right?"

"That doesn't matter, you still stole it! I spent every penny I have on them so I could have the spotlight!" she shrieked.

"Well I don't think you'll have a problem then. Since I technically paid them double, they can't accept anything from you. You should be financially okay," Videl said, maintaining her cool.

"Hmph! Well I'll still win the prom queen title anyway! Gohan dear, please come dance with me." Suzy ordered.

"I'd rather not," he replied simply. Videl looked like her bright mood was about to vanish, but Gohan held her off.

Suzy on the other hand was distraught, "But, you're my boyfriend!"

"When did _we_ ever decide that? You can't just decide who you want to be with without their consent. Especially when they already have someone. I'm sure there's someone out there for you, but it isn't me. Now please, leave us alone. You're not going to get in-between us no matter how hard you try," Gohan said. Suzy's jaw shook as tears drained out from her eyes. She turned and ran off, leaving the gym and its surprised crowd.

"Well at least you finally spoke up. The damned girl can't get out of her own little world!" Videl pointed out.

"Let's just try to enjoy the rest of the night. I really don't want it ruined because of someone who can't get out of their own way," Gohan replied.

Videl grinned and held out her hand for him to receive, "Then take me away, Prince Charming."

**A/n: All right, the mushy stuff, the jealousy, and the reality that no one is perfect, all have been taken care of…or have they? Okay, I suppose I can't end it quite like that now can I? Expect a surprise or two next time on DBV. And yes, that is one of my favorite pop songs from the 80's…which was about the only time pop music has ever been good. Oh, and I trust that many of you caught that tiny little plot twist earlier, yeah enjoy letting your mind spin with that one, I certainly have.**

**WDG: **But wait – there's more!

**VB**: Yeah, I'm sure the audience knows she won't go away quietly.


	55. Hell hath no fury

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 54: Hell hath no fury… **

The prom continued somewhat peacefully after Suzy Marie's storm out. Videl and Gohan danced for a little while before settling down at a table for a few light snacks, which only took up half the table. The calmness remained up until the prom voting was over, and then it came to an abrupt halt once the master of ceremonies took the stage.

"Alright guys and girls. The votes have all been counted. Are you ready to see who you've picked as this year's prom king?" Random cheering filled the gym, while Gohan didn't look so enthusiastic.

"What's wrong with you?" Videl asked.

"You know I hate having the spotlight," Gohan muttered.

"Just share it with me. You can go back to the dark room later tonight, if you're lucky that is," Videl said with a grin.

"And the winner is…" Gohan stood up just as the envelope was opened, and was about two feet from the table when the announcement hit the air waves.

"Great Saiyaman!"

"Huh?" Gohan asked, flabbergasted.

"What?" Erasa, Sharpner and Videl all asked at once. Most of the gym glanced at Gohan, but he was at a loss himself.

Videl managed a chuckle, "I get it, she must have put in your superhero name instead by mistake. Take it from me, she's totally obsessed."

Sharpner pulled a flyer from his back and looked through it, "Wait a second, look at this! It lists Saiyaman and Gohan as two separate candidates!" Gohan rolled up his sleeve, realizing he didn't have his transformation watch with him.

Gohan shrugged, "Well it couldn't be me then, technically Great Saiyaman would be a different person and ineligible. I didn't bring my watch tonight anyway, I left it with….oh no! They wouldn't!"

"Who wouldn't do what?" Videl asked.

"TA DA!" a voice came from above. Everyone looked up to see what appeared to be someone dressed in Great Saiyaman's outfit floating down. Upon getting a better look, everyone noticed that this Saiyaman was shorter and a bit deformed. His body mass seemed irregular and his arms were scrawny.

"Ahem, I said, TA DA!" a hoarse sounding voice called it, clearly belonging to Trunks. Gohan smacked his head in dismay while Videl started cracking up. The bandana and shades were barely fitting Trunks' head, and the pants were dangling under the bottom of Goten's shoes. This fact became evident when Goten landed a bit soft and promptly slipped, though he was able to extend his arm enough to prevent a total fall. That didn't stop the situation from looking any less strange when Trunks sprawled backwards before popping back up and leaning forward, trying to adjust for Goten's clumsiness.

"Watch it dummy!" Trunks rasped.

"I can't see Trunks! And I don't wanna ruin Gohan's suit!"

"Mom can just make him a new one!" The MC wasn't really sure what to make of this development, but continued with his duty.

"Um, Great Saiyaman, you aren't as, big, as I thought you'd be. But I suppose that doesn't matter, you won the contest! Ladies and gentlemen, your prom king, Great Saiyaman!" Gohan stood still, holding his head like someone had stabbed it, _Why in the hell are they here?_

"Hey Trunks, what's a pram king?" Goten whispered.

Trunks glanced down, "He said prom king stupid! I dunno what it is, but we won! Not our fault they made it so easy to change the votes!"

"What do we win? I hope it's toys!" Goten said with excitement.

"Good question, maybe it's the Dragonball. It is in this room somewhere." From the other side of the room, Videl was on the brink of tears from laughing at the current predicament. That however did not stop her from taking the situation one step farther.

"Wait, I know! Hey Gohan, go hide somewhere for a minute. I've got an idea," Videl said, an evil grin on her face.

Gohan back stepped, "What are you planning now?"

"Nothing at the moment, it all depends on who wins the prom queen title. Either way, the little monsters will regret crashing the party!" Gohan shook his head lightly and moved towards the rear of the gym, standing just behind a stack of bleachers so he could at least watch what would transpire as the MC pulled another envelope out.

"Now what would a king be without his queen? Ladies and gentlemen, this year's prom queen goes to…Suzy Marie!"

Gohan paled, _Oh geez, that's what she meant._ Suzy walked towards the stage from the far left, her nose about as high in the air as it could physically be. The MC placed a silver tiara over her head before backing away. Even under the mask, it became obvious that Trunks wasn't quite as excited anymore when the pretty girl got closer.

"I told you I'd win. Now let's have our dance Gohan," Suzy whispered. Trunks started sweating a bit as Goten stutter stepped after her.

"Crap! She thinks we're Gohan. Do you know how to dance Goten?" Trunks asked.

"No, don't you?"

"Oh man, Gohan's gonna find out and he's gonna be mad!" Trunks claimed.

"What do we do?" Goten asked in a panic.

"Just try to follow her leg movements like we do in training, it can't be that hard. I'll do what I can up here." The music started just as Suzy hooked in arm around Great Saiyaman's mid section, which was conveniently Goten's head. The crowd stepped back to allow the king and queen to dance alone, though several of them looked confused. Suzy had yet to even look "Great Saiyaman" in the eye.

"I've been waiting for this moment forever Gohan, haven't you?" Suzy asked.

Trunks cringed, "Um…sure."

The MC still had an absurdly enthusiastic tone in his voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, the royal dance!" By this point, it was painfully obvious that everyone knew that the Saiyaman dancing with Suzy was not Gohan at all, just by height. Suzy lurched forward and pulled Saiyaman closer while barely swaying on her feet. Trunks nervously returned the embrace from the top, trying to keep his face out of view despite the sunglasses.

"I forgive you for earlier, I know that it isn't your fault. That evil tomboy knows how to manipulate people!" Suzy said.

"Err… yeah, she's horrible!" Trunks agreed, unsure what she was talking about.

"Videl's not horrible!" Goten called out.

"Did you hear something?" Suzy asked.

Trunks played dumb again, "Uh, no. Maybe it was a bird."

"Birdie? Where?" Goten shouted aloud. Somehow, Suzy didn't hear Goten at all the second time, and rested her head against Trunks' shoulder while looking away.

Trunks was disgusted, _Ugh! Is this song almost over?_ Below, Goten didn't seem to have much of a problem keeping up with the rather consistent dance movement, though at this point he had shut his eyes since he couldn't see anything other than Suzy's white dress. They stayed in this generally barely moving dance for the next several minutes, though she was the only one between the three that was relaxed. Suzy finally pulled up and looked Trunks in the eyes, or rather, the sunglasses.

"Here comes my favorite part, I hope you're ready," she cooed.

Trunks was befuddled, "Err, which part is that?"

Suzy smiled, "The part where we kiss silly." Surprisingly, the span of the sunglasses managed to cover Trunks' wide-eyed expression.

"Maybe we can just skip that part. After all, people are watching."

Suzy didn't falter, "Oh my, you're shy! Don't worry, I'll take care of you." Suzy's arms drifted down and held onto what she thought was Saiyaman's sides, but were actually Goten's shoulders. Trunks leaned his head backwards as Suzy's came forwards.

"Come now, you can do it," Suzy claimed. Trunks continued to attempt to avoid the situation, but was kept at arm's reach by the fact that Goten was holding his ankles so tight. All of a sudden, Trunks felt something strong push him back towards Suzy. Suzy's lips caught his and the crowd gasped, especially Gohan. Trunks' vision blurred and grayed out when his ability kicked in, _No, not again!_ The surroundings morphed into a lush green hillside that was covered in flowers and bright sunlight. He saw Suzy holding hands with Gohan while they ran through this place.

"Oh darling, this is it! We're finally together!" Suzy declared.

"We'll be together forever!" They embraced and kissed, which brought Trunks back to reality in a big hurry when he managed to separate from Suzy. He immediately gagged and tried to remove all traces of lipstick from his mouth. Suzy was alarmed and stepped back quickly. Once she was away, Trunks attempted to do the same, but Goten thought the dance was still going and went forwards. The Saiyaman suit tore completely, and everyone's fourth or fifth gasp of the night filled the room.

Gohan's scowl scared the boys stiff when he suddenly appeared behind them, though Videl's laughter made them feel a bit relieved. It wasn't long before the whole room managed at least a chuckle at the sight, with the exception of Suzy. She was devastated, as if everything she had or ever wanted had just been snatched away. Gohan had both boys by the scruff of their shirts before they could move.

"Okay, I don't even want to know why you two are here, never mind why you did all this. You apologize right now and then go straight home to confess to my mother about what you've done," Gohan said in a stern voice.

"Make her apologize, she's the one who kissed me! Yuck!" Trunks whined.

"Trunks!" Gohan raised his voice this time.

"Fine, whatever! Sorry!"

"Yeah, really sorry," Goten quickly added.

"Ugh, kids. Now go on, you've done enough damage around here!" Gohan said as he dropped them. The boys quickly dashed towards Videl's position, as if she was going to shield them from Gohan's wrath. Videl still had a smirk etched on her face. Rather what happened was right or wrong, she was enjoying it. Most of the crowd was still laughing aloud, though most of it seemed aimed at Goten and Trunks. Despite this fact, it was having a dire effect on Suzy Marie.

"Sorry that I didn't step in sooner. Those two are always causing trouble," Gohan said. Suzy glanced up at Gohan with an unfamiliar, angry expression. Gohan felt the air around him shift suddenly and heard a few of the light bulbs above break suddenly.

"So, I'm just one big joke to you all, is that it?" Suzy asked with an eerie voice.

"Huh? No of course not," Gohan claimed. Suzy's complexion had completely changed, and now people had noticed.

"That's right, little Suzy Marie. The most beautiful girl in the world, and also the dumbest. I know that look; I've known it my whole life. Little Suzy is oblivious to everything, it's okay to hurt her, she has no feelings!" she growled. The flooring promptly cracked under her feet, alarming Gohan. He didn't sense anything at first, but once he opened up his Psi energy, he felt quite a bit. _Aw crap!_ He felt the rage bubbling up just before something invisible slammed into him from the front. Gohan sailed backwards and crashed into the bleachers, leaving a dent nearly a foot thick. Videl was at his side just as he pulled himself out.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, guess you were right after all," Gohan admitted.

"I didn't want to be. She's got some sort of super strong telekinetic power, I got a taste of it last week," Videl explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Well it's just, you know me and pride. A girl's gotta win battles on her own sometimes in the love department," Videl said meekly.

"Noted," Gohan said as he stood up. He jumped back into the air and landed before Suzy.

He turned briefly, "Everyone get out of here!" Suzy's face scrunched up as the students backed away and tried to file out. All of a sudden, the gymnasium doors slammed shut. The people tried to push them open, but none of them budged an inch.

"Hey! Just calm down, don't do something you'll regret!" Gohan pleaded. Suzy's anger didn't show any signs of fading, but her attention was caught by the sound of the band quickly leaving the stage.

"Let's bail before the crazy bitch notices!" the lead singer shouted. He had his electric guitar in hand as he fled the stage behind his team. Suzy lifted her arm and balled up her fist just as she pulled backwards. The singer was suddenly flung backwards and held in midair by Suzy's telekinetic grip.

"Where do you think you're going?" Suzy snarled at him.

"Suzy, stop it!" Gohan shouted. The singer was pulled closer so Suzy could look him in the eye from only a few feet away. He responded by swinging his guitar at her head. The bottom half of the guitar disintegrated into meaningless particles before it even got to her, so only the air displacement was noticed. This gave Gohan a very good idea of how powerful she potentially was. Suzy cast her hand forward and the singer flew into the wall before falling to the floor and staying there. Suzy floated off the ground and moved towards him, stopping a few feet away. She pulled the remains of the guitar handle into the air with her.

"You deserve to be punished!" she whispered. The guitar handle floated a bit higher as the bottom of it broke apart, leaving a thick but sharp dagger-like shape. Before she moved it again though, a small ki blast erased it from existence. Suzy turned towards Gohan, and growled loudly upon seeing his smoking palm.

"Why do you protect him? He helped that tomboy take you away from me!" she screeched.

"I don't know why you think we were ever meant to be. As far as why I protect him, it's because it's the right thing to do," Gohan said simply.

"You'd better just leave and go home. I don't want to hurt you too!" Suzy warned.

"You'll have to go through me before you hurt anyone else," Gohan countered.

"You can't stop me!" The stage next to them cracked and broke into several large wooden chunks along with smaller pieces. All of it floated into the air and flew around in random directions. Gohan watched them all carefully, trying to pinpoint which one would fall first. The answer came a few seconds later when one of the large chunks suddenly broke away and flew towards one of the crowded doors. Gohan phased out and reappeared in it's path, breaking it apart with his fist. Suzy's scowl deepened and she sent another piece of the stage towards a different crowd on the other side. Videl intercepted it this time and blew it apart with a small ki wave. Suzy shuddered violently before screaming at them both. Videl was flung through the high wall just as most of the debris fell towards the ground. Gohan cringed when he saw only Sharpner and Erasa there, frozen with fear. Gohan instantly teleported there and caught the cracked block of heavy wood. His jacket's arm sleeves ripped and tore off as he set the deadly block down.

"Geez! Could you have cut it any closer Gohan?" Sharpner complained.

Erasa smacked his side, "He means thank you."

"Right, just take cover!" Gohan ordered.

"Wait, what about Videl?" Sharpner asked.

"I wouldn't worry about her just yet," Gohan said with a knowing smile. The Videl-sized gouge in the wall promptly blew apart, and Videl emerged. Her purple dress was torn in many places and she was covered in dirt and insulation dust, but otherwise unharmed.

"She's mine Gohan! Little miss perfect is going to get the beating of her life!" Videl proclaimed.

"Okay, just be careful! I'll cover you and help everyone get out of here!" Gohan called back. Videl launched towards Suzy quickly enough that she caught her by complete surprise. Videl's fist was within inches of Suzy's face when it stopped cold as if there was a solid barrier around her. The pressure from Videl's attack though was enough to set off a small burst of energized air, scaring most everyone nearby. Suzy was forced backwards by the impact, and smacked her head against the wall.

"OW! Who did that…wait, where am I?" Suzy asked, perplexed.

"You're dead!" Videl shouted with venom in her voice. Suzy got up and ran the other direction, quickly moving objects or people out of the way while Videl chased. She caught up fast, only to hit the apparent barrier again and again. This continued around the room while others looked on, slightly dazed at the role reversal. During which time, two small boys found their way into the rafters where Videl had crashed through.

"Are you sure it's in there Trunks? It's really dark," Goten said, unsure.

"That's what the radar says. Just dig around in there until you find it," Trunks said as he pointed.

"Okay, but why would someone put it in there?" Goten asked.

"I don't know, maybe it just got stuck last time we used Shenron," Trunks suggested.

"But didn't your dad blow up all of Satan City when the Zerg came. We haven't used the Earth's Dragonballs since before then!" Goten reasoned.

"Just get in there Goten, stop stalling! These things always end up in weird places." A scream below pulled Trunks' attention for a moment when Videl had cornered a truly frightened Suzy.

"What are you so afraid of all of a sudden? Where's your perfect ability now?" Videl taunted.

"Just stay away from me!" Suzy shouted back. Videl scowled deeply at the apparent act as Gohan stepped up behind her.

"Videl, stop. Her attitude has changed completely, she's scared," Gohan said.

"What are you, bi-polar?" Videl asked with anger.

"Leave me alone! I didn't do anything to you, I j-just want to g-go home!" Suzy stuttered.

"You're kidding me, you think I'm just gonna let you off easy? After what you've done to me? Fat chance!" Videl claimed.

"I don't even know who you are! Just please leave me alone!" Gohan wasn't sure what to make of this as he scanned Suzy's low energy signal a few times. He didn't feel that this was the same Suzy Marie that had just attacked them.

Videl wasn't buying it though, "Oh please! You used your ability to try and steal Gohan away from me, set up this whole mess with this stupid talent show, go completely nuts when you lost, tried to kill everyone here, and now you hit us with this crap?"

"I'm sorry, I don't remember any of that! The last thing I remember was waking up in my room just before a bright red light came through it. It was really hot, and then I was really cold. Where am I?" Suzy asked as she looked around.

Gohan held onto Videl's shoulder and tugged backwards, "Hey, I think I should handle this. She appears to be telling the truth."

Videl turned away, "Fine."

"Alright, just relax. You're in Satan City at the Orange Star High School prom, does that help any?" Gohan asked.

Suzy nervously glanced around, "Is that why I'm in a dress? I didn't do anything…weird did I?"

"Depends on your definition," Videl muttered.

Gohan ignored his girlfriend, "Can I ask you something, how long have you had your telekinetic ability?"

Suzy gasped before looking at the ground, "Did I do all this?"

"Some of it."

Suzy sighed with a saddened expression, "The doctor said I was cured."

"Doctor?" Gohan said, puzzled.

"Yes, he said I suffered from schizophrenia or something. Whatever it is makes me different and strange to be around, and I can't ever remember it. The other me isn't very nice to be around. I was told she is a bit…obsessive," Suzy explained.

Videl gave her an eyeful, "A bit?"

"So she suffers from a split personality, sounds familiar doesn't it?" Gohan asked with a slight smile.

"From what I heard at least," Videl replied.

"What are you talking about?" Suzy asked.

Gohan gently shook his head, "Something a friend of ours had to deal with. How long have you been able to move things around with your mind, like you were doing before?"

Suzy took a moment to answer, "I'm not sure, but it started during that alien invasion last year."

Gohan sighed, "Not surprising then. Do you have anyone we can call to look after you?"

"My doctor or his assistant. Her name is Ranso." Both Gohan and Videl face-faulted at this tidbit of news.

"Ranso, as in Ranso Teziwari? I don't suppose your doctor's name was Cash, was it?" Gohan asked.

"How'd you know that, are you psychic? Did he help you too?" Suzy asked.

"Um, no, not exactly. Actually both of them are dead, tragic lab accident," Gohan lied quickly.

"Oh no, that's terrible! They were so nice to me!" Suzy claimed.

Videl coughed lightly, "Yeah, I'm sure. Is there anyone else we can call?"

"Well, I think my old psych doctor lives in East City, he's also my uncle if that helps," Suzy added.

"Alright, let's give him a call so you can get some help. We don't want that nasty personality to make a comeback," Gohan said.

Suzy giggled, "Thanks, you're really nice. Do you have a girlfriend?" Gohan back peddled quickly once Videl's fiery glare returned.

"Don't even think about it!" she warned.

Suzy finally seemed to realize what she meant this time, "Oh, right. Hey quick question! Doesn't the Great Saiyaman live around here? I've always wanted to meet him!"

Videl's intensity didn't fade, "He's taken too!" Suzy started to say something else, but stopped when the ground rumbled a bit.

"Haven't you done enough!" Videl shouted.

"It's not me!" Suzy claimed as she shielded herself.

"Great, what now?" Gohan asked.

"It feels like it's coming from over there!" Videl pointed towards the ceiling. Gohan immediately looked in that direction and spotted Trunks next to the gaping hole in the wall.

"Oh hell," he muttered.

"Trunks! I got it!" Goten shouted. Goten's announcement was a prelude to the wall's collapse under a massive wave of water he was riding.

Gohan turned to the remaining students and staff, "Everyone run!" The tidal wave roared out of the gym wall as students and teachers alike stumbled to get out of its way. Just as it came though, it stopped dead in the air and only a moderate mist reached the floor. Gohan glanced over to see Suzy's arms raised up, completely focused on the water mass.

She smiled brightly as him, "So, where can I put this?"

Gohan laughed slightly while Videl just smacked her head, "Geez, what next?"

* * *

Verto was calmly munching some rather tasteless food when Lenz finally came into the ship's mess hall. He had been waiting for quite awhile while giving the walls some death glares. He had enough things on his mind without his student being late for any last minute lessons, no matter how trivial.

"You're late," Verto said.

Lenz rubbed sleep from her eyes slowly, "Guess I overslept."

"You were up too late. Catching up on old times, or were you telling stories again?"

Lenz blinked sharply, "Huh?"

Verto chuckled slightly, "Sorry, I forget you have trouble with anything mental, even when you're fully awake."

Lenz seemed to wake up, "I do not!"

"Well I hope so, I'm going to need you on edge at all times," Verto replied.

"Really?"

Verto sighed, "I don't know what's going to happen when we get there Lenz. I don't even know what I'm going to do yet. But I'm not going in completely unprepared, and neither are you. Since we don't have time to train you fully beforehand, we'll have to make due with only mental prep work."

Lenz looked disappointed, "You're not going to make me sit still for three days straight are you?"

Verto snorted, "What would be the point of that? You can't even sit still for three minutes. No, we're going to take a more practical approach to this. Your brother can even lend a hand."

Lenz looked confused, "How?"

"Eat up and then meet me on the bridge. I'll show you there." Lenz frowned but complied as Verto left the room.

* * *

Verto had barely waited ten minutes before Lenz showed up, looking more anxious than usual about learning. Verto eyed something dangling from her neck, where it bounced off her chest at a regular rate before getting stuck and hiding itself again.

"What's with the necklace?" Verto asked.

"Oh, you like it?" Lenz asked with a smile as she held it out for all to see. It was a small, light blue gem that shimmered in the ship's lighting. It looked like a true professional had cut it. It was about two inches long and a half-inch wide, and the edges were cut into a hexagonal shape.

"It's a family heirloom from the Rotarian side. I think our ancestors called it Kholo's tear, or something like that. If there's a story, it's been lost for years. Fuzai gave it to me," Lenz explained.

"And don't you lose it. You have no idea how much of a pain it was to find it again after the mess you made at the home base," Fuzai grumbled from the far side of the room.

"Well, whatever. Take a seat at the table," Verto said, pointing to the object. Lenz sat down across from Verto and stared at the small, checkered board with several pieces sitting atop it. Each piece was sized and shaped in different ways, and Lenz was instantly confused.

"This is a chess board. Chess is more or less all about strategy, patience and anticipation. Each of the different pieces can move, but all in different ways. The goal is to capture your opponent's King before he or she can do the same to you," Verto explained.

"Sounds easy," Lenz muttered.

"You think so? This isn't a game that relies on physical strength as much as it does mental. Your brother has already learned that," Verto said, nodding towards Fuzai.

"I still think you cheated," he grumbled.

"How so? I explained it well enough for you and you seemed to pick it up pretty well," Verto said.

"Well you neglected to mention that the Pawns can become Queens until I had already chosen a Knight," Fuzai replied.

"Oh, so what about 'Pawns can be anything except a King' did you not understand?" Verto asked. Fuzai snorted sharply and turned his attention to a nearby screen.

"Alright then, tell me how this is supposed to help," Lenz said.

"Apparently you two share the fine art of selective hearing. I'm no master at this game, but I know enough about it. The strategy part is rather obvious as long as you carefully setup your approach and attack so that you don't make too many mistakes. Just like how you start and proceed through a battle. Patience here is waiting for an opening to come should your opponent make a critical mistake and also waiting for your opportunity to strike. Anticipation would be seeing several moves ahead of both your opponent and yourself, then you can attempt a counter. If an unexpected mistake occurs, take advantage of it. Fighting is the same way, only with no separate pieces, just your fists, feet and energy," Verto explained further.

Lenz nodded lightly, but stayed silent even as Verto showed her how to play. She questioned the more advanced movements, but overall had most of Chess figured out by trial game number three. Once Verto felt she had sufficiently learned it, he allowed her and Fuzai to face each other while he sat nearby and meditated. During that time, he would occasionally use his spirit vision to watch them, but never said anything to it. Verto was much more concerned with what would transpire soon with Frost. According to the ship's computer, there were only two days until he found out. _I have to be very careful here. It would be wise to hear Frost out completely before any sort of deal or fight happens. But I have to remember that no matter what his motives are, he is an enemy. I can't trust him or anyone else out here._

**A/n: Some of you may question the way I ended the little rip with miss not-so-perfect, and that's fine. I was going back and forth on that one too.**

**I'll keep as simple a preview as possible so not to spoil one single thing: Next time on DBV: Verto meets Frost.**

**WDG:** Looks like Mary Su– erm, I mean Suzie Marie, had her use after all eh.

**VB**: Yeah, and comic relief due to extreme self-obsession.


	56. Encounter on the Edge of the Galaxy

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 55: Encounter of the Edge of the Galaxy**

"How long?" Verto asked.

"Six minutes," Fuzai replied.

"He's going to ambush us," Lenz said.

Verto snorted, "Maybe, but I have my doubts. I'll at least hear him out."

"But that's suicide! Since when do you trust anyone related to Frieza?" Lenz asked in a panicked voice.

"I don't, so calm down. There's an old saying that you should always keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. I'll determine for myself how to handle this first and who my friends and enemies actually are," Verto said.

Lenz became exasperated, "That makes no sense at all! He attacked Gohan, he killed me and he tried to kill everyone on Earth through Viro, including you! Isn't it obvious?"

Verto turned to face her, "Just trust me on this Lenz, and don't do anything to provoke a fight."

"But, but, ARGH!" Lenz threw her hands up and walked off the bridge.

Fuzai chuckled a bit as she stormed off, "You certainly have the way to deal with her mastered."

"She's not the only one that needs to be careful here, so do you."

Fuzai scoffed, "Hardly. I'm one of Lord Frost's most loyal soldiers."

"A loyal soldier that was willing to sell out his own people just to survive," Verto countered.

Fuzai sighed deeply, "How long have you known that?"

"Since we first asked about it. I haven't told her, yet."

"Look, there are things about that you don't know or understand yet. Things I really don't want to discuss at this time. I was looking out for her best interests as well as mine," Fuzai claimed.

Verto gave him a dark stare, "If you say so. Just remember something, watch out when you stab someone in the back. I only beat you up, I doubt someone like Frost or Frieza would have been so nice."

Fuzai gulped slightly, "Noted." The computer beeped loudly as several console buttons began to flash at once.

"We're being hailed," Fuzai said. He pushed a few of the buttons and the video display changed to a gruff blue alien with tanned hair, sporting two pale horns on his head.

"This is Lieutenant Burotsuno calling from Frieza planet number seventy-seven. Please identify yourself!"

Fuzai cleared his throat, "Fuzai, returning from my mission to Earth, Buro. I have two passengers with me."

"Understood, you may land at platform seventeen. Lord Frost has been expecting you. Your autopilot has been disabled so that you can land," Buro said.

"Acknowledged, out!" Fuzai recited.

Lenz walked up from behind with a concerned expression as she dropped a hand on Verto's shoulder, "Are you really going to make a deal with him?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to rush into anything. I'll explore every option before I decide what we do. We're trying to prevent a war after all," Verto replied.

Lenz sighed heavily, "I think that's what I like about you most little brother. You're so small, yet so smart. Can I ask why you're doing this though? A month ago you wouldn't have even thought twice about it."

"Save your impression that I'm that smart until after we get out of this. This could be the biggest mistake I've ever made. As for why, let's just say that I have more personal information about Frost than either of you do. And I did get wind of this unidentified force, so this might be for real, then again it might not," Verto admitted.

"What could you know about Frost that we don't? You've never even met him!" Lenz pointed out.

Verto grinned, "You're right, I haven't." Lenz grumbled while Fuzai merely shook his head and manned the landing controls.

* * *

A few minutes later, the ship had landed and the ramp extended. Verto sensed the sizeable power levels just outside easily, and it wasn't long before Lenz noticed.

"I told you so, they're all waiting for us!" she pointed out.

"Calm down, it's not like we're in much of a position to escape. Besides, if they wanted us dead so badly, they would have already blown up the ship hours ago," Verto countered. Lenz didn't answer as her head drooped slightly in defeat. Fuzai led the way out of the ship and Verto allowed him nearly a dozen-step lead before following. There were eight aliens out there, but Verto only saw the one in the middle initially. The resemblance to Frieza and King Kold gave Frost away without needing to read his power level. Two of the other seven looked like typical guards belonging to the empire, one of them being Lieutenant Burotsuno. The other five were in a different league. All had green skin and cocky expressions plastered on their faces. The largest power among them sported a bandana that barely hid a thick mane of hair and pointed ears. Verto immediately assumed that this must be Bojack, going off the general description Lenz had given him. One of the two on his left flank had a long sword held at his side, and the one next to him looked like a brute that was likely to pick a fight. Both of them were about equal in power as far as Verto could tell, which directed his attention to the other two. One was a semi-attractive woman with long orange hair, and the other was a small man no taller than Verto was himself. They were the weakest of the five, but not by a whole lot. _I'll bet the short one uses mental abilities, he looks like his head is his only real weapon._ That brought Verto back to Frost, and the power level spoke for itself, but it was being suppressed ever so slightly. Frost locked eyes for only a moment before turning to Fuzai with a frown.

"This is not the one I asked for Fuzai," he said in an eerily calm tone. Verto tensed up immediately; _Here it comes, now Lenz gets to hold this mistake over my head while we visit King Kai._

Fuzai nervously returned the glance, "I know my lord. But I must point out that I wasn't given an accurate description until we were already on our way back."

"You shouldn't have needed one. Out of all the Super Saiyans on that planet, he was the one with silver hair, unless…" Frost paused as he had another stare off with Verto. Verto returned the expression with much more intensity, and Frost never looked away.

"Buro, power reading please," Frost said without turning. Burotsuno activated his scouter and quickly backed up a step. Verto did not try to suppress his current level of energy, mostly due to Gohan informing him that Frost could sense power levels. Verto couldn't read the language on the scouter, but didn't feel that he needed to.

"One hundred and twenty five…million, sire," Buro said quickly.

Frost gave off the tiniest of smiles as he slightly turned his head while keeping his eye on Verto, "That feels about right I suppose, and what about the other energy type?" Verto's eyes widened in surprise as a different display came up on the scouter.

Buro's nervous sweating didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon, "Two hundred and seven million my lord and it's a stable reading." _Son of a bitch, they've used their technology to adapt the scouters to read Psi levels now! That complicates things._

"Well, that explains it then. You are the Saiyan that Vegeta and the others were searching for, the one with similar powers to Son Gohan. Am I correct?" Frost asked.

"That's right," Verto replied.

"Well, I can see how Fuzai would have mistaken you two. I trust you weren't too rough on him for his desperate measures. Our long range scans showed that Fuzai's life signs dropped considerably for a time."

Verto shifted his glare to Fuzai for a moment, "He's paid his dues."

Frost stifled a small chuckle, "I see. As you may have guessed, I am Lord Frost. May I have your name?"

"Verto."

To his left, Buro cleared his throat, "Pardon sire, there's another power level on the ship. They are not alone."

"Yes, I sensed that one already. Why doesn't your comrade come out and say hello?" Frost sneered slightly.

"She's nervous. After all, you did kill her," Verto said.

Frost seemed genuinely surprised, "I did?" Lenz carefully stepped off the ship and stood behind Verto, not even daring to look at her killer for the moment.

"I should have known you would bring your sister back with you Fuzai. Welcome back home my dear, these hallway haven't shined without your presence!" Frost claimed. Lenz's face twisted into a deep glare as she finally looked up at his grin. Her ki flared slightly, prompting Buro's scouter to go off again.

"Forty-seven million my lord!"

"Well, it seems as though your time in the afterlife was good for you. Though the same cannot be said for your poor tail, I remember how traders used to beg me to give it to them. Though it is better this way, wouldn't you agree? We don't need a mindless giant ape running around here after all. Tell me, have you become a Super Saiyan as well?"

Verto scowled at Frost's sarcastic tone, "You'll deal with me, not her."

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't realize that there was an adult here," Frost laughed. It spread over through Bojack's crew quickly, and the woman among them was the loudest.

"Oh why bother with them Lord Frost? These two won't prove useful at all. Maybe we can use them as meat shields, but that is about it. Their combined age doesn't even equal a trained soldier's average lifespan!"

"On the contrary Zangya, they may be our strongest allies at this point. We shall see," Frost admitted. Lenz seemed especially annoyed by Zangya's comment, but said nothing to it.

That wasn't the way Verto treated it though, "If age is my problem, it's clear that beauty is yours. Or should I say lack there of?"

Zangya's cocky smirk melted clean off, "Oh look who has a witty little mouth. Clearly, your mother never gave you enough spankings once you were out of the diaper!" Lenz cringed as Verto's eyes flared with energy, concerned that he was about to get them both killed.

Verto didn't budge however, "I can't help but wonder if you've considered cosmetic surgery to look a little better. Talk about my mother again and you will need it."

"How dare you! Lord Frost, may I personally attend to teaching this tiny brat a lesson?"

"No need for that Zangya, I don't want this to turn ugly. Nor do I wish to lose a useful subordinate today," Frost claimed.

"Oh I won't kill him, yet," she grinned.

Frost turned her way, "I was referring to you. You will treat this boy with the utmost respect, for he is more powerful and more useful to me right now than all of you. Is that understood?" Fear and anger filled Zangya's face, but she bowed and stepped back. Verto's eyebrow went up at the sudden behavioral change, but he chose not to advance on it.

"Don't jump the gun, we discuss things before I agree to anything," Verto said.

The large brute next to Bojack took his turn to interrupt, "Discuss what with you boy? You will do as you're told!"

"Don't go there meathead," Verto warned.

"Now now, there will be plenty of time to insult each other later. Perhaps we should let you two get settled first?" Frost suggested.

"Fine, but don't make me wait too long. I am very aware of some of your problems, and I would prefer not to become one of them," Verto answered.

"A preference we share. Very well, Buro, show them to a suite. Lord Bojack, please stay with me for a moment. We need to discuss your crew's behavior in front of guests."

* * *

Lenz stayed particularly close to Verto while Buro led them through the base. Verto's eyes darted side to side at a rapid pace as he took in every minor detail down to the square inch. Buro took them past the main bar and eatery along what was considered the primary hallway. Shortly past that, Lenz noticed a familiar section that she used to frequent. Verto recognized it as a brothel quickly enough, though the scantily-clad alien women were enough of a hint. The girls were all more than a little surprised when Lenz approached them, and they hurried into their chambers before a word could be said.

"Friends of yours?" Verto asked.

"Barely, but I don't know what they're so afraid of," Lenz replied.

"A few minor things. Lord Frost will fill you in on some of it. Other than that, perhaps the fact that you were dead and now you're not," Buro suggested.

"And Frost knows all about that I take it?" Verto asked with concern.

"Generally speaking yes, but probably not the specific details."

When Buro wasn't looking, Verto turned and gave Lenz a silent eyeful, "_Don't talk about the Dragonballs if you can help it. It's obvious he may know something about them and we can't do much about that right now. But whatever happens, not a word about the Namekians, understand?_" Lenz nodded nervously as they moved on. Once they entered the living quarters area, Buro stopped at the fifth door.

"This one shall be yours Lenz. Come with me sir, yours is just down the way," Buro pointed out.

"No, we'll share a room," Verto said.

"That won't be necessary, we have plenty of space here. And I'm sure the lady would like some privacy."

"You've worked here how long and you still don't know her? Modesty isn't one of her high points if you catch my drift," Verto reminded.

"Oh shut up!" Lenz shouted back.

Verto smirked, "Never."

"Very well then, if that's what you want. A change of clothing will be brought shortly. Is standard elite wardrobe acceptable?" Buro asked.

"Oh shoot, I forgot that we didn't have time to pack any clothing!" Lenz panicked.

"And the bathing facility is on the right," Buro said as he pointed inside.

"Great, my hair is in terrible shape!" Lenz said as she stepped in.

Verto rolled his eyes, "You can have it first then. As for clothing, I take it you're talking about jumpsuits and armor, right?"

Buro nodded, "Correct. Do you have a color preference?"

"No, as long as it isn't pink. Whatever she wants I suppose."

"Wait, what's wrong with pink?" Lenz asked in all seriousness.

"Nothing, if you're a girl. The jury is still out on you though," Verto joked.

Lenz missed when she took a swipe at his face, "Argh!" She stormed off towards the aforementioned bath, drawing an amused expression from Buro.

"I'll personally have those suits delivered immediately sir," he said as he walked off. Verto entered the room, or suite as it actually was, and sat down on the surprisingly soft bed. To him, the suite resembled a standard Earth hotel room, without the television. _I suppose this would be considered a suite since this is a military installation._ In only a few minutes, Buro returned with two jumpsuits as well as armor pieces. Instead of giving Lenz the choice, Verto took the black jumpsuit over the blue and changed immediately. He also left her the older armor type and took the one without shoulder pads for himself. The door buzzer rang just as he was slipping on the boots, but it wasn't whom he expected. In came Fuzai, who looked like he needed a break from whatever he might have been doing.

"Your sister is bathing, look after her while I'm gone," Verto said before Fuzai could even get a word out.

"Wait a second…" he tried to say.

Verto stopped at the door as he adjusted the gloves, "Spend some quality time with her. I've got things to do." Fuzai stood there, stupefied out of whatever he was going to say once Verto stepped out.

* * *

Frost wasn't hard to find, though Verto did have to navigate the busy hallways while following his potent power signal. He received more than a few glances from the staring crowds, but he disregarded them. A few seemed very fearful, though he wasn't sure why. It was unlikely that any of them knew about Verto at all, never mind the fact that they were afraid of a small boy. _Probably the fact that me and Gohan still look alike, or just the fact that I'm a Saiyan. Doesn't matter._ Despite some of the expressions of the nearby guards and soldiers, any focus on them vanished when he approached Frost's command chambers. He resumed his own determined mindset as he passed through an area with obvious battle damage covering the walls. The large doorway ahead looked relatively new however, as did the decorative room beyond it. _This must be where Frost and Gohan had it out. Lenz did mention that part of the base was destroyed. _ Verto stepped through the open door carefully, spotting Frost standing at a monitoring station. Neither Bojack nor his crew were around, and the guards at the door quickly left once Verto entered. There was a sizeable throne nearby, similar to the one Verto had seen in the Pendulum Room. The door behind Verto was closed by automation, though Frost did not turn around right away.

"That was quicker than I expected, you must be anxious for a challenge," Frost said, amused.

"Not really, but I would like to know why I got pulled halfway across the galaxy. We do have ways of interstellar communication," Verto suggested.

"Earth is that developed now? I have my doubts about that, seeing as Earthlings aren't known to leave their planet very often. If they did, we probably wouldn't have had a problem locating your planet," Frost claimed.

"It's pretty obvious that we're at least capable of it. Otherwise you wouldn't have been able to talk to Doctor Cash," Verto countered. Frost didn't flinch at this statement, but he did put on one of the fakest smiles Verto had ever seen as he beamed down at the smaller boy.

"Oh, and what does he have to do with me?" Frost asked. Verto sensed no change in Frost's ki signal, but still felt that the air around them both had become incredibly tense. He paused as he considered his answer, but decided to press on.

"Lenz was there when you last spoke to him, so don't deny it. He was killed a short time later when Vegeta found his lab. Now tell me what could be so serious that you would suddenly change your mind about Earth and us?"

Frost's smile widened, "You've thought this out at least, I feel fortunate that I contacted a Saiyan that communicates verbally. As Fuzai may have told you, we've been under attack by a Marauder class ship. So far we don't actually know who they are, but all signs have indicated that they are at least partially Saiyan. The troubling aspect of this is that their energy waves have been identified as similar to the Protoss. I trust you know who they are as well?"

Verto's scowl increased, "Yeah, rather well."

"Can you tell me who killed Aldaris?" Frost asked.

Verto bared his teeth for a split second, "I did, and thank you for bringing up that wonderful memory."

"Yes, I assumed as much. You and Son Gohan are the only two Saiyans with comparable energy. This, Psionic energy we've been detecting was rather stable and consistent with you, Gohan and the Protoss. With these new foes however, that has not been the case. Their power readings have been in a constant state of flux, so it's difficult to get a clear reading. They appear to be able to control their powers very efficiently. The Psionic measurements however show to be very unstable," Frost explained.

"Well, how long have you been able to detect Psi energy?" Verto asked.

"Ever since our encounters with the Protoss. But only recently were we able to adapt our scanning equipment to measure it on a similar system to how we measure standard power levels. We are still upgrading the scouters," Frost replied.

"Unstable readings might indicate that they are only emitting it, and not able to control it. However…" Verto paused in thought as Frost waited for his answer. _What the hell could he mean by unstable Psi energy?_

"Hmmm? What were you about to say?"

"How would you be able to tell either way? I can sense Psi energy pretty clearly, and I've yet to come across anyone with an 'unstable' energy."

Frost turned back to his display screen momentarily before answering, "That's a very good question, did Fuzai tell you about the remaining Rotians?" Verto's eyes narrowed as he felt that Frost was trying to get him to admit to Fuzai potentially sneaking around. _I won't throw him under the bus just yet._

"Only that there aren't many of them left, I believe you are responsible for that," Verto replied carefully.

"Partially. Have you noticed anything strange about the girl?" Frost asked instead.

"Lenz? Unless you're referring to the overactive sex drive, no. I'm afraid she's very typical," Verto said as he crossed his arms.

"Nothing like that. Take a look at this monitoring station," Frost pointed as he turned again. Verto glanced up at the screen in question, taking note of the diagram. It was an overview of the entire base, and it showed was covered in green dots.

"If you couldn't tell, this shows us every power signal within these walls, no matter how insignificant. We are here on the end. Now let me show you the Psionic energy signals that measure over one thousand," Frost said as he typed in a command. Most of the power signatures vanished once he did. Only three remained, one was blue in color, right where Verto and Frost were in the throne room. The other two were orange in color, and were moving together in a different section. Verto turned that way and sensed that Lenz was not in the suite any longer, and was likely the Psi signal he sensed moving. He didn't sense the other one, but he had a very good idea now of whom it could be.

"As you might have guessed, both the girl and Fuzai are emitting these unstable Psionic energy waves," Frost surmised.

"I already knew about her potential, I can sense it easily enough. But I'm unable to detect anything past that. She doesn't know how to control it yet, and I was training her when Fuzai showed up," Verto admitted.

"Then I recommend that you stop until you understand the situation a bit more. You see, every remaining Rotian has this energy, and the fact that it is very similar to those aboard the Marauder has me concerned. While I think that it's highly unlikely that they are Saiyans, I can't rule out the possibility. It is a potential threat," Frost explained.

Verto let that information sink in, "Well, you're not the only one concerned about it. Where are the other Rotians anyway? I'd like to examine them myself." Frost pressed another button and the video display zoomed out before moving away from the planet and stopping at a smaller world.

"I keep them on the fourth planet of this system for precautionary measures. It's a jungle based world, so they might be difficult to find," Frost claimed.

"I doubt it, but why aren't they in a lab or something. I'm not saying they should be, but that's where most investigations start, isn't it?" Verto asked.

"There was a lab on that world that was charged with studying them. They escaped and wrecked most of it, now I only keep a small monitoring station in orbit."

"That rebellious, huh? Well, I'd still like to go immediately," Verto said.

"I wouldn't exactly call it rebellious behavior, you'll see what I mean when we get there. I will join you," Frost replied as he moved towards the door.

**A/N: So, I'd say that about half of you expected something like this right off the bat, and the other half expected a war. Patience is a virtue.**

**WDG**: I expected talk, not war.

**VB**: I'm sure you'll get to that point where you'll expect one and get the other.


	57. The Rotian Survivors

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 56: The Rotian Survivors**

Verto remained on edge as he and Frost left the spaceship. He had kept his senses fixed on Frost for any sort of deception for most of the short trip. He didn't feel any malicious intent at all, but that didn't relieve his suspicion. Frost posted several guards both inside and outside the ship, while he and Verto proceeded alone.

"I suggest you fly, these Rotians have repeatedly attacked anyone that lands on the surface," Frost said.

"Thanks for your concern, but I will sense them coming before that scouter does. That is unless they can suppress it," Verto replied.

"Well then, I'll let you lead," Frost offered. Verto gave him a slight glare as he stepped forward into the trees. The forest around them was much like an Earth jungle, except that the trees and plants were mostly various shades of red, orange and purple.

They hadn't gone very far before Frost resumed the conversation, "They are usually found in the caves of the mountains ahead, but they have been known to attack randomly from the forests. Such savage creatures."

Verto's head snapped over so fast that Frost had a feeling that it would come off, "Savage? Is there anything else you would like to add to that? Maybe a monkey reference?"

"I meant no insult, let me explain. From what our scientist have gathered, this unstable Psionic energy has eroded the minds of every Rotian. I can provide you with visual records of their destabilization when we return," Frost explained.

"So they are basically rabid animals now?" Verto asked.

"If by rabid, you mean uncontrolled, then yes. One could say that they are similar to Saiyans in the Oozaru ape form that cannot control themselves," Frost continued.

Verto rubbed his chin slightly, _So they all assume that Berserker state? Is it the same as mine?_ "Have any of them managed to snap out of it and return to normal?"

Frost glanced down at him with a confused expression, "No, as far as we've been able to tell, the change is permanent. The Psionic power level increases by a fair amount, but it doesn't appear to be anything like the Super Saiyan state that you and the others have. Although that might be inaccurate with someone who could control this power." Verto grimaced and considered how he would reply to that as they entered a thicker part of the forest.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up finally, "Can I ask you something?"

Frost didn't turn, "What is it?"

"If you've deemed these crazed Rotians a threat, why have you let them live? It doesn't sound like something you or your family would do," Verto pointed out.

Frost snorted slightly, "They're not a threat as long as they're isolated to only this planet. Without technology or the inherit ability to think, they won't be anything to worry about. Besides, if they are indeed connected to these Renegades, I can study them for possible solutions. I am not my father after all, I do not have to follow in his flawed footsteps."

"I guess I can't argue with that, but whether or not you're like your father is still to be determined," Verto blurted out before wincing at his mental error.

"You sound as if you've met my father. What did you do, get lost in the bowels of hell?" Frost asked, amused. _Well, guess it can't hurt if he already knows about the Dragonballs. _

"I have met him several times actually. Almost none of those meetings went peacefully," Verto admitted.

"Is he still the same weakling as he was years ago?" Frost asked with a vile tone.

"I'd say he's stronger than he was, but let's just say that unlike a few others I know, he learned to keep his distance from me. For reference, you are quite a bit stronger than him," Verto replied. Frost's eyes narrowed at this, but he didn't turn or say anything as they continued onward. The odd pair trekked another mile or so on foot before Verto detected something nearby. Frost turned on his scouter the moment Verto stopped and turned to his right.

"It's within one hundred meters. Perhaps your senses are not as fine tuned as you believed," Frost sneered.

"Lay off, I just now noticed it. It's not like your scouter was actively searching," Verto countered.

"Its Psionic level reads thirty-thousand, very little threat for the two of us," Frost claimed.

"I wouldn't trust that reading to completely match your standards. It's a very potent energy in case you forgot," Verto said. Frost chuckled and remained relaxed while Verto tensed up. The sounds of rustling bushes and snapped twigs were a prelude to the newcomer. It leapt from the brush, heading straight for Frost despite Verto being closer. The experienced alien phased out at the last moment, and the confused creature landed on all fours before turning around. Verto recognized the furry tail immediately, as well as the humanoid features. This particular Rotian was male with brown hair and a rather battered looking face. Verto saw that his eyes had indeed become a glossy red color, but they seemed a bit dull. He felt out the energy level, noticing it was lower than he had previously sensed, but still emitting a lot of rage. The Rotian jumped at Frost again as Verto turned to the other direction.

"Don't tell me this weakling frightens you?" Frost laughed.

"He's not alone, there are others," Verto replied with a glare. Another Rotian appeared in the high tree branches, this time featuring light orange hair. It too had an enraged expression directed towards Frost. Frost himself was still dodging the first attacker, apparently toying with him.

"Are there any more?" Frost called out.

"You're the one with the scouter," Verto said as he crossed his arms.

Frost scowled, "It hasn't been fine tuned to separate Psionic power signals. The sensors on the home planet are more advanced."

Verto looked to his left, "I'd say two more at least." Another Rotian male with dark blue hair jumped from the trees directly behind Frost, but missed badly when the changeling phased out.

Verto grimaced, _These guys can't control it, no way. Just as I thought, they are just rabid animals like this. Although, I doubt they'd be able to even touch Frost anyway unless he got extremely careless._ Frost leapt into the air and stayed there while all three Rotians merely glanced up and growled at him. Verto heard leaves rustling again just before another Rotian, a female this time, jumped from a treetop. Frost swatted the attack away easily, and she landed with the others. This one also had brown hair, and a similar enough appearance that allowed Verto to assume that she was related to the first one. Once it was clear that Frost was going to stay in the air, the Rotians dashed towards the trees and climbed up. Frost looked half amused and half bored, but made no movement. They reached his altitude quickly and resumed their attack. This time, all four attacked at once from both sides. Frost vanished at the very last moment and the Rotians all collided with each other.

Frost landed a few feet away from Verto while the Rotians fell into a pile, "Quite useless without a brain, aren't they?" Verto gave him another slight glare, but didn't answer while the four Rotians picked themselves up. _Frost could have buried them all with a look. He must be waiting for me to act on this, perhaps as a test. Well too bad for him, I'm not letting anything slip out if I can help it. I'd be much more interested in helping them if I can._

Verto focused his attention on all four demi-Saiyans, but turned slightly to direct his words, "So why are you drawing this out? We both know you could have wiped them out with little effort."

"I wanted to see your strength. These pitiful specimens are obviously a poor choice of opposition, but in return I granted your request to come here," Frost admitted.

"I see, too bad they're so focused on you," Verto pointed out.

"Yes, that is a pity. We should change that," Frost suggested. He suddenly vanished and appeared far above the tree canopy. Verto guessed that it was via instant transmission, because the Rotians completely lost him this time. The humanoid growling that followed clearly said that the Rotians had changed targets. Verto stared them down carefully, as no one moved an inch for several minutes. During this time, Verto scanned them over and over again, getting a better feel for the unstable Psi energy pulsing from them. With each passing moment he became more convinced that they had gone beyond all reasoning, especially since they attacked without being provoked in the first place.

_Then again, I'd be pissed at him too for blowing up my home world, just like his father. But that doesn't mean that they can't return to normal. They're just consumed by rage and it's certainly justified, surely there's a way to help them. But I don't think the Feedback technique would be enough in this case, they wouldn't be able to calm themselves down or suppress something they can't control._ Verto's thought process was put on hold when one of the Rotians flinched. All four collided at his position, but never touched him. Verto didn't hesitate and swooped down from the air, cracking the blue haired Rotian in the back of the head and knocking him out. Both of the brown-haired hybrids were met with swift kicks to the jaw at the same time, grounding them as well. The last one lunged towards Verto and clawed at his head, only to hit a thin blue energy shield. _God damn it._ Verto turned in annoyance and allowed his power to surge outwards. The orange-headed Saiyan flew backwards and smashed through a few trees before slumping down.

Verto couldn't help but feel a bit angry, _Maybe I should have just let him hit me, but no, I just had to follow my instincts just like he did. _Frost landed nearby, chuckling slightly at the scene.

Verto's mood didn't improve upon seeing him, "What's so funny?"

Frost struggled to contain his laughter, "Oh just a joke my father told me years ago, you probably wouldn't find any humor in it. I suppose we should find you a stronger opponent next time."

"You could fight me yourself if you're so eager to learn, but I wouldn't advise it," Verto blurted out, regretting it immediately.

"Tempting, however I would not want to waste my efforts, nor resources. We're going to take these four back to the home planet for further study. Preparations and precautions have already been taken. I have shown you some of my good faith in this endeavor, now there are two things I ask of you, if you're willing," Frost said.

Verto bit his lip, "Such as?"

"We need to capture one of the Renegade Saiyans alive to compare to the Rotians. I want to find out if they are connected genetically. You will assist a combat team that will depart in a few days time. We have anticipated where the Marauder will show up next and I plan to be waiting for them. I don't expect to find them all at once, but if it comes to an all out battle, we will defeat them. If not, we shall proceed with the mission," Frost explained.

Verto nodded, "I agree with that. I'd like to see if I can help these people also, there are beneficial ways to use Psi energy. I might be able to help them recover their conscious minds at least, but I'm not sure at the moment."

Frost frowned slightly, "I'm quite curious to see that. As for the other minor duty…" Verto's alertness shot through the roof when Frost paused, though there was no hint at of an attack coming. _I really don't like the way he's looking at me._

"I need your full cooperation in these endeavors. Therefore, I cannot have you going back to Earth, even when this is over," Frost said sternly.

Verto's eyebrow lifted up, "And just what is going to keep me here?"

"Knowledge is power. If you attempt escape, I cannot promise the safety of your planet," Frost warned.

"You called me all the way out here for blackmail?" Verto asked with a raised voice.

Frost remained slightly more composed, "No, I wanted Son Gohan here, but I have since realized that he probably wouldn't have cooperated anyway."

Verto's glare filled with malice, "Threats don't generate cooperation."

"Oh, I think it will. You may not fear your own death, but what about the girl?" Frost asked. Verto felt himself on the verge of slipping already and all they had done was talked. _Calm down! Maintain control no matter what he says. I can't lose control of myself out here no matter what happens. Even if it means I have to work with him for awhile._

Verto sighed heavily, "In case you've forgotten, there are ways around death. Killing me or her won't do you any good."

Frost's frown deepened, "Alright, suppose you're right and I allow you two to not only live, but return unharmed. How long do you think that Earth could remain safe before I personally lay waste to it from outer space? I wouldn't even have to get near the planet to turn it into dust." Verto's eyes threatened to change color, prompting Frost to pay a bit more attention when they flashed red for the briefest moment.

Verto raised his ki level, but not in an overly threatening way all things considered, "My advice to you is not to underestimate the situation. You aren't as safe in space as you might think."

Verto took another deep breath as Frost appeared to be at a loss for words. _Don't lose it! Showing him Super Mystic is one thing, he already knows about it. Going Berserker on him would be very bad._ _It would for sure mean the end of the remaining Rotians even if I survived this. Someone like him won't be as easily deceived or defeated as that android was. _

"So, is that all you have to say to that?" Frost asked. Verto had to think quickly, Frost was running out of patience.

"I agree to your first stipulation. I'll help you out, if you allow me to return to Earth later with the Rotians and if you agree to leave Earth alone. It will solve two of your problems and keep a war from spilling out. The others on Earth won't be willing to bargain, but I doubt they'd come all the way out here to make trouble either. They've had their chances," Verto offered.

"You make a good point. Although I find it very entertaining, a Saiyan bargaining for peace?" Frost laughed.

"Think what you want. But know that while I'm not as strong as some others, I am just as dangerous to cross. I may not show it, but I left my gentle nature behind awhile ago, whatever was left of it," Verto replied.

"Now who's issuing the threats?" Frost taunted.

"Take it or leave it. I don't really care which one," Verto growled. Frost kept his amused expression, which only fueled anger from the other direction. Verto's ki level remained eerily steady as his eyes flashed red again, making Frost a bit tense even as they changed back. He seemed concerned about it, but didn't advance the issue even as Verto tried to calm himself down.

"Very well, I will consider your assistance to be temporary. You should feel both relieved and honored. It is not often that the ruler of an empire requires the help of a peasant," Frost claimed.

Verto turned as he gritted his teeth at the insult, "Don't think so little of me despite my appearance. That would be a catastrophic mistake." Both warriors fell silent while waiting for the empire soldiers to arrive for the Rotians.

* * *

Lenz slowly munched on something that resembled a turkey leg while remaining quiet. Fuzai sat across the table from her, slightly puzzled by her behavior in the noisy bar.

"What's the problem?" he asked.

Lenz didn't even look up, "Nothing."

"Wrong answer sis, I can still read you like a book," Fuzai claimed.

Lenz grunted in annoyance, "Well Mister 'I know all there is to know', I'm sure you can guess."

"You're worried about the runt leaving alone with Lord Frost," Fuzai replied. Lenz nodded, causing her brother to snort in annoyance.

"If Lord Frost was just going to waste his time and bring him all the way out here just to kill him, he'd have done it already. It's not like he was the right one anyway, maybe he sees an opportunity," Fuzai pointed out. His eyes narrowed as he thought about it more though.

"Yeah, I know all that. But this whole thing seems fishy to me," Lenz said.

"Tell me, how long have you known that kid anyway?" Fuzai asked.

"I met him a few days after I got killed. Why? I know I told you that already," Lenz grunted slightly.

"I have my doubts that he's trustworthy. I can't quite tell what it is, but I don't like the feeling I get from him. There's something about his eyes that isn't normal," Fuzai said.

Lenz glanced up, "Oh you saw the red eyes didn't you?"

"He's done that before?" Fuzai asked in surprise.

"A few times, you're right, it's scary when he does that. There was one time that he did it and basically turned into a monster. Then he became possessed by something and tried to kill me, that was a crazy day!" Lenz proclaimed as she tore another piece of meat off and chewed it.

"Wait, he can control it?" Fuzai shuddered as he asked.

"I don't think so, not completely. He was working on it before you showed up though. I think he has better control over it when he's not powered up or anything. Or maybe it's the other way around," Lenz explained.

Fuzai gulped slightly when Lenz looked away, "I see."

She snapped her head back quickly, "Wait a sec, how did you know about that?" Fuzai fumbled through his own thoughts for an answer, but didn't need one before her attention was diverted to a few new arrivals.

"Oh great, what do they want?" she grumbled.

"It's a public bar, and I doubt anyone wants to tell them no," Fuzai pointed out.

"Don't remind me, I have bad enough memories about this place," Lenz muttered. The group in question spotted the two half Saiyans quickly and moved in their direction. Lenz noted that Bojack was not with his crew for once, but that didn't ease much of her tension as Zangya bent over slightly to look Lenz in the eye from a few feet away.

"Look what got left behind!" she laughed.

Lenz scowled, "Go away."

"I'd like to see you force me," Zangya dared. Lenz growled immediately but merely turned her head.

"Why does Lord Frost bother with these monkeys anyway?" Gokua asked as he held his sword over his shoulder.

"It is not our place to question Lord Frost's motives. Master Bojack says to follow him, and so we shall until he says otherwise. This alliance has benefited us greatly," Bujin explained. Gokua grunted a wordless reply while Bido chuckled a bit.

"I'm with you Gokua, these apes are worthless to us. Though I'm sure this one might be useful, perhaps in more ways then one!" Bido claimed. He sat down and slipped his hand under the table towards Lenz, until she slapped it away from her leg.

"Hands off!" she shouted at him.

"A feisty one, I like that," Bido said as he leaned across the table.

Lenz stood up, "Then go find another before I pound your face into mush!"

"Now that wouldn't be very becoming of a nice, tight, little girl like you," Bido said.

Zangya chuckled, "Are you kidding? There's no way she's anything but loose, you know her background!"

"Well that's the point isn't it? How about a friendly contest in the arena, let's say in an hour. If you win, we can forget about this, but if you lose, you spend the night with me. And I take that pretty little necklace from its cozy spot. It won't be the only thing I take tonight!" Bido snickered.

Lenz supplied a grin, "Fine, you're on!"

Fuzai shot her a look, "No Lenz!"

"It's okay. I'm a Super Saiyan remember? I can handle this creep, no problem!"

**A/n: An alliance you say? Surely there's no way that it could work! Well, you're probably right about that, but let's give it a try before it completely implodes.**


	58. Shaky Alliance

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 57: Shaky Alliance**

Lenz stood across from the larger green alien, scowling deeply at him. Bido's grin seemed to widen as the moments passed as he remained still with his arms crossed. While both were actually brimming with confidence, only Bido showed it. Lenz was in the midst of a mental debate on whether she should beat him up slowly or quickly.

"I'll let you have the first move, little girl," Bido offered. Lenz cringed in anger and flew straight at him with her fist leading. Bido caught it and the last moment and his grin didn't waver.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that, but I do like my women strong. That way the beating they take later won't kill them," Bido laughed. Lenz's other hand glowed briefly before she fired a blue ki beam straight at Bido's vanishing face. Lenz landed and crouched down in a defensive stance as she searched for him. She didn't feel his presence until she was knocked down from behind by his charging shoulder. Lenz got up quickly, her face and armor already dirty as her lip bled.

"Hahaha, good good! You're pretty and strong, but this level is still pathetic. Give up now!" Bido suggested.

Lenz scoffed at this, "We haven't even started yet!" Her bright blue aura surged to life, causing a few cracks in the rough ground around her. Bido barely reacted to this as he sat back to observe. Lenz returned his smirk with one of her own before she charged at him again. Bido stood ready to face the next attack and swung into an after-image. Bido quickly spun around, where Lenz's boot was waiting for his head. Bido shrugged off the blow and countered with a hard fist into Lenz's left side. Even though it was a glancing blow, Lenz still felt that a rib or two had cracked when she fell. Lenz backed off while holding her side, wincing slightly with her next few breaths.

Bido chuckled lightly, "Whoops, that wouldn't have been good if I had actually aimed for your heart. If that's all you have, you should stop. I promise to be gentle!" From the side of the arena, the rest of Bojack's crew stood by, watching along with Fuzai.

"What a waste of time," Zangya muttered, "Bido is just going to play with his toys again!"

"I also do not see the point of continuing this fight. However, letting Bido have his foolish fun is usually better in the long run. Surely I do not need to point out that night with you a few months ago?" Bujin asked as he grinned slightly.

"Argh! Don't remind me of that! One time deal, it'll never happen again!" Zangya growled back.

Gokua looked more bored than the others, "He should have let me have some fun!" Fuzai scowled a bit but said nothing while watching his sister ponder her next step. He didn't need a scouter to know that if Lenz didn't do something soon, the contest was decided. Lenz sighed heavily and appeared to relax herself as she closed her eyes.

Bido smiled wider, "Wise choice."

Lenz slowly pulled a string from around her neck, taking her brother's gift off before she tossed it to him, "Hold onto that for me."

Fuzai caught it with concern, "You really shouldn't do this."

"I'm not going to break it while I'm fighting! Besides, it was starting to tickle," Lenz said as she returned the frown.

Bido's laughter continued, "Oh don't worry, I'll take care of it for you. And then I'll tickle you all night long now that you give up!"

Lenz's head snapped towards Bido as her eyes flashed green, "You think I'm giving up? No way!" Lenz's aura exploded outwards with golden hues while the entire cave shook just slightly, dropping a few rocks from the ceiling. Bido shielded himself from the force of her Super Saiyan ki.

"What the hell?" Zangya shouted.

"Her energy just skyrocketed, incredible power is being emitted. And this transformation, I think I've heard of this before, or something just like it," Bujin said. Fuzai stared in wonder as his sister made all four of the henchmen pay much more attention. The arena settled as Lenz remained determined, her golden aura easing back down around her.

Bido cracked a smirk, "Am I supposed to be scared now?"

"You should be," Lenz warned. She promptly phased out and caught Bido unprepared with a fist to his jaw. Bido's shocked and painful expression held for several seconds, more than long enough for Lenz to bury a kick into his side. Bido crashed into the furthest wall with a dull thud, leaving a nearly two-foot indention. Bido seethed with anger as he crawled out, a complete reversal of the past several minutes.

"You'll pay for that one! No one makes a fool out of me, no one!" he snarled. Lenz could feel Bido's energy level rise quickly and backed into a defensive stance. _He's going to charge me, do I attack first or do I wait and counter? Little brother would say to be patient and look for the opening. I see it now, but I don't think I should rush in, he might have a hidden weapon like that Etarb guy had._ Lenz's attentive thoughts were interrupted when Bido flew at her quickly. Lenz instinctively dropped to the ground just as Bido reached her. He stopped in midair and looked down in time to see a pair of boots coming. Lenz pushed off the ground as she kicked upwards into Bido's stomach, sending him high into the air. She used her momentum to flip right side up and land on her feet. Bido managed to stop once he saw the ceiling coming closer and hovered for a moment, enraged. From the side, Fuzai noticed mixed reactions from the other henchmen.

"Bido is getting sloppy already, the idiot underestimated her! He always does this!" Zangya complained.

"I find it to be quite interesting that the girl would have a power like this. I assumed she was a weakling, but that doesn't appear to be the case," Bujin commented.

"I suppose this means that we'll have to help him," Zangya groaned.

"I would rather enjoy watching Bido lose in this manner," Bujin replied.

"This is so boring, I hope he loses soon so I can take over!" Gokua whined. Fuzai took note of their reactions, slightly concerned that Lenz would end up fighting more than one of them. At the same time, he was amazed that she was even able to keep up with Bido. He was said to be the strongest of the four, but he also appeared to be the dumbest. Fuzai was so amazed that he didn't hear someone much more menacing sneak up behind him.

"Well well, what do we have here?"

Zangya turned and bowed in tune with the others, "Master Bojack!" Fuzai joined them on the ground within a half second, completely startled.

"Master, we are currently observing a fight between Bido and the Rotian girl!" Bujin pointed out.

"Your talent for stating the obvious has never ceased to amaze me Bujin, nor has it ceased to annoy me," Bojack said with a slight frown.

"My apologies master!" A brief shockwave went off, brightening the room as Lenz and Bido scuffled again, resulting in her catching him in the back of the head.

"So this girl is one of those Super Saiyans I've heard about eh? Not bad, despite being an amateur. I might decide to have some fun with her later, or perhaps the boy. I assume that Bido instigated this match?" Bojack asked.

Zangya nodded, "Should we help him master?"

Bojack smirked slightly, "Possibly, let's see where this goes." Lenz remained focused on Bido despite the conversation taking place. It was difficult to notice Bojack enter the arena with all her attention on her opponent. After the last attack, she finally caught sight of him, which caused a wave of fury to wash over her. It might have been confused with fear by the way she shuddered, but that would have been far from accurate. Lenz wasn't sure if any of the others were going to jump in or not, thus she attacked cautiously even though she had the upper hand.

_I'd love to have a go with Bojack himself for blowing up Rotaria, but there's no way I can take them all, not without little brother here. I'm not even sure I can take Bojack anyway._ Lenz shifted back to Bido, who was shrugging off the pain of her previous hit. _First things first, drop this guy!_ Lenz charged up a small but powerful ball of ki as she flew forward, intent on finishing the match. Bido's eyes lit up in surprise before cringing in anger as he cast his arms forward. A vast spray of red ki bolts shot out at close range. Lenz managed to slow down and shift to her left to avoid them. In doing so, she lost track of Bido, who phased in behind her with a grin on his face. Lenz spun around just as multiple strings of lavender energy came out of his hands and entangled themselves around her. Lenz tried to break out, but struggled against the bonds. Bido laughed aloud as he continually channeled the technique.

"Finally, took him long enough to get serious!" Zangya declared.

Lenz struggled to even twitch, "What-what the hell is this?"

"Silly girl, it's our Barrier technique. I wouldn't bother struggling if I were you. You will only waste your energy!" Bujin claimed. Lenz didn't heed the warning and attempted to squirm loose, but to no avail. Her golden hair faded back to purple soon after as she lost energy.

"That was anticlimactic, pity. I would have rather enjoyed a longer battle," Bojack said as he turned to leave. A loud howl of rage came from Lenz as she continued to struggle against the energy bonds.

"Don't bother, you've already lost too much energy to take me on!" Bido laughed. He phased out and clobbered Lenz in the side of the head. Lenz screamed in agony as she hit the ground, bleeding from the temple and still unable to move. Bido landed next to her, kicking her torso for good measure. Lenz groaned painfully as all the air in her lungs was forced out, leaving her wheezing.

Fuzai jumped up, "That's enough!"

Bido glanced over and chuckled, "I'll decide when it's enough! Just who do you think you are, giving me orders?" Fuzai didn't answer as the others gazed over.

"You're welcome to join her here on the ground if you want, otherwise stay there like a good little monkey!" Bido ordered. Bido then bent down and grabbed Lenz by the throat. Lenz gagged as she was hurled into the air. Bido followed and rushed by her before dropping an axe kick into her back. Lenz smacked the ground hard and didn't move afterwards. Fuzai gasped aloud at this cruelty, but managed to hold position.

"I hope you're happy, now I can't have any fun," Gokua complained.

"Go sharpen your sword, she ain't dead, not yet," Bido pointed out as he smiled, "Then again, I can't promise anything will be left after tonight!" Fuzai growled slightly and dared to take a step forward. Zangya and Bujin surrounded him before he could even blink.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Since when do you care so much?" Zangya asked. Fuzai swallowed hard and backed down. Bido's grin widened as he reached down towards Lenz again and picked her up by the scruff of her jumpsuit. Lenz was still conscious as she opened her eyes, glaring for all she was worth at everyone else in the room.

"Is that runt as much of a pushover as you are?" Bido asked from behind her.

"You'll find out!" Lenz grumbled.

"Ha, I doubt it!" Bido claimed as he reached between her legs.

"Get off me!" Lenz growled.

Bido turned her around so he could look her in the eye, "I'll be taking my prize now!"

Lenz's eyes shifted color rather quickly, changing to a furious, glowing crimson, "I'll kill you!"

Bido chuckled, "Maybe, if you could!" He then slammed her into the ground, her head bouncing rather harshly before she lay still again. Bido continued to laugh as he reached down to grab her again. His arm stopped cold when a smaller glove grabbed a hold of his wrist.

"Huh?" Bido asked as he turned his head. Everyone piped up to see Verto next to Bido, but not looking at him.

"Back off, now!" Verto demanded. Bido attempted to throw the smaller boy off, but his arm wouldn't move.

"And I suppose you're going to make me?" Bido taunted.

Verto turned his head so he could glare into Bido's eye, "If you don't stop, you won't live." Blue and white energy rose from Verto just as he pulled Bido sideways. Bido's other hand opened to reveal a bright ki blast. Bido never got the shot off before his world was cracked in two by Verto's roundhouse kick to the midsection. He was completely knocked out by the blow, but his body hit the furthest wall before it dropped. The other henchmen were quite startled by this and jumped towards Verto, landing all around him. Just as they brought their palms up, all three were blown backwards by a powerful energy surge from their target. Gokua has the shortest trip and rebounded off the cave wall. He drew his metal sword and came down from the air, intent on splitting Verto's skull clean. He stopped when he only saw air beneath him. Right when Gokua turned, the rounded edge of Verto's Psi sword stopped an inch from his chin.

"If you even budge, off goes your head," Verto warned. Gokua froze in surprise and held his breath as he dropped his sword. This lasted for several seconds before the sound of someone else's applause ended the drama.

"That was certainly entertaining, albeit much too fast," Frost said from a high balcony as he clapped his hands.

Verto scowled up at Frost, "I'm not your personal jester. Tell these clowns to back the hell off before I drop all three of them! They're lucky I didn't already!" Frost chuckled and nodded, waving his hand. Verto pulled his blade away, allowing Gokua the space to breathe again.

Zangya started to protest, "But Lord Frost…"

Frost frowned, "I don't need to repeat myself, do I?" Zangya shook with fear and bowed her head obediently. Two guards came rushing down the provided stairs to check on Bido.

"Get those two to medical!" Frost ordered. One of the guards left to get such assistance. Verto's scowl remained directed at Frost for several seconds before he finally tended to Lenz.

* * *

Lenz was in recovery for only a few hours before she emerged, though thoroughly pissed off. Verto managed to get her to stay in the provided room for the remainder of the night, but felt concern for the days following when he wouldn't be there. After being treated to a decent meal, Frost sent Verto a message to meet him in the command center. Verto hung back for a few minutes before answering the summons.

"No more fights while we're here, and certainly not while I'm not around! Train all you want, but I'm not going to be able to come to your rescue all the time," Verto said sternly. Lenz muttered a silent grumble, but nodded.

Verto then turned to Fuzai, "She stays safe while I'm gone, you got that? Keep her out of trouble!"

"Are you kidding me, like I'm going to be able to stop…" Fuzai stopped dead when Verto's hot glare seemed to melt his nerves.

Verto promptly left and made for the command room. Frost was waiting there patiently, along with an extremely familiar looking person. The bulky form wasn't as much of a surprise as the overall likeness to someone else.

"Ginyu?" Verto blurted out before he was able to stop. He wasn't a complete match to the former purple captain, rather his skin was more of a true blue color. Aside from that, it was the only difference.

"I'm afraid that you're mistaken, though I find it interesting that you knew that fool," Frost claimed.

"I've run into him, but not much. He's still alive, but you'd have a tough time finding him among all the other toads on Earth," Verto replied carefully.

"Indeed? This is Miruk, who as you have probably deduced, is part of the same species. He will accompany you and the others on the mission, as captain of the guard. We'll take my capitol ship, so I will be joining you as well," Frost declared.

"Oh lucky me, who else is on this little trip?" Verto asked.

Frost lightly shook his head, "So untrustworthy. Lord Bojack and his men will lead the team, you will assist them."

Verto gave Miruk a cold stare, "And him too?"

Frost nodded and grinned as he turned around, "Of course."

"Don't try anything tricky," Verto warned.

"Do I make you nervous?" Miruk asked. Verto didn't answer as they continued to lock eyes.

Frost seemed to take note of the slight tension, "We leave in two days, feel free to continue your Rotian investigation. I offer any assistance that you may require." Verto took the hint and left the room, heading for the lab at Frost's direction.

* * *

Verto stared at the caged creature intently, as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle. The crazed Rotian snarled back at him and anyone else who dared to step closer. The other three Rotians were being held in adjacent cells with a clear front wall, and each was behaving in a similar manner. _I don't get it. This can't be a simple matter of genetics. If it were, then it would have affected all of them since birth. And why doesn't it affect Lenz or her brother? If they all went crazy like this after the planet was destroyed, surely those two would have as well. The only reason I can think of is that whatever this is hasn't manifested itself in either of them yet._

Frost came up from behind, "Intriguing mystery isn't it?"

"A confusing one," Verto admitted.

"Yes indeed. As you may have deduced, the girl and Fuzai are not immune to this. It's only a matter of time before they succumb to it. I'm quite surprised that they haven't already," Frost said.

"Yeah I can't figure that out either." Verto stared at Frost's taller form through the reflective glass; _Don't tell me he reads minds too?_

"Have you discovered anything else with your keen intellect?" Frost asked.

Verto scowled at the sarcasm, "Nothing of any worthy attention. I do have a question though, your father killed them all once before, right?"

"Correct, and then they mysteriously returned to life. I would guess by use of these Dragonballs I've heard about," Frost said with a nod.

Verto held his tongue for a brief second, "However that happened, why did he leave the planet itself alone?"

Frost paused, "I'm not sure. I never considered that."

Verto gritted his teeth, _I knew I should have looked into that while I was in the Pendulum Room, damn it!_

"Father never said why he left the planet alone, but it isn't the first time he's destroyed a species while leaving the planet intact. He certainly didn't leave planet Vegita that way. Perhaps he saw value in it before his unceremonious end," Frost suggested.

"Was there anything there that was valuable? Maybe priceless gems or a rare mineral ore?"

Frost turned to look down at Verto directly, "Nothing we would need. It did have very curious crystal formations in some of the underground caves, but nothing of value to the empire. No abnormal energy readings were detected at the time either."

"You mean, not until after Rotaria was destroyed?" Verto asked.

"Correct."

Verto grimaced slightly, "Alright, we know that there's something connecting the Rotians and the supposed Saiyans from the Marauder, or at least we think there is, right?"

"Yes, so far."

"But the Rotarians themselves originally had special abilities as well, or did I hear wrong?" Verto pointed out.

Frost snorted, "So you suspect that the Rotarian bloodline might have something to do with this, I highly doubt it. Need I remind you that you're also a Saiyan with an abnormal condition, and you're not one of them are you?"

Verto grunted slightly, "I'm not suggesting anything, I know where my 'condition' started. I'm just trying to figure this out. If the original inhabitants were alive, we might be able to find out, need I remind you."

Frost seemed amused by the verbal counter, "Possibly. I have my doubts that they would have cooperated in that regard. They were a spiritual type of people."

"Spiritual? Wait, they were religious?" Verto asked as his eyes narrowed.

"In a sense, I never bothered to learn anything about it. But they weren't willing to give up such secret beliefs either," Frost replied.

"But they were willing to help you make a crossbred species?"

Frost nodded, "Odd isn't it?"

"Yeah it is. Can you have someone let me know if anything here changes?" Verto inquired.

"Yes, but why? I doubt anything will change."

Verto stepped back for a moment, "I have a hunch on this, but I need to speak to Fuzai, alone."

**A/n: And the mystery continues…**


	59. The Last Rotarian

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 58: The Last Rotarian**

Verto walked back to his room at a rather brisk pace some four hours after leaving it. Upon entering though, a sharp gasp accompanying the particular condition of the girl it came from caused him to turn and cover his eyes.

"Damn it Lenz, put some clothes on!" he growled.

"Not my fault, I though _you_ were leaving with _your_ new friends!" Lenz fired back, clearly agitated.

"Not for a few days, and they're not my friends. You were bathing four hours ago, why the hell were you prancing around naked? Wait a sec, don't tell me that you and your brother…" Verto asked as he let his words bounce off the wall.

"No! Why would you think about something like that?" Lenz screeched. Verto rolled his eyes, _Gee, I wonder._

"Never mind, where is Fuzai anyway? I need to speak with him," Verto stated.

"I dunno, he said he'd be back soon but that was right after you left. I've been relaxing in the bath until a few minutes ago," Lenz claimed.

"Doing god knows what, I imagine," Verto muttered as his eyes shifted to the left, scanning the area for Fuzai. The large number of powerful ki signals made him difficult to locate. It took Verto nearly a minute to find Fuzai, and he wasn't very close by. As he was searching, Lenz came up behind him, wrapped in a loosely hanging towel as she draped her arms around Verto's neck.

"The bath water is still hot," Lenz whispered into his ear.

Verto stepped forward, out of her reach, "I don't have time for that. Can you sense where your brother went?"

Lenz frowned with disappointment as she stepped up beside him and glanced upwards, "I dunno, feels like the dungeon."

"I was just at the holding cells at the lab, he wasn't there," Verto argued.

"Yeah, there's an actual dungeon here too, a really old one. Whoever Frost wants to suffer for awhile gets put there until he decides to kill them I guess. Go down the hall, take the third right and then the first left. You'll see the way down. I wonder if he's visiting someone…" Lenz put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. When she did, Verto had to resist the urge to look over when her towel slipped down a little further.

He tried to stay on subject instead, "Maybe your brother is in charge of torture, or maybe he's receiving some. Can't say it would bother me."

"Hmmm, he might be talking to Yogen. I used to visit that poor old man, but he wasn't very nice to me most of the time," Lenz said.

"Who is Yogen?" Verto asked.

"Some old man that Frost has kept locked down there for years. I think he was originally Frieza's prisoner. Still don't know what he did, but apparently it was worthy of some sort of formal death sentence. I'm amazed that they haven't carried it out," Lenz explained.

"Frost doesn't strike me as the inefficient type. There must be some reason, and I'll find out what it is," Verto replied as he stepped towards the door.

Lenz's arms wrapped around his neck again, chest bumping against his shoulder, "I'll keep the bath going for when you get back!"

Verto scowled, "Don't bother, I'm not here to relax and you know that. You really should focus on your own mental training, because you don't want to be caught off guard again when shit finally hits the fan around here!" Verto left a slightly startled Lenz in the room alone.

She managed a grin though despite the brash comment, "Heh, alright little brother, I'll prove myself to you yet!"

* * *

Verto followed Lenz's directions, but it took quite a time to find the right way. After going into easily two-dozen rooms, he found an old, dimly lit stairwell carved out of rock similar to the arena. Verto stepped in cautiously, going down through the poor lighting for what ended up being several flights before it leveled out at the bottom. _Got the dungeon part right._ There was only one door there, next to a flaming torch. Verto heard Fuzai's voice coming from it and proceeded inside. The conversation came to an abrupt end when Verto opened the door.

"What do you want now, brat?" Fuzai grunted.

Verto cast his eyebrow up at the taller demi-Saiyan, "Looking for you, I've got a few questions." Verto then noticed whom Fuzai had been speaking to. Behind an earth-style set of prison bars sat an old humanoid man that had a startling resemblance to Master Roshi. The only real differences were that his man had an ancient, wrinkled appearance and had squinted eyes.

"What do we have here Fuzai? Another of your lost race?" he asked in a cracking, high-pitched voice.

"Not exactly," Fuzai replied. The old man studied Verto more thoroughly than the younger boy would have liked. For the briefest moment, Verto sensed a very small amount of energy float through the air. This moment was interrupted by another in the next cell down.

"You! You get me the hell out of here! I hate this place! All the drama these stupid people bring on their own shitty lives sickens me!"

Verto gave the red alien inside a partially confused grimace before glancing at Fuzai, "What the hell is his problem?"

Before he could answer, the alien piped up again, "Did you just swear about me, in front of me? Why don't you say it to my face you little shit!"

Fuzai grunted, "Let's just say he has a habit of insulting the wrong people and then has a problem with the rebuttal, just a damn hypocrite if you ask me."

"Yeah, I think I know more than one in the room," Verto grumbled.

"He's also guilty of breaking into the brothel and disrupting another patron's…entertainment. This was after he was the only paying customer to ever be turned away," Fuzai explained.

"Oh, one of those types of people that fail at life and feel the need to share his misery with others?" Verto asked. Fuzai merely nodded and Verto turned back to the red alien.

He stepped towards the bars around the prison cell, letting the alien get a good eyeful, "Do me a favor, shut the fuck up before I personally remove your voice from the conversation." The alien went nuts and got within inches of Verto despite the presence of the metal bars.

"Oh yeah, what are you gonna do about it runt? I'd take you with both arms tied and both eyes closed!" he claimed.

Verto stepped back and presented a half grin, half scowl, "I'm probably not going to do anything, but that's my choice. You on the other hand have no choice but to sit there and slowly rot for the rest of your life, however long that is. Maybe instead of continuing to fail, you should try to better yourself and not treat others with disrespect. You might be surprised by the results."

"What the hell would you know about it, shrimp? I bet you're still wetting the bed!" Verto's bottom lip twisted slightly in anger, which caused Fuzai to step backwards.

"Well, we could go with option two. That's where I make good on my threat, come in there and tear you apart. I'll leave you in near-death agony and take whatever your people call a voice box since that's the only part of your miserable life that might be worth something to you. Then you really will have lost everything. So, you want to push your luck or not?" Verto asked in a raised tone. The alien seemed to take the words to heart, and backed down quietly.

Verto shook his head slightly as he went back to the previous cell, "I really can't stand people like that."

"You really can't stand a lot of people can you?" Fuzai asked, amused.

Verto sighed, "The list seems to get bigger by the day, who's the old man?"

The prisoner in question spoke up before Fuzai had a chance, "Interesting past you have, boy. Not so bright a future I expect, but it won't be boring at least."

"How would you know anything about me? Unless…" Verto paused shortly before coming to a very quick conclusion from the earlier clues, "You're Rotarian aren't you?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. It really is irrelevant now when that species is down to one old man and a handful of hybrid monsters!"

Verto blinked in slight confusion while Fuzai scowled, "Meet Yogen. I doubt you have to guess what his ability is."

"A prophet, great. As if I haven't run across enough of those. So, why is he locked up down here? I thought all Rotarians were dead?" Verto asked.

Fuzai started to answer, but Yogen cut him off, "What of it little Saiyan? Why would you be concerned at all?"

Verto's head snapped towards him, "Because I'm trying to solve a few mysteries and believe it or not, I do care. However, if you want to spend whatever's left of your life rotting in there, then by all means."

The old man grinned, showing that he had very few teeth left, "I find you amusing, I'm sure Frost does as well. I've been 'rotting' here as you say for well over thirty standard years, much longer than that fool over there. It was the tyrant Frieza's doing."

"Why?"

"When those with power hear something they don't want to hear, they typically take action. Frieza headed my warning to leave planet Rotaria alone, and he did. For that, I was imprisoned for the remainder of my life," Yogen explained.

"Whatever, all your people were killed off anyway if my facts are correct, well except you," Verto pointed out.

"Frost did that, Frieza merely wiped out the half-monkey scum that was left over. He came to me about the legend of the Super Saiyan many years ago you see, and I told him that a great destroyer would emerge from the crossbreeding of species if the planet was ever destroyed. This great destroyer will bring chaos and destruction to a universe that has too much of it already. Frieza may have been ignorant, but being the superstitious being that he was, he left the planet alone. Obviously Frost did not. Soon, all will pay, and pay dearly!" Yogen continued.

"And you think that this 'great destroyer' is a Super Saiyan?" Verto asked.

"Listen to my words boy, don't move them around. I have no idea what this ender of life will look like; I merely sense the outcomes of events as well as their turning points. And it will be because of you that this galaxy and everything beyond it is wiped out!"

Verto's eyebrows shifted again, "I think you're letting your imagination run wild. Maybe you should be checked for dementia."

"Oh? The way I see it, there's only one way to stop this catastrophe from happening, allies and enemies must unite. Your alliance with Lord Frost must remain intact, or all will be lost. Even if it holds, I fear that the wrong decisions will be made, and in turn, you will be the one responsible for it!" Yogen claimed as he pointed his finger straight at Verto.

Verto's face went completely serious while Fuzai scoffed, "Crazy old codger isn't he?"

Yogen then pointed at Fuzai, "And you, you will be the reason he splits the alliance! A split that will be with _your own flesh and blood_!"

"Shut up about that rubbish! It's not important! I didn't come down here to listen to your damn prophecies!" Fuzai shouted back.

"Then why did you?" Verto asked.

Fuzai glanced at Verto in surprise, "Not that it's any of your concern, I was going to ask him where to find more of these." Fuzai then pulled a small yellow gem from around his neck, one that resembled Lenz's but was shaped a bit differently.

Yogen snorted, "You have one of those eh? I knew you were full of deceit Saiyan, but I didn't think you were such a thief as well!"

Fuzai took particular offense to that, "I did not steal it! It was one of two family heirlooms that my parents gave to me. My sister has the other one."

Yogen grinned again, "Your sister is that pretty purple headed girl with the perky chest right? I always enjoyed it whenever she visited me." Both Verto and Fuzai scowled as Yogen's nose dripped red for a brief moment, but said nothing.

Yogen's happy moment didn't last, "You Saiyan thieves are all around us! Your cursed breed should never have touched something so pure! I do know where these gems came from, but it's a moot point. May I make a suggestion? Never take it off, and tell your sister to keep hers on as well. Oh the sight of a pretty necklace squeezed in-between those massive…" Yogen's nose bled again immediately.

Fuzai blew up, "Enough about my sister you filthy old lecher! As for me, I'll do what I please. Now where can I find more of these gems?"

Yogen remained calm, "On Rotaria." Fuzai grumbled a moment before turning around and punching the wall.

Verto chuckled and shook his head, "It's just a gem, what's the big deal? You don't look like someone who wants jewelry, unless you're a bit fruity."

"It's not for that, idiot!" Fuzai snapped back.

"Then enlighten me," Verto replied.

"Hold it for a moment," Fuzai said as he handed the gem to Verto.

He looked the gem over, feeling nothing unusual, "So…what is it supposed to do?"

Fuzai winced slightly for no apparent reason; "Now try to channel your rage like you did to me. You can control that unstable energy right? Well let's see it!"

"I can't control it completely, and I'm not bringing that out unless I really have to," Verto said simply.

Fuzai gritted his teeth in anger, "Just do it, you'll understand in a moment. Hurry it up!" Verto shrugged his shoulders a bit before tensing up. His deathly glare intensified, but nothing immediately changed.

When a small gray aura sprung up, Verto stopped in confusion, "I didn't feel any change, but at the same time, I couldn't feel it. It's hard to explain, but it's like a dam of power trying to break through, only this time it had no chance. It also helps if I'm able to suppress my ki, somehow it usually cancels the effect. Let me try again, I'm not mad enough."

Fuzai seemed to be on the verge of losing his temper completely, "Don't bother, give it back!" Just as Verto did, Fuzai's flashed with red for the briefest moment before returning to black.

"What the hell?" Verto asked.

Fuzai sighed, "I'll get to that in a moment. Try again while I hold the gem." Verto handed it back and his own eyes turned red almost instantly.

He stared at his hands as they shifted back to blue just as quickly, "So that's why you gave Lenz that necklace, and why you two haven't had any problems. Although, that doesn't explain why she showed no symptoms of whatever affects Rotians."

"I'm not sure about my sister, but she's very close to unleashing that energy, it only takes the right amount of emotional turmoil and it happens. Whether or not she can control it is another story. As you can probably tell, I'm not so fortunate. I haven't been able to take that thing off for more than a minute before it hits me," Fuzai explained.

Verto nodded, "I think I know why Lenz isn't affected yet. Either the right situation hasn't happened, or it's because she's a Super Saiyan with plenty of ki energy keeping her stable. I thought I had seen a glimpse of it the other day when she got into that scuffle, but I didn't sense it."

"Either way, she won't last forever without one of these and that's a proven fact. Look at the others you and Lord Frost brought back," Fuzai pointed out.

"So your plan was to find more of these so you can cure your people then?" Verto asked.

Fuzai paused, "More or less."

"It won't work. Once a hybrid completely succumbs to the curse, it's irreversible," Yogen claimed as he vaulted back into the discussion.

Fuzai glared at him, "Curse? What curse?"

"Young fool! You wish to blame my side of the gene pool when the answer lies in that putrid tail of yours! Saiyans are overpowered vermin!" Yogen declared.

"Watch it old man," Verto warned, "I understand your opinion and frustration, but insults aren't exactly helping right now. What is this curse you speak of?"

"Very simple really. The Saiyans that Frost saved from his father's wrath were considered to be third class outcasts. If not for the planet's destruction, I doubt anyone would have even noticed them missing. I'm sure even you know the type of people I'm talking about, dejected and rejected from society. In any other civilization they would be the equivalent of street walking scum that live off handouts. The reason for this is that their families were cursed for eternity, and this curse has been passed down over thousands of years!" Yogen explained further.

"If that's the case, and the source of the unstable Psi energy is them, then how come there aren't more?" Verto asked.

"I don't know the details boy, only the results. It wasn't something that affected every Saiyan, I know that. I suspect that they were isolated very early and all descendents were kept apart from the Saiyan's normal society. They should have been killed off from the start!" Yogen declared again.

"So, if this uncontrollable power is this so called curse, then why do I have access to it? I'm not like them," Verto said.

"I do not know, but beware. The longer you use that dark power, the further down the dark road you will go. I do not feel that you are the 'great destroyer' I mentioned before, but you will play a significant part!" Yogen said in a creepy tone. Verto grimaced as he left the dungeon, _This vaguely makes sense with what I learned from the Pendulum Room. And if these Renegade Saiyans can indeed control the dark Psionic energy, we're in a load of trouble. Curse or no curse though, I should see if there's a way to help these people._

* * *

Two days passed quickly for Verto, though he spent most of it in the suite, trying to piece everything together. So far he had determined the origins just fine, the supposedly cursed and dishonored Saiyans were the Renegades and either their direct descendents had parented the Rotians, or they were closely related cousins. The unique aspects of the Rotarians had merely clouded everything, as did the strange gems that Fuzai and Lenz had. Verto had considered attempting to restore one of the crazed Rotians, but decided to wait until he knew more. He wanted to be sure it would work first, so he planned to do it after their return from the mission. Due to all of the mental debating, Verto spent a lot of his time meditating prior to the mission departure, but he was still tired. Only when Lenz finally gave up on coxing him into a bathtub did he get any real sleep. He was currently waiting at the landing pad, where the large spider-like ship was parked.

The Ginyu look-alike Miruk was already aboard the ship, as were Bojack and his crew. They were only missing Frost, who was still in his command center according to Verto's latest power level scan. Verto wasn't sure why Frost was late, nor did he really care. He had the distinct impression though that Frost was the type that made sure everyone was on his schedule, not their own. Verto snorted at this very thought, _As if he could keep me on a leash._ The coming aftermath of this venture also bothered Verto, betraying Frost for any reason seemed like a stupid idea, Dragonballs or not. Verto could sense it at all times around the base; everyone was anxious. Almost as if they were waiting for Verto to make that dreaded decision. Frost was no exception to this and he seemed to be on guard at all times. Verto didn't want to give Frost a reason to betray him either, though down deep he knew it was going to happen. He hadn't sensed the true depths of Frost's power yet, nor did he expect to until that day came. Verto pushed those thoughts aside as best he could, he didn't want to mark Frost an enemy before he truly was one. Being caught up in his own thoughts, Verto didn't sense who came off the ship behind him.

"You can get on the ship anytime boy, we're all waiting for you. If you're backing out though, you picked a very bad time," Bojack said.

"Frost isn't onboard yet, what's your hurry?" Verto asked.

"Yes he is, we've all been watching you sit out here like a fool," Bojack claimed.

"He isn't onboard though, I'd be able to tell. I still sense his ki in the command chamber," Verto growled back. Bojack erupted with laughter as Verto scowled, "What's so funny?"

"Maybe you should have your head examined, ask nicely and Zangya would do it for you. She'll be happy to take the edge off while she's at it!" Bojack laughed. Verto turned towards the base and scanned against, still picking up the signal. For a brief moment, he felt a slight distortion. He checked that area again, this time for Psionic signatures no matter how insignificant, and there were none.

"A fake ki signal?" Verto asked.

"Precisely. Lord Frost has learned from his experiences to give the impression that he hasn't left, especially if he plans to be gone for awhile," Bojack explained. Verto felt a rush of paranoia, knowing that Frost could literally be anywhere at anytime, taking instant transmission and ki suppression into account. Bojack continued to chuckle as Verto followed him back into the ship. Once inside, Verto didn't waste a moment going to the bridge, where Frost was waiting for him.

"I take it you figured out my little trick?" Frost asked, amused.

"Clever," Verto answered with a scowl.

"Quite so. I considered testing it in an actual combat battle, but it seemed too glitchy. It serves its purpose though. I anticipate that those Renegades would have come here immediately if they believed I had left," Frost pointed out.

"So your pre-tense is just in case they out-flank you?"

"Exactly." Verto sighed heavily for a moment, drawing Frost's grinning glance.

"May I assume that something like that made you so unjustly nervous?"

Verto snorted, "I'd be lying if I said no."

"Fear not, we are partners in this endeavor, and I will honor that agreement as long as you do," Frost proclaimed.

Verto scowled again, "If you call blackmail an agreement."

"I prefer to call it a negotiation. Did you make any headway on your Rotian investigation?" Frost asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"A bit, I have determined for sure that the unstable Psi energy is a result of the Saiyan blood, just as we thought. More specifically coming from outcasts that you pulled off planet Vegita for your little crossbreeding experiments before your father wiped it out. I can only assume these Renegades are related like distant cousins, especially if this supposed curse of theirs is hereditary," Verto summarized.

"Curse? Oh, you have spoken to Yogen haven't you?" Frost guessed.

"Yeah, his story kinda fits," Verto admitted.

"Old fool if you ask me. I really should dispose of him. That old man actually had the nerve to tell my father what he should do to raise me, can you believe that?" Frost laughed. Verto's eyes shifted nervously away, _Wait a second, what if Frost took blood transfusions from those cursed Saiyans? Shit, I'll have to ask him._

"Tell me, did you use those particular Saiyans for any other…experiments?" Verto asked in a tense voice.

"Why do you ask?" Frost asked.

"Well, odds are that whatever this curse is will affect anything it's involved with. _Anything_," Verto said with a raised tone.

Frost's face twisted into a flustered frown, as he looked away, "No." Verto sensed the lie before the words ever came out. He now knew just how careful he would have to be in the coming days.

**A/N: Anyone else hear that tidal wave coming?**

**WDG:** I can certainly hear something coming. I'm just wondering how long it'll be until someone goes bananas. You seem to have a main cast full of unstable factors at the moment. :P

**VB**: Yeah I don't think even the Borg could bring chaos to order here.


	60. Renegade

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 59: Renegade**

The hours passed slowly for Verto as he stared out one of the windows into the passing stars. He had elected to remain alone as much as possible to meditate. He found it difficult to concentrate though, as a feeling of dread filled his mind. He attempted to shake this terrible foreboding, but it was all for naught. This feeling was not unfamiliar to him, but he didn't feel that the actual mission was the root cause of it. Ever since he had spoken to Yogen, he had felt this aura of impending doom. The eventual source of it remained as much a mystery as the story was. Verto was in no hurry to solve either one, _I can't help but feel as if the world is about to crumble around me, but why? And who? I don't think it's Frost, and even though the signs are directed at the Renegades, I don't feel it's them either. Maybe I'll know more once we encounter them._ The door opened behind Verto, interrupting his thoughts. He didn't bother turning around when he sensed multiple strong ki signals, it was obvious who had come in.

The girlish laughter followed, "What's up, little boy?" Zangya asked. Verto ignored her and continued his silent stare. He sensed Bido stepping closer, but remained relaxed.

"Little punk is lucky that I haven't ripped his monkey heart out yet!" Bido claimed as he stuck out his chest. Verto's eyes shifted to Bido's faint reflection, but he still didn't turn around.

"You're the lucky one, idiot. Next time I won't be going so easy on you," Verto warned in a calm tone.

Bido growled loudly, "What did you say, tiny?"

"You heard me just fine, so go away. I don't feel like trading words with an overgrown flunky," Verto claimed as he resumed staring at the stars. Bido dared to get closer while the others laughed aloud.

"Now now Bido, you know what Lord Frost said. He is not to be touched, or else!" Bujin warned.

Bido scoffed slightly and walked off, "Bah, little shit isn't even worth it!" A few silent moments passed once Bido left, but the other two did not depart.

"Was there something else you wanted with me?" Verto asked.

"Bujin, are there any listening devices in here?" Zangya asked instead.

"Negative."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "What is this about?"

Zangya stepped much closer than Verto would have liked and dared to whisper directly into his ear as she bent down, "Our master Bojack has a favor to ask of you. He can't be here to ask it himself, so he sent us instead. You see, he wants Lord Frost out of the way. You already know that Master Bojack is much weaker than Frost, so he can't assassinate him personally. We want you to do it."

Verto snorted slightly, "I see Bido isn't the only one who likes to play with fire. Why should I?"

"Surely you don't believe Lord Frost will simply let you leave when this is over. He wants all Saiyans dead after all, and that includes all of those that happen to live on Planet Earth. You don't want that now, do you?" Zangya cooed slightly as her breath blew across the back of Verto's neck. She couldn't see the front of his face, which featured his nose flaring a bit.

"Tell me, what are the advantages to trading one dictator for another? One that will probably be even more reckless than the first," Verto said carefully.

"Well for one, you will be greatly rewarded," Zangya claimed as she dared to wrap an arm around his waist. Before she knew what happened, Verto had spun and put a hand to her chest.

She glanced down in surprise and blushed slightly with a deep smile, "I see you like the great rewards!" Verto didn't return the positive reaction and promptly shoved her backwards, where she flew back and crashed into the wall.

Zangya held her head in pain, "How dare you take advantage of me that way!"

Verto crossed his arms, "You're the one trying to barter a child, right? I have no interest in your sexual advances just to get what you want. I've seen enough of that to know better." Zangya snarled as she stepped towards him, until Bujin stopped her with his arm.

"Easy Zangya, the boy has a valid point. And he isn't…mature enough to be swayed like that," Bujin reminded her.

Verto wasn't sure if he should take that as a compliment or not, "Whatever you want to call it."

Zangya scoffed, "Probably has a toothpick down there anyway."

Verto's head snapped back to her in an instant, "Well I'm sure everything seems like a toothpick when you've been stretched and plucked enough times." Even Bujin's eyes widened at this, and he had to hold on as Zangya began to drag him along when she stomped forward.

Verto's blue sword was already out, "Another step and it's off to hell with both of you!"

Bujin complied, pulling Zangya back by the hair, "Stop, we don't want to make enemies. You know what Lord Bojack will do if he finds out you ruined this opportunity!" Zangya looked alarmed and nodded slightly, retreating to several paces away from her partner.

"My apologies for her irrational behavior, let us get back to the point. Lord Frost has in fact been a fair leader, but he is prone to poor and tactless decisions. Something about him has gradually changed over the past several years. He has become much more malevolent and ruthless to others. We recently found out about some problems he had as a child that may be to contributing to this. Something his father did to him to keep him alive from a genetic disease," Bujin explained.

Verto cocked an eyebrow at this, even though he knew full well what Bujin was referring to, "So? Frieza did a lot of cruel things."

"The point is, what saved his life is slowly making him more deranged and paranoid by the minute. He may not show it openly, but he means to drive this empire into the ground just for revenge. You probably haven't been able to tell because he's trying to gain your trust in order to get you to drop your guard," Bujin pointed out.

Verto grimaced, "Look, I don't need you to tell me not to drop my guard around Frost. You may not have noticed that he hasn't dropped his guard around me either. Whether we trust each other or not is a completely moot point, because it will never happen."

Bujin smiled lightly, "We are in agreement then?"

Verto turned his head slightly to give Bujin a glaring eyeful, "No."

The smile melted away in tune with Zangya's sudden snarl, "You brat!"

"Name calling won't get you very far. The point is, why should I take him out for you? Give me a reason," Verto demanded.

"I think we have already covered that," Bujin said.

"And you didn't answer me. I get it that Frost is a questionable leader and that he may be corrupted beneath the skin. I also have considered taking him out at the earliest opportunity, and I kind of doubt that I can do that easily. I'm very aware that he'll try to fuck us over the first chance he gets. But there's a mysterious threat out there that I might understand better than him and certainly better than you. Plus I have to consider what happens after all of this. What if I take out Frost, then I get to deal with the fact that the rest of you are just as much of a threat? So bear that in mind before you approach me again. Until that time, it's a mutual advantage to work together," Verto proclaimed.

"Fool! He'll kill you before you can even blink with that kind of hesitation!" Zangya declared.

"Did it look like I hesitated when I turned back your little advance a minute ago? Well, sorry, next time I'll fire the blast before I give a warning shove. It's called paying attention to all the details, try it some time. You know, important things other than who you're screwing later on," Verto said. Zangya stomped forward despite Bujin's silent protest with her arm drawn sideways. Her attempted slap stopped short when it was blocked by a single finger from Verto.

"Try it one more time bitch," Verto warned as light filled the room. Zangya's eyes filled with dread as she glanced down to the small blast forming in Verto's other hand.

"Calm down Zangya, the boy obviously needs time to think about this. We will discuss this later," Bujin said as he tugged her arm backwards. Verto allowed the blast to vanish as he traded hard death glares with Zangya before she followed her counterpart out the door. Verto took a deep breath and sighed, _Well that could have gone better._

* * *

An hour after Bujin and Zangya's failed proposal, Frost summoned Verto to the bridge. The instant he arrived, all of the guards and operation soldiers were sent out. Frost sat at the main control station and waited for the door to close before speaking.

"Tell me, what do you think of Bojack and his men?" Frost asked.

Verto's eyebrow went up in question, "You want my opinion?"

"You may be as honest as you would like to be at all times," Frost added.

"I think they're pirate scum stuck to the ass end of space," Verto said.

"Crude, but accurate. I'm glad you share that opinion, I have a job for you." Verto resisted the overwhelming urge to the smack the side of his own head, _Oh good god, now he's going there too. I better play dumb._

"Once the Renegade threat has been completely taken care of, I want you to eliminate them," Frost said.

"And why would you like me to personally do this? You and I both know that you could do the job easily," Verto pointed out.

"As could you. Consider it my personal guarantee that Earth will be left alone if you handle this little chore. I shall point out again that Bojack destroyed Rotaria," Frost stated.

Verto gritted his teeth, "Once again, under your orders."

Frost grinned momentarily, "I figured you wouldn't have a problem with it. You get along with them so well after all. I also have an inkling that they will betray me someday. After swearing an oath of loyalty, they question every decision, every order. I will not have that from anyone! They may even see you as the perfect opportunity to gain the advantage. Do not be surprised if one or more of them approach you."

"And if they do?"

"I think you know the answer to that. Act as you will, but know that disloyalty will be met with swift vengeance," Frost claimed.

Verto gave Frost a long, hard stare before continuing, "If they are feeling rebellious, they're hiding it well. I don't suppose there is anything specific that they would be disgruntled about?" _Alright, let's see where this conversation goes._

Frost huffed a bit, "Those fools believe that I'm a living hypocrisy, the utter nerve. What they fail to remember is that I could have destroyed them at the very first sign of trouble, and I probably should have instead of rescuing them. Bojack's head must have done all of the growing over the past several years, his power certainly hasn't!"

"I find it hard to believe that he needed rescued, where the hell did he come from anyway?" Verto asked.

"He hasn't spoken of his past much, only that a select group of godlike beings sealed him and the others into a star. For whatever reason, the seal was broken nearly ten years ago, most likely from one of those beings meeting their demise. Bojack and his gang can survive in space for a limited time, so really they got very lucky when one of my scout teams found them. Ungrateful little peons," Frost said, annoyed.

"I take it he thinks he would lead your empire better than royalty would?"

Frost nodded, "Precisely."

Verto saw the potential in the conversation and continued to steer it, "Well you said he questions your decisions and orders. Is there something about that he doesn't like?"

Frost gave Verto a bewildered stare, "Are you trying to get sensitive information from me?" _Crap, he sensed it. Gotta take this one further myself, he isn't going to budge this time._

"Look, I heard from Vegeta that you were experimented on as a child. I also heard that it may be affecting you mentally at this age. Therefore, I'm only trying to see if his claim is legitimate before I give you an answer. Even if it is, that doesn't mean that I'll support him or you," Verto replied. Verto felt a very sharp increase in Frost's ki level before it slowly dropped off.

Frost seemed to relax, "That's rather odd. I've never met a Saiyan who cared that much for facts, even when given the opportunity to crush an enemy."

"You may have noticed that I'm not like most Saiyans. Do I get an answer then, or another end around?"

"My answer is this: The very thought of me, the emperor of this empire, being affected in anyway by a childhood disease is asinine. I gained immunity years ago, well before I passed my father in strength. Now what do you say?" Frost asked in a clearly demanding voice.

Verto sighed slightly, "Fine, but only after this Renegade business is finished. Random assassination isn't my thing."

Frost smiled, "Oh I think I can fix that." Verto gave off a gruff defeated expression as Frost turned in his chair, facing the pilot station again. He couldn't help but notice Verto's glare reflecting off the nearest screen, and his eyes had turned a dark crimson color.

"Hmmm?" Frost mused. By the time he turned again, Verto was already walking off the bridge.

* * *

Several hours passed by quickly as Verto sat alone in the darkest corner he could find. He had been considering the promise he had just made, and the possibility of reneging it. Neither choice excited him. He felt it would have been much easier if both Frost and Bojack were established enemies. It was one thing when a decided enemy came along to destroy the world, but quite another when the defender strikes first. A loud alarm blared as a large planet came into view from the window, signaling the landing cycle had begun. _I'll have to deal with this later. Right now I need to focus on this problem without distractions. They're going to push me though, I have to be prepared for that._ Verto got up and walked steadily towards the bridge, dodging random soldiers that were running around. Whatever planet they were on, it quickly became clear that it was nighttime because the bridge had darkened almost completely. The ship shook a bit as it hit turbulence from the atmosphere. Red streaks of heat zipped on by the windows for many moments before fading away. Another half minute passed before one final but violent tremor rocked the ship as it landed. Frost remained seated as Verto entered the command deck, where Miruk and Bojack's crew were patiently waiting.

"Life signs?" Frost asked first.

One of the operation soldiers quickly looked at his screens, "Inconclusive sire, there appears to be a jamming field in place. None of our scanners are working, including scouters. We should still have communication though."

"I see, can we scan the system for any other vessels?"

"No sire, but we didn't pick up anything on entry. The jamming field appears to originate from our planetary base nearly two hundred kilometers away. We should be able to shut it down once we're inside."

Frost's tail swished just slightly, "Very well. I will remain here with the ship. The rest of the non-essential crew will accompany Lord Bojack. Report any findings immediately, and if there are any survivors, friend or foe, I want them alive!" Most of the elites in the room saluted along with Miruk. Bojack merely nodded and followed them off the ship with his own crew. Verto trailed behind all of them a bit, trying to sense what was ahead of them. It was difficult to detect anything around the planet, but he did sense a Psionic disturbance nearby. It didn't appear to be strong, pretty weak even.

"Well boy, you sense anything?" Bojack asked as he stepped off the ship. Verto stopped and glanced up at the alien nearly three times his size as well as the rest of the group. There were nearly three dozen in all, waiting for his answer. Verto couldn't help but smirk just slightly, _This must paint a ridiculous picture that clearly tells everyone how size doesn't matter._

"I can't quite tell, that jamming field might be interfering. I do sense a weak disturbance up there, but that could be the result of several people having died. If these guys can suppress their energy like I can, I won't sense them right away," Verto admitted.

"We'll send a scout team first then. Report what you see, you five there are squad A, move!" Bojack ordered as he pointed to the first five elites that he saw. They all nodded and took off into the air at their top speed.

* * *

Nearly ten to fifteen minutes passed quietly before Bojack even said another word.

"Alright, we've given them a good enough lead, let's go," he barked. All at once, everyone rose into the air and took off, followed by the stronger parties. Verto slipped his provided scouter over his ear and turned it on as he followed the vapor trails. He heard nothing but static over the airwaves, aside from some random chatter from the larger group.

"Squad A, report!" Bojack grumbled. No response came for nearly a minute, prompting Bojack to repeat himself.

After the third try, a rough, scratchy voice answered, "Squad A here! Send help…everyone dead! No, please no….Ahhh!" The voice cut out just as Verto felt an energy spike from up ahead.

"Miruk, pick up the pace and find out what happened!" Bojack shouted. The elites doubled their flight speed and were into the distance quickly. Verto started to follow, but stopped himself upon seeing that Bojack and company had not.

"Don't be too eager for action boy. You will get it soon enough," Bojack suggested.

"You just sent them all to their deaths, but it looks like that doesn't bother you much," Verto pointed out.

"They would've been in the way. Best to send in the worthless cannon fodder first!" Verto grimaced and maintained his flight speed, offering no rebuttal.

Bujin laughed a bit, "Poor little boy has a soft heart! How amusing it is!"

"And here he was all tough before, looks like the little war machine is a fraud, just as I thought!" Bido claimed.

Verto glared back at the laughing cronies, "Think what you want, I don't care. But if you want the soft heart to go away, just ask and it's done."

"Can I just break him into two smaller pieces and get it over with? He might make a decent meal if we were to cook him. I wonder what roasted monkey tastes like," Bido wondered, ignoring the warning.

"Go ahead and try. I know what a roasted idiot looks like!" Verto countered.

"That's enough, the rest of the meat shield has arrived," Bojack announced, chuckling slightly. Verto's scouter blared to life with soldier chatter that couldn't be sorted out. Nothing really caught his attention, other than Miruk barking orders. It all ceased when Verto sensed another energy fluctuation, followed quickly by multiple ki signals flaring up and dying out rapidly. Verto could hear explosions over the scouter, but very few voices followed them.

The only one that did was Miruk's, "Contact established. Target looks like a Saiyan…Entire team wiped out…" Miruk's voice faded as Verto glanced over at Bojack, who was no longer as calm as before.

"Very well, let's go."

* * *

Upon arrival at the base, Verto took quick note of the many bodies lying around. All of them were Empire soldiers, and all of them were dead. Some of them were part of the group that had just been sent in, others were not. The base itself was of a decently large size with a few larger towers reaching for the sky. It was nearly the size of Frost's headquarters, except that this base had four towers instead of five. Other than the smoldering front entrance and a few random blemishes, the area was mostly untouched. A few of the corpses had notable smoking holes that clearly represented energy beams had been used, but many of them were lying in pools of their own blood. Verto sensed a tiny flicker of Psionic energy in the area, but almost no remaining ki aside from present company.

"Whoever is here is suppressing their energy," he announced.

Bojack grimaced, "Bujin, Zangya, you're with me! We'll search the left wings. The rest of you locate Miruk and search the other side!" Gokua and Bido bowed as they landed, with Verto trailing behind them. The two teams split up once inside the base, which appeared to be losing power. Most of the normally bright lights were fading to a dim blink. Verto considered using his energy sword to light the way, but didn't in favor of tactics. It only took five minutes of room searching before Bido lost his patience.

"Come on out cowards! We know that you are here!" Bido shouted.

"They are afraid, typical," Gokua claimed when no one immediately answered. Verto rolled his eyes as Bido started to beat down doors instead of waiting the half-second for them to open.

"Real sneaky, make as much noise as possible," he muttered aloud.

"Let them come! This is boring!" Bido claimed. Another few minutes of this continued until they came to the mess hall. Miruk was lying on a broken table, battered and bloody. His bulky body was laying limp, and it looked like he had a serious head injury, but he was breathing.

Gokua immediately turned on his scouter, "Master Bojack, we've found Captain Miruk. He appears to be alive, barely."

"Very well, continue your search," Bojack replied.

"Understood." Verto wasn't overly surprised that they didn't bother calling for medical aid, but he knew full well that Frost was likely listening in. _This is going to feel awkward._ He stepped towards Miruk's mass and cast out his hands as he concentrated.

"What the hell are you doing runt?" Bido rasped.

"Saving his life, now shut up!" Verto's green energy spilled out and covered Miruk as well as the room with its glow. Miruk's eyes opened in surprise after a few seconds just as Verto stepped back.

"You can heal others?" Gokua asked in surprise.

"Yes, I only healed him enough to walk out of here, he won't be fighting," Verto replied.

"You saved me, how…unusual. I don't know what to say," Miruk said.

Verto snorted, "You're welcome."

"Fool! You should have just let him die! What a waste of energy!" Bido grumbled.

"Yeah, I could have, but I didn't. I'll decide what a waste of energy is, since it's my choice and not yours. So if you should end up half dead like that, maybe I'll take your advice," Verto countered. Bido didn't answer and turned on his heel, crashing through the next door.

"Captain, what did this Saiyan hit you with? Were there any strange techniques?" Verto asked.

"None that I could tell, he plowed right through the weak soldiers. If he has a specific power, he did not feel the need to show it, even against me," Miruk admitted.

"It's a very strong Saiyan then if I couldn't feel much energy output. And he definitely knows how to suppress his power. I thought so. He could be anywhere," Verto said.

"He left him alive as bait, perhaps he didn't expect three of us and chose not to attack. We'll have to use our eyes and ears until he strikes again. Good, I like a challenge," Gokua claimed. Verto grimaced, _I should use my stealth technique for this, but I don't think I should reveal it to these guys. I'll wait till they're out of sight._ Verto shut his eyes and suppressed his energy as much as possible. It didn't take long for someone to notice.

"What are you doing kid?" Gokua asked.

Verto glared at him, "Isn't it obvious? If this Saiyan can hide his power, he can probably sense others as well. Think about it." Gokua nodded slightly and his ki promptly went down considerably. Verto sensed no change in Bido's energy, though he was far enough ahead that he likely wasn't listening. Miruk's power was low enough now that it didn't matter much, but Verto doubted he could lower it any further.

"Captain, stay between us. I have a feeling that he may single you out, seeing as you're still alive and kicking. That way we can spread out while setting our own trap. I'll bring up the rear," Verto suggested.

"Why wouldn't he go after Bido first if he's so far ahead of us? He would be the easiest to strike at after all," Gokua pointed out.

"I'm not saying he won't, I'm just approaching this with Miruk being the weakest link here. If he goes after Bido first, we'll have a much better idea of his strength," Verto explained. Gokua and Miruk nodded to this and spread out accordingly. Verto let them have nearly two minutes to move ahead before he double-checked his surroundings. Once he was sure that no one was near, he concentrated his power and started to fade from the normal visual spectrum until he barely had the form of a shadow. Verto slowly crept around the next few turns, checking every shadow and every unmoving alien body. There wasn't anything there, but Verto had a nagging feeling of danger coming closer. _He's close._

* * *

Bido remained oblivious to the team's more covert actions and rapidly stomped through the corridors, shoving corpses and equipment out of his way. _Stupid little brat, giving me orders? I'm gonna rip his arms off!_

Bido's scouter beeped for a few seconds before he pushed the button on its side, "What?"

"Bido, the internal sensors are functioning again. We're picking something up directly ahead of you," Bujin said.

"Got it, whoever it is will wish they weren't even born!"

"Settle your anger. This is an unknown enemy!" Bujin warned.

"Yeah yeah. Why don't you put that oversized head of yours to use and fix these damn lights!" Bido suggested. He shut off the scouter and violently shoved a set of double doors aside. The next room was a wide rotunda that connected a few main hallways nearly in the middle of the base. Bido's eyes locked onto the figure standing there, back facing Bido. A long brown tail unraveled and swished around under nearly waist long spiky hair. He bore a black jumpsuit with white stripes along the side, but had no armor on. The Saiyan was smaller than an average humanoid, but he did have a very athletic build.

"It's about time, I've been waiting for quite a while," the Saiyan said.

"Alright Saiyan, turn around and face me!" Bido ordered.

"That's not necessary, but if you insist." The mystery Saiyan turned, revealing multiple long bangs draped over his face, partially covering his smirk. His face was littered with light scarring that had likely come from teenage injuries.

Bido grinned, "I've got good news, I'm not allowed to kill you. But I don't think Lord Frost will mind a few missing limbs. You will know me as Bido."

"I'm surprised you even gave me your name, I suppose it would be rude of me not to give mine. It is Chal, and it's unfortunate that you won't know me for long. I'm afraid that I won't be holding back, because I don't believe in it. So you'll have to disappoint the son of Frieza," Chal claimed, though he seemed to change his mind a moment later, "Oh, I apologize for giving you false hope. You won't have to worry about him, not after you die."

"Go ahead and talk tough monkey, you won't be the first runt I destroy today!" Bido charged forward quickly, trying to punch the Saiyan's head clean off. Chal ducked out of the way at the last moment, and Bido stopped and swung his other massive arm into Chal. He fell backwards, apparently stunned from the blow.

Bido's grin intensified, "Get up worm!" Chal didn't move at first, until laughter struck the air.

Bido scowled, "Is death funny?"

"That would depend on who is dying. I promise you that it won't be me. I just find it amusing that Frost would send such strong warriors after little me. Granted it won't end up mattering, but it's obvious that he's concerned," Chal said nonchalantly.

Bido laughed, "Heh, you're a stupid fool. Why don't you just talk me to death?"

Chal got up slowly, "I'm sure someone of your intelligence would break quickly to something like that. Let's just see who the fool really is." Chal's palm erupted with swirls of red, blue and purple energy, all mixed randomly as he aimed forward.

Bido dropped any semblance of a defense and beckoned Chal to attack, "Go ahead, take your best shot!"

"Shouten!" Chal yelled as he fired a single bolt that sailed at Bido with surprising speed. Bido was unable to block it even if he wanted to, and it hit him square in the chest. The dust cleared quickly, showing Bido unscathed.

Bido laughed, "What was that supposed to be? You'll have to come up with a lot more power than that!" Chal fired again, same result.

"Come on, give it all you've got, otherwise this will be even more boring than it already is!" Bido dared.

Chal grinned slightly, "So be it." Chal rapidly pumped his arms as he released dozens of multi-colored blasts, each of them striking Bido. None of them appeared to do any damage, so Bido didn't even bother trying to defend himself. This went on for almost a minute before Chal stopped. Bido stood with his arms crossed, a smug expression plastered on his face. Residual energy appeared to have collected around the larger brute, giving him a slight glow all over his body.

"Is that all?" Bido asked.

"You're a true cretin. That's fine, you'll understand soon enough," Chal claimed. Rustling sounded from the open door as Gokua ran into the hall, a hand on his sword.

"So this is the Saiyan eluding us. Is he giving you trouble Bido?" Gokua asked.

"Oh please, the little crap can't do anything!" Bido declared.

Chal turned his head slightly, "Then finish it, if you're so sure of yourself."

Bido chuckled as he strode forward, "I'll have to apologize to Lord Frost for this, but you're not even worth capturing!" Chal looked as if he were in a deep state of concentration. He suddenly phased out, reappearing behind Bido. Bido blocked the kick aimed for his head just as a loud snap came from his partially glowing arm. Bido's eyes went wide with agony as he cried out, holding his arm limply.

"What…the hell?" Gokua asked.

Chal stood within inches of Bido, "What's wrong fool, did that hurt a bit more than you expected?" Chal then kicked low into Bido's large leg. At first, it didn't appear to do much, but the numb expression on Bido's face said otherwise just before the leg buckled. Bido crashed to the floor in pain, rolling around a bit as if he were on fire.

"Stay down you loud buffoon, and I may let you live long enough to tell the story. You're sword wielding friend won't be so lucky!" Chal ordered as he turned his attention to Gokua.

Gokua remained calm, "Hmph, I'd like to see you try. I don't know what sort of tricks you're using, but I can feel your ki. You're a weakling!"

Chal smiled, "And that's why you think yourself superior? You couldn't be more wrong." Chal's palm charged with another randomly colored round of energy. He didn't give Gokua much time to react before he fired a wide spray. Gokua launched into the air, avoiding the barrage. He reared back and fired a few blasts of his own. Chal deflected them with his bare hand, which in turn blew up a nearby wall. Gokua drew his metal sword as he rushed in. Chal parried the attack by hitting the flat side, and his palms glowed again. Gokua jumped backwards to avoid the close range attack, but he wasn't prepared for what Chal was about to do. The energy condensed into a thick but vivid stream of lightning just before it shot out.

"Shouten Beam!" Gokua never had a chance to dodge before it hit. Like Bido before though, it didn't appear to do anything to him. Gokua stood still, slightly confused as the red, purple and occasionally blue energy made his skin glow.

"What is this technique?" Gokua asked as he stared at his hands.

Chal landed in a three-point stance as he gazed up at the confused Gokua, "Your end!" Chal flew at Gokua with new speed, leading with his shoulder straight into Gokua's torso. Gokua's face lit up with pain as he fell backwards, flattened by the flying tackle. His chest was already bleeding in spots and appeared to be heavily bruised in others. Gokua coughed roughly as he spat blood in-between wheezy breaths.

"Don't judge anyone based on power alone, you will carry that lesson to the grave. Even if you two were on my level, my Shouten technique would still allow me to destroy you with ease!" On the other side of the room, Bido was struggling to reach his feet. Chal's hair whipped around as he switched targets. His fingertips lit up with blue light and sparked generously as Bido's eyes widened.

"I won't use Shouten this time, I want you to feel this one. Raiko Arc!" Chal shouted. A flat, narrow lightning stream shot from Chal's fingers, dead on target. Bido rolled to the side to avoid it, painfully falling to his knees. The lightning stream however was arcing towards him, seemingly on command from Chal. Bido managed to reach his feet just as the lightning reached him. It tore into his broken arm as he howled in pain, ripping through flesh as if it were butter. Chal eased up a moment later, and Bido dropped back down, holding up what was left of his upper arm. A long slash had been cut out of it all the way to the broken bone. Chal shifted his aim back to Gokua, who was also struggling to reach his feet.

Chal's lightning attack started to charge again, "This ends now." He fired straight at Gokua's battered midsection. His lightning was stopped in its path by a bright blue blade of energy, and its owner faded into view within seconds. Chal ceased fire as Verto remained still, but ready.

"You're a Saiyan!" Chal said.

"Your eyes work, congrats," Verto replied as he stood up straight and relaxed his guard.

"Why are you helping them?" Chal asked.

Verto glanced at Bido's whimpering and snorted, "If you want to call it help. Long story, and it doesn't even matter right now."

Chal looked puzzled, "Oh? And why is that?"

Verto locked eyes with him and pulled his sword back to an attack position, "Because I'm your opponent."

Chal grinned at this, "Good."

**A/n: Shouten – Japanese for "Focus". Raiko – Japanese for "Lightning". I realize I could have stuck with just typical English on attack names, but I felt the need for something a little different. Well here we go. Here's the part where I could put in the ridiculous overly dramatic words to hype this fight, but I don't need to. **

**WDG:** I'd do it for you, but I haven't seen the next one yet so it would be pure speculation rather than factual. I'm fairly sure you don't want me confusing the readers like that. :P

**VB**: Well I just sent it via express mail. And I confuse readers enough of my own.


	61. Chal

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 60: Chal**

Verto and Chal stared each other down, neither in an apparent hurry to start their anticipated battle.

"You must be one of our hybrid cousins, born on Rotaria," Chal claimed.

Verto didn't even blink at the statement, "No, I'm not."

"Really? Interesting that you should have similar energy coursing through your veins. But I suppose you're not lying, those hybrids can't control Psionic power, can they?" Chal asked.

"Not from what I've seen. What about you, what's your story?" Verto countered.

Chal smiled, "I won't give up my secrets that easily. Least of all to an agent of the Kold Empire."

"I'm not with them. This was only a joint venture to prevent a war," Verto replied.

"Prevent a war? Seems to me that you're on their side of this, conflict. That is unless…ah yes. They must have blackmailed you into joining them. So either you have exceptional talent, or have exceptional compassion. I would wager a little bit of both, am I correct?" Chal asked. Verto lifted his eyebrow by instinct at this, _All right; we can throw stupidity out the window. I definitely can't make any mistakes here._

Bido started grumbling from the floor, "What the hell are you waiting for runt? Kill him now!"

Verto grimaced, "Answers first, idiot!"

"No, but I promise that if you beat me, I'll be willing to fill in a few blanks for you. If I'm alive that is. This should be fun," Chal said as he took a step backwards. This was a false sign as he launched off his back foot and flew at Verto directly. Verto blocked the first few punches and kicks easy enough before countering with a few of his own. Chal dodged aside several times before landing and firing a quick ki blast. Verto knocked it aside and hovered in the air, patiently awaiting the next move. _I have to approach this defensively until I know what he's got._ Chal's palms lit up with red, purple and blue once again, prompting Verto to glance at Bido and Gokua. _Both of them must have been hit by that, but what does it do? It's mostly Psi energy, but it's not overly powerful. If only I had been here just a minute sooner._

"Shouten!" Chal called out as he fired three bolts. They moved at a slow pace, giving Verto more than enough time to decide what he would do about them. Verto pulled his arm back to defend himself. _Low in power, I can just deflect these._

Gokua managed to sit up just in time to witness the action, "Don't let them touch you!" Verto cringed as he glided backwards as the energy bolts raced on by and into the ceiling before dissipating.

Chal looked at Gokua with pure disapproval, "Will you kindly shut up so we can concentrate?"

Verto stared at the fallen warriors as he drew his own conclusion, "Let me guess, your technique somehow amplifies the amount of damage someone takes from every attack?"

Chal grinned, "Very good, you didn't even have to see the full technique to figure it out. And they say Saiyans are brainless apes, so untrue! How did you figure that out so quickly?"

Verto shrugged, "I got here in time to see your weak physical blows do much more than they should have. Though I'll admit that I wasn't sure until he warned me just now."

"So you concede that you were lucky that I played around before killing them?"

"Whatever you want to call it."

Chal rubbed his chin a bit, "I'm curious about your level of skill and power. I can sense you're holding back a great deal, and I'd assume you are stronger than those two peons if Frost actually bothered with you at all. You could be of use to us, your own people."

"Maybe, maybe not. Since you also want to know about me, you'd better throw everything you've got into this fight. It's the only way you'll leave this place in one piece," Verto warned.

"Touché. Alright then, you've intrigued me enough for it. Let's continue this, but may I please pick a different battleground?" Chal asked politely.

"Go ahead."

"The east wing tower in twenty minutes, that should give you time to get those two some medical attention and clear the area of any remaining bystanders," Chal hinted.

Verto was confused by this, "Wait, what? Didn't you want to kill them?"

"I can address them later, you are more interesting to me at the moment. The tower shouldn't be hard to pinpoint, it's the only one left that is undamaged," Chal said as he turned.

"Coward!" Gokua shouted, "Fight him here!"

"I agree, what's the point of waiting?" Verto asked.

"It's the only way you and I will get our answers, take it or leave it kid. I'll be waiting," Chal said with a wave.

"How do I know you won't try to escape?" Verto called after him.

Chal stopped long enough to glance backwards, "You're intelligent, figure it out. Even if I had a functional ship here, how would I get away without anyone noticing?"

Verto's eyes widened just slightly, "You mean, you were left behind. This is a suicide mission for you isn't it?"

"Perhaps," Chal said as he kicked off the ground and flew down the corridor. Verto started to go after him, but stopped short when he glanced at the walls. They were covered in flashing red lights that clearly didn't belong there.

Gokua used his sword to help himself up to his feet, "Get him fool! He's getting away!"

Verto shook his head, "No, something isn't right here." Chal landed at the far end of the hall and pulled a small remote from his pocket. Verto heard a distinct beep followed by a click. Not a half second later, the corridor between them exploded violently and filled with flames. Verto shielded himself, though most of the blast had gone upwards. When it cleared, tons of rubble blocked the way, sealing Chal's escape route.

* * *

Bojack and the others caught up a few minutes later, having heard the blast. Since Gokua was able to stand and walk on his own, Verto didn't bother healing him. He didn't heal Bido either per their standoff over Miruk earlier. While a team was called to haul the three injured fighters back to the ship, Verto contemplated what was to come. He doubted that Frost or Bojack would allow him to face this Saiyan alone, not without at least a spectator. He was correct in that assumption, because it was brought up as soon as Gokua explained what happened.

"This Saiyan is a clever escape artist, he anticipated having to run and set up the explosives. Here is what we will do: You go meet him in the tower and fight to your heart's content. We will surround the tower and prevent another escape," Bojack ordered.

"I don't know what's going to happen, so be on your guard," Verto replied.

"You're not getting sentimental with us now are you?" Bojack laughed.

Verto glared at him sternly, "Look, if you guys don't drop the ball, I won't either. I'll keep my end of the deal." With that said, Verto found the nearest opening to the outside and searched for the battle sight. Chal had been right, it was easy to find. It was the only tower still standing on the far end of the base. A balcony door stood open on its side as Verto landed there. He went inside, noting that the door immediately shut itself once he stepped through. Verto found himself in a wide but relatively empty throne room, with a large chair in the center of it. There sat Chal, who appeared oblivious to Verto's presence. He might have looked that way, but Verto knew that wasn't the case.

"You know, Frieza himself likely sat in this very chair years ago. I heard that he outfitted every base with his own personal touch. Waste of resources if you ask me," Chal said.

"Probably, now why am I here? Why not fight me back there?" Verto asked.

"I wanted to face you alone, I'm sure you can understand that if you're a pure blood Saiyan like myself," Chal replied with a smirk plastered on his face as he stepped down.

"Unfortunately, I've heard that one more times than I care to count," Verto said with a scowl.

"You won't be needing that," Chal pointed to Verto's head, specifically the scouter.

"Never have needed one," Verto said as he took it off.

Chal gave him an amused glance, "Then why have one at all?"

"It makes for good long range communication."

Verto then dropped the scouter and stomped it into tiny little pieces, "But I also despise eavesdroppers."

Chal nodded as he assumed a power up stance, "Shall we begin?"

Verto matched him as his energy spilled outwards, "Don't hold back on me." The tower filled with silver and blue light, emanating from Verto and Chal respectively. Verto elected not to go all out, thus his appearance remained the same, despite the lighter blue glow from his eyes. Chal sported a similar lack of changes, except his eyes had a slightly purple hue to them. _Mostly Psi energy, very little ki by comparison. That's why the goons went down so easily; they couldn't sense it at all._ _His amplifying technique probably doesn't require much energy; otherwise he would have used a lot more power earlier. He doesn't feel quite as strong as me, but it's close enough that I could lose this if I make any mistakes._ Chal no longer seemed as amused as before, as a more determined look filled his features.

"As I said before, I'm very curious on how well you've been trained. Or are you self-taught?" Chal asked.

Verto snorted lightly, "Start the fight and find out!" Verto sensed an incredibly focused energy build up almost immediately from Chal's palms shortly before they sparked with blue lightning.

"Raiko Ball!" Verto barely dodged the sudden burst of it, and watched the ball crash into the outer wall. Chal had another ball of lightning prepared and fired away. Verto jumped aside again, prompting Chal to up the ante. He fired several shots this time, all around Verto's area. Verto dodged the first three easily, but the fourth came within inches of him. A small stream of the lightning ball arced outward and sliced into the shoulder strap of his armor, cutting it clean off.

Chal chuckled, "Lucky. I've never been able to control that attack's random sparks. I'll just have to hit you directly next time!" Chal launched one more lightning ball, and this time Verto didn't move. Verto brought his hands up, both glowing blue like he was going to block it.

"Don't be an idiot, you can't block that!" Chal claimed. Verto didn't try to; he instead fired a small but fierce beam, which canceled the lightning ball completely. The beam roared towards Chal, who dived out of its way before it blew a large hole in the tower wall.

Chal's face read surprise, "No one's ever attempted that before. It's not an attack that's easily blocked or countered like that, most of the time I've seen ki counter blasts that only end up detonating in their faces."

Verto's eyebrow went up, "Yeah, I imagine it's that way normally. However, with enough applied and focused energy, anything is possible."

"Oh I see, but do that too much and you'll lose energy. You should not be wasteful," Chal declared.

"This coming from the lightning user. Don't try to be the teacher, I know what I'm doing," Verto snapped back.

"Do you?" Chal's palm lit up again, but this time the electric stream narrowed into a very thin band. Verto prepared another counter blast, but stopped short when he recognized the attack from earlier.

"Raiko Arc!" Chal shouted as he fired upon Verto's hesitation. Verto conjured his Psi sword just in time to catch it. Chal's attack increased in size and intensity, and Verto felt the force of it push him backwards. He sidestepped and pulled his sword off the stream, causing the lightning to rush into the wall. Chal did not stop channeling the technique though, and appeared to pull back on it like a rope. Verto's eyes widened as the lightning arced towards him quickly.

Chal grinned, "Dodging won't save you." Verto waited with his sword ready before slicing the edge of the arc in two. Due to the increased output from Chal, all this did was temporarily straighten the lightning arc into hitting the wall again.

"That won't work either kid!" Verto jumped backwards as Chal led the stream towards him again, then ducked below it and rolled the other direction. The stream chased him, arcing randomly but straightening out whenever Verto changed directions. This action continued for nearly a minute as Verto moved around the room, trying to decide what to do. Chal kept up the pressure, not allowing Verto more than a second's rest. Verto however noticed that Chal wasn't using enough power to leave much more than a burning blemish on the tower walls. _He must use the beam to stun someone first and then increase the power. He won't attack fully until he feels it's time. Then again, he almost tore Bido's arm off earlier, amplified or not. Maybe it's designed to be a short-range attack and it loses potency with distance._ Verto spun in the air as he prepared a small ki blast and faced the coming lightning arc.

Chal laughed aloud, "Haven't we been over this? Just what do you plan to do with that?"

"By all means keep going, I just want to test a theory," Verto claimed. Verto fired at the point of the wall where the lightning stream made contact. The wall exploded with gold, leaving quite a dent in it. Verto prepared another and aimed at the center area between Chal and the wall even as the lightning raced towards him. He fired as he glided backwards, and the blast was skewered and ripped apart by the Psi lightning, no explosion. _Short range attack, deadly if I get too close. As long as he stays near the center of the room, I can attack from the perimeter. I could try and attack from close range while dodging that attack, but he'll probably be able to catch me and I'd have to rely on luck. Plus his other hand is free and he's probably waiting for me to attempt it. Better play it safe._ Verto stopped and changed directions until he was inches from the circular wall, sword ready. Chal tilted his head slightly, but shifted his aim and directed his attack. Verto blocked against it with his sword again while his other hand prepared a counter.

Despite the zapping and sparking noises, he could hear Chal laughing again, "You'd have to use all your power to counter this one kid. I've had years to practice focusing my energy! You're clearly a greenhorn compared to me!" Verto brought his other arm back up and grasped his energy sword as he closed his eyes to concentrate. Verto's blue sword condensed and formed into a bright white ball between his hands, which swelled in size. Chal's amused expression faded when he saw that his power was feeding it.

Verto's eyes flew open once the technique was ready, "Feedback!" The white ball raced towards Chal, following his lightning stream and feeding off it. Chal flew to his left, but his chain-like stream pulled the Feedback ball along for the ride. In a panic, Chal stopped channeling the technique just as the immense blast was upon him, and it missed by just a few feet. Verto grimaced when the counter displaced harmlessly off the wall, but the shocked expression on Chal's face satisfied him.

"How?"

Verto remained relaxed, "If your only attacks are that amplification technique and lightning based attacks, you're not going to win this. I can use Psi lightning too, but not like you. You're far better than I am with it, but there's a counter for everything."

"That's not what I meant, I've never seen a technique like that. A complete reversal of energy. My attack became yours," Chal pointed out.

"Not exactly how it works, but I suppose that's close enough for now," Verto replied.

"With an attack like that, you could defeat anyone!" Chal proclaimed.

"It doesn't work on everyone, just those with the evil intent to kill," Verto admitted. Chal's eyebrows rose in question, but he merely shook his head.

"In other words, it's based on emotional states of both user and target. Which makes you a sentimental fool, improperly groomed for battle. I take it your teacher was a pacifist?" Chal asked.

"Not all of them, I've had several. Protector is a better word for it. The one who taught me that one was probably the most skilled assassin I've ever seen," Verto said.

"Rubbish, the most effective way to fight is to attack, not defend," Chal claimed.

Verto scowled, "You can lay off with 'the best defense is a good offense' crap. What will you do when _your_ offense fails?"

"Clever, but I haven't played my best cards yet. I doubt you have either, so show me how you'll get out of this one." Chal started charging another lightning ball as he did before, only this one was much bigger. Verto backed up a step with slight concern when it grew large enough to start tearing chunks out of both the floor and ceiling at the same time.

"What the hell are you trying to do, kill us both?" Verto shouted.

"Oh no, just you. There is no escaping this one, in fact I dare you to reverse this level of focused energy!" Chal said. Verto backed up, _He's right, I can't. Not easily anyway, and it might detonate if I try, he's throwing a ton of power into this one._

"This is my ultimate technique, Raiko Barrier!" Chal released the attack, and it scattered outwards until it spanned the entire room. Then it moved in, forming a thick net made of bright blue lightning. Verto remained determined even as he brushed up against the wall. The tower shook as the barrier ripped up the ceiling, walls and floor. Chal grinned slightly as it appeared to swallow up Verto in its light. The barrier stopped suddenly though and struggled to move forward. Through the net, Chal could see Verto had surrounded himself with a blue energy shield, one that was offering decent resistance. Chal's hands glowed bright as he released more power, causing the lightning bands to flash and grow with renewed energy. Verto's shield buckled and pushed against him. He cringed as the pressure came down, and he also released more power to his shield. Chal's barrier didn't budge, frustrating Verto a bit. _Damn it, he's strong enough to win this if I don't turn things up. I can't let that happen, and it's not as if Frost doesn't already know about Super Mystic anyway. Screw it, I can't hold back anymore while I try to figure him out, I have to end this now. Just need to be careful not to kill him._ Verto stood up wearily and dropped his arms back to his sides. His shield started to break apart, sparking a little concern from Chal. Verto's body started to glow bright as the lightning struck around him.

"Don't be a fool, you can't overpower this technique like that! You'd have to be much stronger than me to do it!" Chal shouted.

Verto looked him square in the eye, despite the wall of lightning between them, "I am." Bright silvery light erupted from Verto, outshining Chal's barrier completely. Chal heard the feral cry before he was plowed over by the energy release. His lightning barrier evaporated like water just before the surrounding walls and roof were blown off. The dust scattered quickly, and Chal recovered enough to sit up. When he did, he caught sight of Verto's silver hair and matching aura, along with his intense blue eyes.

Chal was shocked to say the least, "But that's…impossible!"

Verto stepped towards him slowly, "What is?"

"That transformation and the energy it uses. You can't possibly sustain it for very long, your body will fall apart!" Chal claimed.

"Wrong again," Verto said calmly. Chal managed to get to his feet, but Verto could detect a certain level of fear coming from him now, despite his attempts to hide it. His next words however, were not what Verto expected.

"Incredible! Your power is double what it was before, or is that the result of your ki and Psi mixed together, working as one?" Chal asked.

"Both, I suggest you cut the admiration," Verto said sternly.

"My apologies, my respect for great and unusual power sometimes gets the better of me. You're the first Saiyan I've seen to be able to achieve this. What technique should I use to deal with you now…" Chal pondered.

Verto's stance shifted just slightly before he frowned deeply, "You misunderstood me."

"How so?"

"I didn't do this in order to show you up, nor did I intend to let you try to beat me with anything else you might be hiding. I did this because I'm not going to let you attack again," Verto claimed. In a flash, Verto's fist was already deep into Chal's abdomen. Spit flew from Chal's gaping mouth as he double over. Verto backed off a few feet before ramming his knee into Chal's head. Chal whipped back into the ground, face bloodied. The next thing Chal saw other than the dark sky was Verto's green sword.

"Surrender now, otherwise this won't be good for you," Verto suggested.

Chal groaned slightly, "I see, I underestimated you. I sensed the potential all along, but I didn't respect it until it was too late. And you didn't play around once I got a glimpse. It was very wise of you to push the advantage once you had it. You give me no choice…"

"Before you decide to do something crazy, consider something first: I know you can do more than just this, and I'll stop this fight one way or another if you do. Just because I don't want to kill you doesn't mean I'll hesitate if I'm forced into it," Verto warned.

"No need, I'll surrender the battle to you, and you only. I can tell now that using most of the other tricks in my arsenal probably won't work at this time," Chal admitted. Verto sighed and glanced behind, sensing Bojack and his crew coming closer. _Well at least he didn't force me into Berserk mode, and he…Wait a second! This can't be all there is to him._

Chal noticed Verto's level of alertness, "If you're concerned about continued resistance, don't be. With your power the way it is, I would have to be incredibly lucky or reckless to beat you. I don't intend to do something stupid while I'm surrounded by enemies." Verto powered down once Chal said this, but kept his Psi sword out just in case. As Chal stood up, Verto couldn't help but notice that he didn't look like someone who had just suffered a defeat. Despite Verto's sword at his back, he had a very satisfying smile.

"This is the Saiyan then?" Bojack asked as he landed.

"I am at your mercy," Chal said as he held out his hands.

"Bujin, Zangya, take this monkey scum back to the ship. If he even looks at you wrong, kill him!" Bojack ordered.

Bujin and Zangya both bowed, "Yes my lord!" Chal's smile remained as he was escorted through the air. Verto watched him go, and a feeling of uneasiness swept over him. _Something about this isn't right._

Bojack eyed him carefully, "And just what is wrong with you?"

"I get the feeling that I may have just made a huge mistake in letting him live," Verto admitted.

"If he attempts escape, you can always kill him," Bojack pointed out.

"I know…but that doesn't concern me as much as the fact that he willingly gave up. How many Saiyans do you know that just give up like that, even when they're backed against the wall? I know I wouldn't," Verto countered.

"Hmph, I think you're just worried about nothing. I'll have Zangya give you a nice rub down later to relax your nerves," Bojack said as he lifted off. Verto ignored this prospect and slowly followed him back to the ship. Behind him, a deep red sun came over the horizon, as if an ominous sign of things to come.

**A/n: Hmmm, maybe this guy shouldn't have been taken prisoner… just maybe.**


	62. Verto's Prisoner

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 61: Verto's Prisoner**

Verto stood idly by as Bujin and Zangya were restraining Chal with their energy binding technique while he was being dragged into a holding cell. It was obvious what was next, and by the look of things, Bojack would be the interrogator. In this particular case, Verto wasn't sure if he was actually needed or not. He felt sure that Chal could escape those three when or if he chose to do so. Whether that binding technique affected Psi energy or not, Verto couldn't tell as Chal was not trying to use any of his power. In fact, he looked content to take the prescribed beating he was about to receive. Bojack stood in front of Chal once he was securely held in the middle of the room.

"I'll start this with one simple question, Saiyan. Where are your comrades?" Bojack asked.

"Probably on their ship, I really have no idea at this point," Chal replied coolly. That earned him a hard right hook from Bojack, directly into the side of his face. Bujin and Zangya stopped channeling their technique and stepped back to watch what would unfold.

"It's been a very long time since I personally snapped someone's neck. I suggest you answer my questions before I decide to do it," Bojack warned.

"What would be the point of that? If you have half a brain under that ridiculous turban, you'd kill me now!" Chal dared.

"Tempting, be careful what you ask for. Now let's try again, where is your ship?" Bojack asked again.

Chal snorted lightly, "Have you checked outer space lately?" He was flung into the wall by Bojack's throw this time, and fell to his knees.

"I have heard that Saiyans are particularly resistant to torture. I'm curious to see how much," Bojack said.

"Heh, I'm sure you are. But you'll have to do much worse than this to even come close to breaking me," Chal claimed.

"I know. Fear not, I am a very patient man and I enjoy inflicting severe pain on those that deserve it," Bojack declared.

Verto turned away in disgust as the beating continued, prompting Zangya to laugh at him, "Oh look, the little boy has a soft spot for this trash!"

"Torture isn't my thing. Anyone can beat a helpless person to death, it doesn't mean he'll talk," Verto said as he walked off. He proceeded to the bridge, where he could sense that Frost was waiting for him. He entered cautiously, noting the positions of all of the soldiers manning their stations.

"So, how is our guest?" Frost asked without turning in his chair.

"Probably worse than an hour ago," Verto retorted.

Frost took it in stride, "I was able to monitor your battle with scouter readings. It seems I was right to recruit you after all, that was an impressive display to say the least."

"I doubt that I saw everything he's got, especially if he and the other Renegades can control this unstable Psi energy. He didn't come at me like you might expect an average Saiyan to," Verto replied.

"I was referring to you, actually. Six hundred and twenty-two million, and you are only a child. Scary," Frost said.

"Well, I hope no one wet themselves over it. It's just a number," Verto said nonchalantly.

"They've seen higher, but I imagine they'll have a bit more respect for you now," Frost said, not sounding the least bit concerned. _Well that sounds disgustingly familiar._

"So, just because I'm curious, how high is yours at your maximum?" Verto asked.

Frost shrugged, "It's been a few months since I last gauged it so it likely isn't accurate. Approximately seven hundred and forty-five million in my fourth transformed state. I trust that you already know about that?"

"Yeah, I heard about it," Verto admitted while swallowing the lump in his throat. _Yikes._

Frost stifled a laugh as he turned around finally, "If you're wondering why I haven't heeded the words of my advisors, the simple answer is that I don't have to. You know as well as I that I could kill you if I so desired."

Verto remained as calm as possible, "The thought has crossed my mind a few times."

"I don't think you should let it bother you. The same goes for all of my forces, thus why they're so loyal," Frost reminded him.

"There's a big difference between me and them," Verto countered.

"Yes, I can tell. You may seem a bit soft, but you're not afraid of death, well not your own anyway."

Verto grunted slightly, "So now what? You've got your prisoner."

"He's _your_ prisoner. Other than a few standard tests, I want you to weed as much information out of him as you can. I doubt torture is going to work as well as Bojack might think, so I shall leave the method to you. If Bojack or any of his men interfere, you know what to do. If you wish to rest first, you may proceed once we arrive back at the home base on Planet seventy-seven. He should be softened up by then I imagine," Frost replied as he laughed a bit. Verto merely nodded grimly and left the bridge, walking as brisk as possible.

* * *

Frost had been right about the respect title, those who were afraid of Verto before were now scattering well before they had a chance to stare. Only the on-duty soldiers stayed put and even gave him a passing salute. Each was as fake as Verto believed it to be, but he didn't disrupt their attempts to save face. Verto was moderately surprised that Lenz hadn't been at the docking ports to greet him, but he knew she must have been busy with something. It turned out she had stayed cooped up in their room most of the time according to security. Apparently they had been charged with keeping a close eye on her, a fact that bothered Verto quite a bit. So after threatening to wipe out a few future generations of aliens, he made his way back to see her. Lenz was sleeping soundly on the bed, giving off a decent snore when the door opened. Verto stepped in quietly, grimacing slightly at the sight. The half a shirt she had on barely covered anything, and she wasn't wearing any pants. Only the bare minimum of clothing left things to imagination. _Typical, probably lost track of time again. Maybe if we had a slightly different situation I would go find a victim to use for prank bait._

"Ahem!" Verto cleared his throat. Lenz launched out of bed, flipped around, landed in a fighting stance and had a ki blast charged before she even blinked.

"Nice reaction," Verto said with a slight smile.

"Oh it's you. Sorry, the guards are making me nervous," Lenz said as she relaxed.

"Can't imagine why, although it seemed as though you were playing jailbait for anyone who decided to take more than a peak," Verto said as he pointed out her lack of modesty.

"Jailbait, what's that?" she asked naively.

Verto rolled his eyes, "You know what, never mind the expression. It's strange enough for me to be having this conversation anyway. But your lack of clothing is tempting to perverse aliens."

"What? I don't like sleeping in those jumpsuits, they itch! I borrowed those clothes from someone I know around here," Lenz claimed.

"Did you have a sleepover too? I promise I won't inform the guards of suspicious activity," Verto chuckled slightly.

"Well, actually…" Lenz started to say.

Verto smacked the side of his head, "Never mind! I don't want to know! I doubt the guards will give you much trouble though, I already had a word with them about it."

"Did you find the Saiyans?" Lenz asked, changing the subject.

"One, and I'm guessing he was left behind as a deterrent," Verto replied.

"What's a d-deter…" Lenz stuttered.

"Distraction, I'll try and dumb it down next time," he said, earning a deep frown from Lenz, "He probably could have killed everyone there except for Frost, if he wanted to."

"What do you mean?" Lenz asked.

"It's tough to explain. We brought him back as a prisoner, I might find out more later. Right now I need rest," Verto said as he stepped towards the bed.

Lenz giggled, "He couldn't have worn you down that much, you tiny little ox!"

Verto scowled at her playful laughter, "You'd be surprised. But no, I haven't slept since I left."

"Why not, it's not like you to go into a situation without rest!" she claimed.

"Same reason you leapt out of bed just now. Good night."

* * *

The next morning, Verto strolled down to the dungeon, finding Chal's new living quarters easily. It was the maximum-security cell with a small cluster of aliens surrounding it. The only members of Bojack's crew there were Bujin and Bido, with the latter taking shots at the bound Saiyan. Chal was chained by both his arms and legs, but was at least given the courtesy of being able to stand and sit on his own. Verto shoved the onlookers aside, who all backed away quickly upon seeing him. When they didn't leave, he felt the need to enforce whatever authority he had.

"Get on with your own damn business! If I see any of you still here in the next minute, you won't have the chance to leave again. Now move it!" he shouted. The only remaining aliens were the two guards, who didn't look eager to stay either. Verto entered the room just in time to see Bido land a vicious punch with his rejuvenated arm. Chal looked terrible, much like someone should look after multiple beatings. He was still cracking painful smiles though, and by the look of things, it was only making Bido angrier.

"Where is your ship?" Bido roared.

Chal grinned meekly, "What ship?"

Bido smashed his face again before hoisting him back up by the throat, "The one with all your monkey brothers and sisters!"

Chal spat blood at Bido's face, "Careful, too many blows to the head and I really will forget what you want to hear!"

"Argh!" Bido growled as he motioned to deck him again.

Verto stepped in at this point, "Stop, that's enough."

"Shut up runt! The only way to get information is to beat it out of him!" Bido claimed.

"Yes, someone as dumb as you would think that. Beating him within an inch of his life won't do anything," Verto said.

"It won't huh?" Bido asked as he dropped Chal, "How about I just beat it outta you then?"

Verto grimaced, "Think idiot, or are you too far gone for that? He was left behind for a reason, not because we got lucky. He obviously didn't take the mission just to rat his friends out."

"The boy is right Bido," Bujin said from the side.

"That's a load of crap!" Bido shouted.

"Then by all means, keep going. I can tell you've gotten just as far as Bojack did," Verto pointed out. Bido growled loudly and stepped towards Verto, taking up most of the smaller boy's view.

"One day soon kid, I promise I'm gonna make you wish you were never born!" Bido proclaimed. Chal started laughing, prompting Bido to shift his anger again.

"What's so funny, you stupid ape?"

"A buffoon like you making promises you can't keep. Oh, that's right, your brain is so small that you'll probably forget it within a few minutes!" Chal said.

Bido snarled back as even Bujin had managed a chuckle at this point, "I really hope Lord Frost let's me finish you!"

Chal smirked, "I'm looking forward to that."

Bujin motioned for his partner, "Come Bido, you've missed your breakfast again." Bido grumbled a reply and followed him out the door, leaving Chal and Verto alone.

"I'm really going to enjoy tearing him into tiny pieces," Chal said.

"Well don't get ahead of yourself, you look like hell," Verto reminded him.

Chal shrugged, "I've been through worse, though I'll admit that the one with the turban hurt me more than most." Verto shook his head slightly as he held his palm a few inches from Chal's battered head and allowed his energy to seep out. A calm green hue came from it, which quickly transferred to Chal after a few seconds before it vanished. Several of Chal's injuries closed up, but no more than that.

"You're a healer too? You keep outdoing yourself kid. I consider it quite impressive for one to master more than just a few battle skills," Chal said.

"I wouldn't call myself a master of that, I just don't want you passing out on me because of these idiots. You know why I'm here," Verto replied.

"I've been waiting for you to show up. Where would you like to begin?" Chal asked.

"Origins would be good."

"Alright. Most of our group came from Planet Vegita just like all other Saiyans. We relocated to Planet Shank, where I grew up," Chal began.

Verto gave him a confused expression, "Shank? Never heard of the place."

Chal rolled his eyes, "I don't imagine you have. I don't name 'em kid, that's just what it was called. Some of us had offspring that stayed behind on Vegita, and Frost moved them just before Frieza blew up the planet. They parented the hybrids known as Rotians. The rest of us stayed far away from the Kold Empire and began our own society. I myself am second generation born of planet Shank, but we kept the title of Saiyan. After all, we are pure blood."

"Fine, so what is so different about you? Why is it that you can control Psionic energy?" Verto asked.

Chal sighed deeply, "The full story has been lost to time, I really don't know it, but I can tell you this. We weren't able to do it without some help."

"Explain please."

"Since you asked nicely, but forgive me now. Everything I tell you is purely speculation when it comes to the far reaches of our past. I only know the facts pertaining to the last hundred years or so. For generations, our tribe of Saiyans have been outcasts. We've always been designated second or third class, no matter what our birth power or fighting abilities have been. Obviously we don't know why anymore, but that's probably because our eldest members have all taken ill and died at a rather early age. No one knew why, but it has pushed us to the brink of extinction more than once," Chal paused and took a deep breath.

"So, you obviously don't completely classify yourselves as Saiyans, we haven't gone extinct yet. But your condition, is it some sort of curse?" Verto asked.

Chal snorted, "You can call it that if you want. Oddly enough, it's also the source of our power, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Our previous generations knew of it to be sure, so at the earliest possible age, we mated to keep our tribe going until a solution could be found. The source of this eventual solution is incredibly ironic however…"

"And what is that?"

Chal grinned, "Tuffles." Verto's eyebrow shifted into a confused state, prompting Chal to chuckle slightly.

"Yes, I know that probably doesn't make a lot of sense to you. We allowed them to study us whereas any other Saiyan wouldn't have. Call it desperation if you want. Anyway, they found that we were emitting this unstable Psionic energy, and the reason we weren't living very long was due to the fact that none of us could release it properly. It would come out on its own when we fought and our ki would combine with it. The problem was that the energy output would become far too potent to control, at least for us that is. So, in hindsight, we had more power than we knew what to do with. Because of the lack of knowledge, our older generations died early, as this power was simply putting too much strain on their bodies and they fell apart."

Verto felt a twinge of familiarity in Chal's words, but merely nodded, "And how did you get around this problem?"

"It was many years before we actually did. For a time, the Tuffles helped in that regard. They were able to create devices which suppressed this power, allowing us not only the freedom to fight, but also to be able to live longer. Unfortunately, the civil war between our two races began soon after that. I'm sure you know that story all too well. We stayed out of the conflict for the most part, but we admit to betraying our people in favor of those who helped us. I expect you want to kill me for the sins of my ancestors," Chal stated.

"No, I would have done the same thing," Verto admitted.

"Interesting. Before the full moon that decided the war, our Tuffle allies allowed us to escape on their ships. We were sent to a preprogrammed destination far away from Planet Vegita and the Kold Empire, the Planet Shank. The inhabitants were experts on using Psionic energy, and sensing our plight, taught us how," Chal paused again and grimaced slightly.

"Let me guess, there was a problem?" Verto asked.

"Like I said, we had more power than we knew what to do with. It only took one surge of angry impatience for them to realize that we had another problem. In time, we learned to control it, an incredibly potent and dark energy. Can I assume you know what I am speaking of?"

Verto nodded, "To say the least."

"Then I won't explain those ugly details. We have learned to harness it from an early age in order to survive, though preferably as a last resort. It can still be quite overwhelming," Chal said as he showed a hint of distress.

"I've noticed," Verto said with a scowl.

"So, just out of curiosity, how many times have you used it?" Chal asked. Verto took off his glove and revealed a few small scars that looked as though they had been scorched into his palm.

"Just a few times, twice out of desperation. Only the first time did I use that particular power on purpose, and that's probably what unlocked it in the first place for me. I haven't had full control over my emotions ever since, and it continuously feels like it's slipping away from me. It's as if these burn marks are representing how many I've destroyed with it," Verto replied.

"Hmph, there's a simple solution to your control. It's because you're too soft, even towards your enemies. Harden yourself and you won't lose control of yourself nearly as often. True it may slip out easier, but you won't go berserk. Besides, compassion is not what fighting is about anyway," Chal suggested.

"Sounds like something Vegeta would say," Verto muttered.

"Vegeta? The prince of us all? He's still alive?" Chal asked. Verto bit his lip slightly, realizing what he might have just done.

When he didn't answer, Chal took the hint in stride, "I see, you didn't mean for me to hear that. What's done is done I'm afraid, but Prince Vegeta doesn't concern me. I'm much more interested in you."

"And why is that?" Verto asked.

"We may not have all the facts, but there is one thing that this 'curse' has made us aware of. The fact that there is a higher plateau that any life form can achieve, Saiyan or otherwise. It is almost a god-like state of power that would make an entire galaxy tremble all at once. You're not at that point, but you're the first I've seen to be able to control ki and Psi as one. Controlling them separately is easily attainable for us, but none of us can combine them," Chal pointed out.

"You have to balance the energy evenly, surely someone in your group would have figured that out by now," Verto said as he crossed his arms.

"Possibly, if anyone could stay alive long enough during such an attempt. We can't even do that, and there have been many deaths as a result. It's hard to explain it, but several of our more powerful brothers thought they could do it. They found out wrong, and their own Psionic energy overwhelmed them completely. Their bodies literally burned up and I can only assume that their souls went with them. It's as if fate doesn't want us to rise above this pitiful existence, and only granted us this power in order to laugh as we kill ourselves trying to master it," Chal said with pure disdain.

"So you believe this, curse, prevents you from achieving this higher form?" Verto asked.

"Precisely, but it looks like you know how to handle it. You must teach me and the others, share your knowledge with us!" Chal urged.

Verto's face shifted upwards to stare Chal directly in the eye, "Why?"

"We're your people, that's why. You could be our salvation, and the start of the next jump in our evolution!" Chal declared.

"And what would you do with this power? You know nothing about it, and who's to say that it's really all that great? Trying to reach an impossible goal is no way to live, you'll only be met with disappointment," Verto said.

"What kind of answer is that kid? You can't tell me you're not the least bit curious about it. Reaching even higher than you are now, who knows what you're actually capable of? You said it yourself, nothing is impossible," Chal reminded.

"I don't care what I'm capable of, so let's just keep things on a small scale for now. If I were to join you, and that is a really big if, I would be greatly influencing the balance of power in this region of space alone. If you couldn't tell, I'm not like other Saiyans, and I don't answer to their ways," Verto retorted.

"You can't be serious, you'd take the Kold Empire over us?" Chal asked.

"I didn't say that. They've already taken shots at me too, but they clearly see you as a larger threat and I can't say I disagree," Verto stated.

"Are you kidding? With your help, we would finally eliminate the Kold Empire from the universe!" Chal claimed.

"And then what?"

"We would establish our own empire, obviously. The Saiyans would reclaim their rightful place on top of the food chain. And then we would push even further, until we shattered the realms of the gods and made them submit to us as superior life forms!" Chal exclaimed.

Verto's eyes re-narrowed as he gave off a slight grunt, "And that's why I can't help you. You'll probably end up destroying everything around you while you slowly destroy yourself. And these god-like beings you're after, they don't exist."

Chal frowned slightly, "So, you refuse because it's against your beliefs?"

"I don't follow a religion if that's what you think. I've met my fair share of beings that are considered gods, and they are overrated. Pushing past their overall power is no great feat, nor does it mean anything. They have ways of getting around things like that, if they cared enough to worry about it. As for why I won't help you, I'd be trading one tyrannical empire for another, one that is probably worse by comparison. The Kold Empire is corrupt enough as it is, they already want to play musical chairs with their leadership," Verto said.

"I'm sure we're not the only ones aware of this godlike form, I'm very certain Frost has sniffed it as well," Chal said in a low tone.

"That doesn't matter, Frost will get his eventually. I may have power, but it's my choice what I do with it. I have a very good idea what you and your people would do," Verto said defiantly.

"I see, perhaps you just need time to see things for what they really are," Chal suggested.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Chal didn't answer him directly, "Guard, the boy is finished with me!"

"We're not even close to done!" Verto argued.

Chal smiled evilly, "For now we are, unless you would like to try your hand at torture. Come back when you've changed your mind."

* * *

Verto walked into Frost's command chamber, perplexed by his interrogation of Chal.

Frost turned in his chair to face the smaller Saiyan, "So, did you find out where the other Renegade Saiyans are?"

"No, we didn't get quite that far. I doubt that he would have told me anyway," Verto replied carefully.

"Neither do I, we shall give him time to think things over."

Verto stared up at Frost, "You weren't listening in on the conversation were you?"

"Unfortunately no, only video transmissions exist down there, my dungeons are due for an upgrade," Frost said.

Verto shifted his feet slightly, "Well, he did admit that they are related to the Rotians in a cousins sort of way, nothing much past that."

"And that means their strange Psionic powers are linked as well. That will save us time on research and testing while we discover a way to counteract it. Have you thought of a way to reverse the Rotian condition?" Frost asked.

Verto paused as he had barely heard the question, "No, but I have a few hunches. I'll need to work with one of them directly."

"I will make the necessary preparations in the science labs then, you may start within the hour," Frost said. Verto nodded and turned the leave, _Looks like I'll have to be careful with this one as well._

Frost cleared his throat, "One more thing." Verto glanced behind to see Frost observing a security feed, or in this case, rewinding it. It skipped back to Bido torturing Chal, and then slightly before that.

Frost paused it just as a being with purple hair slipped out of view, "You might want to warn the girl about visiting the dungeon. I don't think I need to ask twice." Verto grimaced and promptly left the command center, _Damn it Lenz, this is the last thing I need right now._

* * *

"I just wanted to see him! Is that so bad, to want to see why the hell we're out here?" Lenz asked.

"Um…yes! You're giving them a reason to be suspicious, don't do that," Verto warned.

"Who, your new friends?"

Verto scowled deeply, "Lenz, they are nowhere near my friends. The only one here is you."

Lenz scoffed, "You have a funny way of showing it."

"Keep your friends close, keep your enemies…"

Lenz cut him off, "Yeah, yeah, I know!" Verto sighed, knowing the argument was decided, rather he proved his point or not.

"Look, I can't keep you safe if you pull stunts like that. Running off, picking fights, snooping around, none of those things are especially helpful," Verto pointed out.

"I can take care of myself, I am older than you!" Lenz countered.

"If that's the case, which we both know it's not, then prove it," Verto suggested.

"Fine, but what am I supposed to do around here, train all day?" Lenz asked with a bitter tone.

"Well, it couldn't hurt."

"Just as long as I stay out of the way, right?"

Verto held his head, as if that would prevent an ache, "I want you to be careful, that's all."

Lenz held her hand up as she left the room, "Whatever." Verto sighed again, _The rebellious teenager is coming out at a really bad time._

**A/n: We're starting to get into the nitty-gritty of this arc, which of course means that you action fans will have your match soon enough. I don't even have to say which one that is.**

**Next Time on DBV: Verto works to reverse the berserker state of one of the Rotians, eventually succeeding only to be met with rejection. Meanwhile, Lenz ignores Verto's orders and visits Chal down in the dungeon, who urges her to release her power and use it against her enemies. She comes across Zangya in training, and a quick scuffle turns into a much larger battle for survival.**


	63. The Release

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 62: The Release**

Before leaving the room again, Verto noticed that Lenz's necklace charm was lying on the bed. _She must have been so flustered that she forgot it here. Hopefully nothing happens, but then again, she would have lost it immediately just a moment ago. Still, I should find and inform her about her people before something does happen. But before I do that…I wonder if I can use it to help one of the crazed Rotians. It couldn't hurt to try._ With that thought, Verto took the necklace and left the area. Upon entering the hallway, he could hear two raised voices nearby. Neither one was Lenz, but he still felt the need to investigate. At the entrance to the main corridor to the living quarters, he spotted the two guards he was accustomed to seeing. What he wasn't used to seeing was they were actually moving rather than standing at attention. In this case, they were beating the holy hell out of each other.

Verto stepped in quickly and pulled the larger orange skinned humanoid off the other purple one, "Knock it off!"

"Get out of my way kid!" Orange shouted. He stopped abruptly when Verto's Psi sword nearly impaled him.

"I don't care what the problem is here. You're soldiers, so act like it!" Verto suggested.

"He started it!" Orange claimed.

"I did no such thing! Wait, what were we fighting about?" Purple asked.

"Actually, I don't know. One minute we're standing here, and the next I was trying to kill you?" Both guards seemed confused by the whole chain of events.

Verto rolled his eyes slightly as he allowed his sword to fade, "Whatever, just don't start any more fights. I imagine it would reflect poorly if Frost learned you two were having…issues."

The purple guard saluted him, "Understood sir!"

"And don't salute me," Verto grumbled as he walked away. He marched off to the labs where the Rotians were being kept. Upon arrival, he noticed that only one of them was even awake. None looked very healthy though, as the three others looked on the brink of starvation. The fourth and active Rotian wasn't much better by the look of things, but he could at least move around a bit. Verto glanced over at the nearest scientist, an average humanoid with a light golden hue to his skin, along with an oddly shaped head.

"What the hell is wrong with them?" Verto asked.

The scientist was startled, but quickly ran over and bowed, "Greatest apologies sir! We didn't expect you on this fine day!" Verto scowled at the lack of depth in the alien's voice, but tried to ignore it.

"What's your name?" Verto asked, as he barely had to look down at the larger alien.

"Doctor Mellon, sir!" _A fruity name, how fitting._

"Well Mellon, I don't like people who kiss my ass. So get off your knees and answer the damn question," Verto said sternly. Mellon jumped nearly three feet once he heard this, but gathered himself and turned to the cages.

"We believe they suffer from extreme hunger. Being a Saiyan, I'm sure you understand," Mellon pointed out.

Verto's scowl deepened, "You haven't been feeding them?"

"We have, but they refuse to eat anything, not even meat," Mellon claimed.

"They're on nothing but instinct now, how can that be the case?" Verto asked.

"I don't know sir, I assume that their condition has something to do with it. Much like a savage animal."

Verto's glare shifted, "I know that. What I am saying is that instinct would force them to eat. So why aren't they? I don't see any discarded food in there."

"Most of the food doesn't make it into their cages before they attempt to tear an arm off," Mellon said nervously.

"Well, I doubt they're in any condition now to refuse any food. Feed them immediately," Verto ordered.

"Of course sir."

Mellon didn't move right away though, making Verto raise his voice, "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No sir, we just have to wait another hour before the prescribed mealtime," Mellon replied.

Verto's eyes flickered to a slightly brighter blue, "When I say now, I mean now. Otherwise I'll chop off one of your limbs for each Rotian and then let them fight over the leftovers. Now get a fucking move on!" Mellon ran towards the nearest console and called for a food delivery while Verto turned back to study each demi-Saiyan for several minutes a piece. He stepped up to the cage of the lone awake male and locked eyes with him for quite awhile. Long enough to have the Rotian get into a crouched position, as if ready to pounce if Verto got within range. The meal arrived soon after, and was safely delivered to the three sleeping Rotians without incident. They didn't sleep for long though, and quickly scampered up to the door and gorged the food on the spot.

Just as the feeders approached the last cage, Verto stopped them, "I'll take it in. Lock the door behind me."

"But sir!" Mellon protested.

"Just do it, he isn't going to hurt me."

Mellon sighed, "Very well." Verto took a platter of meat and proceeded inside. The strange growling and snarling began almost instantly as the crazed half Saiyan bore his teeth. Verto dared to step within a dozen feet before he set the plate down and backed off. The Rotian's snarling stopped as he stepped up to examine the meat. Within a few moments, he grabbed the plate and ran backwards before devouring the meat.

"Incredible, we haven't even been able to get it into the cage!" Mellon said though an intercom.

"That's because you've gone about it the wrong way. He probably identifies you as a threat, just by experience. He isn't sure about me yet, and I left him the food and moved away. One step at a time, he might know he's too weak to do much," Verto explained. Once the Rotian had his meal, it locked eyes with Verto again, but didn't make anymore threatening sounds. Verto pulled Lenz's necklace out and held it up, letting the Rotian get a good eyeful. He stepped forward again and laid it on the ground before backing off. The Rotian ran towards it, picked it up and then examined it, slightly mesmerized. _Okay, that's progress. He clearly knows what it is, or at least recognizes it. Now let's see if it has any noticeable effect._ Verto waited patiently for a very long time as the Rotian stared at the gem and held it like a coveted prize. Nearly an hour went by and the only thing that changed was the Rotian's sitting position. _Maybe he's just too far gone, or he just needs that negative energy to leave his body._ Verto stood up and stepped forward quickly. The reaction was immediate as the Rotian snarled at him again, holding the necklace behind him. His red eyes brightened with intensity and he charged forward. Verto already had a bright white energy ball waiting and fired at point blank range. The Rotian tumbled to the ground when his body became overwhelmed by lightning bursts from the Feedback Wave. He rolled along the ground, trying to shake the random shocks with no luck. This continued for a few minutes, with some other alien doctors lining up to take notice. The Rotian howled in pain a few times during this, but Verto didn't let him have a reprieve. Fairly soon, most of the negative energy had faded, and random grunts and snarls started to shift into words.

"S-s-stop! It b-b-burns!" the Rotian cried out.

"If you can understand me, listen up," Verto said. The Rotian stopped groaning long enough to nod his head.

"Calm yourself down, think positively. If you can control any of your energy, then suppress it as well. The pain will subside if you can do that, but it will get worse if you don't," Verto said. Another thirty seconds passed and at first, it appeared that the Rotian didn't understand or wasn't cooperating. Soon though, the lightning bursts began to dissipate and he sat up, mildly surprised. Verto held up his hand and pulled his Feedback orb from the Rotian, allowing him the freedom of movement completely. While he stared at it in wonder, he didn't appear to be changing back and Verto had reason to relax as he tossed the energy ball aside.

"You feel alright?" Verto asked.

The Rotian looked himself up and down, "I think so. What happened?"

"You tell me. Your energy was making you behave like a wild animal."

"You mean the curse? Where am I?"

Verto sighed, "We'll get to that in a moment. This curse, or whatever you want to call it, is a dormant power that has shown itself in your people. Since none of you can control it, it literally controlled you. Well, sort of."

The Rotian still looked amazed to be conscious, "Who are you?"

"My name is Verto, I'm also a Saiyan. What's yours?"

The Rotian was glancing around carefully, "Frelin."

"Can you remember anything?" Verto asked.

"I was running for cover with the others on a planet. We had crash landed, running from the Empire elites. We didn't know how they found us, but they did. We took shelter in a cave and waited. They bombarded the planet, we could hear it even a kilometer down. My sister Zaala, wait, where is she?" Frelin asked.

Verto glanced to his left at the female Rotian, "Is that her over there?" Frelin turned and spotted her, before running to the glass-like wall that separated the cages.

"Zaala!" he shouted and pounded on the glass. The female, Zaala, lit up with rage as she bared her teeth at him, but made no other movement. Frelin continued to pound on the clear wall, drawing her attention further. She approached the wall and tilted her head in slight wonder.

Frelin smiled, "Zaala, you remember me!" Zaala seemed content, before lunging at Frelin, trying to bite his head off. She bounced off the wall and snarled in anger. Frelin's moderate excitement dropped along with his shoulders and he backed away in defeat.

"I'm sorry, but now isn't the time for sulking," Verto pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. It started as an argument about what we were going to do. There were twelve of us, and none of us agreed on anything. Next thing I knew, we were at each other's throats. Everyone's eyes had turned a bright red, and no one was behaving rationally. After that, just images of a forest," Frelin claimed, shaking his head as if to clear some cobwebs.

"I figured on memory loss, but it's fortunate that this curse didn't completely erode your brain. I take it that no one had any of those gems with them?" Verto asked as he pointed to the necklace.

"No, we had left them behind for the mission. Every Rotian has one, passed down by our Rotarian ancestors. They are sacred tears of Kholo," Frelin said as he held the gem up.

"Who's that, the god you worship or something?" Verto asked.

"It's said that Kholo was a great beast that soared through the heavens and underworlds, defying every god, every angel and every dark demon. He was considered a troublemaker by every deity, but was also a grand pursuer of justice. He chose to protect the Rotarians and their descendents when a great war nearly destroyed all of creation. The most powerful gods punished him by transforming the beast into a great mountain, from which these crystals formed. He died vowing to protect our ancestors from evil," Frelin rattled off.

"Or from yourselves," Verto added.

"So you believe me?" Frelin asked in slight hope.

"I'm not saying I do or don't. But I don't rule out divine intervention, they've certainly stuck their noses in my business enough times. And there's a lone Rotarian still alive around here that confirms your mythology," Verto replied.

"It's not a myth! I've seen the great Kholo in my dreams!" Frelin argued.

"Look, believe what you want to. That gem does have an affect on you though, and with it I think I can help your people," Verto claimed.

"Wherever did you get it?" Frelin asked in slight wonder.

"A Rotian girl that literally fell into my care, though she hasn't needed it yet. If I can reverse this, I can also teach you how to control the energy the right way, so you don't turn crazy again," Verto offered.

Frelin's reaction wasn't what Verto expected, "No, you mustn't! That power is evil!"

"If misused, yes. It doesn't have to be though," Verto reminded.

Frelin suddenly threw the gem back at Verto, "We don't want your help. Go back to wherever you came from and leave us be!"

"Don't be an idiot, I can help you!" Verto shouted back. Frelin started to answer, but no words came out. Instead, an intense growl came from his throat, followed quickly by his eyes filling with blood rage. Frelin charged at Verto with both arms extended like claws. He bounced off Verto's Psi shield and fell backwards. Verto stared at the ground in dismay before walking towards the door and leaving the cage, saddened that he couldn't convince Frelin.

"Awful savages, aren't they sir?" Dr. Mellon asked. Mellon choked on his next breath as Verto had him up against the wall by his neck, eyes ablaze with blue fire.

"Say it again and I'll snap this twig you call a neck! Now shut the hell up!" Verto snarled.

"M-My apologies!" Mellon choked. Verto's eyes shifted suddenly with concern as he let the doctor go and stormed off. At the same time, he found himself staring at his own hands. He winced slightly when his right hand had a very brief pain pulse run through it. _If the gem works, then how come my rage just took control so easily? I've dealt with insults from these bastards enough for it not to bother me. Maybe Chal was right, my edge is slipping._

* * *

While Verto was at the lab, Lenz had elected to ignore his suggestion once again. She wanted to know everything about the Renegade, Chal. She was able to sneak into the area relatively unnoticed before discovering where the security cameras were placed. When no one was watching, she snuck into the prison cell and quickly ripped it out of the wall.

"Well, you're a brave one, though I wouldn't say you're the most covert," Chal said from his place at the center of the cell, chained down.

"I'm sure I'm going to catch hell for it too. Can you tell me about yourself and the others?" Lenz asked straight away.

"You're Rotian aren't you? I'm surprised that you can even stand there and dictate your own movements."

Lenz stared back at him, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you don't know about that do you? Still too young to be affected, or preventive measures have been taken. You do seem rather strong, physically," Chal pointed out.

"Well duh! I am a Super Saiyan after all!" Lenz replied nonchalantly.

"Are you now? I find that fascinating. I sense a great dormant power in you as well. Much greater than your current level of ki," Chal said.

"You mean my Psi potential don't you?" she asked.

"Oh yes. Can't you feel it?"

Lenz looked down, "No, not yet. Little brother hasn't taught me how to use it yet. I felt his a few times, but he's got to be powered up or something before I can sense anything."

"Little brother…oh you mean the kid that defeated me. Strange, he didn't seem Rotian to me, and he clearly stated that he wasn't," Chal mused.

"Oh he's not, I only call him that. Just a silly pet name that he probably hates anyway…" Lenz mumbled.

"What is his name anyway? We never exchanged formal pleasantries," Chal admitted.

Lenz glanced up, "Oh, well that was rude of him. It's Verto."

Chal raised his eyebrows slightly, "Is that right? Interesting."

"Does that name mean something to you?" Lenz asked.

"Not as much as his abilities do. I've never seen anyone combine the two energies like that and be successful. What he has achieved is astounding," Chal said with admiration.

Lenz seemed puzzled, "So…you guys can't do that? You can't transform?"

Chal chuckled, "Not like that, but there are other ways to increase one's power. I sense you are more like us than you know."

"I don't see how that could be," Lenz said.

"Let me ask you this: how long has he been able to use these powers?" Chal asked.

Lenz grimaced slightly, "I'm not sure actually. I know it was before I met him and his friends. But he's always telling me that he hasn't quite figured everything out yet, and it does seem like he's new at it."

"You wouldn't think that a power like his would manifest itself so early," Chal said.

"Well he is older than he looks, and technically he didn't do it on his own. One of those afterlife rulers had something to do with it and…" Lenz suddenly stopped herself.

Chal turned his head slightly, "And, what?"

"And I shouldn't be telling you this," Lenz said as she covered her own mouth.

"Wise, though a bit late. Don't worry about it girl, what would I do with that information chained up down here? Besides, I would rather talk about your potential at the moment," Chal said.

Lenz sighed slightly, though unrelieved, "So, what about me?"

"I sense that you doubt yourself girl. If you've become a Super Saiyan as you are now, then your potential could be limitless!"

"Don't try to flatter me just so I'll say something else. I need to go before someone shows up," Lenz claimed as she turned around.

"I wouldn't worry about that yet. I imagine you'd be better off down here at the moment, no one will notice since you cut the security feed," Chal pointed out.

"How can you be so sure?" Lenz asked.

"Just a hunch. So tell me, has the boy at least started teaching you how to control your deepest powers?"

Lenz stared at the ground again, "Not really. He was starting to before we got dragged out here, but his methods are so slow that it makes me wonder if he really wants me to learn. It was the same when he trained me to be a Super Saiyan, but this is a little different."

"So it's a slow progression, which means two possibilities. One, he may indeed still be learning himself and wants you to take it slowly. Two, the most likely, is that he fears that you'll be far more powerful than him. And I can sense that you definitely can be," Chal said with a wicked grin.

"No, he's not like that," Lenz said in denial.

"Don't fool yourself girl, he may only train you in a basic way so that he can increase his own power with you as a tool. You are strong enough that you don't need a leash. He will only hold you back, am I wrong?"

Lenz was clearly becoming tilted and confused, "He has held me back before, telling me that I wasn't ready for something when I've proven that I was. He never gives me many chances to show him I can handle it."

"And he won't if he can hold you down. Don't let him, you can be what he refuses to be! Just trust your feelings!" Chal urged.

Lenz couldn't help but nod her head slightly, "How?"

"Someone is coming. Concentrate your rage, focus your anger. Let your passion and desire out for the world to see. Do not be afraid of it, embrace it. Only then can you gain mastery over your power and surpass those stronger than you!" Chal suggested.

"So, it's almost like becoming a Super Saiyan for the first time, thanks!" Lenz said as she waved and ducked out of the cell. Chal nodded his head as she quickly dashed deeper into the dungeon to hide. A few minutes later, the large brute Bido strutted in, looking anxious to continue his work.

"So scum, how are we feeling today? Think you can withstand me again?" Bido asked.

Chal grinned as he saw Lenz run past the open door, "I feel fabulous. I can already tell that today is a good day." Chal laughed slightly as his eyes glowed a faint red before shifting back to a dim violet. _This should be a good show, don't disappoint me, Verto._

* * *

Verto headed to the bar for a bite to eat in order to clear his head. He didn't exactly expect to have the food fly at him when the doors slid open. Within its walls, dozens of soldiers were brawling with each other in a massive bar fight. There were fists, food, drinks and even a few ki blasts flying around. Security was trying to stop the riot, but were only getting pulled into it instead. Verto stood by and watched for the time being. Unlike the fight between two guards earlier, this one presented a mild portion of entertainment; though it did nothing to improve his mood. It wasn't long before someone with a bit more of a presence and authority came by to join him.

"You know, there is something about watching weak grunts slugging it out that is very enjoyable," Bojack said.

"Even though it's meaningless," Verto muttered.

"Every battle has meaning, that's what makes things interesting. If it has no discernable meaning, the warriors create their own meaning with their pride. Surely you, as a Saiyan, understand pride," Bojack pointed out.

Verto shrugged, "Guess I can't argue with that."

Bojack beamed down at him, "Shall we discuss something that has meaning then? No names of course."

"If you mean your hostile takeover, then you'll have to give me more time, if I even decide to go through with it."

"You've had your chances several times by now," Bojack declared.

"Your, target, is more paranoid than you think. He's on guard at all times," Verto countered.

"I suspected that, figure out a way, boy," Bojack ordered.

Verto scowled, "Or what? Apparently your minions were deaf, I never agreed to anything!"

"Yes, they told me that, but you are not a complete fool. You know it's necessary and it's the right thing to do. You have my personal guarantee that your home will not be touched," Bojack claimed.

"I don't believe you," Verto stated.

Bojack grinned, "You could just kill me instead then, if you feel up to trying. You win either way." Verto shifted his eyes away from Bojack, _He does have a point…oh hell. They're both trying to talk me into it._

"I'll consider it, after this Renegade business is finished," Verto replied.

"Of course, that does take priority, though you should also consider the timing. He would likely decide to terminate the agreement when it is a convenient time to do so. I suggest you keep both eyes open at _all_ times. You wouldn't want something to happen and not be prepared for it," Bojack suggested. Verto watched Bojack step into the bar, feeling a brief trickle of cold fear from his cryptic words. Bojack walked right in and ended the entire brawl with one punch. The unfortunate soldier died immediately, but everyone else took notice and stopped.

"The next soldier I see fighting will not only forfeit his life, but also everyone else's in this room!" Bojack shouted. The elites scampered back to their activities as they rushed out the door, leaving only the injured, Bojack and the bartender.

Bojack laughed a bit, "Now that is how you maintain order!" Verto scowled as Bojack tossed the dead soldier aside and silently made up his mind. Bojack ordered one drink and promptly downed it before departing, grinning at Verto the entire time as he left. Verto tensed slightly as his fists balled up, _That's it. I'm just gonna kill them both._

* * *

Lenz left Chal to his torture, unsure on how to proceed. She found herself walking by the arena that was carved out of a cave and decided to go in. Her intention was to train, fueled by motivation from Chal's speech. Seeing Zangya in there by herself only added to it. Zangya appeared to be practicing some sort of dance-like movement that was related to her fighting style. It actually reminded Lenz a bit of her older movements. She was gracefully swinging her arms in a carefree manner as she kept her eyes closed, though she was lifting her legs up at the point of attack and then pausing, representing kicking patterns. Zangya paused mid-form though when she spotted Lenz gliding to the ground level.

Zangya grinned, "I was wondering what that stench was."

Lenz scowled back, "I'm sure it's just yourself you're smelling. All that green crap on you must be horrible. Oh, that's your natural state." Zangya's demeanor didn't appear to change, though Lenz could sense otherwise when her ki level rose.

"Are there any fighting techniques to back that mouth up? Or do I get to walk all over you like Bido did?" Zangya asked.

Lenz stifled a laugh, "Walked all over me? You must have seen something else that day."

"Alright then girl, show me how you aren't just some dumb luck amateur!" Zangya challenged.

"Gladly!" Both women shook the cave with their powering up, Zangya's blue aura and Lenz's golden. It was apparent that neither would holding back, as several small rocks and pebbles randomly lifted up and scattered. The cave brightened considerably when Lenz turned Super Saiyan and charged in first, fist drawn back. Zangya smirked and aligned her fingertips to fire out small energy strands. Lenz cringed and slowed down before firing a quick ki blast to her left. It worked, and Lenz snuck by the Barrier strings by just a few hair lengths. She landed carefully as Zangya frowned.

"That trick won't work on me twice!" Lenz boasted. Zangya fired a regular ki blast from short range and Lenz took off running as fast as she could. Zangya fired again, missing by several feet when it exploded just behind Lenz. She continued to launch ki blasts as Lenz circled around before closing on her, phasing in and out depending on the next shot. Zangya stopped long enough to decipher a pattern and spun around to catch Lenz off guard. She fired a massive blast at point blank range, losing sight of Lenz in the bright green light. Once it cleared, Zangya glanced down to see a boot heading for her chin. Lenz used her hands to push off the ground as Zangya staggered backwards. Lenz didn't waste a moment a rushed at her opponent, unloading with rapid punches and kicks that beat up Zangya like no one had before. Zangya threw a desperation punch in the midst of it all, but missed when Lenz easily dodged it before hammering her down with a double over-arm smash. Zangya groaned as she hit the ground face first and blood trickled down the side of her head.

"Get up! I'm not done with you yet!" Lenz shouted. Zangya glanced up in slight fear before rolling out of the way of Lenz's next kick. She crawled to her feet and tried to get some distance. She was just a few steps into her sprint when Lenz flashed past her and then came back, landing a harsh roundhouse kick into Zangya's torso. Zangya flew backwards before skidding across the ground and landing in a crumpled pile. Lenz snorted and crossed her arms, waiting for Zangya to get up. She slowly did as a generous amount of blood dripped from her mouth and head.

"You lousy little whore!" Zangya roared.

"Give it up, or the next one kills you!" Lenz declared.

"Give up to a weakling like you? Never!" Zangya charged a potent blast behind her with one hand, the strongest one yet. Lenz resumed her guarding stance and prepared to dodge it.

"Trap Shooter!" Zangya cried out as she appeared to lazily toss the energy forward. Instead, a spray of small but powerful ki blasts came racing towards Lenz, who glided left to avoid them. To her surprise, the ki balls followed her like heat-seeking missiles. Lenz backed away at a quick pace to avoid them.

Zangya laughed despite the pain she was in, "You can't get away!" She fired another barrage of ki bolts, making at least a few dozen following Lenz around the cave. Lenz saw Zangya standing still and rushed towards her instead. Zangya grinned and prepared another batch, causing Lenz to change directions. Once she was clear enough to face Zangya, the cave was filled with small but potent ki balls. _Damnit! I can't avoid all of those!_ Lenz crossed her arms in front to protect her vitals while powering up. One by one, each ki bolt struck her general vicinity in rapid fashion. Smoke and dust filled the arena as they did, creating a larger cloud with each impact.

Zangya snickered at this while the last few shots made apparent contact, "Stupid little slut! It serves you right!" As the thick dust cloud swirled around, a portion of it suddenly broke away and surged towards her. Zangya scowled and blindly fired another blast into it. It suddenly bounced right back at her, and she narrowly avoided it by jumping to the side, watching it go by.

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" Zangya asked as she slowly turned back. Lenz shot out of the cloud like a cannon as she flew at Zangya very quickly. Zangya's eyes lit up in terror just before the hit from Lenz's forearm. Zangya was clothes-lined so hard that she flipped completely around a few times before landing on the back of her head. Lenz's boots dug into the ground as she stopped and walked back. Zangya wasn't moving aside from a mere twitch, but she was still alive. Her ki level plummeted to near zero, and there was a quick response coming their way. Lenz's eyes shifted when she felt it and considered running for it, but they were already in the room and surrounding her within seconds. It was the rest of Bojack's crew, including Bojack himself, looking none too happy.

"Looks like you overstepped your bounds again girl," Bojack said.

"She challenged me! I didn't kill her," Lenz pointed out.

"That doesn't matter at this point. Any attack on my team is a death sentence unless I say otherwise. Bujin, Bido!" Lenz leapt into the air and made for the upper exit. She was nearly there before a net of pink light engulfed her, binding her arms and legs together. Bujin and Bido were slowly dragging her to the ground with the Barrier technique. Lenz felt her ki dropping rapidly and struggled to escape. She was able to turn enough to see Gokua below, testing the sharpness of his metal sword. _Oh crap!_ Lenz lunged forward with a desperation surge of energy, but didn't make it far before she lost the Super Saiyan form. She could hear their laughter as she was slowly drawn to the ground. _Shit! This is where little brother always steps in, but I can't sense him. Where are you? I don't want to die like this!_

"_Then do something about it!_" a voice said. Lenz's head jerked up as she glanced around, though she saw no one else nearby. Gokua came up from behind while she continued to struggle against the bonds.

"_Who's there?_" Lenz thought out.

"_That isn't important girl. You don't want to die, so don't allow it to happen. Use your anger, use your rage. Show these fools your true power! Don't fight yourself, let it happen!_"

"All right Gokua, you've stalled long enough. I wouldn't want to take away your sword privileges!" Bojack called out.

"It'll be my pleasure to slice and dice her into tiny little cubes my lord. Then we'll deal with that runt!" Gokua said as he took aim.

Lenz gasped, "Like hell you will!"

"Maybe I'll keep part of your hair to improve my sword's hilt. It does have a certain style!" Gokua laughed as he swung down. He plunged his sword down towards Lenz's neck, a lethal cut, if it had hit that is. It did hit something, but it was not flesh. A thick red swirl of energy had blocked Gokua's sword, preventing any damage to Lenz. He pulled back and glanced at the others, unsure of what was happening. Soon the red surrounded Lenz, coming off her in flame-like wave. Gokua sweated both from heat and nervousness as he stepped backwards. Lenz's teeth were clenched so hard that her gums bled, and her eyes were flashing with red power.

"_Use your anger. They want you dead. They want your brother dead. They want Verto dead. They're all going to die!"_ The Barrier's energy strands melted off of Lenz as and she stood up, seething in raw rage. The cave shook violently as Bojack's crew looked on in pure surprise and even fear. Lenz screamed abruptly as her deepest power poured out for the world to see. The bright red Psi formed a column and shot into the ceiling, through the base and into space. Gokua was forced away from the power release, as were Bujin and Bido. Bojack remained calmly determined as Lenz stood up and turned around with a very threatening glare. She no longer even breathed like an adolescent female, but like a raging beast. At the same time though, she managed to stay completely still as her deadly energy swirled around her. Bojack had seen this behavior before out of Rotians, but never had felt even remotely threatened by it. This time would be different, and Bojack locked eyes with Lenz as he removed his bandana.

**A/n: Cliffhanger of doom, ready to serve!**

**WDG:** Screw you.

**VB**: Muhahahaha


	64. Breakdown

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 63: Breakdown**

Lenz's head turned from side to side as her fiery red aura crackled around her. One could say that she was attempting to choose a target, but rational thought could not be assured in this case. Of the four before her, only one was not showing obvious fear.

Bojack tossed his bandana aside, "Restrain her again!" Bujin and Bido cast their hands forward and channeled the Barrier technique. The strands of energy never got close enough to touch Lenz, as they burned up once they struck her powerful aura. Just as the two henchmen realized this, the potent energy surged again, knocking them both flat. Lenz locked eyes with the only one nearby that was still standing: Bojack. Unleashing a feral battle cry, she flew towards him with new speed and a fist outstretched. Bojack sidestepped and parried the punch barehanded. His hand came up smoking as he stared at it in surprise. A flash of red rushed by his face just as he tilted backwards. Lenz skidded to a stop a few dozen feet away while Bojack examined the fresh cut on his green cheek. It seemed to bother him more than anything else at this point and his green power spilled out. Much of his outfit then ripped off as his skin color turned a lighter green and his muscles increased in size. Lenz only growled at the apparent threat before charging at him again. Bojack was ready for the attack and deflected the first few punches before returning them.

A brief brawl broke out as both warriors hit each other with maximum force. Lenz didn't appear to be trying to block any blows, but Bojack was having trouble dealing with the ferocity of her swiping punches and kicks while guarding himself. His team looked on from a generous distance, but all three were ready to jump in at a moment's notice. Bojack attempted to create that moment by firing a sudden blast right at Lenz's face. She avoided it, but was left wide open for a sharp back fist that sent her sprawling backwards. Bojack leapt into the air with his hands together as he flew straight down towards Lenz on the ground. She saw him coming and held out her claw like hand as if trying to catch him. Instead, a vivid red blast formed, and Bojack's eyes widened in surprise. An incredibly powerful beam shot out, missing Bojack narrowly when he glided backwards. It ripped through the ceiling, creating another vast opening. A few random screams managed to find their way into the air, but faded just as fast when Lenz's beam silenced them forever. Bojack glanced up long enough to see and sense the effects of the deadly attack, and quickly realized what he was dealing with.

"Now, attack her! I don't want to see her move again!" he ordered. Bido, Bujin and Gokua unloaded with a storm of ki blasts, all directed at Lenz until the area around her exploded multiple times. Bojack landed next to Bido, smirking slightly as he charged his own potent power with both of his hands drawn aside. He fired his gigantic beam into the dust clouds, but it stopped short. A red mass of energy collided with the beam and pushed it back. Everyone was taken aback by this when they saw Lenz in the middle of it, shoving Bojack's beam backwards by flying against it. Bojack opened fire again to reinforce his attack, and the others added to it from all angles, shooting smaller blasts to try and disrupt Lenz. A few lucky strikes got in and Lenz lost enough momentum to be quickly overwhelmed by Bojack's beam before being caught in a much larger detonation. No one dared move until the blast cleared and they saw Lenz lying still in the midst of a sizable crater.

Bojack cautiously sighed, "Gokua, check her!" Gokua bowed slightly and strode into the blast point. Lenz's jumpsuit was torn in several places, and her armor was completely destroyed. Other than a few bruises and small scrapes, she didn't look very injured, but she also wasn't moving. Gokua pulled a smaller knife from his back and bent down, intent to cut a sample of her hair off like before. He stopped short when her hand suddenly rose up and snatched his. Bright, red-hot energy flashed around her again as Gokua tried to pull away. He eventually did manage it and backed off while checking his smoldering wrist over. He took his eye off Lenz in doing so, and it was about to cost him.

"You fool! Look out!" Bojack shouted. Gokua looked up just in time to see a claw shaped palm wrapped in power tear into his chest. Lenz stopped as Gokua froze in surprised pain. His entire torso glowed red for a brief moment before a distinct but small burst of energy detonated inside. Lenz pulled her blood soaked arm out, holding a charred but beating organ in her hand. Gokua himself managed to gasp at the gaping hole in his chest just as it leaked black smoke. A wet, gurgling cough came with it when the smoke also came from his eyes and mouth. His final scream was barely heard by anyone, and silenced itself as he died on his way to the ground. Even Bojack's jaw had slipped as he sensed the residual energy literally burning around his dead subordinate. Lenz squeezed the villain's heart until it cracked apart into overcooked ashes and drifted to the ground with the rest of the dust. She then set her sights on Bojack again, who scowled with determination while his other henchmen were wisely backing off. Lenz stepped towards him with her teeth bared in rage before a bright silver light drew her attention downward. There stood Verto, powered up all the way and holding her necklace out to her. Her anger seemed to soften a bit, but not by much.

"Calm down," Verto ordered.

"Argh, get out of the way!" Lenz snapped back.

"I'll say it again, calm down. Do you even know what you just did?" Verto asked with all seriousness.

"They attacked me! They'll pay for it!" Lenz growled.

"Which I will deal with in a moment. You released your deepest power out of anger and as I thought might happen, you couldn't get a hold of yourself. I'm guessing they used that string barrier trick again to drain your ki. But you need to calm down and focus your energy. Take this too," Verto said as he held out her blue crystal. Lenz responded by slapping his hand away.

Verto grimaced, but sighed slightly, "This'll set things back between you and me, but it's for your own good."

"Open your damn eyes shrimp! They want to kill you, this whole thing was a trap from the start!" Lenz screamed from barely three feet away, causing Verto to wince slightly.

"She's delirious boy! You'll have to kill her eventually! Surely you can feel that power of hers and you know it can't be controlled!" Bojack called out.

Verto snapped his head sideways and shot a blast at Bojack's feet, "You stay right there Bojack, and shut the hell up. I'll deal with you and your thugs soon enough!" Verto then turned and stared into Lenz's glaring red eyes, though feeling a bit nervous by the raw negativity coming from her.

"If you don't calm down, you'll do something else you'll regret," Verto said.

"So I killed him, whoopdee-doo! He deserved it, we haven't got time for any of your soft shit!" Lenz bellowed.

Verto sighed heavily, "You leave me no choice." A blue-white burst of Chi struck Lenz in the stomach suddenly and reacted instantly with her energy as it spread across her body. Seemingly endless painful waves of lightning rushed through her as she cried out in pain and sunk to her knees.

"H-How could you?!" she stammered.

"Because you're bringing nothing but trouble on yourself. I know how that power works and it's incredibly tough to reel yourself back in once you've let go. Here, keep this on you at all times!" Verto ordered again. He dropped her necklace over her head as her shaking hands clutched his. Her eyes, which were blood red aside from the lightning, began to shift more blue. Lenz painfully slumped down as Verto pulled his Spirit Bomb from her, holding it in the air as a precaution. Tears spilled from her eyes once her red Psi was completely suppressed.

"How could you take their side over mine?" she cried.

Verto bent down to look her in the eye, "Don't be stupid. I am taking your side Lenz. I'm just making sure you don't lose yourself like I almost have a few times now. Learn from the experience, because it's not something you want to repeat. You didn't just kill that guy, you completely torched his soul. No one will ever see him again, even in the afterlife. He probably did deserve death, but not like that." Lenz's jaw quivered as her salty tears flowed faster down her face.

The sight of Lenz crying was enough for Verto to drop his Spirit Bomb; "Don't cry over them, only yourself. They're not worth it." Verto stood back up and faced the others with one of his more threatening glares.

"This isn't going to work master, their bond is too strong. He probably won't leave her side again," Bujin whispered. Verto's ears picked up on the low voice and his lower lip twisted slightly in anger.

"Pity that he arrived before Lord Frost. That would have worked out quite nicely. I suppose there's always our fallback plan," Bojack said aloud. A distinct whoosh sounded to Verto's right, where Frost suddenly teleported in.

"What's going on here? Explain!" he demanded.

Verto's scowl deepened, "Oh I get it. You wanted Frost to beat me here and identify Lenz as a threat. Then whether he killed her or not, I would go after him. Clever plan."

Frost raised his eyebrows, "Is that right Bojack?"

Bojack smirked slightly, "Well I can't deny that it's a possibility, my lord."

Frost smiled lightly as he turned towards Verto, "Interesting deduction my friend, but only partially accurate."

Verto's eyes widened, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I never expected you to kill Bojack or the others unless you were forced to. Your softness sickens me. So much like Son Gohan, the son of the monkey that killed my father. Softness in a Saiyan is pure hypocrisy, and here I heard you disliked that," Frost said with disdain.

Verto gritted his teeth slightly, "Then why bother asking me to go after him?"

"For a test, just like Bojack suggested that you could attempt to kill me. Due to your indecision, not to mention delay, I decided to stage the girl's death by whatever means. What you did afterwards was going to determine if I wanted you as a subordinate or not. She was a threat, but not nearly as much as you are. I planned for an accident out in space, but she conveniently came here and provoked action. Her power was substantial as I expected, but I didn't expect you to get here first. I suppose I only have myself to blame for using this energy resistant rock that blocks most power signals outside this room. It figures that my own brilliant idea would throw a wrench into my plans. And your conflicting attitude towards everything proved to me that you wouldn't have made a good right-hand man," Frost explained. Verto remained speechless for the moment, though he appeared to be swishing saliva around in his mouth.

He spit it out a moment later, "So you've decided that I'm not a good asset. I have to say that it didn't take as long as I thought it might. I also figured I'd have to go through about half your soldiers before you tried to stab me in the back. Just so you know, I was gonna kill you both anyway."

Frost shared his teeth with a bright grin, "Oh I doubt that very much. More likely you were trying to figure a way out of here and go running back to Earth to hide behind the other Saiyans like a little brat that's in over his head. A pity that things didn't work out. Poor Gokua, such a waste."

"He was the sacrifice I take it?" Verto asked.

"Anyone would do, though I didn't expect the girl to do the deed. I expected you to do that, and then perhaps our so-called alliance could have proceeded from there, oh well," Frost said with eerie calmness.

Verto glanced past Frost to Bojack and his crew, "And all of you were just fine with that? Your priorities are pretty messed up."

"Anyone of us would gratefully die for the cause," Bujin claimed.

"I doubt he would have if he knew he would cease to exist. That's what is in store for you all now," Verto warned.

"You and your friends have taught us that there is life after death and that they can be brought back," Frost reminded.

Verto's glare intensified, "Only for a year. After a year, the Dragonballs won't restore anyone who's died. And you're sadly mistaken if you think he could even be revived now. I hope you all took notice of the way he died, that'll happen to you if you piss me off. Actually, you already did. So let's just do this, I'm tired of dealing with you and all of your bullshit!"

Frost snorted lightly, "I hope you don't automatically assume you can win. You against me alone is a drastic mismatch, but against all of us reduces your chances are less than zero." Bojack, Bido and Bujin suddenly phased out and took different positions. Verto's eyes shifted slightly, taking note that all four of them had formed a circle with Verto and Lenz at the center.

"In exchange for not killing the rest of you, you guys won't hurt Lenz. She survives this battle unharmed, are we clear on that?" Verto offered.

Bido laughed, "And what is going to stop us once you're dead?" Bido took one step towards Lenz before a loud crack filled the air. Bido's eyes lit up in shock as he groaned and fell over. Verto was behind him with his glowing fist held out, and had struck Bido's lower back so hard that he had smashed the spinal cord.

"You can't touch anything when you're crippled," Verto said as he landed. Bojack and Bujin froze in surprise, but Frost only smiled evilly.

"I applaud your speed kid, it may be as good as mine. Very well, I accept those terms, after all every battle like this should be one on one. Bujin, take Bido and Zangya to medical for treatment, but not the monkey girl. She gets to stay and witness what happens to those who defy me!" Frost ordered. Verto lowered into his stance as Bujin used his mental powers to lift Bido and Zangya towards the doorway. _Well, even if he claims that Bojack and everyone else will stay out of it, I can't trust his words. If he gives me any reason, I'll drop Bojack before he can even react. Then I'll focus everything I've got on Frost._ Lenz got up slowly with pure concern on her face as she stepped away from the standoff and to the side of the arena.

Frost spread his arms slightly, "Before we begin, I do have a request of my own. Please do not try any massive energy waves in here. As I said, the cave rock is very resistant, and a reckless explosion will only backfire on both of us."

Verto smirked slightly, "Is that why there's two holes in the ceiling?"

Frost glanced up, "Hmmm, I wonder how that happened?"

"I already know. It was when Lenz released her power. That potent energy will tear through most anything when it's concentrated enough. That's how I beat you here, I could sense what was happening once it was exposed to the outside and before your scouters could analyze it, or even overload. Otherwise I might not have known due to your 'tough' cave walls. Now if she could rip through it without knowing how to use that power, imagine what I'm going to do to it," Verto pointed out.

Frost frowned and assumed a power-up stance as his ki swelled. Verto stood tall against the push provided by Frost's energy, though Bojack and Lenz had to shield themselves. Blue light shadowed the cave despite the lightning, making Frost the only one visible. It wasn't long before a bright silver rose up from Verto, a clear response to Frost. The standoff finally ended when Frost vanished. Verto barely ducked a knife hand from behind and turned to bury a kick into Frost's side. Verto hit air and spun to recover his ground. Frost was standing a few feet away, arms crossed with a smirk, looking very much like his father. _That figures, he's going to rely on Instant Transmission to offset any speed advantage I have. But why is he still in this form? Doesn't he know he'll have to go all out? It doesn't even feel like he's at full power in this form. The last thing I need is to waste time and energy while he sandbags._ Frost vanished again and Verto blocked the left hook aimed for his face without even looking. Frost stepped away, seemingly amused.

"I'm ready to do this whenever you're ready to take it seriously," Verto said.

"Oh come now, this will be a good enough challenge if I remain in this form. We're nearly equal and besides, what's wrong with a few little skirmishes to test one another?" Frost asked.

Verto's fists glowed green as his frown deepened, "Because I'm not here just to fuck around and die." Verto phased out and Frost turned immediately to block a rear attack. When it wasn't there, Frost wildly glanced around. He needn't look long before Verto suddenly drove his fist into Frost's stomach. Spit flew as Verto pulled back and Frost hunched over like he had been stabbed. His body shook from the agony of the blow as he dropped to his knees. The look on both his and Bojack's face was priceless shock and awe. Verto stepped back just a bit, lined up and shuffled his feet into a sliding sidekick that hit the larger alien directly in the face with full extension. Frost sailed backwards and landed on his back, grinding into the rock for a few feet before staying still.

"If you're serious about killing me or her, then you had better expect the worst. You won't walk through me as easily as you think! If you plan to take me on, then you had better go all out because if you don't, this will be over very quickly! For someone who has Saiyan blood running through his veins, you seem awfully ignorant," Verto declared.

"What's that supposed to mean little brother?" Lenz called out.

"It means just how it sounds. There's a reason he had issues as a child and it's the same reason that he's so strong now. Saiyan blood made him this way. He might not have a tail or look like us, but there's no mistaking the fact that it has helped to make him stronger than any other like him," Verto explained.

"So that's what it was," Bojack said from far across the room. Vero could hear Frost stirring at the revelation about his secret.

"But wouldn't that make him part Saiyan or something?" Lenz asked.

"Not quite. I don't understand how genetic diseases are cured with blood transfusions if they can be, but I don't have medical knowledge so I wouldn't know any better. I suspect that once he started using the blood of the Renegade and Rotian Saiyans, the power within magnified his own. Maybe not in the same way as you or I, but it definitely had an impact. Funny, you tell me that my compassion makes me a hypocrite. Look in the mirror Frost, because you're the walking definition!" Verto said. Frost wiped a trickle of blood from his lip, not smiling anymore.

"How did you find out about that?" he asked.

"When I said that I was aware of some of your problems, I wasn't bluffing. My source wasn't anyone here, in a way it was your father," Verto replied.

"Hmph, of course it would be him. He never approved of me from the very start, nor trusted me to do one tiny little job. He even blamed it on the Saiyan blood that he himself forced into me since my infant years. If anyone is a hypocrite, it's him!" Frost grumbled.

"Like father, like son. And you're both ignorant fools," Verto said as he crossed his arms.

Frost glared back, "You Saiyans have mocked us long enough. If my only shortfall is to be declared part Saiyan, then I'm willing to live with that. It's mystifying to me why I ever showed sympathy to scum like you, never mind respect. Now I can see why father found it so humiliating that Vegeta saved my life that day, years ago. Vegeta, of all people!"

"He wouldn't have done it without a lot of convincing first, no matter how good of friends you may have been. It's always been his nature to take advantage of a situation when it presents itself," Verto pointed out.

"You're certainly right about that. And now I'll grant your request. You're in such a hurry to end this after all, so I will end it. No more mercy for you or anyone else!" Frost shouted as his eyes glowed red. His power increased by several factors as his body bulged and increased in size. His head swelled and changed shape as well. Verto had to guard against the wind force he was creating, and the entire cave shook violently. Large cracks formed in the floor, overriding the older blast marks. The ceiling also began to show signs of wear and tear.

"Lenz, get out!" Verto called to her.

"No, I'm staying with you!" Lenz said as she shook her head.

"You can't help me with this, get out while you can!"

Frost's deep voice sounded over the wind as a mask slid over his face, "No one is leaving here, not until you're all dead!"

**A/n: Someone call that guy who does "Let's get ready to rumble!" I've got a job for him.**

**WDG: **_Let's get ready to rumble!_ … Would that do?

**VB**: Good enough.


	65. Verto vs Frost

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 64: Verto vs. Frost**

Verto stood his ground even as chunks of rock landed around him. Lenz was doing her best to avoid them while staying away from the standoff. Bojack was standing much farther away from all of them, apparently trying to maintain as much distance as possible. Frost finished his transformation and allowed Verto to take it in, letting him get a feel for what was coming. Verto remained focused on him, showing no signs of fear or faltering.

Frost laughed slightly, "You're not afraid of me yet. That's excellent, but I will make you fear me before this is over!"

"It's not the first time I've gone up against someone stronger than me. And just so we're clear, I won't ever be afraid of someone like you. The only fear I sense is coming from you, the fear of losing," Verto claimed.

"My, such a colorful imagination!" Frost chuckled. Verto sank into his stance, _Okay, any physical strength advantages are gone now, along with pure power and potential energy. I'll have to drag this out a little with no mistakes and burn him down at a distance with focused blasts. I seriously doubt I can finish this quick unless he makes a critical error. Even though I don't really like to play defensively, a pure head on assault will fail against him. And if I remember correctly, each transformation also brings more speed for these guys._ _This is a one-mistake battle for me, and he can afford several of them. I have to be careful. _Frost suddenly charged in quickly, blowing right by a slightly surprised Verto. Frost shoved him down from behind and then threw in a strong kick towards Verto when he popped back up. Verto dodged the kick by millimeters and fired a quick counter-blast at point blank range. Frost phased out just as Verto turned and fired another into his path. Frost backed off this time and deflected the green Chi blast, looking slightly surprised himself. Verto remained in stance, _Good start. Gotta be ready for the teleportation. Read his moves._

"As I thought, even with a great difference in our power levels, your speed is just as great as mine, maybe greater. Interesting since Gohan's was not. Perhaps your tiny body gives you that edge," Frost said.

Verto snorted lightly, "I doubt that's all of it."

Frost mimicked him, "Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. Typically when two fighters have the same speed, the smaller of the two gets the advantage. I'll have to use my flyswatter to crush you like the bug you are!" Frost stuck his index finger out and charged it with pink energy. He barely had much of a charge in before Verto's green sword appeared, ready and waiting for it.

Frost dropped his attack, "I see. You really have met my father. I guess I should stop underestimating you." Frost lifted his finger and fired the Death Beam anyway. Verto used only one hand to easily knock it aside with his sword.

Frost grinned, "Time to step this up!" Frost rapidly fired smaller blasts, many more than Verto expected. Verto twirled his sword around at an equally strong pace, knocking down blast after blast into the dirt and walls. He could feel Frost's ki starting to build up into something, but the blast intensity didn't change. _This isn't designed for attack, this is a distraction._ Verto quickly gathered energy into his other hand and cast it forward, creating his spinning shield to catch the blasts. Just as the first few blasts pinged off, Frost vanished. Verto's eyes widened as he swung his sword backwards and turned his head. Both warriors froze in place suddenly, and neither of them moved from the current predicament. Frost's fist was inches away from Verto's head, brushing against the green energy. Verto's sword was inches from Frost's neck, close enough for Frost to feel the intense energy warm his chin. A line of sweat ran down Frost's face when he realized the mistake and he moved away quickly as the last of his ki barrage exploded off Verto's shield from behind him.

"That is a highly advanced level of defense, you've been trained very well. This might be challenging after all," Frost complimented. Verto didn't answer as he kept his sword at a ready position. Frost charged up a potent power ball before throwing it. Verto elected to dodge, keeping his full attention on Frost. The ki ball hooked around and came at him again from behind. Verto's eyes shifted off Frost for only a brief moment when he jumped out of its way. Frost was already gone, though his homing attack turned again to come back for more. Verto was able to track Frost's position and sensed that he was moving around the room at high speed, waiting for the opening. _Figures he'd try to hide himself while I deal with his attack. Just like his old man, a fucking coward._ Verto fired a small but focused Chi beam at Frost's homing ball, detonating it while he stood ready with his sword. He felt the attack coming from the right and swung that way, right through Frost's image.

"Hiding yourself isn't going to work Frost!" Verto announced. He was kicked from behind and stumbled forward. He managed to turn as he fell and fired a quick blast at another afterimage. A seemingly random ki blast shot towards him from thin air, but only hit ground when Verto phased out. _Fine, two can play at this game! I'm not falling for his damn trap._ Verto moved about the room quickly as he tried to not only throw Frost off his trail, but track him easier as well. He spotted the Changeling doing the same, though Frost was having a more difficult time in chasing him. Verto was able to stay several paces ahead even with Frost's teleporting. He could see and sense him reappearing briefly where Verto had just been, making it appear that both fighters were moving randomly around the room. _Alright, as long as I can stay away and avoid the big hits, I can outlast him like this. That Instant Transmission uses up a lot of ki for someone like him, especially when he's maxed out like now._

Verto continued the movement, changing the pattern every so often so Frost wouldn't predict the next move. Several times during the next minute, they nearly hit each other by accident, which prompted Verto to jump outwards to maintain a distance. Once he did, he saw Frost also change his approach and circled the cave opposite Verto. Soon they were moving in sync, to which Frost was able to lock on easily. He fired multiple blasts to his right, causing Verto to slow down to avoid them. Once he did, Frost attacked from behind again. Verto blocked the first few punches and kicks as he jumped backwards, feeling the force behind the blows. Frost kept coming from the front, making it a direct assault. Verto narrowly stayed a half-step ahead in his dodging, barely avoiding Frost's tail when he decided to use it as well. Verto sensed slight frustration mounting up and knew his moment was coming. He patiently dodged and blocked when he had to, waiting for the overpowered attack. The two warriors kept this up for what seemed like hours to Verto, but had only been a few minutes in reality. Verto maintained his own role in Frost's attack pattern until he noticed the gap. It was a lot like Frieza's when the tail got involved. When Frost swung his around and back again, the opening was on whichever side he attacked from. It was barely an opening considering his speed, but Verto had to take it. He gathered power into his fist, letting Frost see its glow once he felt the opening coming. _I've got him, he's slowed down just a tad and probably thinks to dodge at the last second. Just need to catch him when he stops._ Frost swung his tail just as Verto expected it and right as he pulled back, Verto rushed forward with his fist out.

"Super Galic…" Frost was caught way off guard, but was still able to avoid the hit by teleporting in desperation. The sudden movement was predictable given his attack pattern so far, which allowed Verto to spin straight around and fire his energy as he glided backwards from his own momentum.

"Final Shine!" Verto's beam smashed into Frost as directly as any attack could have before exploding. The flash of green light swallowed the cave and tore through half of the remaining ceiling as well. When it cleared, Verto could see parts of the base flooring where his power had ripped through all the way to the dark starry skies. Frost was shaking slightly, which appeared to be the result of trying to block Verto's attack. His left hand and forearm was battered and bruised. Verto allowed himself to smirk just slightly, _Not the preferred effect, but it sent a message. His power appears to have dropped too. Another one like that should have better results._ Frost stood up and stared back at Verto carefully, as if he had just had a fearful moment. He also stared at his wrecked hand in slight wonder.

"I'm being too easy on you aren't I?" Frost asked.

"You wouldn't be the first one," Verto replied. He kept his eyes on Frost, while double-checking both Lenz and Bojack's respective positions. Bojack was up in the high balcony, apparently trying to stay as far from the action as possible. Lenz was below him on the ground level, but also keeping a distance. The way Frost had suddenly stopped though made Verto concerned that something was wrong. _He better not go after Lenz just to get an opening. But I wouldn't put it past him either._ Frost didn't exactly do that, but it had a similar effect. He lifted off the ground and raised a single finger to the air as he charged a massive amount of power into an attack. A violently sparking Death Ball appeared at his command, swelling to ridiculous proportions rather quickly. Parts of the remaining ceiling evaporation when the orange ball touched it, and the cave shuddered as a whole. Verto could sense a noticeable difference in this Death Ball versus the others in just the way it was gathered, and it wasn't just the power being supplied to it. It made the one Verto had seen out of Cell and Frieza look absolutely pathetic. That one had been a means to bait opponents into either saving the bystanders or winning the match, depending on what action was taken. This one clearly told Verto that Frost did not care who died as long as Verto was one of them.

"Don't do this Frost!"

"If it comes to destroying one of my planets to kill you, then so be it. I would expect no less from a freakishly powerful Saiyan like you!" Frost shouted back. Verto cringed as the wind force increased and pushed against him as he pulled his arms back to answer. Verto's green energy dimmed the arena with its bright light as he focused his energy as quickly as he could.

Frost cast his finger down as he dropped the incredible ball of doom, "Super Nova!"

Verto fired just as Frost did, "Super Galic Gun!" Beam and ball clashed violently, adding to the stress put on the environment. The close proximity of the power struggled wore on Verto much more than it did Frost, and his counter beam was subtlety pushed back. _Damnit, I can't let him overwhelm me!_

"Kaio-ken!" Verto's beam tripled in size and slammed into Frost's attack before it began to tear into it. This produced a much different result than Verto expected and the enhanced Death Ball became unstable. His eyes shot open in surprise as the energy condensed and then expanded. The light from the explosion could easily be seen far away in space to any that might have noticed. Several minutes passed before the smoke and dust clouds cleared out, though it remained for several miles around the base. The remaining cave arena had been wiped out, along with a third of the actual base. Soldiers were flying around everywhere trying to figure out what had happened. Lenz was coughing a bit from the dust, though she was more amazed that she was alive. The answer to that was the boy that appeared in front of her, who was panting rather hard as he lowered his block. Verto's armor had been blown off along with the top half of his jumpsuit. Only a few stitches of his gloves remained on his hands, falling off once he uncrossed his arms.

"How did you outrun that?" Lenz asked.

"I guess when you really want to move, you do. That crazy bastard's attack detonated at the worst possible time. It must be designed so that it can't be pushed back at him, probably by focusing his energy together as tight as possible. Most of the blast must have gone upwards, so we're lucky to be alive," Verto admitted.

"So, is he dead? I don't sense him," Lenz pointed out.

Verto glared up at the slowly dissipating mushroom cloud and snorted lightly, "If we survived, he did too." Frost eventually appeared in the crater that had formed, looking just as battered as Verto.

"That should have destroyed you both!" he growled out of anger.

"But it didn't. Maybe you should use your power more constructively. Oh hell, who am I kidding? Your father was the same way, just trying to out-power his opponents or take the easiest path to victory. It should be named the Coward's Empire," Verto replied with a slight grin.

Frost's glare deepened at the insult, "You'll pay for that, boy!" His aura appeared again as debris shot off the ground. Verto matched it with his own silver aura as Lenz backed away, and the showdown continued. They both charged each other, brightening the area again with matching punches that struck each other. Frost's second punch was overpowered and grazed Verto's cheek as he barely dodged aside. Frost tried to swing backwards, but Verto ducked down and rushed in to the wide-open Changeling. Verto's green powered fist left a noticeable dent as Frost grabbed at his torso by instinct, leaving himself open again. Verto phased out and came in from behind, planning to kick at Frost's head. Frost realized the opening and suddenly erupted with ki, pushing Verto backwards in surprise. Frost teleported out, kicking Verto in the back. Verto managed to land off balance and turn back around. Frost's fist slammed into the side of his face and Verto was planted into the ground. He had barely gotten to his feet when a sizeable blast flew at him. Verto managed to deflect it with his shield technique at the last second. He wiped the trickle of blood that ran out of his mouth and felt that his teeth had at least loosened from the impact. _Crap, that was a huge mistake, I didn't think he would recover that fast. I can't take very many hits from him. His pure strength is too much for me, and adding his ki to the mix doesn't make it any better. I have to maximize my power output, he's going to outlast me easily at this rate. I've got to go all out before he wears me down any more, it's the only way I'm going to win at this point._

"Can you see it now boy?" Frost asked as he suddenly teleported in front of Verto.

Verto spat his blood at the ground, "See what?"

"Your folly. You should have listened to me, but only now can you realize how stupid it was to go against my wishes. Don't worry though, I don't plan to make you suffer through this. I was considering letting you live after seeing your power, but I've decided not to. Give up now and it will be very painless. If you keep going though, I can't promise a thing," Frost claimed.

"That wouldn't be my style. You should know that Saiyans are very stubborn," Verto said with a slight grin.

"Only too well, maybe it came to me through the blood transfusions. All right then boy, enjoy your last moments of this battle like a Saiyan would," Frost said as he backed off and resumed his ready stance.

"Letting me have a breather just for that, gee I'm touched," Verto mocked him.

"Call it courtesy, perhaps enough to allow you to formulate a foolish plan to regain the upper hand. I know you won't get any stronger and I can remain in this form all day," Frost boasted.

"Whether that is true or not is up for debate, I know you Changelings like to take it easy. But you're wrong," Verto said.

"Oh believe me boy, you have no idea about the extents of my power, but I don't plan on letting you see something that you're clearly not ready to see. My previous form would have taken a beating, but I would have eventually beaten you with it. I just didn't want to drag this out too long and leave you thinking you ever had a chance, only to crush your hopes at the last second. It's very rude, especially when that enemy is knowledgeable enough to know better," Frost explained.

"That fine, but that's not what I'm talking about," Verto said with a tight grin.

"Enlighten me."

"Your father ran into Goku on Namek, but he wasn't a Super Saiyan yet. They were pretty even until he finally started using more of his power, forcing Goku to get desperate. While his efforts weren't enough to beat Frieza, they did leave an impression. Goku transformed in the middle of that fight and then eventually beat him, this you probably know. So how is it that a mere Saiyan managed to last that long? There's two answers to that question, one being the fact that you guys toy with your opposition way too much in order to conserve energy. The way you're doing with me," Verto pointed out.

Frost huffed slightly, "I suppose, though you are a special case. You've seen what happens when I start getting serious, I have been for awhile. Forcing me to transform at the very start was your mistake, but you don't have enough power now to take me on."

"That's where you're wrong. Goku stood up to Frieza because he knew how to amplify his power and speed past its limits by several factors. It was one of his special techniques," Verto explained as his aura flashed back on.

Frost's eyes widened slightly as the ground shook again, "Don't be foolish, there's no way your body can take something like that! And you're too young to have mastered any such technique!"

"I know the technique very well, and it can be used in this transformed state. I've done it several times," Verto said with a tight grin as his power built up, spraying random lightning around him.

"You mean when you managed to build up enough power to fend off my Super Nova? Know your limits you fool, this won't work against me!" Frost stated.

"Likewise, but I've killed myself with this before when I wasn't used to it yet. I'm not dying here, not without taking you down. This used to last only a few moments, but now I can make it last long enough to beat you and then some! Super Kaio-ken!" Verto shouted as his aura flashed into a light green color. Frost cringed as he guarded himself against the force of Verto's power. This blinded him to Verto's first movements, and he suddenly doubled over when Verto found his gut again. Verto stood there, radiating green energy almost at will, completely focused. Frost swung at him with his knife hand, only hitting air. He was suddenly smashed in the head by Verto's flying kick and he went sailing. Frost managed to recover, though wincing slightly from the impact as he landed and held his head. Blood leaked from Frost's mask in the same way it had with Verto before.

Verto stood still momentarily, but then vanished as if he had phased out. Frost's eyes widened further when he couldn't see the movement, but glanced around quickly. What he didn't know was that Verto was already behind him. Once Frost realized it, he turned to hammer Verto with his fist. Verto blocked it with one hand easily before shoving his fist aside. Frost attacked with the other hand, and Verto blocked that one just as easily. Frost's power exploded as he rapidly fired off punches and kicks at Verto. Verto didn't appear to even react to it for a moment, but Frost wasn't hitting either. Lenz's jaw slipped a bit at this, and so did Bojack's. They were having trouble seeing the speed of the two warriors as things were, but the display they saw now was staggering. A direct impact blast revealed Verto had been rapidly dodging and blocking at a pace faster than Frost could react to. By the time Frost noticed, it was already too late. He backed off enough to fire off a strong blast at Verto, only to see it slashed apart by Verto's sword when it suddenly appeared. Frost shuddered lightly as he flew high into the air and gathered his power for another Super Nova. Just as he lifted his finger, it was snatched out of the air by Verto's grip.

Frost turned in shock, "Impossible!" Verto threw him over his shoulder into the side of the deep crater. Frost hit the cliffside and was immediately hit by a potent green blast. His smoking body skidded along the side of the wall until it hit the ground facedown. Verto was there in an instant, with his sword aimed at Frost's chest. Frost suddenly vanished and reappeared hundreds of feet away, favoring his left side.

"You can run if you want. You know I'll catch you," Verto said.

"Don't get cocky, runt! When I said that you have no idea of the extent of my power, I meant it. You have proven to me that you're ready to see it though," Frost said.

"See what?" Verto asked. Frost's answer was his power erupting again and leaving incredibly large cracks in the shaking ground. Lenz fell to her knees in fear as the towers above started to tumble down. Frost's power became heavy enough to her and Bojack that they could no longer even move. Verto didn't think much of it until he saw Frost's body start to change. _What the hell? Another transformation?_

Frost's body shook before it gradually began to increase in overall size and mass. The natural armor on his arms and legs spanned outwards to cover more of his body, growing a few more spikes. His head began to extend backwards and then down the back of his neck and shoulders. His height also expanded to easily twice what it already was, making him nearly fifteen feet tall. The size of Frost's muscles had also increased by an absurd amount. His mask cracked and fell off, revealing a few huge fangs protruding from his mouth. Even Verto had to stand in awe of the giant powerhouse standing before him. Once the transformation was over, the dust settled and it was eerily quiet. The heavy feeling in the air did not change however, as Lenz could barely even breath. Bojack found himself crawling into a tunnel and attempting to leave as quickly as possible. Frost chuckled a bit, his voice almost demonic in its tone. His ki erupted again and wrapped around the cave, making Verto feel as if he were slowly getting crushed by it. He released his green Kaio-ken aura to compensate and breathed much easier.

"Son Gohan told you about my previous form, but he never saw this. You can thank your own cursed Saiyan brethren for it. The advantages of your people's blood have become mine! Be proud, I've never used this power on an enemy before, but you are worthy enough to see it!" Frost bellowed. _Well shit. Even with Kaio-ken, this will take awhile. Longer than I have. He should lose speed like this, but I know that isn't a guarantee. Man, he really is something else. I'll have to throw everything at him to even have a chance. That means I only have a few minutes to finish this before I can't use Kaio-ken anymore, no more defense._

"So, my question to you is this. Since you've never used it before, how can you be sure that your body can handle it?" Verto asked.

"That's our benefit of changing shape when we radically raise our power levels. What makes you think you can even stay in the same room once your power boost flat lines?" Frost countered.

"I'll die trying!" Verto claimed.

"Yes, you will! You have no chance!" Both of their auras expanded outwards, with Frost's getting much bigger and violent while Verto's merely stayed at a calm but focused swirl.

"Come at me boy! Let's see if you can break me now!" Frost shouted. Verto phased out, and Frost's aura dropped away as green flashes appeared around him. Each one seemed to represent an impact of a punch or kick, but no one could see anyone throwing them. Lenz finally caught sight of Verto inside of the bright light long enough to know. He was blazing around Frost's body at such a fast pace that no one could track him, including Frost. He sluggishly flung his arms out, but missed by a great deal when Verto had already gotten behind him well in advance. Frost appeared to be helpless to this incredible attack speed. He grunted and groaned as he stumbled around before a final hit pushed him backwards. Verto finally stopped and stood still long enough to observe the effect. He looked clearly winded now from putting out that much energy and effort. To his dismay, Frost stood up easily as if nothing had happened. There were light blemishes on his new, toughened armor, but nothing more than that. _Now he's a damn tank. Any stamina advantage I had is long gone. He's slower than before, but I doubt my Galic fist would leave much more than a pop mark at this point._

"You are an overly annoying pest, nothing more. Your power actually has exceeded mine for the moment, but that desperation technique of yours will only wear you down faster. Whether or not you could have beaten me before is irrelevant. Now you see what I meant when I said I could kill you whenever I felt like it!" Frost boasted. Verto's Kaio-ken aura dropped off as he sighed deeply.

"Wise choice boy, you won't be able to run forever and you know it. Face your end on your feet like a man!" Frost said gleefully. Verto's palm lit up with bright blue as he managed a meek smile, to which Frost wasn't sure how to react.

"Don't tell me you plan to attack with only that?" Frost asked.

"You're quite a bit stronger than me, I'm not afraid to admit that. Even with Kaio-ken, I'm not sure I could defeat you in a straight on battle like we've been doing. That's why I'll try something different that I've been saving just for you. Your bigger size, bigger power and corrupted mind also make you a very big target. You're evil to the core, and it will be your downfall. Spirit Bomb!" Verto shouted as he launched his attack. Frost chuckled as the blue bomb flew at him, and he held out one finger to deflect it. When he did, the ball condensed and shot into his large, bulky arm. He tried to shake it off, but it only crawled upwards, leaving a trail of white and blue lightning in its wake.

He howled in pain, "Argh! What is this?" He glanced up only to see four more Spirit Bombs just like the first, hitting each of his other limbs and his chest plate. The feedback energy increased by several degrees as it fed off Frost's ki. The monstrous alien dropped to a knee, covered in the burning lightning waves. Verto didn't even hesitate as his Kaio-ken aura flashed back on, and he gathered every ounce of that energy into his palms behind him. Frost's glossy eyes widened when he sensed the massive power building up from Verto, and he tried to stand and do the same. The feedback effect intensified and put Frost on both knees, unable to move much if at all.

"Damnit! This is some sort of enhanced Protoss technique isn't it?" he growled.

"Nice guess, it sort of is. It reverses the negative energy that people like you emit. Your own thoughts and emotions saturate your power like a flooded lake, and this turns that against you!" Verto explained as his blast swelled and swirled around behind him.

"I can get out of this boy, you think I can't calm myself down in order to overpower this?" Frost asked.

"I'm aware of that, but that will take time. Time that I don't intend to give you!" Frost's eyes widened as he realized what was coming. Verto was focusing all of his power together, making his attack even stronger than it normally could be.

"No, you won't beat the Renegades without me!" Frost claimed as the wind from Verto's powerful blast began to toss debris randomly.

"And you wouldn't beat them without me either! The time for begging is long gone. Your father did that too, just get ready to die with what dignity you have left. I'm done listening to you!" Verto said. His blast brightened as he prepared to fire with everything he had. _He'll be able to get out of this if I don't hurry. This has to hit, otherwise we're dead._

"Your time ends now! Super…Galic…" Verto chanted. All of a sudden, someone phased in between Verto and Frost just as Verto was starting to move his arms. Despite the potent blast behind him, Verto was able to stop himself and keep his attack from blowing up in his hands. He glanced up to get a better look at the intruder, but it definitely wasn't whom he might have expected.

"Get the hell out of the way!" Verto urged.

Fuzai stepped forward, "No. You can't kill him, not now!"

"And why the fuck not? He intends to make the Saiyans extinct! In case you're not keeping track, that includes you!" Verto shouted back.

"You don't understand! Killing him now will doom us all, you heard the old man right? This alliance can't fail!" Fuzai said.

"Oh, now you believe him? What changed your mind? You know what, I don't care! Even if his stupid prophecy is right, it will come to this eventually. Now move, or you're going to die with your precious lord!" Verto snarled.

"Verto, no!" Lenz called out. Fuzai's eyes filled with sadness and for the first time in front of Verto, he showed his own guilt. Verto could feel that emotion even through all of the power being emitted from both him and Frost. It was guilt over his own actions, or lack there of. Guilt over telling Frost where his crazed people were hiding, guilt over being responsible for their deaths. And there was a tremendous amount of guilt over his own sister, Lenz. Verto visibly softened and hesitated as Fuzai stared him down. Verto's blast flickered and faded as he got caught up in the stare off and then realized what was going to happen.

"Fuzai, don't," he whispered. Verto's power abruptly faded as his hair turned back to black and he tumbled to the ground. Lenz screamed and rushed to his side as he fell into the unnatural sleep. Fuzai didn't look at her though as a stiff breeze from Frost pushed against his back. He was back on his feet, aura pulsing up and down as he slowly recovered from the Spirit Bombs that Verto had used on him.

Fuzai turned around to face him, "I saved your life Lord Frost, so spare them in return."

Frost laughed, "Hahahaha, look who stepped forth. I can't say I expected to be saved by one of the weakest and yet most valuable soldiers I've ever had. Alright Fuzai, they can live for now. But that boy will not be allowed to see the waking world again!" Lenz cringed in anger as Fuzai dared to even look at her.

"Traitor!" she shouted.

"Be quiet Lenz, at least you'll live past today. At this point, that's all that matters," he scolded.

**Power levels (yeah you get them this time, plus some backtracking)**

**Chal: 305,000,000**

**Lenz (Super Saiyan): 180,000,000; Berserker: 420,000,000**

**Bido: 145,000,000**

**Bujin: 110,000,000**

**Gokua: 135,000,000**

**Zangya: 125,000,000**

**Bojack: 250,000,000; Maximum: 340,000,000**

**Super Mystic Verto: 622,000,000; Super Kaio-ken: 933,000,000**

**Frost (4****th**** form): 610,000,000; 5****th**** form: 745,000,000; Ultimate form: 850,000,000**

**A/n: Damned interference, it always ruins an awesome battle! Oh well, I guess there's always hope for a second round eh?**


	66. Rescue Operation

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 65: Rescue Operation**

Lenz shook her fist while fuming outside the lab nearly a full day later. Fuzai took silent notice of this as he stood next to her while the alien doctors were placing an unconscious Verto on an examining table. Frost had ordered Verto be sedated indefinitely, thus having no intention of letting the boy have another chance at him. Due to the damage of the area, Verto wasn't even retrieved off the battlefield for quite awhile, nor was he given any real medical attention. Lenz was particularly furious about this, but it was all for naught. Fuzai was able to negotiate that Lenz wouldn't be imprisoned, provided she caused no trouble and kept her power suppressing gem around her neck at all times. She didn't need to be reminded of that however, considering what had happened. Lenz was busily trying to contact Verto through her newly learned telepathic communication, but she wasn't having any luck and it was making her angrier.

"Why did you do it brother?" she asked.

"I did it to protect you. That kid was going to be the end of all of us," he replied calmly.

"No he wasn't! He was our best chance to rid the universe of Frost!" she claimed.

"You don't know all the facts sister. He was going to be the one that destroyed the galaxy. Maybe not directly, but he would have been the root cause."

"Bullshit! How would you ever think that?" Lenz cried out.

"It's easier when you learn to view things objectively. I've seen it in my dreams. An incredibly powerful Saiyan glowing in silver light, wiping out the galaxy in one fell swoop!" Fuzai explained.

"You're just imagining it then! There's no way he would do that!"

"Right now, no. Eventually it could happen though, probably when he grows up."

Lenz growled, "Well then someone is messing with your head!"

"I've had these dreams for a very long time. They've shown me that the alliance must defeat 'the great destroyer' but if the alliance failed, this boy would rise to defeat it. The problem was that in defeating it, he would also turn into an incredible monster himself," Fuzai continued. Lenz started to answer, but found herself speechless.

"Sounds like him, doesn't it? Foolishly becoming the very thing he wanted to destroy just to win under the pretense of protecting others?" Fuzai asked.

"Kinda, but he's stopped himself from going too far before. Even while possessed," Lenz declared.

"You have much to learn sister. You can't avoid things like that forever, eventually they'll make you crack. That kid has never looked right in the short time I've known him and according to you he's been through a lot. He would have snapped sooner or later and I wouldn't have wanted to be around when that happened. It would probably make what you did look like a small insect bite in comparison," Fuzai retorted.

Lenz gritted her teeth but surrendered the argument, "I guess. So what is Frost going to do with him?"

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't count on him waking up anytime soon, if ever." Lenz's face filled with suppressed rage as she stomped away at a brisk pace, shoving a guard aside. Fuzai shook his head slightly at his sister's gloomy attitude, though he understood it. Out of the shadows, Frost walked into view, still in his fifth form though without the mask.

"Are you satisfied now, my lord?" Fuzai asked.

"With your work, I've always been pleased. What made you dare to intervene though, that's what I want to know," Frost proclaimed.

"Years of bad dreams made me consider it, and listening to Yogen spout his nonsense about 'the end of all things' added to it. It wasn't until right before your battle though that I was finally convinced of what I had to do," Fuzai explained.

"Ah, I'm guessing that woman with red hair has visited you as well?" Frost beamed slightly.

Fuzai nodded, "She told me everything. At first I didn't listen, but then she said things that no other person could possibly know about me. That included when that kid nearly killed me on the ship. Then she showed me some sort of vision, illustrating what would happen if he killed you. I made the only logical choice, the lesser of two evils."

Frost snorted, "Well of course you made the correct one my friend."

"May I ask you a question, my lord?"

Frost smile faded a bit, "What is it?"

"I hate to be the one to point this out at all, but why is it that you are still in your transformed state? Isn't the threat over?" Fuzai pointed out.

"The threat is never completely over. Suffice it to say, it takes a great deal of concentration and energy to transform myself. It takes even more to revert back to my previous form. Going beyond this form has exhausted my power supply too much to do that, so I must rest first. If I absolutely needed to, I could revert to my previous form almost instantly and heal any major injuries, but in doing so I'd also use up a great amount of my energy. It's also only something I can do with my ultimate form, so it has its drawbacks. Obviously I would not want to do that unless I suffered too much damage to sustain myself. Do not worry; I ration my power in case of situations such as that," Frost explained.

"I never thought he would push you to reveal that final transformation, never mind nearly destroy you while at your peak power," Fuzai said.

"With that disabling technique of his, he could defeat anyone. His timing was flawless except for your interference, for which I thank you again. I let him have his speed advantage and used that form to withstand his power enhancing technique in order to wear him down faster. I probably could have taken that blast, but not without injury, I guess we'll never know now."

"I'm confident that if anyone could have, it would have been you my lord," Fuzai claimed.

Frost shrugged, "My father once said that our people had no limits. In some ways, he was both right and wrong. For him, that only applied when there was a strong enough rival to push him further. He eliminated any such threat, thus had no motivation to better himself except for his stupid wish theory. Eternal life is a nice enough idea, but I prefer pushing myself against a worthy foe in which I could possibly die in the process. Perhaps it is the Saiyan blood running through me that causes that thrill. In that matter, I'm glad to have met a rival to not only test my full power, but also push me further. It shows me my limits, and that allows me to grow stronger," Frost said.

"So, you're going to let him live?" Fuzai asked.

"Only as bait. I have no desire to 'risk the universe' as you say. It's the same reason that the Renegade is still alive. I will draw my enemies to me and wipe them out one by one!" Frost stated.

"I w-won't let you!" a low voice shouted. Loud beeping came from the lab just as those words sounded, and Verto struggled to sit up. The doctors scrambled to administer sedatives, and a few of them got thrown into the walls in the process. Before he even got to his feet though, he passed out again.

"Impressive, even under your coma, he could not only hear me, but bring himself out of it. Doctor Mellon, triple the dosage next time," Frost suggested. The alien doctor bowed slightly as he picked himself up off the floor and continued to monitor Verto.

Fuzai looked on with concern before turning to Frost again, "Isn't there a chance that the combined power of both the Earth Saiyans and the Renegades could dethrone you?"

Frost shrugged again, "There's always a chance, but it is very unlikely. I seriously doubt that Vegeta would accept those outcasts as his people, and they don't know where Earth is. Son Gohan is the only real threat after this boy, and I will eventually destroy him and his father as well."

"And what about my sister, will you keep your word despite her condition?" Fuzai asked.

"I've allowed you to live, haven't I? As long as she doesn't cause trouble, she may survive," Frost reminded.

Fuzai bowed, "Thank you, my lord." Frost nodded and turned to leave. Fuzai watched him go and grimaced slightly, _He acted just as she predicted. That means I need to hurry, that Renegade Saiyan is probably going to attempt escape at any time and I need to shutdown the alarm systems before he does if this is going to work._

* * *

Lenz stormed to the dungeon, her eyes leaking angry tears. _He's the only one who can help us now, I just know it! Screw what Fuzai wants out of this, I don't even care if I'm killed. I have to help little brother any way I can!_ Lenz made here way down the dimly lit staircase quickly, reaching the large metal door in barely ten seconds. After checking for signs of anyone else nearby, she crept in and entered Chal's cell. When she rushed in though, she found that no one was chained to the floor anymore. As she stared at the broken chains, a bright streak of energy lightning came within a few inches of her nose and she froze in surprise.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you, not after what happened. Where's the boy? I can no longer sense him?" Chal asked as he disengaged his attack and allowed Lenz to breathe again.

Lenz stared at him, "How do you know what happened?"

"I can sense everything here, therefore it was difficult to miss that power output from Frost and the boy. If Frost won, then you shouldn't be here," Chal proclaimed.

"He didn't win, Verto was cheated out of it by my brother…and his damn special technique," Lenz explained briefly.

"A pity. It seems your brother is a born-again fool," Chal said.

"I thought he would stay on our side, but I was wrong. There's no time for that though, you must help me!" Lenz urged.

"If that kid was defeated, then I'm afraid I won't offer much if any sufficient resistance," Chal admitted.

"He's not dead! Frost spared him, he's being kept in a sedated state up in the lab!"

"Does Frost think he can keep him under long enough to lure others here? What an idiot, that's probably why he didn't attempt to finish me off either," Chal said with disgust.

"Then please help me, if we can revive little brother, the two of you can take down Frost together!" Lenz declared.

Chal snorted in reply, "I have no intention to get into a battle with Frost, and the boy is my enemy too. Besides, he will likely be too weakened to do anything now!"

"Not true, my brother's technique didn't work for very long on him. Once he's awake, he should be well rested, and I've seen him recover from near-death very fast! Even if it means that he has to use that crazy red power, it's worth a shot!" Lenz pointed out.

"Maybe so. I'll consider it when I decide to leave this place," Chal said as he leaned against the wall.

"When you decide to leave? What the hell could you be waiting for?" Lenz asked as she raised her voice.

Chal remained calm, "My morning meal for one. I'm afraid the other thing I'm waiting for is none of your concern."

Lenz scowled deeply as she turned to leave, "I thought you could help since Verto spared your life."

Chal grunted lightly, "He should have killed me when he had the chance. Letting Frost capture me instead is what doomed him and you. Now that they know about your hidden power, it's only a matter of time before they decide to kill you."

"What about my hidden power?"

"I sensed it before, and everyone here fears it, as they should. You only need to learn how to control it and you can be unstoppable. I'm afraid it's a waste though if you rely on that suppression necklace of yours, though taking it off now wouldn't be much better. A warrior who cannot control his rage or actions is just a beast. One that embraces it though can be incredibly effective," Chal explained.

Lenz cringed in slight anger, "Then show me how to do it!"

"I already did earlier. I have the ability to project negative emotions into others, even at a distance. Surely you noticed all of the weaklings that have been starting random fights with each other? Now just remember what you did before and you'll survive at least. We haven't got the time for you to learn much though, they are looking for you. You must leave now!" Chal stated.

"Not until you agree to help me!" Lenz claimed.

"I am helping you girl, covertly. Go now!" Lenz scampered off as Chal settled into the corner. He tracked Lenz as she headed back up into the base, missing someone of concern by mere seconds. Chal wasn't sure if that someone had noticed her or not, but it was clear that it didn't matter when they didn't pursue. Instead, the mystery power came closer and appeared behind the door moments later before walking in.

"Alright scum, let's see how resilient you are today…what? Where'd he go?" Bido asked in surprise.

Chal laughed evilly, drawing Bido's nervous glance, "I've been wondering when you'd come back, I'm all yours!"

* * *

Lenz hurried back to her room, unsure of what she should do. She stopped dead in her tracks when she sensed two of Bojack's crew ahead of her. She immediately suppressed her ki as much as possible before creeping forward. She tilted her head around the corner just enough to spot Zangya and Bujin standing there. _Damn it!_

"Where is that girl?" Zangya asked, "I want to pay her back for breaking my neck!"

"Be patient Zangya, after all you just got out of recovery a few hours ago. It is only a matter of time before she turns up somewhere. I calculate a ninety percent chance that somewhere will be here!" Bujin claimed.

"You and your stupid calculations…" Zangya muttered. Lenz turned and moved in the other direction, her dilemma had grown now. From her left, a door opened and a hand reached out to grab her. Lenz batted the hand away and prepared to defend herself. She stopped cold when she saw the person there, surprised to say the least.

"You!" Lenz rasped.

"Just shut up and get in here girl!" Leira ordered. Lenz hurried inside as Leira closed the door and locked it.

"What are you doing here?" Lenz asked right away.

Leira scowled, "My business is my own and it happens to coincide with yours right now. What happened to Verto?"

"You don't know? I thought you knew everything!" Lenz said with distinct mocking tone.

"Watch your tongue girl, I know how the battle with Frost went and I know he's still alive. I just don't know where yet," Leira admitted.

"In the lab, Frost means to never let him wake up again!"

Leira chuckled, "I doubt we will have to worry about that little snag. I estimate that he'll be awake within the hour. I want you to provide a nice distraction."

"Wait, you're going to help us?" Lenz asked, stunned.

"For now. Your brother is already on his way to disrupt communications and scanning equipment. You're the last one that should go to the lab, so I will instead. You are to stay alive while causing as much trouble as you can. Just don't take that off and let yourself get carried away!" Leira warned as she poked Lenz in the chest, grabbing the blue gem for a moment.

"I'm not that strong though, I won't last long," Lenz pointed out.

Leira shook her head, "You won't have to. Just keep them away from the lab. Verto will be able to fight Frost again once I revive him. Make use of the power you unlocked the other day, you don't have to become a monster to do it now." Lenz winced at the monster comment, but nodded and headed for the door. She glanced back once before taking a deep breath and dashing into the hall.

"Look, there she is!" Zangya shouted.

"You see? Do not dispute my calculations!" Bujin advised.

"Oh shut up! Get her!" Both of them raced past the door Leira was standing behind, allowing her to leave unnoticed. Lenz sprinted into the main hallway, startling soldiers and civilians alike as Bujin and Zangya gave chase. They attempted to ensnare her with the Barrier technique, but with so many people in the main corridors combined with her speed, it made things difficult. The crowds did clear out eventually and Lenz found herself dodging pop-shot ki blasts with occasional trap attempts. The chase went through the bar, which was in the midst of another brawl. Food and drinks flew when Lenz blazed through, interrupting several individual fights and causing them to switch targets. When Lenz entered the bar, she only had two chasing her. When she left she had nearly five-dozen. She shifted directions and headed back towards the arena, or rather, what was left of it. It was now a wide-open canyon with steep rugged walls and Lenz felt that with space she had a better chance despite her luck with the narrow hallways. Once Lenz was in the open, she flew towards the center of the much wider crevice and landed. Bujin and Zangya closed in with the other thirty-some soldiers that had managed to keep up, all smiles.

"Well, that was a fun chase. A shame it ends here girl," Bujin laughed.

Zangya fussed with her orange hair, "Speak for yourself, you didn't get steak sauce all over you!" Lenz closed her eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath in preparation. _If there's ever a time to test my new power, it's now. Verto said it was similar to regular ki energy._ Lenz's blue aura surged to life around her as she built up her power. She immediately tried to transform to Super Saiyan, and as a result, a generous amount of energy spurned outward, sending the weaker soldiers for a ride. Her hair did not turn golden this time, but her eyes flashed and glowed a lighter blue. Bujin and Zangya back-stepped with a bit of concern, but did not show any real signs of retreat. Lenz stared at her hands, slightly surprised by the results. _My ki is just as high as my Super Saiyan form, but there's so much more energy that it feels different. That must be the Psi energy, but I thought I had more of it? And I thought for sure I'd still transform._ Zangya rushed towards Lenz suddenly, intent to take her head off with a kick. Lenz refocused and narrowly dodged the attack at the last moment, turning her head in wonder. Zangya rebounded and closed to melee range, aiming a punch at Lenz's torso. Lenz remained still before catching the fist faster than Zangya could see. _She's so slow, or am I that much faster now?_ Zangya punched wildly while screaming in anger, and Lenz dodged each attack easily. Zangya's attacks were quickly becoming overpowered and Lenz avoided the last one before kicking her away. She landed hard and skidded into the rocky ground. Tight strings of energy surrounded Lenz suddenly and pulled tight, courtesy of Bujin from behind. Lenz pulled back with surprisingly effective results before her aura flashed on. The Barrier strings crumbled apart as a result of her new power, and Bujin's eyes lit up in surprise.

"Uh oh," he muttered. Lenz promptly slammed her knee into his face before spinning around and kicking his back just as hard. She landed and turned towards the rest of the soldiers, who suddenly decided that they had better places to be as they fled. Lenz couldn't help but feel confident after that quick display. A sudden whoosh of air behind her ended that, and any power increase she had attained felt miniscule.

"Well, well, the trouble making girl is at it again Bojack. Whatever shall we do?" Frost asked.

Bojack laughed from his place next to the larger Changeling, "I think we should punish her personally."

Frost grinned, "I like that plan. You may proceed with the punishment." Bojack's green aura bellowed out as he powered up, ripping off his jacket in the process. Lenz backed into her stance, _I can do this. Just a little longer!_

* * *

The main doors to the science lab opened and Leira crept in slowly. She saw no guards up until that point due to the fact that Lenz was providing a very good distraction, and the alarms had been disabled by Fuzai. Once she got in however, two guards were before her. What she didn't expect was to see that they were splattered all over the floor. The attacker had been especially brutal and had severed all of the limbs off before finishing the job with some sort of energy wave shot through their foreheads. The Rotians were curiously observing her, and apparently someone else at the same time. Leira pulled out a dagger and kept it ready at her side as the doors closed behind her. She detected nothing yet, but knew someone else was likely there. Towards the rear of the lab, she spotted a pair of boots sticking out from behind a corner. She sensed a masked presence nearby, but the boots did not belong to it. Leira peered around the corner and spotted another brutalized alien body, the remains of Doctor Mellon. A trail of blood led to the chamber ahead, where Verto was lying on a flat table, completely unconscious. Leira hurried in that direction, stopping only to check the shadows and corners. She calmly checked him over for any significant injuries as well as standard life signs. Once satisfied, she began pulling wires and needles from him, causing random equipment to beep and flash.

"Come on kid, I know this is a crude wake up call, but you've got to come around," she whispered. Verto barely twitched at any of this, and Leira grimaced as she pulled a small vial from her back. It was filled with a brown colored liquid, which she then forced into his mouth and emptied it. His eyes snapped open as he choked on it, swallowing half and turning to cough out the rest before dropping asleep again. Leira shook her head slightly, _Great, he's so out of sorts that a choking reaction can't even wake him._ Verto's head suddenly turned and faced up, though not in a waking way. His breathing quickened, and Leira held onto his wrist to feel his heart rate accelerating. _Well that's better._ Not a moment afterwards, a thin beam of electrical energy buzzed next to Leira's head. She tensed but did not dare to move, knowing she had been caught off guard. Behind her stood Chal, his one hand controlling his lightning stream technique and what looked to be the severed head of Bido in the other.

Chal had a smirk plastered on his face, "Who may I ask are you? And what do you think you're doing?"

Leira's eyes shifted sideways, "Reviving the boy if you couldn't tell. I could ask you the same thing, but I already know. You are going to attempt escape during the chaos that's happening."

Chal snorted, "And what would you know about me?"

"Everything, but it's not you I'm interested in. It's your leader," Leira said in all seriousness.

Chal laughed, "I don't think so. Your power is pathetic. Now run along, the boy will need his space once he wakes up."

"He's not going with you, I won't allow it!" Leira said in defiance.

"You have no say in the matter woman. He needs to awaken the beast within and show Frost who he's dealing with. Then he will join us, he belongs with his people!" Chal claimed.

"He isn't one of you, and I will do what I must to stop that from happening!"

"Oh? And just what will that be?" Chal asked. Leira's hand went to her side as she ducked out of the way. Chal's lightning stream followed her, but abruptly stopped when it met a multicolored blade of light. Leira had the handle of what appeared to be a sword, and the energy taking the blade form crackled. It lengthened and arced towards Chal, who jumped backwards to avoid it. Leira arched back as the blade took the form of a whip and lashed it towards Chal. Chal backed off, getting out of range as Leira held her ground.

Chal grinned, "I could kill you now, you're such a frail little bitch."

Leira smirked slightly, "Oh you have no idea just how frail I really am. I invite you to try it."

Chal's eyes narrowed, "No, I don't have time for this nonsense. Besides, by the look of things, you'll have your hands full very soon. I hope you're a friend to him, because if you're not, I pity you." Leira spun to see red clouds of energy swirling around Verto, sending out occasional lightning sparks. Leira's eyes went wide as the room temperature increased substantially.

"You're feeding him negative emotions this whole time? You have to stop!" Leira urged.

"You figured out my little trick already? Impressive, but I don't intend to stop. I've been doing it to everyone here, including him and Frost. We've reached the point of no return, and now his raw Saiyan instincts will use this power to teach Frost a lesson," Chal said as his evil smile returned.

"You mustn't, he can't fully control himself in that state!" Leira declared.

"Well then, this should be an interesting show. Let's see what a real Super Saiyan can do," Chal laughed as he abandoned the area. Leira backed away quickly when she heard the feral growl coming from Verto as he squirmed slightly. The growl turned into a distinct howl just before the lab exploded.

**A/n: At this point…draw your own conclusions as to what is about to occur. I will say one thing; it's going to be messy. Very messy.**

**WDG:** You're getting more and more evil with these things. I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

**VB**: Muhahahahaha


	67. Round 2

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 66: Round 2 **

That the alarms were disabled didn't matter once the science lab had been blown apart. Emergency lighting barely told the story of the wrecked lab, and if anything, it hid what had occurred. Leira had managed to get out of the main blast, though she still coughed a bit due to the fire and smoke as she shoved a shelf off of her. The cages had been shattered however, and the Rotians quickly took advantage of the broken glass. The two closest soldiers responded quickly by rushing in, but were unprepared for the wild half-Saiyans as they barreled through them like they were shot out of a cannon. Moderate surprised shouting ensued before they were knocked to the ground and pushed aside. The initial smoke cleared enough for Leira to see the two beaten soldiers were calling for help over their scouters. Out of the thickest fire and smoke, Verto stepped out, his eyes a brighter red than most stars. He glanced at Leira momentarily before his attention was drawn elsewhere. His eyes faded a bit back to a crimson shade, but Leira sensed no change in his energy and certainly not in hostility.

"Emergency! The Saiyan boy is escaping! Alert Lord Frost and ….ahhh!" The alien soldier was silenced when Verto's reddened fist literally took his head clean off, leaving only a flaming, smoldering, neck that leaked black smoke. The second elite had a better mind to run, but he didn't get far. Verto fired a potent blast that erased him completely, along with the half-open lab door. Leira got up and stepped towards him, intent on putting a stop to Verto's rage before it got any worse.

"Stay where you are," Verto said without turning his head, "Otherwise I'll kill you."

"Stop this Verto, you've done enough here!" Leira pleaded.

"I haven't even started yet. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay the hell out of my way!" he declared.

"You're not in control of yourself, stop and think for a minute! You can't expect to beat someone like Frost if you allow this rage to consume you," Leira offered.

"Not in control? If that's the case, you have only yourself to blame! You started me down this path, and you knew what would happen. I don't care what your reasons are, but you've been a pain in my ass for long enough. I'm going to go out there and kill that Changeling bastard and anyone else that thinks they can push me around. And if you dare to think you can stop me now or at a later time, I want you to watch what happens. That stupid Renegade wanted a show, and he's going to get one," Verto said with an eerie growl in his voice.

"No Verto, I can't let you do this. You've already shown that you can defeat Frost, you have nothing left to prove out here. Come with me and I'll take you back to Earth. I'll take full responsibility for this incident, you won't be in trouble for this," Leira offered. Verto's red aura poured out, pushing Leira backwards as she tried to block against it.

"I'll go back to Earth when I'm done with these worthless piles of shit. I'll show these bastards what a real Saiyan is like when he's pissed off!" he proclaimed as he stormed out. Leira trembled in place before falling to her knees. Her leather jumpsuit was smoking from the raw energy of Verto's power, and she felt very faint as she held her head in dismay. _No, this can't be happening, not again! He's going to kill them all, and I can't stop it this time either! This is the worst thing that could have happened. The only way that I can accomplish the mission is if something very unexpected happens. With Chal feeding Verto and Frost these negative feelings, it won't be over until one of them kills the other. I can't let either of them die, but I can't do anything to stop them right now either. Damn, what am I going to do?_

* * *

Lenz remained in her stance as she waited for Bojack's first move. The lime-skinned alien didn't look to be in any hurry, which brought little real comfort to Lenz. While she knew that it would help in buying time for Verto, she couldn't shake a horrible feeling in her gut. The timing of Fuzai's apparent betrayal, Leira's appearance and then Fuzai's change of heart just seemed too quick. Added to that was Chal, who was literally going to escape whenever he wanted to – and of course what might happen when Verto woke up. It all made Lenz very nervous. Flashbacks of Verto's own personal trip to insanity during the battle over North City came to her mind. She pushed it out quickly though, as at the moment it didn't matter. She was currently staring down the barrel at Bojack and Frost, the two responsible for her people's near extinction. Bojack held his palm up and a shining green ki blast shot out. Lenz narrowly dodged it and he fired again, this time at her feet. Lenz jumped out of the way, right into the path of another quick blast.

"You were a stripper right? Well, do a dance for me then! If you don't, I'll be happy to force the issue and remove your clothing myself!" Bojack laughed. Lenz gritted her teeth as Bojack began to fire more rapidly, though just slow enough for Lenz to dodge. She leapt into the air and brought her arms back, causing Bojack to stop.

"Take this! Galic Gun!" Lenz shouted. The purple beam rushed out on command, but Bojack didn't even budge. He held out his hands and caught the beam easily before knocking it upwards into space. Lenz stopped channeling the beam in surprise while Bojack continued to laugh.

"That was fun. Care to try again?" Bojack offered. Lenz paled slightly, _That's not good. My beam wasn't any stronger than before._

Bojack motioned for her to fire again, "Come on girl, I'm ready anytime you are." Lenz cringed, _Maybe I have to use both sources of energy at once. I think that's what little brother does. He did say something about mixed energy blasts, but what did he call it? Bah, doesn't matter._ Lenz pulled her arms back again as her power surged around her, creating small energy sparks. At first her attack shifted from red to purple, and then to blue.

Bojack put his hands on his hips, "What are you doing? Trying to decide which color is the prettiest?" Lenz ignored him as she concentrated, _I'm sure Verto said something about balancing the energy and to use equal amounts of it._ Lenz struggled for the moment, while Bojack and Frost continued to be amused. Then something seemed to change and her attack changed to a green hue as it swelled in size. Lenz grinned slightly as the wind force increased around her, causing Bojack to take on a concerned expression.

"I got it. Try catching it this time! Super… Galic… Gun!" Lenz fired perfectly despite the way her arms were shaking. Bojack panicked and dodged out of the way as the beam shot towards Frost instead. Frost caught the beam and was pushed back a few feet before he kicked it into the sky. Lenz grimaced at the impossible situation as she caught her breath.

"Not bad, you actually made my arm tingle for a moment there. But I'm afraid that's as far as you will go. I won't allow this game to continue, so I advise you to roll over and die quickly. Otherwise you will suffer," Frost suggested. Lenz panted in dismay, unsure of what to do. _I've never used a blast that strong before, and he swatted it like it was a bug! What the hell do I do here? Those piss ants I beat before don't even compare to him!_ Lenz stood up as she stared down Frost and slid back into her stance.

Frost laughed, "At least you'll die facing forward. I'm truly touched by your bravery despite the fact that you're about to get killed by me again!" Lenz flew at him, blast charging in her trailing hand.

Frost grinned, "Well, brave and foolish!"

Lenz pulled back just before she reached him and then flung her arm forward, "Final Shine!" Frost didn't even try to defend himself as the green blast smashed into him from close range. He could be seen chuckling as the light literally bounced off him harmlessly.

"I really wouldn't bother if I were you. That energy could be better used for…" Frost paused when the dust cleared. Lenz was gone, surprising him to say the least. He quickly sensed her back at the entrance, and leaving quickly.

"…Escape? There is no escape!" Frost roared. Lenz tore through the corridor, blowing past any soldiers that were in the way. She wasn't sure where she was going to go, but she didn't care as long as it was away from Frost. She sensed him behind her, giving chase as everyone nearby struggled to get out of the way. She glanced back once to see his dull gray head coming closer. When she turned forward again, his foot met her face. Lenz tumbled and crashed into two elites and carried them into the wall with her. The elites didn't get up afterwards, but Lenz managed it. Just as she did, a pink blast flew at her, catching her shoulder. This was followed by several more, each hitting a different spot. Frost laughed again as he fired rapid small blasts, intent on wearing her down. This ripped up her clothing as much as it did her body, leaving her in shambles. Lenz dropped to her knees when Frost finally let up, allowing her to gasp for breath and groan in agony.

"You shouldn't have ran, but don't worry. I'll finish this now!" Frost declared. He held out his finger and started charging his Death Beam, aiming right for her heart.

"Stop!"

Frost turned to see Fuzai running up behind him, "Here to witness this are you?"

"No Lord Frost! You said you'd let her live!" Fuzai claimed.

Frost smirked, "I lied." Frost turned back and resumed charging his attack just as Lenz opened her eyes enough to notice it.

"Your lucky streak ends today my sweet. Say hello to my father in hell!" Frost said as he fired.

Lenz's eyes widened as the Death Beam instantly hit, "Fuzai, no!" Fuzai stood between them, shaking as the hole in his chest smoked a bit. His face was not full of pain, but it was reading pure shock as his legs gave out and he fell. A fountain of blood came out of his throat as Lenz screamed and ran to him. Her arms trembled as she held his head up.

"No brother, why did you do that?" she asked.

"B-Because I h-had to!" he managed to say meekly.

"Hmph, another subordinate gone. Pity," Frost muttered.

"But why would you die for me? Why?" Lenz cried.

"That's w-what brothers are s-s-supposed to do," Fuzai stammered. He paused before lifting up just enough to gather whatever he had left. It wasn't enough to get him to a sitting position, and he fell backwards.

"Ugh, damn it. Listen Lenz, I've never been good to you, my own sister. Even when I saw you again on Earth, I didn't think well of you. I'm a terrible jackass of a brother for doing that," Fuzai said.

Lenz salty tears kept flowing, "Then what changed?"

"I have been a selfish bastard Lenz. I'm the one who sold out our people, the one who told Frost where to find them all. I'm the one who found out about these gems, but I never revealed it to anyone else that could have used the information. Why would I care what happened to our people, they were all turning into monsters. But when I saw how happy you were, how well you were doing with that kid, I couldn't take it. I actually felt jealous that you favored him over me. Before I knew it, I was doing what I could to ensure that you lived and he didn't. But he was…is so brave. He's the kind of person I should be, the kind that doesn't bow down to anyone and is strong enough to stand up for himself and others. Then he takes on Frost for your sake, and could have beaten him," Fuzai continued.

Frost chuckled slightly, "Well, that's up for debate now isn't it?"

Fuzai ignored him, "He needs you Lenz, almost as much as you need him. I don't care if the galaxy is destroyed now or not. I want you and him to be happy together. If he loses you, I cannot fathom the monster he could become. You have to live, I don't!"

Lenz grabbed his shoulders, "But I need you to!"

"Me? The brother that neglected you as a child and even kidnapped you from the good life you were having? I'm the last thing you n-need. He's the brother I s-should have been, he's far b-better than me. Goodbye my sisssss…" Fuzai's words cut out as he finally passed from the living. Lenz's crying intensified as Fuzai's final breath eased out of him.

"About time, I was about to fall asleep," Frost said. Lenz crying ceased almost at once as swirls of blue energy surrounded her. She shuddered as she stood up, clearly enraged past her emotional limit. She reached for the pendent around her neck and tugged it off.

"I'd rather become a monster than die at your feet!" she shouted.

Frost laughed, "Go ahead then you silly little bitch. Show me what this great power of yours can do!" Lenz was about to toss her necklace aside, but stopped short when she sensed something else.

Frost took notice of this sudden change of heart, "Having seconds thoughts are we?"

Lenz snorted angrily, "No. I want to remember what happens. I want to remember what he does to you!" The corridor behind Frost suddenly exploded from the sidewall. Frost turned in surprise as his soldiers all rushed to investigate as well. Small batches of fire spread out from the ripped wall, and Verto was standing amongst the flames.

Frost grinned, "Look who's up already. Ready to die now, boy?" Verto slowly turned his head towards Frost, his eyes filled with red malice. His remaining jumpsuit was drenched in random shades of blood that clearly wasn't his. Both hands and forearms had dripping remainders as well, but he wasn't injured in the least. Even Frost expressed slight concern over this particular appearance, as did the other elite soldiers.

_The secret side of me  
I never let you see  
I keep it caged  
But I can't control it  
So stay away from me  
The beast is ugly  
I feel the rage  
And I just can't hold it  
_

"I hope you're happy now Frost, you've got what you wanted," Verto said in an eerily calm voice.

"Hardly, I didn't want this mess. But seeing you die will have to do. Are you losing control of yourself now just like these pathetic Rotians?" Frost asked.

"You got this mess because you wanted the killer in me to come out. Wish granted. My only condolence is that there won't anyone trying to save you this time!" Verto declared as his red aura flashed on.

Frost crossed his arms, "So far I'm not impressed brat. I can sense this power of yours, and it's lower than it was in your silver haired state. That means you can't win."

"I don't care, I'm still gonna wipe you out!" Verto shouted. Three of the nearest elites dared to come within a dozen feet, weapons aimed.

"I suggest you give up boy. Just like before, you have no chance!" Frost retorted. Verto didn't answer as his red power suddenly expanded outwards. The elites didn't have time to react before their bodies literally evaporated into the swirling Psi. A small red cyclone wrapped around Verto as it slowly spread outwards. Lenz watched in awe as the heat washed over her and Frost, though it was mostly directed at the super-villain. Verto launched towards him and attacked head-on, surprising the Changeling. His first punch glanced off Frost's shoulder before he spun around and kicked his knee. Frost staggered from the force behind the blows, despite being in his fifth form. Lenz could sense that Frost was weaker than before, but the difference between the two was much too great for it to mean anything. Yet in barely two blows, Verto appeared to have an edge already. _How, how can little brother do this?_ Verto's aura flashed brightly as he got behind Frost, hammering his back fist into Frost's head. Frost tipped sideways but recovered enough to launch a blast at point blank range. The blast exploded between them, blinding Lenz to what happened. When it cleared, only Frost stood there with his arm extended. Lenz didn't initially sense Verto, but neither her nor Frost believed he was gone. The ripped wall told another story, and Frost could see that Verto had been sent flying through it and several more. He lay embedded in a distant wall, as several onlookers came to observe.

_It's scratching on the walls  
In the closet, in the halls  
It comes awake  
And I can't control it  
Hiding under the bed  
In my body, in my head  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?  
Make it end!  
_

"Hmph, your brutal attacks were effective boy, but you're not fighting smart like you were before. You're fighting like a beast, and that won't work against me. It doesn't matter how much of that Psi energy you focus into your attacks, you can never beat me, never!" Frost claimed. Verto's eyes snapped open as the nearby soldiers froze in surprise. One was brave enough to stick his weapon in Verto's face. A fist wrapped in red skewered this elite's torso and he managed a short, startled scream before his body caught fire and burned up.

"Kill him!" Frost ordered. Lenz peered around the corner despite Frost's close proximity, wanting to witness what was taking place. All of the soldiers opened fire with either their hands or blasters. The blasts bounced off a thin red shield and Verto looked at them all in pure annoyance. He held out his hand and his energy sword formed, matching the blood color the room had assumed. Lenz seemed hopeful, _He's in control at least. Which means he can defeat Frost._ Lenz's thoughts were put on hold when Verto sliced a charging soldier at the waistline, earning another fiery kill. Another came in from behind, but Verto didn't even turn this time. He held out his other arm and created another blade of bright red as he slashed upwards behind him, severing the head clean. The swarm of soldiers stormed in, all of them rushing into melee range. Another blaze of red erupted, highlighted by a thick swirl and two randomly dancing bright blades. Body parts flew out at odd angles, most of them either on fire or already burnt up. The bloodbath barely lasted a few seconds, but when it was over only two elites were still moving, never mind alive. Both of them had missing limbs and were struggling to move in the heat of the energy Verto was emitting. The rest of the bodies featured headless corpses or gaping chest cavities, along with burnt flesh everywhere. Frost had observed all of this, as had Lenz. Verto's violent display had confirmed that he was very much in control of his actual motions, but he was no longer hesitating in any way. Yet this very thought produced different reactions. Lenz backed away in sheer horror; she didn't want to see what was happening anymore. Frost remained determined however and hunched down as his body began to expand.

_I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster  
I hate what I've become  
The nightmare's just begun  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster  
_

"This is your end boy, I'm not going to let you pull the rug out from under me this time!" Frost claimed. His size swelled rapidly as his natural armor changed shape again, releasing a massive load of power that blew Lenz down. He stood up as he completed his final transformation, and the back of his oddly shaped head ripped into the ceiling. The walls between Frost and Verto completely shook apart, allowing Lenz to see what was going on despite the distance she had been able to reach. Verto had barely acknowledged the threat as he stomped down on the head of one of the crippled soldiers, squashing its brain. The other one managed to get to his feet and ran, holding his severed elbow. Verto was about to fire a finishing blast before a difference light drew his glare. Frost was charging a very powerful energy attack in his palm, a stronger and larger version of his Death Beam. Verto bent his arm over his opposite shoulder, two fingers held up as he powered a counterblast.

Frost grinned as he saw this, "Ha, typical Saiyan takes the bait. I can wear him down and then finish him once he's out of power." He purposefully held back and waited for Verto's red beam to finish. It was flashing with incredibly vivid and focused Psi, which brought Lenz's full attention. She sensed the equal amount of ki coming from Frost's attack and had a very good idea what was coming. Lenz flew in the other direction as fast as possible, leaving the scene to only Verto and Frost.

Frost snorted as he watched her go, "Run all you want girl, I'll get you in just a few minutes. Hurry and fire that pathetic attack boy, I want to settle this once and for all!" Verto didn't need to wait any longer and shot the smaller beam. Frost noticed that Verto's aim wasn't as accurate as he expected it to be, it was off by several feet. In this case, Verto was aiming for Frost's attack instead.

_My secret side I keep  
Hid under lock and key  
I keep it caged  
But I can't control it  
Cause if I let him out  
He'll tear me up  
And break me down  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?  
Make it end!_

"Hahaha! Have you lost control of this power of yours that you can't even aim it right? Or do you really want to struggle for your last few moments just to live longer? Fine with me kid, I'll show you why you'll fail!" Frost laughed. Frost redirected his beam to meet Verto's just as it arrived. He definitely wasn't prepared for the explosion that followed. The view from space showed that a gigantic ball of purple energy suddenly detonated from the right side of the base, leveling well over half of the whole. The sound alone damaged the rest of it, taking a long tower down and making the weaker corridors crumble. When the Shock Cannon explosion cleared, the devastated base featured one large crater to its north side, and a massive one that dwarfed it in the middle and eastern ends. Back in the area, Lenz shoved a chunk of debris off of her as she stood up. The base around the blast was completely destroyed as one might expect, only small amounts of debris even remained.

Lenz managed a grin, _That's little brother for ya. Making the bad guy survive the worst to beat him. He was far enough away to escape that one, but there's no way Frost lived._ More towards the epicenter of the blast, Lenz spotted movement and flew closer. To her great dismay, it was Frost struggling to get to his feet. He was battered and bruised, not to mention he was missing one of his arms and the hand that went with it. He spotted her and cast his arm out. Lenz felt his power suddenly surround her and clamp down on her own, making her unable to move willingly.

Frost yanked her to him with this telekinetic grip, "Girl, you will tell me what that was right now! Otherwise I will crush you!"

"He calls it his Shock Cannon or something. It's supposed to be the best counter move he has," Lenz quickly explained.

"No, it's more than that! I sensed the power behind that attack and it was much more than he or I can currently produce!" Frost claimed.

"He used your own energy to make it, so don't ask me," Lenz said.

Frost released his grip and Lenz fell to the ground, "So that's his blasted secret, and Gohan's as well I imagine. He can combine the two energies where others cannot. That's what makes those two so much stronger than these Renegades or even a Super Saiyan. I should have known, it does produce endless possibilities, especially in battle!" Lenz tried to silently crawl again, until Frost's tail wrapped around her ankle and held tight.

"Let me go!" Lenz cried out.

"I think not. You're my insurance," Frost replied, "Come on out boy! Face me now!" The ground ahead of Frost erupted as a thick red aura heaved generous amounts of dirt and rock into the air around it. Verto rose from the ground and didn't look like the blast had even affected him.

"Ah, there you are! Stand still so I can finish this!" Frost ordered. He promptly started powering up a massive Death Ball above him. Verto was already preparing his Shock Beam, until Frost dragged Lenz up and held her upside down in the air.

"Go ahead and use that little trick again, I don't mind!" Frost dared. Lenz sweated nervously as Verto kept charging, knowing how difficult it would be for this threat to actually work. This was the uncaring Verto, and the only feeling he had right now was pure anger. At the same time, she inwardly hoped that he wouldn't do it, if only for her sake. As the Death Ball swelled to absurd size, Lenz realized something else. Frost had used this technique before, his modified version called Supernova. It had literally blown up in Verto's face before. Despite his injury, Lenz felt that Frost could take another blast like that one had been, but not another Shock Cannon explosion.

_It's hiding in the dark  
It's teeth are razor sharp  
There's no escape for me  
It wants my soul,  
It wants my heart  
No one can hear me scream  
Maybe it's just a dream  
Or maybe it's inside of me  
Stop this monster!_

She mentally crossed her fingers, "Just do it little brother! You can always wish me back again!" Verto didn't answer, but he did stand up and ease the effort he was putting forth.

Frost laughed as Lenz's face fell, "Just as I thought! Even if you think you've become an unstoppable killing machine, you're still too soft! With one meaningless sacrifice you might have won. I thought you had become my equal, but obviously not. Take that lesson, along with this, straight to hell! Super Nova!"

"No!" Lenz shouted in terror. In the target zone, Verto barely even budged from his spot as Frost launched his massive attack and backed off, intent not to be caught in the blast this time. His tail released Lenz once they were at a safe distance above, and she free floated away from him.

"Watch this girl, watch his end!" Frost declared. Lenz could only see the bright orange light, but she could still sense Verto's presence. The super charged Death Ball slowed and stopped right on top of where he was.

"Ha, he's going to take it head on!" Frost said with excitement. Lenz looked on hopelessly as she felt Verto's power flare up. She could barely see the dense red behind the ball of doom, but there was no real indication of what was going on. Then the orange Death Ball started to get smaller and condense.

Frost frowned, "What's he trying to do?" Great rushes of wind poured out from the area, but no explosion occurred as Frost's Supernova shrank away quickly.

"What's he doing? Answer me girl!" Frost demanded.

_I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster  
I hate what I've become  
The nightmare's just begun  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster  
I feel like a monster!_

Lenz clasped her hands together with a renewed sense of hope, "Yes!" Verto's feral cry could be heard over the wind as the orange and red light faded. Verto was still standing, shaking a bit as random spurts of lightning sparked around him.

"What the hell happened?" Frost shouted again. Verto's eyes shot open as Frost felt a cold shiver run down his back in realization. Both Lenz and Frost were blinded when Verto suddenly released a powerful surge of bright white energy. The power output made the planet tremble even more than it already had been, and the resulting quakes put serious stress on the remains of the base. At the center of it all, Verto stood as a thick white aura replaced the violent red one. His hair had spiked back up and become nearly all white this time. His eyes had returned to their shining blue state and he was actually grinning a little.

"He absorbed it?" Frost asked in shock.

Verto scowled as he turned towards him, "Yeah, thanks for the wakeup call. I hope you're ready for the worst."

* * *

"_Monster" by Skillet_

**Power levels:**

**Lenz: 180,000,000; Super Galic Gun: 360,000,000**

**Bojack: 340,000,000**

**Frost (5****th**** form): 700,000,000; Ultimate form: 825,000,000**

**Verto (Berserker): 550,000,000; Enhanced Super Mystic: TBD**

**A/Ns:  
**

**WDG:** Ooooooh… What does the scouter say about his power level? It's over nine hundred million! I guess Frost was right with one thing; someone's definitely going to say hi to his father in hell.

**VB**: I can picture it too; "It was horrible Lord Frieza. Your son has horns!"


	68. Burnout

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 67: Burnout**

Frost shook nervously as a powered up Super Mystic Verto stood across from him, stronger than before.

"B-but why didn't it explode?! That should have wiped you off the face of this planet! Any counter-blasts equal or greater to its power will make it detonate!" Frost stammered.

"It would have, if the counter, sword in this case, was that strong. You probably didn't notice my Psi Sword holding it in place. I'm glad I didn't get too crazy there otherwise I wouldn't have thought to do that," Verto admitted.

Frost growled, "Argh! I should have killed you when you were helpless!"

"What's done is done, so deal with it. I doubt I'll be able to stay like this all that long, so you still might get your chance. But I'll be damned if I'm going to make it easy for you!" Verto declared. Verto's aura exploded outwards, blinding the area with its bright light. Frost shielded his eyes from it, but was still affected. The brightness faded a bit, showing Verto's aura moving around him at an absurd pace along with its usual random lightning sparks. Small and large rocks rose around, adding to the theatrics effect.

Frost snarled sharply as Verto's power topped out, "That's not possible! There is no one as strong as me!"

Verto scoffed, "Didn't we cover this already before? Why don't you focus on your energy instead of on what's possible and what isn't? You wanted a challenge right? Well I'm right here!" Frost grumbled and began to power back up himself, growing another few inches in the process.

Verto grinned slightly, "That's the spirit! Now come kill this bug, if you can!" Frost howled and rushed forward, his energy tearing through the ground as he did. Frost phased out just as he arrived, and attempted to smash Verto's head from behind. The boy barely as tall as his knee was gone though, and Frost paused in midair. He heard movement behind and spun, firing a powerful beam that didn't hit anything except black sky. Verto appeared behind him with his glowing green fist drawn back. Frost turned again, missing badly with a kick, but recovering enough to see Verto phase out again behind him. Frost allowed himself to continue the pattern a few more times before his anger erupted and he released a large blast wave all around himself. Lenz tumbled to the ground again despite being a fair distance away. She shielded her eyes, _C'mon little brother, you can do this! You're the only one who can!_ Once the light cleared, Frost dropped his arms and sighed slightly, as if his defensive maneuver had relaxed him.

"You're incredibly fast boy, I'll give you that. But to beat me, you'll have to attack at some point before you run out of power. I'm not going to be tricked by your counterattacks anymore!" Frost claimed. Just as Frost finished speaking, Verto suddenly appeared in front of him briefly. Frost took the chance to swing at him, but missed badly.

Verto reappeared on his right and attacked with full force, "Super Galic Fist!!" Bright green light spiraled into view upon the attack's detonation. It cleared quickly, revealing Verto standing ready at exactly the same spot. Frost on the other hand was lying on his back dozens of feet away. His whole right side was an absolute bloody mess. He managed to pull himself up though, showing few signs of fatigue despite the obvious damage. Verto's eyes narrowed at this, but he said nothing to it.

Lenz scowled with frustration and impatience, _Oh come on! That had to have affected him more than just that! How can he just stand up like nothing happened?_ Frost calmly stepped towards Verto, looking rather amused for someone who was missing part of an arm, not to mention all of the damage to the rest of his body.

Frost even chuckled slightly as he stopped about ten feet from Verto, "I hope you're not too surprised boy. In my previous form, that might have killed me, but as you can see, that is not enough now!" Verto didn't answer as his aura flashed back on and he slid back into his stance.

"What's wrong, no witty response?" Frost asked. Verto's right hand glowed green as he charged up his fist again.

Frost turned slightly, "Would you like to try it again, maybe the left side this time?" Verto still didn't respond verbally, but did rush towards Frost in full attack mode. Frost remained unguarded and didn't even appear to attempt a defense. Verto started his punching motion, but suddenly backed off as if he seemed to catch on to something about Frost's lack of motion. He quickly phased behind Frost, ready to unload on him.

Frost still didn't budge, "I'm waiting!" Verto backed off again, though he stayed very close, barely a few feet away. He glanced down at Frost's heavy tail and then back at the Changeling.

Frost chuckled, "Now do you see?" Verto face filled with determined anger as he swung his arm down and away. His green sword formed in that brief moment and sliced right into Frost's tail. Verto stared in surprise as his blade had barely made a noticeable gash. Frost didn't register much pain, but he did appear to be angry when he suddenly kicked backwards. Verto was able to avoid the blow, but the wind force it created did push him back into the air.

"You little brat, you're just begging for a slow death aren't you?" Frost asked.

"That's it, I've figured you out," Verto replied.

Frost smirked, "Have you?"

"Your ultimate form allows you to take killing blows as if they were normal attacks, even at equal strength. I thought of you as basically a tank before, but now I see that your armor is tougher than expected," Verto explained.

"Equal strength? Well, I supposed for the moment I can concede that honor to you, but I must say, that is a splendid job of observation. Perhaps you should focus your power like before," Frost suggested.

"I have been, that's how I figured it out. My Galic Fist technique appeared to cause plenty of damage, but when you didn't seem affected by it, I toned down my next attack to test the theory. When my regular sword swing didn't cut into you all that well, it was the tip off. I didn't fight you long enough before to determine everything as I didn't intend to let you live long enough to have the advantage. As far as what I'm going to do next, I could make my sword a lot more powerful, but I'd lose energy quickly that way and it may not work," Verto said as he tilted his head slightly. He lowered to the ground before Frost, who didn't make a move towards him.

He kept his determined stare on Frost the whole time, "I can see what your plan is Frost, to outlast me. It was working before, even when I pushed it to my absolute limit with the Kaioken technique."

"Very perceptive, but I'll bet that you can't use that reckless technique now. It would destroy you!" Frost claimed.

"Maybe, maybe not. Seeing as you've become a brick wall to most of my standard attacks, I'll just have to wing it. That isn't anything new to me," Verto admitted. He held out his hand as a blue orb of Chi spun into it, drawing concern from Frost.

"If I can't get through that thick skin of yours through conventional means, then I'll just go around it. Spirit Bomb!" Frost glided backwards as Verto threw it at him with high velocity. He shifted directions, but Verto directed the bomb to follow and it was slowly catching up. Frost shot small finger beams to try and disrupt it, but misfired on each one. On his last try however, his shot hit the ground and kicked up a large amount of rocks. The spirit bomb collided with one such piece of earth and dissipated instantly. Frost grinned as he turned back to Verto, only to see two more small bombs coming at him. He panicked slightly and fired a much larger beam. He managed to wipe out one of them, and flew straight up to avoid the other. The bomb hooked around and shot into the air after him. Verto kept the pressure on by firing several more Frost-seeking Spirit Bombs before bracing his right hand and charging his power into it.

_I'm not going to easily hit him with any sort of Feedback technique now that he's seen it. I have to get him with something extremely powerful and unexpected. It appears that he can't use instant transmission in this form, or at least hasn't tried to. I have to take advantage of that, his energy has to be lower than it was before. If I can burn him out fast enough, I can finish this. My body can't handle this power for much longer, so I have to make it so he can't handle his power either. Damnit, I didn't get nearly enough energy from his Death Ball to keep going like this, and he won't make that mistake again. I'll have to throw everything at him now and make this one count!_ Above, five mini-Spirit Bombs had surrounded Frost. That is, until his energy surged and he released another potent blast wave that obliterated them. Frost glanced down once the danger was over, seeing Verto focusing his power to the absolute limit. He had hunched over slightly with one arm supporting the other as a teal colored ball of power was manifesting itself. Streaks of lightning poured off of it, and Frost could sense that Verto was quickly powering up a last resort type of technique.

_What is he planning? Never mind, it doesn't matter. He won't last much longer as things are. I only have to weather the storm a bit more, I can rest when he's dead!_ Frost lowered to the ground a few dozen feet in front of Verto in full confidence. Verto didn't even look up at him as he kept his open palm low, giving it all the power he could. His arms shook from the stress and his silver hair faded momentarily.

Frost laughed, "Give it your best shot boy, while you still can! I promise I won't move if you do!" Frost crossed his arms in front of his massive torso, as if to block the incoming attack.

Verto glanced up as he finished, "You're a fool if you think you can block this one!" Frost lowered his guard just in time to see Verto thrust his palm outwards, still shaking as the ball of light sparked randomly.

Frost laughed again, "Any day now. Remember to aim higher than my knees!" Frost's laughter was cut short when an intense bolt of green lightning struck him in the chest.

Frost groaned in surprise as Verto took aim again, "What was that?" Another bolt hit him in the same spot and tore right into the enhanced natural armor, leaving a smoldering mark a few inches around. The armor there literally flaked off of Frost and fell to the ground.

Frost's eyes widened in realization as he glanced up, "No…"

Verto grinned briefly, "Yeah." The ball of teal energy then broke apart into numerous lightning bolts as they spread out of Verto's hand and right at Frost. He was unloading his maximum power Chi storm just as Frost made eye contact. Frost was overwhelmed by the super charged lightning as it struck his entire body with dozens of single bolts. Verto cringed as he kept up the pressure while Frost howled in agony. Small and large gashes opened up, and his enhanced armor crumbled as the Chi storm ripped through him. Verto panted as he let up for a moment to survey the damage. Frost's head looked like the victim of a tragic farming accident, with the added bone tissue breaking off at the seams. Large, deep streaks of cauterized blood lined his upper and lower body, each one nearly three to four inches deep. Frost shook in place, though he was standing as still as possible. He was no longer blocking much of any pain out; he was clearly affected by Verto's attack this time and was silent. Verto pulled his firing arm back cautiously, holding the remaining energy. Frost managed to take a lone step forward and that was enough to provoke a response. Verto unleashed a feral cry as he fired again. Frost groaned as he dropped to his knees and screamed in pain. The storm continued with just as much intensity, striking Frost in every possible place. Soon it was difficult to tell what his skin color actually was, other than red and burnt. His enlarged head was broken in several places and the deep purple underneath had been damaged enough to expose pink tissue beneath it. Verto's storm abruptly stopped as he panted hard, and his power fell along with it. Verto also dropped to his own knees as he lost the Super Mystic power and he stayed there to watch what happened next. Frost's body had shriveled a bit as he lay face down, barely breathing. Verto struggled to breathe as he attempted to stand back up. He finally managed it when Lenz flew in and landed beside him to assist.

"You did it little brother!" Lenz declared.

"No… not yet. His body is durable enough to withstand that and live, despite how it may look. My sword barely cut him like this, that's why I had to burn him down with that technique," Verto explained as he slowly recovered.

"But…there's no way!"

"Don't assume that just because our powers were comparably equal for a moment, that it means that I could beat him just like that. Pure power isn't everything in a battle. Just because I can surpass his strength for short amounts of time doesn't make me stronger than him. Remember, he gave up his speed on purpose even after I exposed that to him," Verto reminded.

Frost's head lifted up, "How right you are boy!"

"No!" Lenz squeaked as she stepped behind Verto.

"I know that attack kid, I just didn't expect it out of you. I seem to recall that Protoss scum Aldaris using something similar. It wasn't nearly that powerful however, so I can only assume that you learned it from him and improved it," Frost guessed.

"No, someone else taught me that one. He had his own version," Verto replied.

Frost smirked as he stood up, though far from easily, "Well, this is certainly not something I expected to resort to."

Verto's eyebrow shot into the air, "Let me guess, you're hiding something?"

Frost scowled, "A bad way to put it, I didn't want to show this to anyone, not even a weakling!" Frost grunted a bit as he hunched down again like he was trying to power up.

"I never thought you could break my ultimate form. I'll give credit where it's due, you impress me boy. All the more reason to make sure you won't leave here alive!" Energy from Frost spread outward, displacing the debris field again. His body started to crack and reddened light pierced through the skin as a result. With a mighty shout, he forced his skin off like a snake would, causing a minor explosion. When the light cleared, Verto let a gasp slip. Frost was back down to his fifth form, which was about half of the size that he was previously. His body was covered in a quickly drying residue along with a bit of blood from before. His skin was a lighter pink in color, though his face was beat red. The part that bothered Verto the most though was that his left arm had regenerated.

Verto groaned, "Great, he's just as ugly as before."

"You embarrassed me kid, and you're going to pay for it!" Frost bellowed.

"What the hell are you, a reptile that just sheds his skin when it's old and useless?" Verto asked.

"Bad analogy you little insect. I won't be able to use my ultimate form again for a long time because of you!" Frost shouted in anger.

"Wow, you're such a liar. You told me clearly that you've never used it on anyone before. How would you know unless you had already tried it?" Verto countered.

Frost snorted, "Think about it kid, how do you think?"

Verto came to a very quick realization, "Because you've fought with the Renegades before any of this happened. You started the conflict."

"Very good, but I only met their leader in combat. He wasn't as brash as you, but he had impressive power like you. He came after me if you must know, but he fled when I did this. Something that you won't be able to do!" Frost claimed.

"Well you never know what will happen until it does. I wouldn't want you to lose sleep over it," Verto grinned meekly.

Frost snarled, "Oh believe me, I won't!" Verto backed up a step into Lenz, who was shaking in fear.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" she whispered in his ear.

"Be strong Lenz, don't waver," Verto suggested. Verto conjured his blue Psi sword and held it defensively. It glowed a brighter blue than usual as Verto poured energy into it.

Frost laughed evilly, "So you still have a little power left? Interesting." Verto grimaced slightly as he held out his other hand and charged a white, sparkling blast. Frost stepped towards him slowly, all grins.

Verto launched it, "Feedback!" Frost stopped and lifted his palm up, dragging a small boulder up with his telekinesis.

The Feedback ball vanished upon striking it and Lenz gasped, "How did he do that?"

Verto showed real concern now, "That's not good."

Frost resumed his slow trek towards the seemingly helpless duo, "I'm nowhere near my full power in this form, but as you can probably tell, I really don't need to be."

"Then get it over with. If you're going to blow us away, don't keep us waiting," Verto said.

"Ha! And give you another chance to absorb my energy? I think not! I'll settle for ripping you apart, one piece at a time!" Frost proclaimed.

Lenz dared to rush at him suddenly, causing Verto to call her back, "Lenz, no!" Frost floored her with a simple forearm shot, putting her on the ground. He didn't even break stride as he towered over Verto within a few moments.

"This is where you end boy, who's going to save you now?" Frost taunted. A golden flash went off behind Frost, but it wasn't from Lenz. The golden aura filled the area behind him, and the owner of it dared to reach out and hold Frost back by the shoulder.

Verto's eyes widened, "Goku?"

"That's as close as you're going to get!" Goku declared. He launched a powerful kick into Frost and sent him flying away, surprising Verto to say the least. Goku stood there, shining in his Super Saiyan two form, watching Frost land on the ground.

"So, is this our rescue then?" Verto asked.

"Hi! Supreme Kai finally found you, he's over there. Leave it to me!" Goku claimed. Verto glanced in the direction that Goku was pointing, but didn't budge.

"If we're leaving now, then fine, let's go. If you're serious about fighting him, you have to finish the job Goku, one hundred percent!" Verto said.

Goku nodded, "Yeah, I know. You did well."

"Not well enough, but we can discuss that later. Don't try to stop or overpower his version of Frieza's Death Ball, it will blow up in your face," Verto warned.

Goku nodded again, "Right, thanks!"

Verto stepped over to Lenz and picked her unconscious body up over his shoulder before moving towards Kibito Kai. The universal overseer looked nervous once Verto set his piercing glare upon him.

"Thank goodness we found you in time," Kibito began. Verto didn't answer immediately as he gently set Lenz down on her back.

"Verto?" Kibito asked.

Verto's fists balled up and shook, "So, how long did you wait before finally deciding to show up? What has it been, two weeks? A month? I've lost track to be honest."

"You were missing, we had to search the whole galaxy for you!" Kibito claimed.

Verto's eyes glowed in anger, "Bullshit! You and that old fart knew exactly where I was. Don't lie to me Kai. If Piccolo managed to snap out of her brother's technique like I did, he would have been able to tell you. And yet, even without that knowledge, you've had a knack for noticing when my power level goes past your own. I've done it multiple times out here and you don't even act until we were certain to die?!"

"Yes, you're right I suppose. But you have to understand that…" Kibito tried to say.

"Shut up, I don't want to hear it right now. We can talk later," Verto retorted as he turned around.

"But there is something…" Kibito fell silent when Verto's heated glare focused on him and he quickly backed down. Lenz slowly stirred as Verto sat on one knee beside her.

She jumped up upon seeing him and locked in a tight embrace, "What happened? Are we dead?"

Verto managed to loosen her grip, "Take it easy, we're not dead. You got knocked out, but at the moment we're okay."

"So, where's Frost then?" she asked.

"Over there, he and Goku are about to fight," Verto pointed.

Lenz stared at the golden shimmer in the sky, "Can Goku win?"

"Frost has been weakened, but I wouldn't count him out yet. I don't know what's going to happen," Verto replied. Lenz looked on with concern as Frost stepped towards Goku across the battlefield.

"Well, I can't say that I expected to see you today, Son Goku," Frost admitted.

Goku grinned, "Yeah, me neither."

"This is perfect. An opportunity to eliminate that boy and have my vengeance at the same time!" Frost said with excitement.

Goku's grin faded, "Hurting others is something I don't tolerate. You're going to have to get by me first!"

Frost nodded, "But of course. I can wait for his blood, you're the one I want right now." Goku frowned as he dropped into his power up stance and his power erupted, scattering the reminder of the loose rocks and debris. Blue ki lightning cracked through the air around him as his eyebrows vanished and his hair lengthened outward. Frost's confident expression faded a bit as Goku reached Super Saiyan Three. From the side, Verto compared their power levels with his own senses and grimaced.

Lenz saw the look of concern on Verto's face when he stood back up, "What's wrong?"

"They're nearly even, but I dare say Frost is still a bit stronger at this point. That isn't good," Verto explained.

"But you've put him through hell, he has got to be worn down by now hasn't he?" Lenz asked.

"And he basically regenerated himself on the spot. It's true that he shouldn't still be going, but his resilience to everything I did to him should tell you enough. His power has leveled off by quite a bit, and Goku is very fresh. Also, Frost has shown he prefers close quarters combat, which is right up Goku's alley. However, I'm not sure just how long Goku can stay at this level. He hasn't shown to have a lot of time before his strength drops off. That tips the scales back to Frost if you ask me, despite the fatigue factor. This could go either way, be ready to take cover," Verto suggested as he tensed up.

Lenz stared at him in question, "Why? They're not even moving…" A loud crash sounded just as the first shockwave blinded all nearby, signaling the start of the battle and sending Lenz to back to her knees. More flashes of light came from every attack as Goku and Frost engaged each other at melee range. Lenz and Kibito both looked awestruck, while Verto remained determined. The initial scuffle didn't last long before they separated. Frost fired his Death Beam once he was away, but it was deflected into the sky by Goku's bare hand. Frost grinned; seemingly amused that Goku had stood up to him in the first few moments of their fight. The random ki lightning from Goku's aura sparked into the ground with his anticipation.

"You know, it was foolish of you to come here Goku. You could have used those Dragonballs to wish this pest back to life after I killed him, I wouldn't have known," Frost claimed.

"I don't let my friends die just because it would've been easier," Goku countered.

"Ha, friends! You tell me that, yet wait for so long to come for this boy? It seems to me that a friend wouldn't have let him come here alone!" Frost fired back.

"Not if I had been there. But I am here now, when he needs it the most, and that is what counts! Where are your friends Frost? I'll bet you don't have very many. You drive them away with your hatred and cold hearted cruelty," Goku said.

"Hmph, it's that soft garbage that holds you and that boy down from being truly great!" Frost declared.

"No, it's our compassion that allows us to push further and protect people from evil like you!"

"Enough. Don't keep me waiting any longer!" Frost shouted back. Goku charged towards Frost on cue, fist drawn back. Frost blocked the punch aimed for his neck, generating more shockwaves. He returned fire with a knife-edge strike towards Goku's head, which was also blocked. Both fighters kicked with their back legs, colliding with one another. Frost backed off long enough to fire a strong blast at close range. Goku phased out, moving towards his left. He managed to get behind Frost, but missed his kick completely when Frost vanished. Frost attempted to attack from behind, only to see Goku instantly move as well. Frost paused as Goku appeared far behind him.

Frost turned, "Instantaneous Movement eh? Did you learn that from your son?"

Goku smiled lightly, "Not quite." Just as soon as Goku finished speaking, both warriors vanished into the air. Vivid flashes of light randomly sparked all over the area, but no one could see why.

"Where'd they go? I can't track them!" Lenz pointed out.

Verto had his eyes closed, "Feel them out with Psi energy. They're still fighting, but they're using Instant Transmission to move, that's why you can't see it."

"So you can't see it either?" Lenz asked in surprised.

"Thus why I'm not even trying to, don't bother trying to lock onto their positions to know what's going on right now. Sense their low Psi emissions to track their movements until they slow this down," Verto suggested.

Kibito had a similar look of disbelief, "Incredible!" Up in the air, Goku and Frost were trading rapid blows, with neither attempting to block the other. The air displacement shook the planet, causing the survivors to panic. This activity kept going for several minutes before the super duo split apart and stared each other down. Both appeared to be winded, but in Frost's case, it was more apparent.

He still grinned though, "I find this fight to be much more invigorating Goku. I was tiring of that brat's defensive nonsense!"

Goku glanced down with Frost at Verto before shrugging, "Actually I think it's a pretty good strategy considering his size and age."

Frost scowled, "A pity that this cannot go on forever, I already know your weakness. And I have every intention of using it against you!"

Goku brought his arms up carefully, "Then let's do it!" Both fighters flew at each other again, but Frost stopped short and teleported away. Verto's eyes shot open as he tried to turn around. Frost's tail swung into him and knocked him backwards.

Goku raced to the ground, "No!" Frost grabbed Lenz by the throat and teleported back into the skies, far above Goku's position.

Verto sat up angrily, "Damnit, he's using her as a shield again! I'm gonna kill him!"

Kibito stepped in and held Verto back, "No, you can't! You'll fall into his trap and you don't have enough power left to escape it!" Verto's angry expression shifted towards Kibito momentarily before Lenz screaming brought it back. Frost had Lenz wrapped up in his long tail as she squirmed to get out of it.

"Let me go!" she shouted. Frost laughed as Goku gritted his teeth and shook his fist a bit. Frost's left hand then lifted to the skies and his energy surged out into his powerful Death Ball.

"Don't do this Frost!" Goku urged.

"Do what? Wipe out what's left of this mud ball? It's of no consequence now!" Frost claimed.

"But you'll kill all of your followers!" Goku pointed out.

"Then it will be a worthy death for what's left of them. I want to know what you're going to do about it. I promise not to move after I drop this. So will you try to save the planet or the girl? Or perhaps you can try to escape? The choice is yours, but you had better decide quickly," Frost suggested. Goku didn't respond initially, but eventually did pull his arms back to charge up his trademark technique.

"No... He's going to sacrifice Lenz for these scumbags?!" Verto asked in anger.

"Hang on, I don't think Goku would do that," Kibito said. Frost's Super Nova swelled to absurd size as Goku's Kamehameha took form.

"Maybe he intends to use Instantaneous Movement to blast Frost at close range?" Kibito asked.

"That's why Frost took Lenz, idiot. He wanted to make sure Goku didn't try to counter attack him," Verto retorted, "It's the same if he tries to send that Death Ball into space, which probably won't work anyway!"

"_You guys, it's up to you to rescue Lenz. I'll wait until you do! But I can't let that hit the ground and kill innocent people!_" Goku called out telepathically. Verto and Kibito both turned in slight surprise, though Verto's response was not a positive one.

"_They're hardly innocent. Might as well just let them go and get out of here!"_

"_Verto! Focus your emotions! You don't really mean that,_" Goku scolded.

"_Yeah, I do. They're all evil bastards that would kill us if they could. Let him wipe his own army out, saves us the trouble,_" Verto claimed.

"_Verto, no…"_

"_In case you haven't noticed, he's about to attack!_" Kibito cut in.

"_Right, I'll stall him!_" Goku declared as he turned back to his duty.

"Time's up Saiyan! Super Nova!" Frost shouted from above.

"Kame…hame…HA!!!" Frost's supped up Death Ball met with Goku's beam midway between the two and the struggle between titans began. Almost immediately, Goku's beam started to lose ground, though Verto could feel that Goku was holding back, probably due to his advice earlier. Verto could still see Lenz trying to escape from Frost's thick tail, having very little luck.

"Fine, if we're going to do this, let's do it now. Kai, teleport me up there!" Verto ordered.

"But, he'll crush you as you are now!" Kibito argued.

"I don't need to fight him, just cut him. I'll cut Lenz free, you get her out of there. If he gives me the chance to kill him, I'll take it!" Verto vowed as he conjured his Psi sword and poured energy into it. He stood ready while Kibito appeared to be having a mental debate.

"What the hell are you waiting for? I can't do this alone because he'll see me coming if I attack directly!" Verto reminded.

"I'm technically not allowed to interfere in affairs of mortals like this," Kibito said.

Verto's power flashed red for the briefest moment, "Don't you dare start that crap at a time like this! You already did just by bringing Goku here, which I'm thankful for. I don't know why you're hesitating now of all times, and I don't fucking care! After everything I've gone through because of you Kais, I think you owe me. The least you can do is help me save Lenz, whom you put me in charge of to begin with!" Verto shouted.

Kibito's shoulders sagged slightly, "Dramatic as always, now hold on!" Above, Frost remained confident as his Super Nova Death Ball made decent ground against Goku's Kamehameha.

"Take a good long look girl, these fools are throwing their lives away for your worthless monkey carcass!" Frost said. His laughter continued until he heard a distinct whoosh sound behind him. Frost started to turn, but stopped short when all feeling in much of his tail vanished, aside from the severe pain from the part that had been cut. Verto had slashed down through about a third of it, freeing Lenz, who fell into Kibito's waiting arms.

"Verto, come on!" Kibito said.

"You keep on going, I have a fight to finish," Verto said as he waved them off. Kibito was about to protest, but nodded his head and teleported to a safe distance away.

"You disgusting little ape!" Frost growled. Verto's aura filled with a smoky blue as he pulled his sword up and rushed ahead. Frost cringed as Verto's approach was nearly perfect with his sword aimed at Frost's chest. Frost managed to twist and turn around, allowing Verto to slip by him. Before he could turn, Frost's leg came back around and kicked him hard in the back, sending him flying back down towards where Kibito and Lenz were. Frost recovered from his own desperate tailspin, seething in anger. A loud roar from Goku stopped his next course of action as he saw the bright blue Kamehameha suddenly stiffen and rapidly push his Death Ball back at him.

"Using my own attack against me huh? I don't think so!" Frost claimed. He teleported upwards just as the Super Nova detonated, releasing incredible winds and light as a result. On the ground, Goku was catching his breath, grinning slightly as he saw Verto's rough rescue attempt succeed. Kibito had managed to catch Verto before he hit ground and had evacuated them to a safer distance. Goku glanced up to see Frost slowly hovering down, shaking in apparent rage. _Oh boy, looks like we've done it now. He doesn't look very happy._

Frost cast his hand out as his power swelled, prompting Goku to guard himself. Frost released a massive purple and yellow ki beam straight down on Goku, which exploded on impact. Frost didn't even wait for the blast to clear before he fired again. The consecutive explosions intensified with this extra power, ripping up the ground for a mile or two. Verto and Lenz fled to the relative safety of the skies with Kibito close behind. All of this wasn't enough for Frost though, and he lifted both hands above his head, charging something even more massive than before. In the deep crater below, smoke and dust blew out from Goku's powerful golden presence, which was enough to entice Frost.

"Let's see you survive this, Super Saiyan!" Frost shouted.

Goku glanced up in panicked realization, "Stop!" Frost didn't and this time he fired a beam of unrivaled size and power. A burst of blue, small by comparison, shot out to meet it head on. Goku's beam was swallowed up quickly as Frost put forth his best effort into this renewed assault. Verto sensed what was about to happen and knew that Goku wouldn't be able to get out of this attack.

"Kai, get him out of there!" Verto cried out.

Kibito shook in place, frozen by the reality of the situation, "I can't!" Verto gritted his teeth and flew forwards, only to be yanked back by Lenz, who held him close and tight.

"Little brother, no! There isn't anything you can do!" she said scornfully.

"Let me go!" Verto growled back. The gigantic blast slipped below ground level and Verto could only look on in horror. Bright gold and white flashed over everything, followed by the violent eruption of sound. The wind alone was enough to push Verto, Lenz and Kibito backwards for a few miles before they regained control of their flight. The radius of the great blast reached out to where they had been, taking some of the newly formed mountains with it.

When it was over, only Frost was hovering above an incredible chasm that looked like a huge asteroid had impacted the planet. Lenz gasped as both she and Verto glanced downwards, where there was nothing but black for miles around. Verto searched for any sign of Goku's presence, but due to the energy from the explosion, he couldn't sense anything. Lenz coughed lightly as tears ran down the side of her face. Verto's fists bled from the pressure of tightness as Frost's loud laughter sounded again.

Frost promptly teleported to a few dozen feet away, very pleased with himself, "Your savior is dead, who shall we say goodbye to next, boy? Hahahahaha!" Verto shook with rage as Frost's laughter continued to fill the air.


	69. Divine Intervention

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 68: Divine Intervention**

Frost and Verto stared each other off in midair, with the former full of confidence and the latter full of anger.

"You'll pay for that Frost!" Verto bellowed as his eyes began to flicker between red and blue once again.

"Maybe, but not today. I strongly suggest that you three stand still and allow me to finish this quickly," Frost said. A small ki blast hit him in the face a half-second later, barely leaving a blemish.

Frost's smile faded as Verto's Psi sword reemerged, "So be it." Verto tensed in preparation but paused when Kibito floated in-between them.

"And who do we have here? I don't believe I'm familiar with your species. I like to know about my victims," Frost chuckled.

"As the Supreme Overseer of this universe, I demand that you stand down!" Kibito ordered.

Frost looked slightly intrigued, "Supreme Overseer? Well, it looks like you will be relinquishing that title to me very shortly!"

"Perhaps, but you won't find me to be easy prey," Kibito claimed. Frost grinned as he suddenly shot forward, driving his fist into Kibito's abdomen. Kibito bent over in surprised pain before Frost drilled his face with a harsh kick. Kibito crashed into one of the foothills below and, for the moment, lay still.

"That was disappointing. I expected more from him, pity," Frost said. Verto didn't wait for Frost to change targets and flew forward, sword stabbing towards Frost's head. He only hit an afterimage, and was smashed from behind by Frost's elbow. Verto fell, but managed to stop his momentum enough to swing around. Frost's knee found his face once he did, and Verto freefell towards the bottomless chasm below. Lenz flew after him as fast as she could, and caught up just as Verto regained control of his flight. His face was a bloody mess, and his nose was completely broken.

"Damn it," Verto muttered.

"Can't you use your red Psi again?" Lenz asked.

"Don't tempt me. If he gives me enough time, I could try it. I'm already past my limits here though," Verto admitted.

"Maybe I can do it then?" Lenz offered.

"Forget it, you can't control it at all, and I won't let you fight like that, it's too dangerous. You saw what I'm like in that state, and it's something I never meant for you to see. Not to mention you'll probably attack anyone in the area, just like I have," Verto explained.

Frost floated down in front of them with his arms crossed, "I hate to break up the skull session, but I would like to finish this foolishness." Verto purposefully floated in front of Lenz to protect her as his eyes continued to flash with random blues and reds.

Frost chuckled lightly, "Just how long do you think you can protect her boy? It doesn't even look like you can use your power effectively at the moment. I can feel you trying to hold your rage back. I suppose that's the smart thing to do, except that without it, you have no chance of beating me!"

"Maybe not, but you're not touching her until you've gone through me!" Verto declared.

"Unless you let go and allow your pitiful power to seep out, this will end in just a few seconds. So, do you both die together in some sort of honorable way, or do you become the villain in order to stop me? I'll let you have the chance to make the choice," Frost said as he powered up his Death Beam.

Verto's glare intensified, "Lenz, get back!"

"Little brother, no…" Lenz started to say.

"Don't argue. If this bastard wants another round of his own personal hell, he can have it!" Verto shouted. His aura spilled out into its incredibly intense presence as the air temperature rapidly increased again. Lenz backed off in fear as Verto was showered in crimson energy.

Frost smirked, "Now that is more like it!" Verto didn't wait before deciding on what he was going to do. He spread both of his arms wide and began channeling his energy into his palms. Frost backed away carefully, allowing his Death Beam to falter and fade. Verto's red power was swirling around him at an even faster pace than before, and the energy was being concentrated into his attack. He pulled both arms together and formed one vivid red-orange blast that began to take on a fiery outline along with a noticeable amount of lightning.

"What is this supposed to be boy? It doesn't feel like the other attacks you've used up until now?" Frost asked. Verto didn't answer as the reddened blast brightened, ready to fire at any moment.

Frost cast out his palm, "Fine, I guess we'll find out what it will do. Let us end this with one final showdown. The winner gets to live!"

Verto's eyes lit up as he saw his moment, "Soul Blazer!" Verto's beam shot out of his palms quickly, and Frost had barely started to channel his own power. Frost managed to stall the beam with his own yellow ki beam, but not for long. Frost's attack was being devoured by the Soul Blazer wave at an incredible rate, and it was racing towards him with all of Verto's burning rage. Frost panicked as he realized that he wasn't going to dodge it easily. All of a sudden, Verto's beam stopped short of him and literally vanished into thin air. It continued to roar into an apparent hole that had formed in front of the Changeling before Verto stopped firing, leaving nothing but questions. The hole sealed itself up completely, and Verto's attack was gone. Neither warrior moved, but both of them did sense a new presence nearby. It wasn't Kibito, even though he was flying towards them. Verto panted slightly as he glanced over, but the newcomer didn't improve his mood any. It was someone else that both of them knew, and both seemed annoyed by her arrival.

"What the hell do you want now?" Verto asked first.

"I suppose I should've expected that sort of greeting. Guess I should be happy that you haven't done any more damage," Leira said sarcastically.

"Answer the question woman. In case you hadn't notice, the boy and I are tending to unfinished business," Frost stated.

"Yes, I can see your handiwork. Therefore I must tell you that this fight need not continue. You've both proven your strength to me," Leira replied.

"What? Did you set this up?" Verto asked in a threatening tone.

"Not for this purpose I assure you, but I knew that you two would meet eventually. Only one minor detail remains here…" Leira explained briefly before pausing.

Frost pointed at Verto, "I agree, his death."

Leira shook her head, "Not him. The girl." Leira promptly pointed towards Lenz, which didn't draw a good reaction from Verto when his red aura sparked back on.

"Before either of you argue, you must understand that you can't be fighting each other if this galaxy is to be saved. She, on the other hand, must be destroyed immediately. Get on with it Frost," Leira ordered.

Verto snarled, "Now wait a fucking minute, what the hell are you doing?"

"Yes, I'm quite curious myself," Frost said with a slight nod, "I planned to kill her anyway, but now I'm interested as to why she's so important."

"She is your target Frost. I don't think I need to remind you of what could happen if she leaves here alive! The boy however will not be killed by you or anyone else," Leira said scornfully.

Verto positioned himself in front of Lenz again, this time spreading his arms wide; "I'll die before she does! I don't care if you think she's the cause for some universal apocalypse. Just because you think something will happen doesn't mean that it will."

"You must let her go Verto. She and her people are dangerous and you know it! The other cursed Saiyans must be taken care of as well, but the remaining Rotians are top priority, and she's the last one. I know this is harsh and you don't understand, but if you knew what I do, you would carry out the order without question," Leira claimed.

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?" Verto snapped back.

Leira sighed heavily, "Well I can see we're not going to get anywhere like this. Kibito, do it," Leira ordered. Kibito gasped lightly, but bowed his head before casting his arm up. Light blue energy surrounded Verto and bound his arms to his sides, erasing his powerful red aura for the moment. He struggled to get free of the paralyzing hold with little luck.

"Do not despair, this is for the best. Make it quick Frost; she is not to be tortured. The beast inside her must perish before it has a chance to show its true face," Leira said. By this point, Lenz was frozen stiff by not only Leira's speech, but also Frost's apparent eagerness to carry out the order. Frost readily took aim as Kibito used telekinesis to pull Verto out of the way. Verto was snarling with rage as his eyes shimmered with random bursts of red, but he couldn't do much more than twitch.

"Let me go Kai!" Verto demanded, "Don't put us through this!" Kibito didn't answer, but looked very remorseful about it. Frost's fingertip lit up with pink and Lenz nervously floated backwards a bit.

"I suggest you shut your eyes Verto, or Kibito can knock you unconscious. You don't want to see this," Leira advised.

"I suggest you come closer so I can put my foot up your ass! You don't want to release a monster? Do this and I'll give you one, I promise you that!" Verto warned. Kibito and Leira were slightly taken aback by this statement, though the latter merely shrugged it off.

"Well, that's an improvement. At least you're capable of showing emotion in this state. Love, it's such a troublesome emotion when allowed to manifest. It's also one of the key paths to insanity, so it's best to nip it as early as possible," Leira said.

"Yeah, I'm sure you've never had to worry about that, heartless whore!" Verto growled back.

Leira frowned, "That hurts but I'll let it slide. And yes I have if you must know. Love is what got someone dear to me killed a long time ago. I've never forgiven myself for it, so as you can probably tell, I have a unique enough perspective on the subject. Love is the entire reason I'm doing this now, despite what it may look like. Get on with it Frost!" Frost seemed even more intrigued by the new developments and lowered his blast instead.

"No, I don't think I will," Frost said.

"What?" Leira asked in disbelief.

Frost chuckled a bit before scowling, "As much as I would like to see this boy suffer, I detest taking orders from anyone. Especially a lying woman who is clearly trying to manipulate me. If you want that girl dead so badly, do it yourself." Frost brought his ki lit finger back up and pointed it at Verto again, who was still unable to move.

"You say that she must die and he must live, I disagree," Frost said.

"Kai, let me go!" Verto urged.

Frost grinned, "Too late!" He fired just as Verto shut his eyes in anticipation. The pink Death Beam struck something white a few feet away from Verto and bounced into the skies above. It was some sort of energy displacement in the air that took the shape of a small cloud before vanishing. Frost angrily glanced at Leira, though she seemed just as surprised about it. Verto found himself able to move again and promptly rushed back to guard Lenz again. Frost smirked lightly just before he phased out. Verto was hammered by Frost's elbow and fell towards the black below. Kibito instantly teleported to catch him, and Frost lined up another Death Beam. Lenz decided that she had seen enough and charged at Frost with her fist outstretched. She made contact with Frost's head, but it did next to nothing except annoy the powerful lord. Frost swung his forearm into her face, smashing it and sending a few broken teeth into the air. Lenz was knocked back by the blow, but didn't go far before Frost caught her with his telekinetic grip again. He had his Death Beam charging with his other hand and this time there wasn't anything to stop him.

Frost snorted at her, "I was actually going to spare you just to see what happened, until you thought you deserved to be on the same level as me. Brave and stupid, just as I would expect from a Saiyan. Goodbye!" Frost fired a perfectly aimed shot at Lenz's heart. It would have been a direct hit, if it hadn't struck the same strange energy cloud that had shielded Verto.

Leira was incensed, "Kibito!" Verto turned around in surprise as Kibito faced both Leira and Frost with a defiant expression.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow this to go on any further! I do not care what consequences may follow my actions, this is wrong and I won't let it continue!" Kibito claimed.

Leira bared her teeth, "Fool!"

"Heh, allow me," Frost said as he vanished. He reappeared right next to Kibito and drove a massive kick into his back, followed by an overhead smash. Frost instantly moved back in front of Lenz to resume his killing attempt. Verto held out his hand to form his sword again, notably straining as his eyes faded from their crimson state. _Crap, I've been using the Berserk power too long and now I'm almost completely out of Psi energy._

Frost knew it as well, as he barely even gave Verto a second look, "Go ahead boy, try to save her!" When Frost turned around completely, Verto saw his chance. He poured every last bit of Psi energy into his blue sword, making it glow rather bright before he arched back. Frost still made no notice of this, and Verto heaved his sword like a javelin, one made of energy. Frost seemed to realize something was coming and turned his head just as it arrived. The javelin pierced him slightly off center, but did go completely through his left eye and out the side of his massive head. Frost froze in surprise before howling in pain, holding the gaping hole where his left eye had been. Despite the cauterized hole, it still managed to bleed quite profusely once Frost's blood pressure rose from the trauma. Frost shuddered in painful rage as he locked his one good eye on Verto and pointed his Death Beam again.

"You're dead!" he shouted. A bright mass of long golden hair suddenly appeared right in front of Frost. It was Goku, and by the way he was positioned, it wasn't going to be good for Frost.

Frost's eye widened in shock, "You're still alive, how the…" Frost paused when he glanced down and saw what was forming in Goku's palms, but it was already too late.

"HAAAA!" An incredible Kamehameha roared out and overwhelmed Frost, taking him with it into the horizon. The massive light blinded all to it until it was already miles away, leaving everyone stunned. Verto felt instant relief that Goku was alive and well, but also felt the desperation behind that particular blast and its timing. Verto followed the evil changeling's trail with his senses and knew immediately that he survived it, but not by much. Verto started forward as Goku was catching his breath, giving him a concerned gaze as he powered down to normal.

"What are you doing?" Goku asked.

"I'm going to finish him off with what power I have left," Verto replied without even turning his head.

"No, you don't need to! He's hurt and unable to fight back, there's no reason to kill him in cold blood!" Goku claimed.

Verto stopped as his aura flashed red once again, finding a renewed anger to draw power from, "Tell that to her brother! Tell that to your best friend when Frieza destroyed him! Tell that to your son when Videl was killed over a year ago by Aldaris!" Goku grimaced and found himself at a loss for words. Lenz and Kibito both stayed quiet as Verto took off into the air, face full of malice. He didn't make it far before Leira cut him off in midair.

"Get out of my way, this has to be done!" Verto shouted.

"And you're willing to just go through with it, end his existence?" Leira asked.

"You just now figure that out?" Verto fired back.

"I had my suspicions before. After what happened in the lab, I don't believe your will is completely your own right now," Leira replied.

Verto's lip twisted slightly, "Why are you bothering me with this crap?"

"Because you should know that the cursed renegade Chal is able to influence negative emotions in other beings. That has happened to you before if you recall, and it wasn't a pleasant outcome. Rather you meant for this to happen or not, you are not in complete control right now and that is detrimental," Leira explained.

"I don't believe you," Verto said as he pushed past her.

Leira grabbed his shoulder and held tight, "If you recall, many of the soldiers you killed today were randomly fighting with each other. That was a result of Chal's influence, as was Frost's desire to kill you so soon. The girl's sealed power was released because of him as well. Now I know you're intelligent enough to realize when something is terribly wrong with you, even when your own instincts are burning inside for more blood. Do you really want to continue this madness and end up killing your friends because you lost control of yourself again?" Leira asked. Verto paused before looking away, speechless.

"You were able to overwhelm his ability before when you pushed beyond your limits. Now that you're weakened, it has taken hold again, helped by the battle's progression. It will likely have distinctly bad side effects until you can find your way past it," she continued.

"What kind of side effects?" Verto asked as he sighed.

"I do not know," Leira replied. Verto's fists shook slightly, but the color in his eyes faded to a very dim blue and he relaxed slightly.

"Go back home and rest, you'll need to recover your strength for the coming days," Leira suggested.

"And you? What are you going to do, save that asshole's life?" Verto retorted.

"I don't intend to. I imagine his own soldiers can do that, assuming you left any alive," Leira remarked.

"So you're just going to let this go, you're not going to try and set me up again?" Verto asked.

"I did not want this encounter to happen until I learned of the Renegade Saiyans being here. Their curse is also the girl's curse and sooner or later, you will have to accept the grave situation and why I acted upon it. This mission was a failure and I'm not allowed to carry out the deed myself," Leira admitted.

"Oh I get it, you'll just send someone else after her then, maybe that guy Etarb?" Verto asked.

"The chances of him carrying it out are zero unless absolutely necessary. I haven't decided how I'm going to handle it, but I highly doubt that any assassination would work, so you can relax. My abilities to predict future events have become much less effective and it's very clouded right now. I do not know what's going to happen next," Leira said.

Verto snorted, "So you're in the dark now too? How's it feel?"

"Annoying," Leira said as she tossed Verto a small yellow crystal on a worn string, "Use this to help keep control of yourself until you can adjust."

Verto recognized what the stone was, "Where did you get this?"

"The girl's brother, I saved it before you destroyed this place. Keep your friends close," Leira said as she turned to leave. She stopped when she realized that Verto had yet to move.

"Is there something else?" she asked.

Verto took a moment to answer, "This curse crap you keep talking about, do I have it too?"

Leira smiled lightly, "Thankfully no. Well, not to the extent of the others anyway, farewell."

Verto stared at her, "What's that supposed to mean?" Leira vanished abruptly, leaving Verto confused in the silent air. Behind him, Goku, Lenz and Kibito were flying closer, all concerned about what would transpire.

Kibito was the first to say anything, "Well?"

Verto glanced at him, "Well what?"

"I thought you were going to finish the job?" Kibito pointed out.

"I was, don't tempt me," Verto replied.

"Are you crazy? What the hell could've changed your mind this time?" Lenz cried out.

Verto rolled his eyes, "It's not important, let's just go home. I'm sick of being here."

* * *

Word spread quickly that Verto and Lenz had returned, and their injuries were taken care of by a few Senzu beans once Goku made the trip. Before anyone could organize anything though, Verto spilled most of the ugly truths to Bulma and Vegeta, causing the former to forego any party plans. Vegeta seemed rather quiet once the details involving the Rotians and Renegades came out, which stunned Verto. He elected not to mention anything more about why Lenz had been targeted by Leira though. After hearing how Frost ended up, Vegeta was also strangely relaxed.

Once Verto asked about it, Vegeta have a very uncharacteristic shrug, "That fool won't be coming here anytime soon. If he attacks, it will be when we least expect it."

Verto's questioning eyebrow went into the air, "You're not one to let the enemy off the hook."

"I wasn't the one who lost control of myself either. You have a bad habit of doing that. You clearly are not ready to deal with things alone yet," Vegeta said.

"Don't remind me," Verto grumbled.

"So what then boy? Are you going to go cry in a corner for a few days after wiping out so many losers?" Vegeta asked with a stark grin. Verto eyed Lenz, who was on the verge of doing just that.

"No, I don't have much of a reason to," he replied simply.

"Are you trying to tell me you've gotten over your softness? Ha! I'll believe that when Kakarot grows a brain!" Vegeta laughed.

"Hey, that wasn't very nice!" Goku whined.

"Of course not, that's why I said it! Idiot," Vegeta grunted.

"Whatever you say. I lost my compassion more than once out there, and I would prefer to have it back," Verto said sternly.

"And wearing that ridiculous rock around your neck is supposed to help you? I doubt that!" Vegeta said.

"This 'ridiculous rock' does work to an extent. It will at least keep me from flying off the handle with that Berserker power. But as far as your vaunted killer instinct, that stayed," Verto replied coldly.

"I thought that faded once you calmed down?" Bulma asked.

Verto glanced at her, "Yeah, when has that ever happened? The only thing different is that I decide on what I do instead of just doing it. I came so close to murdering those bastards multiple times out there for just looking at me wrong. I don't know how I kept control when I did. When I finally did flip out and let instinct take over, well you do the math. Leira was right, my emotional control is impaired, and it probably has been for awhile. Chal probably aggravated it, but it was still me that pulled the trigger," Verto explained.

"Is that supposed to be a threat or something boy?" Vegeta asked.

"Not really, just don't agitate me for awhile," Verto suggested.

Vegeta didn't budge, but did change the subject, "So, you never said why that woman wanted the girl dead?"

Verto gritted his teeth, "I don't care why." He then stormed off to his own room, beheading a robot maid in the process. Lenz motioned to follow, but glanced at Vegeta first as if for approval. Vegeta nodded slightly and Lenz promptly left the area.

He waited for the doors upstairs to close before saying another word, "Is there anything else you wanted to mention Kakarot?"

Goku rubbed the back of his head, "Oh, well not really."

Vegeta glared at him, "Then get the hell out of my house! And take the Namek with you!"

Goku turned to see Piccolo standing outside, listening through a window, "Oh, I didn't even see you there!"

Vegeta snorted, "That's obvious." Vegeta waited for Goku to leave and for Piccolo to at least appear to be gone before he said anything.

"Perhaps keeping this from him was a bad idea," Vegeta admitted.

Bulma scowled, "Perhaps? Of course it was a bad idea! Nothing about it is good at all!"

"At the same time, we have to consider what might happen in the near future, whether we choose to use the Dragonballs or not," Vegeta said calmly.

"I don't see the point of that. We're talking about an entire species being wiped out just because they were a little different. It's ridiculous!" Bulma claimed.

"Maybe, but we must remember that our entire history has been altered more than once by that woman and possibly others. We don't know what a dragon wish will do and if it will bring in an unstable element we didn't count on," Vegeta pointed out.

"That's pure speculation! I say we forget the Kais and whoever that woman is and do what's right!" Bulma said.

"Fine, but we'll wait another few weeks before we decide on anything. I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last of this. It's also possible that they've taken precautions to our plan without us knowing. Have the boys found the sixth Dragonball yet?" Vegeta asked.

"I had Trunks helping me today and Goten was visiting his grandfather. Trunks can probably find the next one alone tomorrow, unless you're ready to reveal this to everyone?" Bulma hinted.

"Hmph, once those two know, everyone else will. As far as I'm concerned, the less they know the better. The Namek knows too much as things are, but the woman deliberately allowed it. I imagine she has some special purpose for him as well. How much work is left on the bunker?"

"Plenty, but if you're not worried about Frost yet, then we've got the time. It's just a matter of equipment setup," Bulma replied.

Vegeta huffed a bit, "I'm not concerned about that freak. If the boy could push him that far by himself before Kakarot showed up, then there is no reason to think that he's unbeatable. The loss of most of his soldiers also causes him a serious setback. Nevertheless, we need to keep eyes on the entire solar system."

"Well that'll be hard work, but it's doable. What I want to know is when did you become so logical?" Bulma asked slyly.

Vegeta smirked, "Right around the time you became so irrational. Were you able to locate the last Dragonball with the radar?"

"Not yet, meaning it's either being blocked by some sort of technology or that some wild animal ate it. Most likely a dinosaur or something, why? You just said you weren't in a big hurry?"

Vegeta's eyes darkened, "The Kai."

"Kibito? Nothing seemed wrong earlier."

"I didn't like the look in his eyes. He was distracted by something, and the boy was clearly more agitated with him than normal," Vegeta claimed.

Bulma was puzzled, "I didn't see anything past his usual rush to get away."

"A warrior notices these things, woman. After what the boy told us, it's either some sort of backlash with his interference, or he knows something that is much, much worse. I suspect it's the latter," Vegeta said cryptically.

"Are you sure you're not just blowing this out of proportion?" Bulma asked.

"Perhaps, but I doubt that woman will just let this go if the girl was supposed to perish in that battle for whatever reason. The boy obviously knows why she wanted it done, and I doubt it's just because the Rotians seemed unable to control their hidden powers. The girl admitted herself that she's able to use that power now, so I doubt that's all of it. I too think that it's ridiculous that some woman we don't know seems to have more authority than those bothersome Kais and I'll be damned if she's going to tell me how to meet my destiny. Besides, her efforts are counter-productive. Telling the boy not to use whatever power he has and then setting up the situation that forces his hand? Doesn't seem like the work of some otherworldly being trying to affect the future," Vegeta surmised.

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me either. Actually, a lot of it doesn't. Argh, I need some coffee before I try to figure this out," Bulma groaned.

"Hmph, weak woman! Your addiction to caffeine and smoking sticks will be your downfall," Vegeta declared.

"Oh shut up."

Far across the stars, on a battered planet, a loud beeping sounded. It was coming from a large tank full of randomly bubbling fluid, which barely held a large alien inside. A doctor dressed in Saiyan armor and a blue skinned man with a horn waited for the fluid to drain before opening the chamber. Out stepped Frost, back in his previous fourth form, with the exception of his missing eye.

"We were able to restore your tail my lord, but I'm afraid you will require a mechanical eye until…" the doctor began. A sudden flash of light shot through the doctor's head, severing it at the neck.

"Of course I'll need a new eye you idiot! At least until I can use my ultimate form again," Frost admitted.

"Would you like a status report now sire?" Burotsuno asked.

"I think I have a very good idea about the current state of things Buro. The only thing I want from you is the whereabouts of the Renegade Saiyan," Frost demanded.

"A ship was detecting leaving the planet shortly after your battle concluded. Amongst the chaos, we were able to determine that it was one of ours and it was an unauthorized launch. It was out of tracking range within a few hours," Buro said.

"And Lord Bojack, where is he?" Frost asked.

"Overseeing the cleanup operation in your absence. As you know, Gokua was killed during the battle, as were a vast amount of our forces. Bido was found dead in the dungeon, presumably due to the Saiyan escaping," Buro reported. Frost grimaced as he glared at the ground.

"Is there anything else sire?" Buro asked.

Frost glanced up and a very tiny smirk appeared, "Yes there is. I want you to contact planet number two-eighty-five."

"Two-eighty-five? That faraway place? Whatever for sire?"

"For the short term, status alerts, which is to be passed on to every base in the empire. For the long term, mobilization. You see, there are some very important soldiers I wish to join me on our next project. Soon, we will be going to war," Frost replied.

Buro nodded, "Understood, but who are we declaring war on? The Renegade Saiyans?"

Frost's grin darkened into a vicious scowl, "Forget them for now, our target is Earth."

**Power levels**

**Frost (ultimate form): 825,000,000; weakened 5th form: 610,000,000**

**Super Mystic Verto (enhanced): 820,000,000**

**Verto (weakened): 220,000,000; Soul Blazer: 660,000,000**

**Goku (SS2): 500,000,000; SS3: 610,000,000**

**A/Ns: I feel the need to point out that just because there's a big battle, that doesn't mean I feel entitled to post power-levels every time. And whenever one of you readers has a gripe about something, please sign your review so I can send an appropriate response instead of just leaving it on here. Of course half of those gripes can be solved with patience. Since another short era comes to an end, so I feel the need to leave a preview. **

**Next time on DBV: As Verto resumes teaching Lenz, Trunks goes off in pursuit of the sixth Dragonball. His search brings him to a research center under a hostage crisis. After offering his assistance, Trunks finds himself at odds with the law when they attempt to assassinate the criminal before he can make his case. Trunks soon learns that the hostages are not ordinary, and a new danger spirals upward from the depths.**

**WDG:** Going to tie up loose ends, eh? Oh well, have a nice break.

**VB**: A planned break that really didn't have anything to do with messing up my left hand, but it happened anyway. And it won't really be a break for me.


	70. Hostages

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 69: Hostages**

Verto slowly munched an early breakfast as he brooded at the Capsule Corp dining table. Lenz sat next to him, eating at the same pace though far more concerned with Verto rather than her food. Each time she was about to say something, a sudden shift in his wall glaring stopped her abruptly. This continued until Trunks bounded into the room, full of energy by comparison. Verto barely even noticed his presence, aside from the strange gray gloves that he was wearing. Trunks stopped in surprise when he saw them both there, though his reaction was more directed at Lenz.

"So, you're also back?" Trunks asked spitefully.

"Well good morning to you too!" Lenz retorted.

"I thought you had gone back to your people, whatever they're called," Trunks remarked.

"All my people are dead, you want me to kick your ass?" Lenz growled back.

Trunks grimaced and switched his attention, "Hey big brother, you wanna help me look for a dragonball today?"

Verto finally looked at him, "Why are you looking for those?"

Trunks shifted nervously, "Uh, no reason. I just figured I'd get them all found before we needed them again. A lot of stuff has been happening after all."

Verto snorted, "How noble, I guess I'll ask what your real reason is later. As for today, no. We've got training to do, very important training." Lenz took notice at the stern tone of Verto's voice while Trunks became frustrated as he walked off.

Once he was gone, Lenz turned back to her teacher, "Um, what kind of training exactly?"

Verto glanced at her briefly, "I'm going to have you attempt Super Mystic today."

"What?" Lenz yelled, "Already?"

"You can sense your Psi energy within you now, right?" Verto asked.

Lenz nodded slowly, "And kinda use it, but it was only in that one battle."

"Then you're ready to try it," Verto claimed.

"Hold on, I thought you wanted me to master both types of energy before I tried going to the next level?" Lenz asked.

"Except I already know that you'll ignore that suggestion. The process has been a tad different than mine, but overall it's the same. Besides, there's no point in teaching one without the other. You're ready to at least attempt and perhaps experience this. It'll give you something to work for, but you'll have to figure most of this out on your own," Verto stated.

Lenz looked nervous, "But what if something goes wrong?"

"Then we'll deal with it together. All I want to see today is the attempt. If you don't make it, we'll just keep trying until you do. After that, I'll teach you some Psi techniques that I picked up, learning them will help you master it. Super Mystic is a mere formality after that," Verto explained.

"Alright, do I keep my necklace on for this?" Lenz asked.

"I think so, I didn't have one of those originally but I didn't have this crazy Berserker power either. In fact I don't think I was supposed to have it at all, until Dabura taught me that damn technique that unlocked it. Oh well, we'll leave in a few hours and head back to the training area we used with Piccolo, but he isn't invited today."

Lenz seemed relieved, "Good, I hate how he's so logical all the time."

Verto rolled his eyes, "Why does that not surprise me."

Three hours later, Verto and Lenz were standing in a grassy field not far from the capsule house they had used previously. Verto had his arms crossed as he watched Lenz prepare herself for the transformation attempt. Verto could sense the nervousness rippling through the air, showing that Lenz was clearly worried that she couldn't produce results.

"Don't focus on pleasing me Lenz, only yourself. You don't have to be angry for this change, though it can help if your deepest power is being stubborn like mine was. Once you have your energies released, balance them to an even level and force them together. If you do that, it will happen," Verto suggested.

Lenz grimaced, "That's a lot of work."

"Well duh, you think it was easy for me?" Verto asked.

She shrugged, "I guess not. Alright, I'm ready." She hunched over slightly, as if preparing for a larger amount of energy than she was used to. Blue and gray swirls of power filled the air around her as the wind picked up. The sharper aura that followed sparked a few times as her power seemed to top out.

"That's all your ki. Now keep it at that level and bring your Psi energy out," Verto ordered. Lenz cringed as her aura became very erratic and uncontrolled. More sparks of lightning flashed as her eyes took on a brighter shade of blue. Verto shut his eyes so he could focus on Lenz's energy a little better. She appeared to be struggling to bring out her deeper power, and he could feel some tense frustration building up.

"Easy, you're not going to do anything if you tense up so much. Find it within yourself and force it to the surface, use your ki if it helps," Verto said. Lenz's aura shifted to a lighter gray with continued blue and green sparks. Verto let her feel it out a bit more before speaking again.

"Alright, you're very close. Just bring them together, use them as one." Lenz grunted slightly as her power surged outward, leaving decent cracks in the ground. Her hair started to spike upwards for a brief moment before settling back into a wild movement. Verto could feel that she was losing it already as her breath came short.

"Okay, that's enough for now, good try," Verto said. Lenz immediately powered down and dropped to a sitting position, sweating heavily.

After catching her breath, she seemed flustered, "Are you sure I can do this without getting angry?"

"Yes, you nearly did it just now. You just have to focus, because that's the only thing that will allow you to control this power whether you're angry or not. Let's take a break and try it again tomorrow. Burning yourself out won't do any good after all. I want you to meditate the rest of the day and try to focus your Psi energy around you," Verto said.

"But that's sooo boring," Lenz whined.

"I can call Piccolo down if you want," Verto offered.

"Argh, no!"

* * *

Trunks flew through the sunny skies with a deep scowl on his face. In his right gloved hand was the dragon radar, which was signaling a distant dragonball. For the moment he was ignoring it, even though he was slowly approaching it's location. _I can't believe he brought that girl back. I thought for sure that she would go back with her own kind or something. I guess I forgot that they were all gone. Well that's fine, Shenron can fix that!_ _ It's obvious that Mom and Dad aren't in a hurry to get rid of her even though they keep saying that she's dangerous. I wonder why they let Verto stay around her so much if she's so dangerous? Then again, it's not like he'd listen to them if he doesn't want to. Man, I wish they'd let me do what I want! I guess I better get all these balls collected so we send her back to her own people and Verto can come back home. That girl must have some sort of hold on him or something. _

He picked up speed and turned south, making a beeline for the blip on the radar. He reached the area within ten minutes, finding a large city there instead. It was South City, very near the ground of the World Martial Arts Tournament. the radar was showing the ball near the downtown area, deep inside one of the buildings. Trunks found the right one quickly, but stopped when he noticed all of the police cars that surrounded it. Helicopters swarmed around the structure, with gunners aimed at the windows about halfway up. Trunks landed on the roof across the street, where a few snipers were deployed.

He walked right up and startled them, "What's going on here?"

The assistant jumped initially, but reached for his radio once he saw Trunks, "Damn it, who the hell is supposed to check building R for civilians? Because you missed one! Get outta here kid, can't you see we have a crisis?"

"What kind of crisis?" Trunks asked.

"Hostages! Now go down those stairs and clear out!"

Trunks didn't budge, "Who's taking hostages and why? Maybe I can help."

The sniper at the ledge shrugged without turning around, "Maybe if you had golden hair you could do something."

Trunks looked ahead for a moment and then back at the gunner, "What for? There's no one strong around here. But I do need to get in there. When do you guys think you'll be done?" The radio filled with chatter, which caused most of Trunks' words to fall short.

The gunner sighed, "Why doesn't the chief petition for one of them gold fighters to help us down here? Not for the petty crap, but we sure could use one of them or a Great Saiyaman type to help with the major problems, like this one."

Trunks gave off a bewildered glance while the assistant just shook his head, "Dunno, I don't think they're mercenaries for hire and I imagine they're difficult to reach."

Trunks grimaced, "I'm right here!"

The gunner ignored him, "Probably, maybe they could station one here...as long as it's not that Vegeta guy with the crazy hair. He scares me."

"Hey! I'm a gold fighter!" Trunks shouted.

Both men stopped talking long enough to glance at the shouting boy, "No way!" They both held onto the roof ledge when Trunks suddenly powered up and transformed into a Super Saiyan, leaving them speechless. He powered down just as quickly, but it was enough to affect their view of him.

"So, you wanna tell me what's going on now?" Trunks asked.

"One of our guys is holed up in there with hostages," the sniper replied.

Trunks was confused, "One of your guys? You mean another cop?"

The sniper nodded, "Exactly, just went nuts after he killed his own partner. He claims to be innocent and I wanted to believe it, but this is all the evidence I need to know he's guilty."

"Why'd he kill his own partner?" Trunks asked.

"Wish I knew."

The assistant shook his head, "It doesn't matter why he did it at this point. Taking hostages hardly proves any sort of innocence. He probably just got desperate and doesn't want to go to jail. The only problem is the fact that he knows all of our tactics and procedures."

Trunks cracked his knuckles, "Let me go in there and save them then."

The assistant coughed hard, "But you're just a kid!"

"Who's a lot tougher than all of us," his partner cut in, "I say let him do it, he can end this standoff once and for all."

Trunks nodded, "Yeah, no problem."

The assistant grabbed his radio, "Attention, we have one of the golden fighters willing to help end the situation, he's heading for the roof."

Trunks then lifted off and started to fly towards the roof before turning around, "What floor are they on?"

"Twentieth, special projects division. Follow the directions of the other officers and don't go wondering off. Who knows what they have in those labs," the sniper advised.

"Labs? Whose building is this?" Trunks asked.

"It's owned and operated by SHARC," the assistant said.

Trunks took note of the large lettering on the building south side, "Never heard of them. What does SHARC stand for?"

"Good question, they've never formally said. They do partake in a lot of science, mostly genetic engineering and medical products I think."

Trunks rolled his eyes, "Boring." He soared into the air and arrived on the roof of the SHARC building within seconds. Part of the SWAT team was also there, obviously covering any and all escape routes. They pointed their guns when Trunks landed, but eased up once they overheard the radio chatter.

One of them gestures to the lone door, "Down the stairs all the way to the twentieth. We've shut down the elevators and also the heat. We don't plan to completely kill the power, but we will if we have to. Do what you can to end this please. We have no eyes or ears in that office, so be careful," the officer advised. Trunks nodded and entered the darkened stairwell, silently wondering why they had let him in so easily. _Maybe it's our reputation or something, about time._ Trunks took note of the fifty-third floor, which didn't include the roof access or any basement levels. After a few levels of stairs, Trunks hopped the railing and allowed himself to drop straight down. In the process of freefalling, he startled several other policemen until he reached the twentieth floor. Only two doors were inside, the elevator and the office. He heard voices coming from the office and turned the handle. Almost immediately there was shuffling inside as Trunks swung the door open.

"Don't move! I've got a gun at this man's head and I will shoot if you come any closer!" Trunks stepped in anyway, drawing a very bewildered reaction from the gunman. Any other time it would have been funny to see, but not this time. The gunman was indeed a policeman with a medium build and brown hair, holding a sidearm to the head of an older man in a suit. Thick beads of sweat dropped out of the older man's gray hair and slid down the side of his partially wrinkled face as the cold iron of the gun met the side of his ear. Trunks could see a few others towards the back of the room, one of them appeared to have a white lab coat on. Once he focused on the gunman, he found that he looked slightly familiar, but he couldn't place his face. His hostage had a detective's badge clipped to his belt, showing that this was also an internal police affair.

"Release these people, or I'm gonna thrash ya!" Trunks declared. The gunman hesitated as he clearly recognized Trunks as a threat.

The hostage he had was much more vocal, "Why the hell did they call you in? This is a human matter, not another grand alien invasion!"

The gunman scowled as he pressed the gun into his hostage's temple, "Shut up Ace! I'll do the talking here!"

Trunks snorted, "I was just passing by, and I am half human for the record. You gonna lose the gun?"

The gun against Ace's head relaxed slightly, "Hmph, it doesn't matter. Humans or aliens aside, everyone will know the truth eventually!"

"Give it a rest Sonny," Ace said.

The hostage taker, Sonny, resorted to an elbow in Ace's back, "I told you to shut up!"

"What truth? That you killed someone?" Trunks asked.

"I didn't do it, I've been set up!" Sonny claimed.

Trunks grimaced, "That sounds awfully familiar. I don't suppose that some crazy girl made you do it?"

"Crazy girl? No, I found my partner all cut up in a pool of his own blood in an alley not far from here. I was first to the scene and somehow I'm the culprit!" Sonny said with clear exasperation.

Ace cleared his throat, "Your fingerprints were on the murder weapon Sonny."

"Quiet! I pulled the knife out to try and save a dying man's life, it's what any decent human being would do! That kind of thinking is what got my cousin Marcus locked up! And there is no way he was guilty either!" Sonny shouted.

Trunks paused, "Your cousin, was his name Marcus Satsu?"

Sonny blinked sharply, "Did you know him?"

"For a little while, I tried to help him prove his innocence. He ended up killing the guilty one in front of the cops so they assumed he was the culprit the whole time," Trunks explained.

"I guess murder just runs in the family," Ace muttered.

Sonny cocked the gun and pressed it into Ace's ear, "One more word and I swear, I'll blow your head off!"

Ace's arms and legs were clearly shaking even though he tried to hide it, "That would just prove my point Sonny."

"Just calm down, you don't need to do this!" Trunks urged, "Just put the gun down and give up!"

"Oh no, not that easily kid. I intend to show the world what is going on here, not just let things go with a cover up," Sonny declared.

"There is no cover up Sonny, you're just making this harder on yourself!" Ace said.

"For the last time, shut the hell up! I didn't kill him!" Sonny shouted again. Sonny took his eyes off Trunks as he threw Ace to the ground. Trunks flashed forward and knocked Sonny across the room with a flying forearm, disarming him for the moment. When he made the brief contact, his vision blurred and Sonny's thought memory transferred instantly. Trunks found himself staring at Sonny, standing over another man laid out on his side and covered in deep gashes.

Sonny was teary-eyed as he reached for a radio strapped to his shoulder, "_This is Satsu, officer down!_" His partner jerked slightly, revealing that there was a large knife embedded in his back. Without much regard for procedure, Sonny pulled the knife out and tossed it aside while he held pressure on the wound. The man coughed and smiled lightly when he saw it was Sonny.

"_Who did this to you Mac?_" Sonny asked.

"_Sh..Sh...SHARC!_"

"_SHARC? As in the new company you were investigating?_"

Mac managed half of a nod, "_Y-yes!_" Mac slumped abruptly as he continued to bleed out. Sonny shouted randomly at the air as the vision faded and Trunks heard the distinct click of a gun. Trunks glanced up to see Sonny had recovered and found another gun to point at him.

"Don't move kid, or this one goes through your head!"

Trunks stood up and put his hands up peacefully, "No, I'm not your enemy. I know you're innocent now."

Sonny was confused, "What? Just like that, how? Can you read minds or something?"

"I just know, it doesn't matter how. You said someone with this company was responsible right?" Trunks asked.

"That's what he told me when he died. I started investigating and found that they're performing illegal experiments on humans," Sonny replied as he lowered the gun.

"You know that's not true Sonny," Ace claimed.

Trunks ignored him, "What kind of experiments?"

"I haven't been able to find out what they're trying to do yet, but I know it's something involving weird chemicals and it's affect on humans," Sonny said. Trunks felt a hint of deja vu sweep over him slightly as he pondered what this all meant.

Unfortunately, Ace wasn't done enticing his fellow police officer, "It's basic medical research Satsu, you stupid fool. You're just dreaming up this cover up scenario because you can't face the mirror!" Sonny walked over and slammed Ace in the side of the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him clean out.

"Sorry, but he was getting really annoying. Anyway, there's been a number of missing people around South City, though less than half have been officially reported. Mostly homeless and criminals, thus why there hasn't been much concern. My partner had a family member go missing and turn up dead. He started the investigation into SHARC and probably found something he wasn't supposed to see. I already told you what happened to him, but he did try to warn me about it the night before he died. I was like this idiot and didn't listen soon enough," Sonny said with disgust.

"So why take hostages? That doesn't make much sense," Trunks reasoned.

"Maybe not, but it will open eyes. And until SHARC admits their guilt, I don't intend to back down. I've got two of their lead scientists right here, and a few assistants. Odds are someone knows somethin..." Sonny suddenly paused just as Trunks sensed others nearby. Glass shattered behind Sonny as a few SWAT members were propelling in.

"Shit!" Sonny shouted. He pulled his weapon and ran towards the disturbance in the far back of the office, grabbing one of the scientists in the process. Multiple voices started shouting randomly as the two SWAT members pleaded with Sonny to drop his weapon.

Sonny showed no signs of yielding, "You're going to get this man killed, you drop your weapons!" Trunks walked towards them, vaguely becoming aware of a red light shining through the windows and aiming at Sonny's head.

Trunks' eyes widened, "Get down!" Everyone glanced at him in question as Sonny back-stepped. A sharp thunk sounded just as blood splattered into the air, followed closely by a loud crackle from outside. The scientist Sonny had been holding onto slumped down, revealing a gaping, bleeding hole where the bullet had penetrated his head.

Both of the SWAT members panicked as they reached for their radios, "Civilian hit! Hold your fire!" Sonny dropped to a knee and out of the sniper's view as he aimed at the two newcomers, who had lowered their weapons in the chaos.

"Drop all of your gear on the table and join the party. I think you guys have screwed up enough today!" Sonny ordered. Trunks stood still, slightly dazed and shocked at what had happened. He was trying not to feel guilty, seeing as either Sonny or the hostage would have been hit whether he had shouted the warning or not. His fists balled up and he stomped towards the shattered windows.

"What are you doing kid?" Sonny asked. Trunks didn't answer as he blasted out of the building, straight towards the sniper team on the next building over. They jumped to their feet in slight fear when he came at them and landed behind them, fuming.

"You idiots! You shot a hostage! I thought you wanted me to help!" Trunks yelled at the top of his lungs.

The sniper shrugged, "You did help. You distracted him and we saw a chance to end this, so we took it."

"At the cost of someone's life?" Trunks asked in anger.

"It happens sometimes in a hostage situation, very regrettable. It's called collateral damage and no one feels worse than I do..." the sniper was cut off when Trunks suddenly back handed him across the rooftop. He went through the open door of the roof access and dropped down the first flight of stairs.

The assistant panicked, "Wait kid, what are you doing?"

Trunks' eyes flickered briefly to green, "You want to join him?" The decidedly weaker man shook his head quickly and backed away.

"I'll find out what's really going on here, it's obvious you're trying to stop him before he finds something out. Until then, tell your guys not to try that again!" Trunks warned as he pointed at the decidedly weaker man. He flew back to the SHARC building in full view of every surveillance camera nearby.

The sniper's assistant fumbled for his radio, "Chief, we have a big problem. I think that gold fighter kid has joined Satsu!"

The radio emitted fuzz for a moment before another voice answered, "Tell our guys to back off and wait for orders. There's no way we can take him on."

"Yes sir."

**A/n: Think you know where this is going, hell no you don't! But it'll become clearer by reading the next chapter.**

**VB: **WDG's computer died so I'm up to doing my own editing for the time being. Here's the lesson: don't buy cheap.


	71. SHARC

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 70: SHARC**

Bulma was attempting to relax in her large living room and watch the news when a piercing wail hit the air. Watching then became listening when it came time for Bulla to be changed and heard. Barely a minute into her crying, Vegeta stomped in, holding his ears.

"Will you silence the brat already?" he growled.

Bulma supplied her usual answer, "Okay, almighty prince, you can change the diaper yourself if you would like it done in such a prompt manner." Vegeta grumbled a wordless reply as Bulma tended to their daughter. A bulletin then flashed onto the television screen, which gave Vegeta a reason to turn up the volume.

"...and the hostage crisis in South City has reached its eighth hour. In the past forty-five minutes we've seen a flurry of activity around the twentieth floor when a propelling team attempted to enter. We can only assume that the situation has grown worse after our cameraman caught this video of what appeared to be one of the Special Forces team flying out of the tower and assaulting two officers posted across the street. This is the same Special Forces that helped to repel the Zerg invasion that we all remember well. The two officers are reported to be in critical condition and the boy was last seen re-entering the SHARC tower. He is believed to be very dangerous and has apparently joined with the rogue officer behind the crises. If you have any information on how to stop this boy, please inform the authorities..." Vegeta turned the volume down and snorted lightly.

Bulma scowled at his lack of motion, "Well? Aren't you going out after your son?"

Vegeta barely gave her a glance, "What for?"

"Oh I don't know, to keep him out of trouble! You know, be a father figure for once!" Bulma screeched.

"It's a human matter, therefore it's no concern of mine. If Trunks wants to involve himself, that's his business. I highly doubt that he'll even be scratched by the stupid fools that decide to get in his way. He can take care of himself woman," Vegeta argued.

"Alright, say you're completely right about this and people get hurt. Do you want to imagine the public relations nightmare we'll have if someone identifies him?" Bulma countered.

"Heh, like that will be a problem. All the reporters are afraid of me, for good reason. Even if they figure that it's Trunks, they'll back down," Vegeta claimed.

"So you're not going to even address this?" Bulma asked in disgust.

"If you want to scold the brat so badly, go do it yourself woman," Vegeta said, stating the same reasoning that she had given a minute before.

"Fine, but you'll have to watch Bulla," Bulma said as she got up.

Vegeta huffed slightly, "As if I can't watch a child."

"Apparently you need practice. There's a good example of why on the screen," Bulma pointed out as she grabbed her purse. As Bulma left, Bulla started crying again, which only made Vegeta scowl as he regretted his words.

* * *

Sonny Satsu held his gun at one of the suspicious scientists as she was handcuffed to a chair. She was thin with long chocolate colored hair and matching eyes that were spitting out fresh tears. Nearly three hours had passed since Trunks had attacked the snipers across the street, and no other police action was forced. As far as he could tell, the entire building save for the lobby had been cleared, including any SWAT members that were on the roof. Trunks had spotted several more recon teams on other rooftops and windows, but they were merely trying to keep an eye on them. He had expected some sort of heavy military response, but so far there wasn't one. Sonny had secured the remaining SHARC staff and the three police officers with handcuffs to filing cabinets along the walls. To keep everyone's calm, he had dragged the dead scientist into another room and locked the door while Trunks kept watch at the office door. The younger lady in the chair looked petrified at the sight of the pistol next to her as she was wheeled up to a desk computer.

"Alright, you're going to access the mainframe and tell me what happened to my partner," Sonny ordered. Only the fearful answer of shaking greeted him as the brunette's teeth chattered a bit.

Sonny cocked his gun, "Come on, get online, now!"

"I don't know the p-password! I'm only an intern!" she stammered.

"For who? This scum over here?" Sonny pointed to a slim brown-haired man with glasses. This man had most looked like a doctor compared to the rest, despite the scene. The other remaining staff member was a plump lady with red hair, wearing wire thin bifocals and high heels. She was eerily similar to the mother that had been rooting against Trunks in the Junior World Tournament, but not quite as massive. She was the calmest one of the bunch, including the captured officers. Trunks couldn't help but wonder why that was, though he was more curious about the doctor. He had a very suspicious aura about him, and Trunks could sense nothing but deceitfulness from him. At the same time though, Trunks sensed there was something wrong about him, like there was something missing. The intern wasn't answering Sonny's question and he briefly lost patience but didn't act.

"Fine, I'll ask him since they shot the other one. What's the password?" Sonny asked.

The man used his free hand to push his glassed up higher on his nose, "And why should I tell you?" Sonny fired his gun, missing the doctor by mere inches.

The doctor didn't even flinch at this, "Kill me and lose your chance to access that computer. I hold the master password up here in my mind. But there isn't a chance of you getting it, so I suppose you should just get it over with."

Sonny relaxed strangely, "Alright doctor, this isn't my first interrogation. Let's start with something simple like your name."

"Doctor Joanes."

Trunks cocked his head slightly, "Shouldn't that be pronounced 'Jones'?"

Joanes frowned, "No, there is an A before the N. It's pronounced 'Jo-Ann-es'. Shouldn't you be in a school, learning how to say a person's name properly? No doubt your parents are street-bred scum."

Trunks resisted the urge to correct him physically for the moment, "You gonna give him the password, Jones? Or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Joanes smiled, "No." Trunks removed the glove on his right hand and moved towards the defiant doctor.

Before he did anything, the intern screamed for him to stop, "No! Don't hurt him!"

"I won't hurt him, much," Trunks claimed.

"Stop! I'll tell you the password, just don't hurt the doctor!" the intern offered.

Joanes glanced over, "There isn't anyway you could know the master password."

The intern nodded meekly, "I've seen you use it doctor, it's the name of your deceased wife isn't it, Aurora?"

Joanes paused at this show of honesty, "Well perhaps I was wrong. Proceed at your own risk."

Before the intern typed anything in, Sonny's handheld radio went off, "_Trunks Briefs!_"

Trunks cringed slightly, "Aw crap, she's already here."

Sonny looked at him with pure confusion, "Who?"

"_Trunks! This is your mother speaking, you had better pick up the phone in thirty seconds or else!_" Bulma screeched over the airwaves.

"Your mother is Bulma Briefs? Interesting, but also a shame. To see a talented young mind going to waste before you even knew how to use it," Joanes remarked.

"Oh shut up," Trunks grumbled as the phone rang.

He sighed heavily before bringing the phone up to his ear, and winced immediately, "_Trunks! What the hell are you doing, caught up in this mess?_"

"Easy Mom, you're making my ears bleed!" Trunks whined.

"_That won't be the only thing bleeding if you don't get down here right now!_" Bulma yelled.

"I can't, not until I take care of things here. The police are wrong, this guy is innocent!"

"_And how do you know that?_"

Trunks paused, as he didn't want to blurt out why just yet. "I...I just do. I wanna find out what kind of research they're doing here and there is something...else here that I need."

"_What could that possibly be?_" Bulma asked.

"Check the radar and you'll see what I mean," Trunks replied carefully.

Bulma's tone lightened, "_That may be the case, but that doesn't matter right now. You are to get down to the lobby right this minute, I'll be waiting for you. Then we're going to have a nice long chat about what you should and should not do before I turn you over to your father._"

Trunks grimaced, "Fine." He hung up the phone and sighed deeply with an apologetic expression directed at Sonny.

"Don't sweat it kid, I figured this might happen. It won't matter once I find what I'm looking for," Sonny claimed with a smile.

"Don't you sound confident, be careful what you wish for," Joanes warned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Trunks asked.

"Whatever doc, enter the password lady," Sonny ordered. The intern did exactly that, and the screen began to flash red and blue as alarms began going off.

A computerized voice sounded over the intercom, "Warning! Project Aurora activated! Project Aurora activated!"

"Project Aurora? What the hell is that?" Sonny demanded. Tremors suddenly shook the building as desk lamps and computer equipment fell to the ground.

"An earthquake?" Trunks asked.

"Afraid not," Joanes said calmly. Trunks looked over as large, thick slabs of metal quickly slid over the windows from the outside, covering the SHARC building from roof to ground completely.

"That password activated some sort of emergency program to cut us off from the outside didn't it?" Sonny asked as he grabbed Joanes by the shirt collar.

Joanes kept his calm, "Partially right Mister Satsu. What it is going to do is show you just what is going on here. You wanted to know after all."

"What have you done?" Trunks growled.

"Nothing, I've been here the whole time. It's what you've done, and if my guess is right, all those people in the lobby are about to be in trouble. Maybe you should help them," Joanes suggested.

"What?" Trunks gasped.

"I'll use more direct words, all those police officers and your mother are about to die," Joanes said with a slight sneer. Trunks' eyes widened as he ran for the door. He stopped cold when he heard multiple distant screams.

* * *

Bulma coughed lightly as the dust settled inside the lobby and she and the dozen or so officers recovered from the sudden change in conditions. The nearest officer was the Chief, an aging man who had clearly seen rough situations over the years. He had a graying mustache that seemed to cover his mouth completely, though his beard was kept well trimmed. His uniform was dotted with several honor medals, enough that it obscured any real identification tags.

"Status! Someone give me status!" Chief shouted.

"Looks like some sort of automated response that we didn't know about sir," an officer named Watson said.

"Radio contact, can we talk to anyone outside?" Chief asked.

"Negative sir." Bulma pulled her cell phone out, but in dismay saw that it had no signal.

"I don't suppose you guys brought the building's engineer have you?" Bulma asked.

Chief sighed with annoyance, "We've been trying to reach him for five hours. Obviously it doesn't matter at this point. Alright, re-establish our perimeter here, that's our first objective. After that, we need to get word to our people outside that we're trapped but okay. They should already be trying to get in. And we also need to send a team to the twentieth floor. It looks like Satsu may not have been lying about this murder investigation. I would like to personally have a word or two with the lead scientist Doctor Jones," Chief stated. The lights began to flicker randomly before they shut off completely. A few emergency lights came on a moment later, but they provided very little relief from the darkness.

"Watson, get the power back on in here!" Chief ordered as everyone switched on their flashlights.

"Chief, I recommend we find the stairwell and get to higher ground. The roof may still be open to us," Bulma suggested.

"Good idea Miss Briefs. Watson, stay on the power issue until we regain control of the situation," Chief said. Watson moved around the room with a small device intended to detect electricity, but stopped short when he noticed something.

"Chief, the power is down here, but the elevators appear to be back online!" Watson announced.

Chief was taken slightly aback by this, "They are? Who the hell authorized...never mind. Split into two groups, Watson you take a team to the roof and secure it if possible. The rest of us will take the stairs up to meet Satsu. Miss Briefs, you're with us." Watson and several others loaded into the barely lit elevator and departed. Before they left though, the Chief elected to keep an intent eye on the progression of the other team, drawing Bulma's attention.

"Just standard procedure in an unknown situation like this..." Chief paused when the digital monitor stopped changing. It had stopped and remained at floor thirty-three, drawing concern from all.

Chief pulled out his radio, "Watson, do you read?"

"_Yeah...barely_."

"This shows you've stopped about twenty clicks short, what is the problem?"

The radio blared with loud static and interference, "_We're not sure...maybe...obstruction._" Bulma then heard something pop and saw the floor number start falling rapidly.

"Oh my god..." Chief said in disbelief. Nearly a half dozen men were heard screaming as the elevator cart dropped past the lobby and crashed several floors down below them. The Chief and a few others forced the doors open just in time for a rush of dust to flood into the lobby as a few cables tumbled down from above.

"Great, what else could go wrong?" Chief muttered. Their answer came in the form of a low, feral growl coming from the darkest part of the room. Chief and the other policemen drew their weapons and pointed flashlights towards the inhuman sound they heard, but saw nothing. Bulma was silently cursing for not bringing one of her laser pistol capsules, but she knew she couldn't worry about that now. Sounds of quick movements, low grunts and drywall hitting the floor drew everyone's attention. Bulma thought she saw something moving, but by the time any light was provided on the specific area, it was long gone.

"Keep it tight and retreat to the stairs," Chief whispered. Bulma strayed between the officers as they stepped backwards to the stairwell. A sudden aroma filled in, possessing the strange scent of both blood and chocolate. Bulma wrinkled her nose in confusion, unsure of what she was smelling.

"What the hell is that smell?" Chief rasped.

"Dunno sir, maybe the environmental systems are messed up," one of the deputies said in a normal voice.

The officer beside him snorted lightly, "With all the money they put in on this place, you'd think that they could afford good air filters."

"Smith, Quimby, keep your voices down! There's something in here with us!" Chief warned. Smith had been the loudest of the two, but also the most relaxed given the situation.

"Probably just a lab rat or something. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about sir," Smith claimed.

Chief welled up with anger, "Put a lid on it deputy, and start getting serious! We just lost six of our men in the elevator that was supposed to be shutdown. I want to see some damned focus, understood?"

Smith grimaced and nodded, "Yes, sorry sir." All eyes suddenly locked on Smith when a loud grunt sounded behind him. He turned around and his flashlight revealed a large creature standing there. It was about eight feet tall with gray and navy blue patches of skin, all of which was covered in a slimy residue. It's face looked completely alien to even Bulma, who had seen her fair share of strange creatures. It's forehead had subtle ridges that seemed to fan out randomly with no real pattern. There was a pair of dull yellow eyes beneath it's oddly shaped forehead. Whatever the creature called a nose was flat with small slits in the skin that expanded and contracted for breathing. The most disturbing feature though was the mouth, which had very large and sharp teeth, each dripping with heavy, thick saliva.

"What the fuck is that?" Chief shouted. Smith aimed his shaking pistol in pure surprise as his eyes remained wide. The creature growled loudly at him, causing him to panic and fire. The bullet punctured around the left side of the chest and the creature glanced down. It roared with rage rather than pain and swiped at Smith. It's hand was a huge claw with four rubbery looking fingers and stout thumb. The substance of it's hand was another matter as Smith was sent flying across the room. He slammed into a wall and slumped down, revealing three slash marks buried deep into his torso.

"Smith! Open fire, kill that thing!" Chief ordered. The other officers didn't need to be told twice as the creature let loose another deafening roar. Bulma ran over to check on Smith as the police emptied their guns on the strange and powerful creature. After absorbing dozens of rounds, it finally felt some sort of survival instinct to run away and retreated towards the darkness behind it. It was well beyond sight range before Chief dared even look at Smith. Bulma checked his vitals, but he wasn't doing much aside from hyper-tense breathing from shock. The deep gashes were putting out a great deal of blood and within a few moments his surprised eyes became dull and lifeless.

"Smith, hold on damnit! We're not dying here!" Chief urged. Smith coughed lightly before he fell over and ceased to move.

"Shit!" Chief cursed. The creature roared again and charged out of the black towards the next closest officer, Quimby.

"Get down!" Chief shouted. Quimby didn't react fast enough and the creature grabbed at his head and hoisted him up by the chin.

"Hold your fire!" Chief ordered as the other officers had locked on with their sights. Quimby was struggling to breath, but managed to reach his sidearm and unload a few un-aimed bullets into the monster's massive chest. It screeched in pain and threw him across the room. His head struck the wall and left a bloody trail as he dropped to the ground. Bulma ran to him to check his condition, and got there in time to hear a painful rattle come from his throat as the remaining air in his lungs slipped out.

Bulma gasped loudly as Chief's face filled with anger, "Everyone cover your eyes!" He turned and tossed a small canister near the creature and closed his eyes. The canister exploded with bright light, followed by another painful roar. Once the light faded, Bulma saw that it was holding it's eyes protectively after being hit by a flash-bang grenade.

"Drop it, kill it now!" Chief yelled. Bulma reached for Smith's handgun and joined in the shooting. The creature staggered and fell to the ground, trying to crawl it's way out. It's left leg had been hit enough to cripple it, and prevent it from even standing again. Chief ran up and put his boot on it's neck to hold steady. It tried to buck him off and he backed away before pulling his rifle up. He fired straight into it's head and the creature slumped down instantly. Chief waited for a moment before sighing heavily and catching his breath.

"Everyone else alright, Miss Briefs?" Chief asked.

"Yeah," Bulma said as she cautiously stood up. She glanced around and realized that there were only three SWAT members remaining, including the Chief.

"What was that thing?" a younger officer named Jenkins asked.

Chief glanced at his fallen officers, "I don't know, but the way it killed Smith and Quimby, I'd say Sonny Satsu was innocent. What do you think it is Miss Briefs?"

"I'd have to take tissue and blood samples back to my lab to know for sure. But it's most likely some sort of genetic mutation. Look at it's feet," Bulma pointed out. They all crowded over the beast to see two shredded socks covering part of it's ankles.

Jenkins looked at her like he had seen a ghost, "You're telling us that thing is human?"

Bulma shook her head, "Was human, but not anymore."

"Alright, we'll deal with this mess later. Let's get up to Satsu and your son," Chief suggested. Just as he finished the words, Jenkins cocked his shotgun.

"What is it Jenkins?" Chief asked.

"There's something moving," he replied. They all looked around and saw nothing, until another loud roar pulled their attention to the direction Jenkins was pointing his shotgun. Another massive claw came out of the darkness and grabbed Jenkins by the neck and jerked him forward, dragging him to it.

"Another one? Shit!" Chief shouted as he tried to pinpoint it. This one had pulled back enough that even the sounds of Jenkins screaming couldn't locate it exactly in the dark. The screaming continued to echo before the sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing filled the room.

"Run for it!" Chief shouted. Bulma and the two remaining officers sprinted for the stairwell. It wasn't long before heavy footfalls followed them, along with a monstrous screech that filled Bulma with sheer terror.

Bulma reached the door first and held it open for Chief, "Come on!" He stopped and turned to beckon his remaining deputy, but didn't see anything but a faint light bobbing up and down. Gunfire sounded just as the flashlight went flying aside along with the victim holding it.

"Get in! I'll lock the door!" Chief ordered. Bulma was halfway up the first flight of stairs before she actually heard the door latch. Chief was barely a half-step back when a huge dent formed abruptly in the metal door. The creature on the other side snarled and pounded on the door continuously, making very noticeable progress. After just a dozen seconds, it ripped through the metal with it's powerful hands and yanked the door completely off its hinges. The creature tossed it aside and stepped through as the Chief backed away, tripping on the stairs and falling down. Just as it stood over him, a broad but bright ball of gold light smashed into the beast, knocking it back into the lobby.

Bulma turned to see Trunks standing on the rail with his hand stretched out, "Trunks!"

"Mom, what was that thing?" Trunks asked.

"I'm not sure, but we can't worry about that now. It's going to come back if you don't stop it," Bulma said sternly.

Trunks smirked slightly, "Gotcha." He blew past the surprised Chief and into the lobby, where the creature was waiting and roaring at him. Despite the darkness, Trunks could feel out its movements enough to where he was basically seeing it. He ducked a claw swipe and swept it's legs. The creature managed to drop to only one knee, but was unprepared for Trunks to rush in. He let loose a flurry of rapid punches, battering the monster. After hitting it a few dozen times, Trunks pulled back and kicked its chest hard, sending it flying backwards. Not wasting a moment, Trunks spread his arms wide and charged up his ki, illuminating enough of the room to adjust his aim.

"Time for the last ride!" he declared. The creature staggered to its feet and panted slightly before roaring at Trunks again. It made no real effort to move out of the way, as if it knew that attacking would be fruitless.

Trunks smirked again, "See ya!" He fired a single potent ki ball straight at his target with both hands, and the beast merely growled in defiance. The blast struck dead on and exploded, leaving behind smoke and bloody mist in the darkness. Trunks didn't move initially until he was sure the beast was dead. Once he was certain, he ran back and grabbed the broken door, dragging it with him through the doorway it had belonged to. He wedged it into place to serve as a blockade as Chief provided light for him with his flashlight.

"Mom, are you alright?" Trunks asked once he was done.

"Yes, but there might be more of those things," Bulma replied.

"More of those? You're kidding!" Chief exclaimed.

Bulma grimaced at the mental lapse, "There was more than one, right?" Chief mumbled a silent answer as he checked his ammunition.

"We need to find out just what is going on around here. This whole situation seems very fishy," Bulma added.

"How so, I mean other than this," Chief said.

"The SHARC company is a low market provider of medical products and insurance. Only very recently did I even hear of them ordering equipment for advanced research. I'd say they have taken things a few steps further. If those two, things, are a result of that research, well saying it's illegal would be quite an understatement. I suspect they've gotten involved with someone very untrustworthy and of questionable character. Trunks, did you recognize any of the scientists?"

Trunks shook his head, "No, but one of them was really arrogant. The other two are just of the intern and secretary type. The police shot the other one in the head."

Bulma glared at Chief, "Procedure huh?"

"How could we have known? Sonny Satsu has been through enough to have cracked and gone crazy," Chief claimed.

"It doesn't compare to what we've had to deal with. I guess I'll just have to meet this one and hope he cooperates, let's go," Bulma said as she started climbing the stairs.

Sonny Satsu had a machinegun locked on Doctor Joanes while he waited for Trunks to return. He had moved the intern and chubby secretary to another spot for the time being. The intern had screamed to be let go now that it was clear that something was not right, but Sonny didn't oblige. The secretary had yet to say a single word or protest about anything. She honestly didn't appear to be paying any attention to the serious situation. She did give Joanes the evil eye a few times, as if she might have known something, but Sonny didn't pressure her. The intern was far more likely to know something, despite being in hysterics.

"So doc, do you have anything to say before the curtain rises on your little act?" Sonny asked.

Joanes feigned innocence, "My, whatever do you mean?"

"Hmph, I guess I can wait a little longer. I wonder if I'll be allowed to personally interrogate you, can't wait for that," Sonny said as he cracked his knuckles a bit.

"I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with police policies, though I'm rather certain that they wouldn't allow a murderer to remain employed, never mind walking free. Then again, I am aware that law enforcement has some very serious flaws that typically border on corruption," Joanes said with a grin.

"You keep singing your song and dance, I'll figure you out, one way or another," Sonny retorted. One of the hostage SWAT officers shifted slightly.

"You got something to say Jarvis?" Sonny asked as he glared at him.

"When the hell are you going to let us go Sonny? There's no one coming in or out like this, we won't attack you," Jarvis claimed nervously.

"After the way you guys looked at me, as if I was the killer, you ask that question? What about you Coleman?" Sonny glanced at the other.

"We're sorry man, we didn't expect something like this!"

Sonny glared at him darkly, "No, I'd guess not."

The door creaked open suddenly, "They weren't the only ones who were wrong Satsu." Sonny aimed his gun, but cautiously lowered it when Chief held up his hands peacefully. Trunks and Bulma came in behind him, much to Sonny's relief.

"It's about damn time then. Wait, where's the team Chief?" Sonny asked with concern.

Chief looked down, "Let's just say that we ran into some trouble and they didn't make it. Where's the lead scientist, Doctor Jones?"

Joanes shook his head, "It's Joanes you idiot. Why can't you grunts just learn to pronounce a name correctly, it is not hard."

"Whatever, I want to know exactly what the fuck you are doing here, now!" Chief bellowed.

"Medical research and development."

"Bullshit! I saw your little pet science project kill my men! Miss Briefs believes...Miss Briefs, what is it?" Chief stared as Bulma has an awfully fierce expression on her face. She glowered at Joanes like she was ready to tear him apart, but she didn't act on it.

Joanes finally looked up, "Why, hello again Bulma."

Bulma's scowl could have cracked the walls, "Hello, Flandal."

**A/n: Dun dun dun... Then again, what is the true shocker here? You had to know he'd be back at some point.**

**Next time on DBV: Doctor Flandal Cash, otherwise known as Doctor Wheelo, has returned in earnest. As Bulma and Trunks pressure him into revealing his activities, they find out that there are more mutated creatures stalking the SHARC building. A face from the past appears to help guide them and the remaining police force to find Wheelo's hidden lab. But what will they find there, an insidious project, or a trap made especially for them. Meanwhile, Verto and Lenz sense the disturbance and head to South City to help.**


	72. Secrets of SHARC

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 71: Secrets of SHARC**

"The last time I saw you, Flandal, you were slowly dying after my husband ripped you to pieces. You can't tell me that you've recovered that fast. It's only been a month and a half, but you shouldn't have even survived," Bulma began.

"Seeing is believing Bulma. I'm surprised that your esteemed husband didn't come along tonight, not that I'm looking forward to being anywhere near that disgusting monkey again!" Cash said.

Trunks tensed up at the insult, though Bulma held him back by the shoulder, "No Trunks, at least not yet."

Cash didn't take the possible threat seriously, "So Vegeta junior wants to get into the act? Maybe tear off an arm or a leg and give it to his father as a trophy?"

"I'd go for the throat first just to shut you up," Trunks growled.

"I guess it's too bad that you need me to talk and tell you what is going on. Whether I cooperate or not is a different story altogether," Cash countered.

"I'm pretty sure I know what it is already. You're experimenting with Chemical Z again aren't you?" Bulma asked.

Cash smiled evilly, "Now what would make you think that? My lab was both compromised and destroyed after all."

"Don't play me for a fool. I may not practice as much in-depth research as you, but even I have more than one lab," Bulma pointed out.

"That is an excellent point, but it doesn't prove anything. All of my samples of Chemical Z are gone thanks to you and your family," Cash remarked.

"As far as we know you're hiding more of it somewhere. In addition, I know you've been trying to perfect a super human type of serum. Since it's possible that you've suffered a setback and loss of your primary ingredient, you may have turned to something else. Even if you don't have anymore of Chemical Z, you and I both know that there is more than one way to experiment using compounds that shouldn't be agitated. Looks like the results this time are even more inhuman than last time," Bulma deduced.

"Very good Bulma, spot on as usual. The golden rule of science is to expect some setbacks. I certainly wouldn't call this a great achievement, but it's not bad if the right funding demands something like it," Cash claimed.

Bulma's eyes widened in horror, "What? Who in their right mind would support what we just saw down there?"

"I'm afraid my associates would prefer to remain anonymous."

"What are we talking about here, Miss Briefs?" Chief interrupted.

"A biological weapon, isn't that right, Flandal?" Bulma said with a deep scowl.

Cash closed his eyes and dodged the question, "You know I hate that name, maybe I won't cooperate anymore if you keep using it."

"A bio-weapon? Those have been banned for years! Not even the Red Ribbon Army made use of those!" Chief declared.

"Times change. Maybe you and your officers should wake up from this dream we've all been having and see the world for what it is becoming," Cash suggested.

"And what dream is that?" Chief asked.

"That everything is just fine, and our alien residents are only here to protect us. Let's be real with each other for a moment, these aliens are not our friends, they're not our saviors. They're here to contaminate our culture and eventually erase humans from existence. Even if they aren't destroying us directly, they can wipe us out just through genetic cross-breeding. A shining example is that young monkey over there," Cash said as he pointed at Trunks. Trunks' fist balled up, but he didn't move an inch towards Cash.

"Such a closed mind you have Flandal. Despite what your personal views are, I've still figured out what you've done. Your serum, whatever it's made of, yielded impressive enough results for someone else to fund you since your brother wised up. It's probably a military group that is just starting to come together and you've found a common target. Your weapon isn't complete, but it makes for a good alternative for those of us 'normal humans' that decide not to join you. Especially with the recent activity with powerful monsters and aliens dropping by Earth. Your initial goal will generate xenophobia in the population, and then it will drive them to either join you or die. But it's pointless," Bulma said.

"Perhaps for now it is, but science can unlock unlimited potential in humans. With the help of technology, I will find a way to not only oust the aliens here now, but prevent them from ever stepping foot on our soil again. We will eliminate any and all alien intruders," Cash proclaimed.

"That's not the point Flandal. No matter what you think of aliens, human minds are unstable enough as a whole before you add in synthetic and unnatural components. You're proving my point right now with just your words. I'm not saying that all the aliens that come here are any better either, but that doesn't mean that we should be using their technology and genomes to make war on ourselves! Stop this madness now before you drive Earth back into the old days before we had peace. We don't need to go back into the endless wars with each other," Bulma pleaded.

"And you say I've missed the point? What about what you're doing at Capsule Corp? I couldn't help but notice large orders of steel and quite a bit of refining equipment. Not to mention the loads of dirt and rock being carted out on a daily basis. Building something that isn't for public eyes Bulma?" Cash asked as he avoided another verbal jab.

Trunks glanced up at Bulma when she didn't respond, "What's he talking about Mom?"

"I'll show you when we get home, don't worry about it," Bulma said with assurance.

"What's wrong Bulma, have I caught a hypocrite in the act?" Cash taunted.

"Hardly Flandal. It's more of an improvement and safety project, something you clearly wouldn't understand. What I want to know is what you've done here, and just how much you're willing to help us get out of your own mess," Bulma stated, getting back to the point.

"Since you seem to have all the answers, tell me why I should even bother?" Cash asked.

"Here's why: We're going to find a way out of this place, and we'll leave you here with your monsters if you don't tell us how to get past them," Bulma said.

"Your point is...well put," Cash admitted.

"Good, we can start with all prudent information in your database. Access it, or I'll have Trunks start breaking you down a piece at a time until you have nothing!" Bulma threatened.

"Another empty threat. I do not intend to assist in gathering anything that would incriminate myself. Besides, I don't expect many of you to make it out. The boy perhaps, but the others, well, I guess you'll see for yourself," Cash said with a sly grin.

Chief lost his patience and stepped towards Cash, "That's enough of this!" He pulled the scientist to his feet and threw him up against the wall.

Just as he was about to lay into him, Sonny stepped in, "I'll do this Chief."

Chief let go after having a brief stare off, "He's all yours." Sonny sighed slightly before grabbing Cash by the shirt collar to look him in the eye.

Sonny gritted his teeth, "This is for my partner, one of the many you've killed!"

"If you're trying to use violence as a means of getting what you want, I assure you that it's an exercise in futility," Cash replied calmly.

Sonny snorted as he pulled his fist back, "Maybe, but it's damn sure gonna feel good!" Sonny viciously punched Cash about as hard as Trunks had ever seen, and the doctor dropped to his knees.

Cash chuckled despite this, "I can't imagine that actually felt good at all."

Sonny staggered back as he grasped his shaking hand and groaned, "Damnit, what the hell are you made of?" Cash stood back up, and his face had been peeled slightly to reveal metal underneath.

"Pity, I was hoping to amuse myself a bit longer, oh well," he said.

Chief had his gun aimed at the robotic doctor in an instant, "You're a damned robot?"

"Cyborg is a better term you simpleton," Cash replied.

"A robotic body, now it makes sense. Your real human body couldn't sustain itself, could it?" Bulma asked.

The remaining flesh half of Cash's face smiled, "I'll give credit where it's due, your husband is quite adept at breaking someone weaker than him without killing them off completely. I'm surprised that you can even survive in bed with him."

"That is none of your business Flandal. Give me a reason not to let my son use those killer Saiyan instincts on you now," Bulma warned. Cash's left arm suddenly burst open to reveal his metallic fingers, each with holes drilled at the tips. They snapped together as his arm clicked sharply, showing that he was armed with a chain gun.

Cash aimed at the group, "I wonder how many bullets he can stop?" Trunks jumped in front of Bulma to shield her, standing ready for the assault. It never came, because in that moment, Cash's body suddenly erupted with random and erratic electricity. Arc lightning shot through the robot, as if something had shorted out. Behind him, the plump secretary stood with electrical cables that had been shoved into Cash's robotic back. Cash groaned as the overload took him to the ground and he ceased to move.

"Nice move and quick thinking," Bulma applauded.

"But how did she get out of the handcuffs?" Sonny asked. The secretary dropped the cables and stepped out holding her hand up. It suddenly became quite a bit smaller in girth and more defined.

"I've been waiting for him to reveal that for awhile now. It's a very good thing you came tonight, otherwise my father would have been able to get away with this experiment and cover it all up," she said.

"Your father? Wait a sec..." Bulma paused in realization. The secretary's body started to shrivel as her clothing became much looser and her hair changed color. Within seconds she bore a much more slender appearance, as well as a familiar one.

"Kati Cash, well I'll be," Bulma stated.

"You again?" Trunks exclaimed.

"Nice to see you too Trunks," Kati said as the secretary's outfit fell off, revealing a tight black bodysuit underneath. The officers attempted not to stare, but it proved difficult.

"So what are you doing here?" Trunks asked.

"Trunks, don't be rude," Bulma scolded.

"I can't really blame him considering our last meeting. I've been keeping tabs on my father after I discovered that he had survived what Vegeta did to him. Trunks was rather close to him when he crossed paths with Ranso, but due to certain circumstances, my father managed to slip away unnoticed. This robot is programmed with his memories, but it isn't him anymore. He has a different body now, and it literally could be anybody," Kati said.

"In that case, he also could be anywhere in the world. That's not going to be a fun search," Bulma grumbled.

"No, he's likely around here somewhere, maybe even in this very room, though I doubt it. His assistant Kochin is likely nearby as well, seeing as he was the one who helped him escape the lab under North City before it collapsed. I haven't been able to pinpoint where they evacuated to. I assumed it would be another one of his underground facilities but I didn't know which one. I would have contacted you sooner about this, but I thought there would be more time until Mister Satsu here threw a monkey wrench into everything. That likely made my father step up his plans," Kati surmised as she glanced at Sonny. Sonny scowled back but said nothing as he released the other SWAT officers. Chief was busily trying to revive Ace with smelling salts, though was paying complete attention to the conversation.

"Okay, we have more pressing matters right now anyway, and we'll need your help," Bulma said.

Kati nodded, "I'll tell you what I know and help where I can."

"The more we know about his serum, the better. Is he still messing around with Chemical Z?" Bulma asked.

Kati shook her head, "No, this is a new compound that he found, though I'm not sure where or how. He has crossed it with a viral strain in order to better synchronize genetically with the test subjects. The idea was an enhanced form of regeneration to promote rapid healing, and then the following tests were to create superhuman strength. The results have been...unstable to say the least."

"Viral? You mean what we saw down there might be contagious?" Bulma asked in horror.

"Yes, but it's not airborne. I believe it's only transmitted by direct contact, such as clawing wounds and bites, but I'm not completely sure. There isn't a cure I'm afraid, so we have to protect ourselves at all times. Anyways, the new virus hasn't mutated everyone it's come in contact with, so I believe that it only responds to certain genetic markers, but I don't know which ones. As far as what we should expect from these monsters, superhuman strength and rapid healing, that part of the experiment seemed to work after all. Conventional weapons do work on them, to an extent. Aim for the head to be certain though, as I said, they heal fast," Kati explained.

"Alright, do you know of a way out of here?" Bulma asked next.

"Through the sub-basement, unless Trunks wants to blast a hole through the armor plating...wait, are you actually planning to leave now? These things have to be stopped immediately!" Kati claimed.

"We're unprepared for this, we should gather reinforcements first, namely our friends. But I don't plan to go far yet, just out of harm's way. That armor plating should provide good containment for us so that we have time to gather our team. Go ahead and make us an exit Trunks," Bulma ordered.

Trunks grinned as he started charging his ki, "No problem." Just as he was going through the motions to fire a potent blast, the lighting flickered rapidly.

A warbled computer voice sounded alarms over the intercoms as Trunks paused, "Now what?"

"_Warning! Nonhuman presence detected, breach in sectors zero-one through thirty-five, sub level five to level two! Implementing containment and quarantine procedures now. Evacuate into your safety zones until threat level has passed. Armor plating online and secure_..."

"We should have heard that awhile ago, maybe there was a short in the com systems," Kati said.

"_Anti-energy disruptor fields online and stable, elevators offline_..."

"Anti-energy? Trunks, can you..." Bulma started to ask.

Trunks was staring at his hands in disbelief, "I don't get it, I was fine a moment ago."

"Then that means someone else is here, or maybe it was a failsafe device in Flandal's robotic clone there," Bulma pointed out.

Kati shook her head, "It's probably Kochin, which means they're both here. They would be down in the main lab, working on ways to cut us off from any help before he sends those things after us."

"Can they be controlled?" Bulma asked.

"I don't think so, most of their intelligence fades and raw instinct takes over, as well as misdirected rage at anyone nearby. Rounding them up and transporting them wouldn't be too difficult though given the right resources," Kati said with disgust.

Bulma grimaced, "Well, either we chase them down and shut this project off, or we can bunker down and wait for help. Should we vote on it?"

"I think I speak for everyone here, let's get moving," Chief suggested. Kati shook her head lightly as the remaining police force busily gathered up the small arsenal Sonny had collected, though Sonny himself was glaring into space.

Ace walked up to him, "Look, about earlier..."

"Forget it, I probably would have done the same thing. Makes me feel sick," Sonny admitted. Bulma took note of the conversation, but didn't think much of it. She was much more concerned about what Kati was thinking. Kati was in the midst of brandishing a large pistol with an extended barrel when Bulma walked up next to her.

"Hey, what's wrong, well other than the obvious?" Bulma whispered.

"If both my father and Kochin are still here, that means that something else is too," Kati rasped.

Bulma stared at her, "What do you mean?"

"There's something else he's been working on, an ultimate weapon of sorts. It's supposed to be designed better than that android of Gero's. If he's completed it, then we're all in trouble. That's the only thing I can think of as to why he would intentionally lock himself in with all these monsters and you guys," Kati said.

"If he has something like that, he wouldn't need this virus that alters humans. That aside, we should investigate this very carefully. And don't give the law enforcement anymore reason to worry about it," Bulma suggested.

Kati nodded, "True."

"Are you sure you're going to be alright though?" Bulma asked.

"Me? I'll be fine, I've undergone some combat training in the past month to better handle situations like this," Kati claimed.

Bulma eyed her carefully, "I hope so." Trunks stared at the two having the conversation, but declined to address it as Chief stood in front of the door and loaded his rifle.

"All right everyone, we have to stick together. No one leaves the group for any reason and if you see something, point it out. We're not losing anyone else to one of those fucking things!" Chief announced.

The remaining intern looked scared to death at this point, prompting Bulma to attempt to reassure her, "What's your name?"

"Rosemary, just Rose for short."

"Don't be scared, we'll get through this. Stay close to me and my son and you'll be fine," Bulma replied as Rose nodded.

"Jarvis, Coleman, you two take point. Ace, Satsu, bring up the rear. Miss Briefs and her son will take the middle with me. Miss Cash, lead the way and everyone stay tight!" Chief ordered.

"We'll need to go back through the front lobby to access the basement since the elevators are inoperative," Kati said as she shifted slightly to a more focused awareness. Bulma smiled lightly as she witnessed this, but despite that fact, she couldn't shake the unnerving feeling that there something else that was very wrong. She decided not to dwell on it as the group reached the stair case.

* * *

Lenz nervously shuffled her feet a bit as she watched Verto tear apart a leg of freshly cooked meat. They had trained silently all day long with little if any real movement. As usual, Lenz struggled to focus while Verto appeared to meditate with relative ease. She had refrained from saying much to him for several hours because he still looked very agitated. She could feel it in the air around him at almost all times, like an overlapped layer of negative force that was slowly pushing down on everything nearby. It wasn't quite to the crushing point for any of the forest or wildlife, but she saw far fewer animals around than she was used to. Even the insects had wisely stayed clear of the portable capsule house and it's two occupants. Lenz thought she knew why Verto was like this, but she kept from asking about it until he was in the right mood. Luckily for her, she didn't have to expect an explosion, nor did it happen.

"Ask your question Lenz, I can tell that you've been itching to for awhile now," Verto said as he gnawed more of the meat off the bone.

"Oh, are you sure you're alright?" Lenz asked.

"Fine, why?"

"You don't look fine, you look stressed out or something. Is it because your fight with Frost got interrupted?"

Verto snorted, "Hmph, I'd be one of the biggest hypocrites in the world if I was upset about that, considering how many I've cut into."

Lenz looked confused, "Well, if it's not that, then what?"

"Spending time in the enemy's camp wasn't too pleasant, we can leave it at that," Verto said, pausing notably.

Lenz didn't take the small hint, "Ah, I'll bet it's because you had to use that crazy red power, right?"

"Spot on as usual," Verto remarked sarcastically.

Lenz continued on regardless, "So, do you think you can handle it better now?"

Verto grimaced, "Since you're so curious, take this to heart: I did not want to go there. My feelings got in the way and I hesitated at the worst time. I don't know if I could have beaten him on my own or not, but I blew my chance both times. The first time was when I had Frost beat and your brother interfered. He didn't help any obviously, but I made the call not to fire before he used that sleep trick of his. If I had, only two would have died. Sorry to say this but I should have pulled the trigger. That led to the second chance when I lost control again. I let myself get carried away and look what happened. All those soldiers are gone forever, they won't even have a hell to repent in. Once that happened, I pretty much lost the fight, even if it didn't seem that way. After that I was doing everything I could just to keep him at bay. Once he revealed that restoration ability, I knew we weren't going to win. The fact that Goku showed up is the only reason we're still alive, not because of anything I did." Lenz was speechless for once as Verto gave her an apologetic glance and left the capsule house. She only spent about thirty seconds alone before she got up and rushed out the door, where Verto was gazing up at the stars.

"Are you saying you should have been the one to kill my brother, not Frost?" Lenz asked in shock.

"In a roundabout way. Don't listen to me though, it's easy to second guess everything after the fact. All you can do is learn and move on," Verto replied. Lenz's lip quivered slightly as she wasn't sure what to think at the moment. The mood changed rapidly though when Lenz's aura appeared in smoky waves around her. Verto glanced over at the energy increase, but it wasn't enough to be threatening yet. Lenz hair hung low over her face, concealing the salty fluid coming from her eyes.

She managed to maintain composure though, "Don't be an emotionless prick and stick to what should or shouldn't happen. Your feelings are what makes you how you are, Verto." Verto's eyebrow stabbed at the air for her sudden change of attitude, and it was his turn to be silent.

"Please, don't ever change. I could never love anyone who couldn't feel. Whose to say that they would've even let us leave if you had beaten Frost and killed him? You might've had to wipe them all out anyway, instead of just those idiots that attacked while you were fighting with him. Maybe they were supposed to die anyway," Lenz pointed out.

"That doesn't mean that I should've allowed it happen. Even if that Renegade Chal influenced the destructive path I took, I'm the one who walked it," Verto countered.

"Maybe not, but we're alive because of it. That's all that matters to me. I know that's what Vegeta would say, and probably Goku too," Lenz suggested.

"I'm not Goku or Vegeta, so don't compare me to them. Compassion is a good asset, but it can burn you just as much if you let it. It's the compassion that allows the extreme rage when a loved one goes down. If I had been detached, Chal's ability probably wouldn't have done as much to me at all," Verto explained.

"You always talk about how compassion gives us the power we need to fight these bastards, how it's better than being like them and all that. You just gonna give in and be like them now? If you had, Frost would have won, we'd all be dead!" Lenz shouted. Verto remained silent as Lenz give him an angry eyeful and for a moment he felt her energy surge higher than usual before it died off.

He finally shrugged, "Good point. Alright you can have this one, after all we could debate this till we're blue in the face, or black and blue all over. Let's drop it, since for once you seem to be able to make a good argument. Maybe I'm in the wrong, but opinions change sometimes based on experience. I'll say that it hasn't been easy on me, but it probably has been just as bad for you."

Lenz sighed and relaxed a bit, "I guess I just have to bring you back down to my level whenever you lose it from now on."

Verto chuckled, "I'll pray that doesn't happen again."

Lenz grinned slyly and stepped a bit closer, "You know what has to happen now right?" Verto's shifted over just in time to catch Lenz lower part of her outfit down to just above a revealing level.

"The lover's quarrel is over, so we have to make up..." Lenz hinted.

"Don't push it Lenz," Verto said sternly as he turned the other way.

"Aww, you're no fun! You at least owe me some massage practice!" Lenz claimed as she grabbed onto his shoulders. Verto stood with his arms crossed, gazing to the south and east. Lenz glanced in that direction quickly when she noticed something was off.

"You feel that?" she asked.

"No, actually. That's what concerns me," Verto replied.

"I thought I sensed Trunks down there somewhere a little while ago, but I can't feel it now," Lenz said.

"What does it feel like to you?" Verto asked.

"Like there's a huge area of nothing out there. It reminds me of when I was in that underground lab and I couldn't use my ki. That's when Bulma and I figured out that I had Psi energy when I could feel yours," Lenz explained.

"I'm guessing it's for the same reason. Trunks can probably handle it, but let's check it out anyway. If it's Wheelo again, he picked the wrong night," Verto said with a deep scowl. Lenz nodded and they both took off into the night.

* * *

Bulma held her breath a bit as she, Trunks and the rest of the make-shift team approached the lobby. The door that Trunks had wedged into place was lying on it's side, several feet from where it had been. Trunks sniffed at the air a bit just before Bulma smelled the strange blood scent again. Chief took notice of this and silently signaled Jarvis and Coleman to hold up.

"Looks like another one of those things is around here, you'll know it when you see it," Chief whispered.

"Remember, aim for their heads!" Kati added.

Jarvis nodded, "Coleman, I've got the left!" Both SWAT officers went through the door, shining their flashlights in both directions initially before they both stepped into the main lobby.

"Clear!" Jarvis rasped. Kati followed with Trunks close behind. Bulma waited until the overly nervous Rosemary finally found enough courage to come through. Sonny and Ace brought up the rear, though the former of the two seemed distracted. He kept his eyes forward, but was constantly glancing at Ace as if there was a definite lack of trust. Bulma wasn't the only one who noticed this, but the Chief also elected to stay quiet on the matter.

"Contact left!" Jarvis shouted aloud. Everyone shifted in that direction and spotted the next large creature in the light. This one growled slightly and shielded it's eyes. It dropped what appeared to be a human hand that had been torn from it's body. That turned out to be the least troublesome thing that was out of place though.

"What the? He's one of ours!" Coleman claimed. Chief's eyes widened as he saw the torn SWAT vest around it's upper body, one that still had a nameplate.

"Smith?" Bulma allowed a gasp to slip when she saw three deep scars in the creature's chest, the very same ones she had examined not long ago. Smith roared like a huge lion and charged at them with murderous intent. Jarvis and Coleman hesitated very briefly before opening fire. Smith howled as the two unloaded several dozen rounds into his mutated body, but he barely staggered despite this. If anything, it only made him angrier. Both Jarvis and Coleman's guns clicked, signaling the need to reload. Smith stomped towards them, only to be cut off by Trunks when he hammered Smith with an uppercut from below. Smith was knocked backwards and landed on his back, stunned. Smith didn't recover until he saw the pistol Kati was holding a few feet from his head. Smith bared his sharp slimy teeth as Kati pumped one shot into his head right above the eyes. Smith slumped down and remained motionless, though this didn't stop Kati from shooting a few more times to be certain.

She gave both the creature and the officers a particularly cold expression, "I told you, shoot them in the head. You'll waste all your ammunition."

"Uh, thanks," Coleman muttered as he stared at the ground. Jarvis' palm went to his face for a moment as he switched out his ammo magazine.

Chief rolled his eyes for a moment, "Way to go guys, next time just use the ladies' advice and check your pride at the door. Miss Briefs, I know she said this was contagious, but how could he have changed so fast?"

"It might have moved through his system faster due to injury, and then encountered no natural resistance upon what we thought was his death. It's obvious that genetic mutation kicks in almost immediately. We couldn't have been gone longer than an hour. We should check for the other two. If they're gone, then we know," Bulma suggested.

"Quimby landed over there somewhere," Chief said as he pointed to their right. Bulma used her flashlight and found both a streak of blood and the body that went with it. Rose gasped and turned away with tears in her eyes.

"Why didn't he change?" Jarvis asked.

"He wasn't wounded directly, blunt force killed him. There was one other, not including the team that went down in the elevator," Bulma pointed out.

"It was Jenkins, and it probably won't be pretty," Chief replied. The group spread out a little before finding a large pool of blood near one of the main corridors, but there was nobody there. Along the edge, there was a bloody set of foot and hand prints leading away into the darkness.

"Looks like Jenkins was wounded badly, but managed to leave somehow. That trail will probably lead us right to him," Coleman said.

"Partially, he probably changed first, so the only thing that will lead to is a trap. At the same time, we need to think about containment. We don't want one of those things getting out into the city," Bulma claimed.

"Chief, I recommend we try to get out first and let a properly equipped team handle this," Ace piped up.

Bulma turned in slight frustration, "That will only risk exposure!"

"They can bomb this place to wipe out the virus," Ace said.

"The guilty parties will escape and return with someone else, we have to end this here! Doctor Cash was responsible for most of North City being destroyed. He has more than just this to pay for!" Bulma urged.

"Enough! Ace, I recognize your assessment and general desire to leave, but Miss Briefs is right. We have to think about the bigger picture here," Chief said sternly.

"It's suicide!" Ace shouted back. Sonny's head snapped to attention, but he said nothing when Chief waved him off.

"I don't know about you Ace, but the whole reason I joined the police force was to protect people, especially my family. If this thing gets out, we can forget that. You've been on the force almost as long as I have, so you can relate. Until we deal with this here and now, we're not leaving, is that understood, Lieutenant?" Chief asked. Ace grimaced slightly but nodded in defeat.

Chief cleared his throat, "Alright, we know of at least one more of those things with Jenkins missing. We also have to see if anyone survived the elevator fall, because whose to say they haven't been attacked?"

"And there's the matter with Doctor Kochin and my father if they're still here," Kati added.

"Yes, and we'll have to sweep floor by floor for that," Chief replied.

"Only the sub-levels. He wouldn't have put his advanced research above ground," Kati pointed out.

"That's positive, since we don't have the manpower for even that."

"Perhaps we should split up into two groups, it will make the searching go faster," Ace suggested.

"Normally I'd say that's a good idea, but not this time. There's too much unfamiliar area here and your firepower is limited. If there's more than a few of those things remaining, we may not be able to fight them all off," Bulma argued.

"How many floors Miss Cash?" Chief asked.

"There are seven sub-levels, not including any secret floors that aren't in the building's layout. With my father, that is very likely," Kati said.

"Sorry Miss Briefs, but I agree with Ace this time. The lives of our teammates take priority here, and we will run out of time with your plan," Chief replied.

"I understand," Bulma said with slight disgust.

"We might be able to implement both plans if we split up and act accordingly to each team's strengths and missions. You guys take Rosemary and look for the rest of your team. The elevator bottoms out at sub-level four. It will be fastest if you can force the doors and climb down through the elevator shafts. Bulma, Trunks and I will search for the hidden lab," Kati suggested.

"All right, but one of us will go with you, if only for radio contact," Chief ordered. Kati scowled at this but nodded slightly.

"I'll do it, I've got a personal bone to pick with these bastards," Sonny volunteered.

Chief nodded, "We'll meet up once we finish investigating our team's whereabouts, good luck." The small force of cops then headed for the elevator doors while Kati directed their group to another stairwell.

"We'll start with sub-level five and go down from there. The elevator's will not go down that far," Kati said.

The group remained silent as they slowly and carefully descended down several flights of stairs. The quiet and unnerving setting stayed that way, until Trunks' stomach rumbled hello. Sonny was holding onto the handrail as the stairs shook, but was only met with an eye roll from Bulma.

"I know Mom, it can wait," Trunks said.

"It'll have to. I would have brought food capsules if I had known we'd be here this long," Bulma replied.

"I'll pay for your whole meal once we get out of this mess," Kati claimed.

Trunks filled with excitement, "It's a deal!"

Bulma shook her head, "I hope you realize what you just did."

"Oh don't worry about me, he'll get what he deserves for a job well done," Kati said with a deep smile. Trunks had a renewed sense of enthusiasm while Kati led the way.

Sonny's radio blared to life just as they cleared the next flight of stairs, "_Satsu, we found the elevator team. Only three bodies are here, be on the lookout._"

"Roger that Chief," Sonny whispered quickly, "Miss Cash, we should take this search one room at a time." Kati nodded as they reached sub-level five and entered. The hallway was long and dark, despite being covered in white paint and tile. Only a few emergency lights were even on, but they provided very little light. Sonny toke the lead as they entered the first room on the left. It was merely a small office with a desk and a small computer. Other than a stack of papers highlighting an economic presentation, there was nothing else there. The same thing could be said for the next half dozen rooms. The eighth featured an empty broom closet, and also the end of Trunks' patience.

"Where are they?" Trunks shouted.

"Relax Trunks, we're bound to get lucky sooner or later," Bulma said.

"It's possible that one of these rooms has a secret passage to the lab. I've checked the blueprints for all the levels above ground and there weren't any there. That's what he had setup in North City after all, he was probably just wiser and placed it in a lower area, out of sight," Kati suggested.

Sonny scowled, "In other words, we'll have to check every square inch of every level. How exciting." Trunks grumbled lightly and kicked the wall of the closet for no apparent reason. The wall broke at that spot and fell away, revealing a black tunnel and a narrow ramped stairwell.

"That was easy, good job son," Bulma said as she patted his head.

Trunks' jaw had slipped for a moment before he attempted to save face, "This Cash guy must be an idiot! I mean come on, that was so obvious!"

Kati frowned, "Choose your words carefully, he probably has plenty of traps waiting for us down there."

Bulma stepped towards the tunnel, "Well we shouldn't keep him waiting then." Sonny's radio blared to life again, drawing everyone's attention.

"_Contact right...kill it Coleman...too many...Ace get back here...Satsu, get out of there!_" Sonny's eyes widened as he stared up at Bulma, his face full of dread.

"I should've known, that bastard Ace betrayed them! Sorry Miss Briefs..." Sonny started to say.

She nodded at him, "Go ahead, we can handle this without you." Sonny took off running as fast as he could down the hall.

**Next time on DBV: Bulma, Kati and Trunks make their way down to Dr. Wheelo's lab to confront both him and Kochin. In the process, they are outmaneuvered and captured by the diabolical duo. Unexpected to all however, Verto and Lenz arrive to interfere with the latest plan.**


	73. True Colors

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 72: True Colors**

Sonny Satsu tore up the nearest stairwell, trying to reach his fallen teammates before it was too late. His breath ran short once he reached sub level four, but he didn't let that slow him down. He came across the crashed elevator soon after, seeing as debris was laying all over the place. Strung out among the debris were bodies of both dead officers and a few of the mutated monsters. He heard a low grumbling sound behind him and turned that way with his rifle and attached flashlight. The light revealed two more of the beasts, each wearing a ripped up SWAT uniform. Sonny opened fire, spraying bullets in their general direction. One of them was hit initially and dropped to the ground when its leg was filled with hollow-points. The other dodged to the side before lunging at Sonny. He ducked out of the way, but the beast managed to tear the shoulder strap off his gun. Sonny got up and had gone a few steps before he realized what had happened. In the dim light, he saw it step over his flashlight towards him. Sonny pulled a knife from his side pocket and threw it into the dark air. The roar of pain and collapse of the creature told the rest. Sonny pulled his assault rifle from just under the monster's scrambling frame and finished it off with a single shot to the head. The other wounded beast was trying to get up despite the numerous bullet wounds in its limbs. Sonny walked up and kicked it hard at the neck before firing a round into its skull.

"Heh, n-nice. No wonder you always broke our combat records," a shaky voice said from the side. Sonny spotted Chief lying in a pool of his own blood, his face and body covered in slash marks. Judging by the shape of his legs, Sonny knew he wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

"What happened?" Sonny asked.

"Ace ran like a coward, going on and on about getting out of here soon and leaving Miss Briefs and her son here to die. He claimed there was an underground escape tunnel two levels up from here. We were arguing when more of those things showed up, you can see what happened next for yourself. There's at least two more out there from just our team, maybe more," Chief explained.

"Alright, let's get you out of here," Sonny said as he bent down.

"No, I can already feel it. Finish me off and go after Ace, he took the girl with him," Chief ordered.

"I can't do that Chief, what if there's someway to cure this?" Sonny asked.

"Even if there is, I'd rather die now than turn into one of those fucking things for even a minute. Do it Satsu, that's an order!" Sonny sighed heavily and pulled out his sidearm.

"One more thing, Ace said he was part of a new organization against aliens. Find out what it is and inform Miss Briefs. That is your mission now, understand detective?" Chief rasped.

Sonny nodded with determination, "Yes sir."

Chief closed his eyes, "Do it."

Sonny had a single tear fall out of his eye as he fired once. He then observed a moment of silence before directing his glare upwards. _Even if they took the long way, I won't reach them in time. I'll have to climb the elevator shaft and cut them off. Hopefully the tunnel isn't too hard to find._

Kati Cash led Bulma and Trunks down the darkened secret ramp, holding a small blue glow stick to provide a little bit of light. Bulma could tell that they had gone down several flights before the ramp began to flatten out. The temperature dropped the further they went, and Bulma shivered accordingly as she wished she had brought a jacket. Trunks trailed before her, eyes and ears open for anything else unusual. The strange scent that accompanied the mutated human monsters was not present down there, but that didn't help him feel at ease. Nothing did as long as he couldn't use his ki. Of the small group, Kati seemed the most at ease, which bothered the other two. She had certainly not been that way before, not completely.

Bulma broke the silence first, "I'm surprised you're not a little more tense, seeing as you're going up against your father again."

"Who says I'm not? I'm just hiding it really well. I did impersonate you for long enough to fool your husband," Kati remarked.

"True, that isn't easy. You also seem to know the layout here very well," Bulma pointed out.

"I've been acting as that secretary for a little while, they are often overlooked. I could have played the intern, but that would have been a bit more suspicious. It gave me time to get to know the complex without giving myself away. I learned about the robotic replacement just a few days ago when I tapped a conversation between my father and Kochin," Kati explained.

Bulma smirked slightly, "Nice work, you'd make a damn good private investigator."

"I'd prefer to end all this."

"But don't we still need to find that other lab?" Trunks asked.

Bulma stiffened, "What other lab?"

Kati mimicked her, "Yes, what are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember? Dad made you tell him about it before you and Verto went to North City that day. We learned about it from that crazy hologram, whatever his name was," Trunks claimed.

Kati paused for a moment, "You mean Kain? He was most likely referring to the three wings of the North City lab, it was a big place after all."

Trunks' expression shifted into a deep glare, "I remember you said that too."

"That's enough Trunks. I was at that lab, and it did have three large sections. This is most likely a new lab that Flandal hadn't planned on," Bulma said. Trunks muttered to himself and stayed quiet as they moved forward again.

"How is your other son these days?" Kati asked, changing the subject.

"We haven't seen much of him. After the North City incident, he's been out in the wild mostly, training Lenz," Bulma replied.

"The girl with the purple hair right?"

"Right."

Kati smirked, "I'll bet she's a handful for him."

Bulma smiled back lightly, "Trust me, you have no idea." Trunks noted that Bulma had left out a lot of the major details, most notable the battle with Frost in space. He kept to himself though, for the time being it wasn't really important to mention.

"It's a shame he didn't come along tonight, this might have gone smoother," Kati said.

Bulma looked at her as if she were crazy, "It probably would have gone faster, I doubt it would have been anything less than an explosion though. It usually ends that way with him. If there's one thing that he and my husband share, it's a dislike to end anything without blowing something up!"

"That's true I suppose, I noticed he wasn't the type to sneak around too much unless he really has to," Kati replied. Bulma's eyebrow went up at this but she merely shook her head. The trio quieted upon seeing lights ahead. The ground flattened out completely and became solid blue tiles as they approached what was obviously the secret lab. It was smaller than Bulma initially expected, though she could clearly see doorways into other chambers. The main chamber they were in featured several bubbling tanks of fluid and mechanical parts strung about. Most notably, there was a large claw hanging from the ceiling, which looked like it belonged to a huge robot.

"Well Trunks, looks like you were right," Bulma said to her son.

"About what?" Trunks asked.

"The Kain AI was probably not referring to three sections. This has clearly been here for awhile, because even with Flandal's resources, it would take much longer than a month or two to set this up alone," Bulma explained.

Kati snorted, "Yes, that is very true." An abrupt elderly laugh started to echo in the lab, belonging to a balding old man. He stepped out with a large cane, all grins as the trio fully entered the lab. Once they did, a large door slammed shut behind them.

"I take it that's Doctor Kochin," Bulma said.

"Correct! Welcome Miss Briefs, and of course the brat," Kochin said.

Trunks took exception to that and planted his fist in his palm, "Okay, he's mine!"

Bulma reached out but missed his shoulder as she tried to stop him, "Trunks no!" Kochin's grin didn't waver even as Trunks came at him quickly. He pressed one button and Trunks stopped cold with a painful expression. A red column of light shot out of the ground, surrounding Trunks as he screamed. Silver, metallic vines then wrapped around his arms and legs, preventing him from moving. He pulled at these bonds with little real effect as the sparkling light held him firmly. Bulma tried to step in, but Kati snatched her arm, shaking her head.

"Bad idea, we wouldn't want you to burn that pretty layer of skin," Kati said with a sneer.

"What?" Bulma asked as she felt a chill crawl up her spine.

Kati grinned, "You heard me." Kochin laughed some more at Trunks, who couldn't do much other than snarl back.

"You just keep quiet little boy, we'll have some fun later. We have business with your mother first!" Kochin claimed.

"We? Kati, don't tell me..." Bulma started to say.

Kati held her hand up, "Spare me the dramatics Bulma, it's hard to betray someone you never teamed up with. I want you to instead picture this: I have shape shifting abilities with this body."

Bulma came to a sharp realization, "You're not Kati, you're Flandal! I should have known it earlier when it was clearly there. Kati didn't want to involve us again unless she absolutely had to. You stole your own daughter's body when she found you here. I guess it would make sense to transfer your mind into something other than a robot, but your own daughter? That's so low that I can't even fathom it!"

Wheelo grinned, "Yes I'm sure you can't. It wasn't easy, spending most of your time in a jar isn't what I would call pleasurable after all. And if there's one fundamental quality of man, it's that _all_ alternatives are preferable over extinction."

"But you said yourself that you needed a serum to complete the transfer! That was why you were messing around with Chemical Z!"

"Ah, but you forget, I wanted a Saiyan's body. For humans, it is no problem for us at all. As you can see, results speak for themselves," Wheelo said as his form began to change. The curvy features of Kati shifted into a clearly more masculine body as Wheelo retrieved a lab coat, replacing Kati's appearance with his old one.

"So, what happened to Kati?" Bulma asked, disgusted at what she saw.

"Kochin, show her," Wheelo ordered.

"Of course, Doctor Wheelo."

"Doctor Wheelo? Is that what you're called now? I'll admit, it sounds even dumber than Flandal does," Bulma remarked.

"Watch your mouth! How dare you speak to Doctor Wheelo like that!" Kochin yelled back.

"Not now Kochin, she's not one to listen to respectful preferences, just show her Kati," Wheelo said.

Kochin laughed, "She's right over there." Bulma looked left and spotted a small tank full of fluid with a few wires. Connected to those wires was a human brain. A few bubbles moved upwards, but nothing else that resembled a response.

"Flandal, you bastard," Bulma growled.

"She made it rather simple by investigating my movements after what happened in North City. She even managed to infiltrate this facility easily, but she didn't take my robotic clone's sensors into account. All it had to do was fine her genetic match to me, you know the rest," Wheelo explained.

"Kati will be used to further our goals, just as she always has been," Kochin added.

"Although I must say that I didn't expect Mister Satsu's little mess to lead you two here so easily," Wheelo claimed.

"Who says it did?" Bulma retorted.

"So it was pure coincidence that your son just randomly showed up when he did? I highly doubt that," Wheelo said as he motioned his assistant towards Trunks. Kochin stepped over next to the light beam that was holding Trunks and reached into it. His arm flinched slightly, but was otherwise unaffected. He reached into Trunks' back pants pocket and pulled out the Dragon Radar.

Kochin switched it on, "What do we have here?" Bulma held her breath and didn't answer. Kochin glanced around until he saw what the radar was beeping about. He held up the seven-star dragonball and tossed it to Bulma.

"So, you wanted that worthless thing eh?" Kochin asked.

"No Kochin, that has more worth than any of our technology, when it's combined with the other six. Isn't that right Bulma?" Wheelo asked. He then walked up and snatched it back before setting it back on the desk it had been setting on.

Bulma seemed to be deep in thought, but then turned her head slightly, "I'm curious, just how does your brain transfer work? I don't see any surgery tools around here?"

"It's all very simple for us, we don't use such medieval methods," Kochin replied.

"Something like that isn't simple, so enlighten me," Bulma countered.

Wheelo nodded, "Go ahead, we have time. It's not like she can reverse the process anyway."

"As you wish. Think of a human brain as a very compact and complex super computer. One merely needs to crack the code in order to figure it out. In experimenting with a way to prolong his own existence, Doctor Wheelo also found a way to not only download, but upload one's brain into another. A human's brain provides much more storage than most hard drives when used to it's maximum," Kochin explained.

"No wonder you're insane," Bulma grumbled.

"What was that?" Kochin shouted.

"Think about it, you're messing around with natural evolution. Not only that, switching bodies all the time can't be good for your own mind. It'll eventually crack, but I guess that wouldn't be too different now would it? Let's add to that the other person's consciousness, where does it go, or do you just wipe it out?"

"We can either download and transfer it, or erase it completely. The purging process is much more back-breaking though, as it completely wastes the other person's knowledge and the brain doesn't know how to function. It is much like a computer that has a freshly formatted hard drive without an operating system. Removing only the personality and conscious thought triggers are much more efficient. After all, what's the use in having a Saiyan's body if I didn't know how to use it? I guess we can thank your husband for having to speed things up. It wasn't my intention to try this out so soon, but it was either this or another robotic shell," Wheelo explained.

"Wait, how many times have you done this?" Bulma asked in surprise.

"A few times previously, and this is the second time for me personally. We already knew that a robotic body would function adequately enough. I was in that robot you met before, I simply copied my own memories into it and gave it the distinct impression that it was me and that it wanted to continue the genetic research you've already seen. It's obvious when the other time was, but if you must have an exact date, it was about a week ago. Very convenient of my daughter to show up just as we got that nice little distraction going," Wheelo continued.

"Then why play the part of the secretary, or even your daughter?" Bulma asked.

"I was making sure the clone was functioning the way it was supposed to. When you arrived, it was to deceive you, and I'd say I did that rather successfully," Wheelo replied.

Bulma shook her head, "All this for more power. People like you are exactly what's wrong with this planet."

"Oh I don't think so. In fact, we're going to save it from all these aliens, you'll see. Well, actually you probably won't."

Bulma shifted nervously but kept her cool, "Oh, here's the part where you'll kill me unless I help you, right?"

Kochin laughed, "You actually think that there will be a choice?"

"Easy Kochin, you're giving Miss Briefs a false impression. Go and work on that boy, she'll understand a bit more clearly that way," Wheelo ordered.

"Understood, Doctor Wheelo." Trunks, who had been trying to escape ever since being ensnared, found some renewed effort to free himself. It didn't appear to be working much however, and then Kochin turned a small dial up to more than half past a low setting. The intense light brightened and sparkled as Trunks screamed painfully before he went limp and hung loosely by the metallic vines.

"Trunks! Damn you Flandal!" Bulma shouted in anger.

Wheelo grinned wickedly, "Relax Bulma, your son is not dead." Kochin walked over to the unconscious boy with a strange golden device in hand. He began strapped it around Trunks' head and it clamped down hard over his purple hair.

"There we are, this should make you far more useful to us now," Kochin said.

"What are you doing to him?" Bulma asked.

Kochin laughed, "The same thing that we'll do to you. We have his mind under our control now, and that's just a taste of our power! Would you like to see another example?" Bulma stayed quiet, but that didn't change anyone's mind.

Wheelo looked thoughtful, "How about we show her the results of some of our other projects Kochin. Let's start with West City, just because she doesn't seem quite convinced yet."

"What are you going to do?" Bulma asked in fear.

"We're going to lay waste to your entire home and the area surrounding it. West City will become a deserted wasteland in very little time," Wheelo explained.

"What? You can't!"

"We most certainly can. I figure it's an even trade since North City was destroyed. I know the people would see it that way," Wheelo claimed.

"Loading the program now Doctor Wheelo. The satellites should be in position to redirect the sun's energy in ten minutes!" Kochin said.

"You're so deplorable Flandal, I thought I had seen the worst with some of the space aliens we've come across, but I was wrong. You are definitely the most despicable person I've ever met!" Bulma said.

"Somehow I'll get over your little opinion. I might even be willing to forego this experiment, if you do me one little favor," Wheelo hinted.

"And just what is that?"

"Contact Son Gohan, I think you know why," Wheelo smiled evilly.

"Argh," Bulma grumbled.

"We could just use the mind control device on her to do that," Kochin suggested.

"Yes but that wouldn't be any different than having a synthesized computer voice. I want this to be very real for her," Wheelo said.

"Damn you, you're giving me no choice," Bulma said painfully.

"Exactly."

"Even if you managed to get them to come here, what makes you think you'll be able to do anything. Even with Kati's shape-shifting power, they'll know. You can't copy their strength and power!" Bulma claimed.

"You would be quite surprised at what we can achieve. But as for your point, I won't have to. You'll soon understand what I mean," Wheelo fired back. An alarm suddenly blared, drawing everyone's attention.

"What is it?" Wheelo asked.

"A powerful life form is approaching. No, there are two of them," Kochin declared.

"Switch to exterior view, let's see who it is first," Wheelo ordered. Kochin pressed a button and a wide video screen opened up on the wall. At first only nighttime skies could be seen. Then a few shrouds of silver and blue came into view, moving closer at a rapid pace.

"Damn, it's that boy again! How did he know so quickly, you never contacted anyone?" Wheelo shouted at Bulma.

Bulma smirked and chuckled, "You're very ignorant. Like most of our group, he can sense energy all around the planet. So when you turn on your energy restriction devices, he'll know because he won't be able to sense anything through it. It's like having a big black patch in the middle of a clear screen. You may not be able to see through it, but you're drawn to it anyway. I hope you have insurance for this place."

"Be silent for once. Kochin, lock her up in the robotics lab, and make sure she can't escape this time. I advise a force field," Wheelo suggested.

"Right away!" Wheelo stared at the screen as Verto and Lenz came closer and quickly realized something.

_The boy doesn't know exactly where the lab is in this building, but Satsu knows where the entrance is. Damn!_ Wheelo hurried to the desk and typed in a few commands, bringing up a display showing three red dots over a large floor plan. Two were together and the last one was holding position on the edge of the map.

_That troublesome Ace hasn't done me any favors in this, so he won't be leaving either. If I hurry, I can open the rest of the cages and let the other mutants loose. They have to kill Satsu before that boy gets here, otherwise he'll track us down easily. We're ready for him this time, but I have a feeling that he'll still cause too many problems._

* * *

Two figures scampered through the darkness, with one tripping over a fallen piece of wood.

The other had a flashlight and a sidearm, "C'mon on girl, we need to move! Those things are right behind us!" Ace helped Rosemary to her feet as they continued to run through the black hallways.

"We're not going to make it are we?" she asked in between breaths.

"Shut up, we're almost to the tunnel! It's just up here!" Ace shouted back. Ace picked up speed into a full-on sprint, reaching a set of double doors quickly.

He stopped long enough for Rosemary to catch up, "Here it is, we're going to make it!" He opened the doors and was blinded by a bright light shining in his face.

"What the?"

"Going somewhere, Lieutenant?" the figure behind the light asked.

"Satsu, how did you get up here so fast?" Ace asked.

"I'd say a few less donuts in my diet rather than yours, but I don't think it matters. Why'd you run out on Chief and the others?" Sonny asked in a very threatening voice.

"I told them to hurry, but they wouldn't listen. Their own fault, now get out of my way!" Ace ordered. Sonny tilted his rifle up enough to aim straight at Ace's heart.

"What is your hurry Ace, afraid you'll be caught up in something?"

Ace sweated nervously, "I'd rather not be here since there's all those things here, plus you never know when more of those aliens might show up."

"Yes, I thought about that. After all, you seemed extra-tense with Trunks around you, even with a gun to your head. Chief already told me how you were involved in all this. So, care to tell me about your little group?"

Ace backed up, "Why?"

Sonny grinned slightly, "Well, I might be interested."

"You're not the type of man we're looking for," Ace said simply.

"An ex-marine turned detective is a valuable asset to anyone, especially one that can act as a double agent. You already know my background," Sonny reminded him.

Ace narrowed his eyes as Sonny lowered his weapon just slightly, "I suppose we could discuss it. MAX is relatively new after all. Come along then and we'll talk over a beer." Ace stepped forward, but stopped abruptly when Sonny blocked the way.

"This is a limited time offer Ace. In other words, it's now or never," Sonny warned. Ace held his breath with uncertainty as Sonny calmly stared him down. Rose backed up behind Ace, unsure about either man at this point.

"Fine, MAX stands for 'Man Against eXtraterrestrials'. We formed the group shortly after the Zerg left Earth. I think it's obvious what our goal is," Ace explained.

Sonny snorted loudly, "Catchy title, seeing as it's not even spelled right."

"What are you talking about? Why can't we just leave?" Rose screeched.

Sonny ignored her, "You want all aliens to be eliminated, or make them leave the planet, right?"

Ace nodded, "Exactly. We want them gone, by any means necessary."

Sonny scoffed, "Good luck making them do anything. Our armed forces can't touch any of them."

"Our organization runs deeper than you realize, and our resources are vast," Ace claimed.

"This must be why you're so eager to leave. Doctor Cash must be part of MAX," Sonny guessed.

"In a way. We're prepared to fight and die for this planet. I trust you can understand that much, right former Sergeant?" Ace hinted.

"All too well," Sonny said.

Ace smiled, "So then, how about that beer?"

Sonny turned his head, "I never said yes." Sonny released the safety on his rifle and aimed at Ace's head.

Ace filled with surprised fear, "You can't be serious! You'd side with aliens over humans?"

"I'm not siding with anyone, I'm doing the right thing!" Sonny declared.

"They'll take over this world, you'll regret this!" Ace shouted.

"Put a sock in it!"

"Stop, both of you!" Rose screamed. Both turned to see Rose holding a gun up, shaking nervously.

"Just stop! I'm not gonna die while you two argue over some alien and human war. Now drop the guns!" she ordered. Sonny and Ace stared at her in disbelief, but paled when they heard a low grumble coming from the darkness behind her.

Rosemary froze, "Aw crap, there's something behind me isn't there?" A massive claw smashed into the side of her head, tearing it completely off her neck. Blood splattered onto both policemen as the body collapsed. Their flashlights revealed the monster that was standing there, wearing shredded office clothes and roaring at them. They barely glanced at each other before turning their weapons and opening fire on the beast, dropping it within a few seconds with well-placed shots to the head.

Sonny heard movement and aimed to his left, "There's more of them!" He spotted no less than ten more coming closer, and it sounded like there were even more after that.

Sonny cocked his gun in anticipation, "Ace, how many you got left?" Ace didn't answer, causing Sonny to turn around. All that he saw was a closing door that was quickly latched shut from the other side.

"Shit." Sonny turned back and started firing at the coming onslaught, taking four of them down before his gun clicked empty. Sonny cringed and pulled his sidearm out as he backed away. He pulled a round object from his back and dropped the pin to the floor.

Sonny tossed the grenade after a few seconds, "Here, have a taste of this!" One of the lead monsters caught the deadly pineapple and looked at it curiously. Sonny took off in a dead sprint, running for his life as the seconds ticked off. The grenade popped and filled the hallway with fire, knocking Sonny down in the blast. He managed to get back up and continued running towards the elevator shaft. He had just gotten there when he heard another low growl from his left. Three more beasts were there, looking hungrier than the previous set. Sonny fired twice, dropping the first one with precise hits to the head. The next one came at him fast and knocked him backwards, making him lose control of his pistol. Sonny was barely back to his knees when he saw the mutated feet. _Damnit._

A whoosh of blue light tore through the monster like paper, killing it. Sonny glanced up as a helping hand was offered by a busty teenaged girl with purple hair. The remaining monster barely had time to react to it's comrade's death before the blue light took the form of a sword that sliced it in half from head to toe.

"Yuck, these things smell soooo bad!" Lenz claimed as she helped Sonny to his feet.

"It's Doctor Wheelo's work isn't it?" Verto asked Sonny.

Sonny was still awestruck, "Huh?"

"I mean Doctor Cash," Verto quickly corrected himself.

"Oh right. You must be friends of Bulma Briefs and her son. They went down to find his hidden lab," Sonny explained quickly.

"And these things?"

"Some sort of viral experiment. It infected my team and probably some employees too. I think we've already killed most of them," Sonny admitted.

Verto eyed the bullet wounds in the one he hadn't killed, "If conventional weapons work on them, then they shouldn't be a problem. Do you know where Bulma and Trunks went to access the lab?"

"Can't you sense them little brother?" Lenz asked.

"Barely, but I don't expect to if Wheelo's technology is involved. It'll be easier if we know which way they went," Verto said.

"Sub level five. Trunks found a passageway when I left them last. That girl was leading them down there," Sonny explained.

"What girl?"

"Said her name was Kati Cash," Sonny replied.

"Her again, I guess that figures. But how the hell did they manage to stumble across this anyway?" Verto asked.

"Well, that's kind of my fault..." Sonny began. He told them of what was occurring and how it had gone from a hostage situation to a complete crisis rather quickly. He also mentioned the MAX group he had just learned about, though Verto didn't seem to care as much about that.

"This Cash guy must be really bored to bug us again, especially after what Vegeta did to him," Lenz muttered.

"Or he's already found a temporary body and we just got lucky before he was ready to make a move. That robotic clone you mentioned must have been a last resort due to what happened last time we went head to head with Wheelo," Verto surmised.

"Why do you keep calling him that?" Lenz asked.

"It's his name, or at least what the crazy bastard wants to be called. Doesn't matter since we know that Cash and Wheelo are the same person right? The important thing right now is that he's managed to cook up another big mess of a party here," Verto reminded.

"Yeah, I guess. What should we do?" Lenz asked.

"Crash the party. Lead the way officer."

**A/n: Now things will be getting quite interesting, expect the intensity to be picking up quickly.**

**Side note: The semi-normal, military action is dedicated to a very good friend of mine who's squad was hit with an IED out in the afghan world. He was one of the lucky few who survived and is awaiting his plane home. He lost a leg from the shrapnel and had to have a plate surgically placed into his jaw. Take a moment to wish him the best recovery possible.**

**Next time on DBV: Verto and Lenz break into Wheelo's lab, springing the multiple traps he and Kochin have set. But the real danger approaching is still hidden from their sight, and it will transform the situation into complete utter chaos.**


	74. Alter Ego

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.**

**Chapter 73: Alter Ego**

Sonny watched with slight amazement as Verto ripped through several mutated humans at once with his Psi sword. Lenz only shook her head, "He never lets me have any fun!" Verto glanced at her with a bewildered grimace, deliberately turning his back on the last viral beast that was charging at him.

"Every time I leave something to you, I end up having to step in," Verto replied.

"Yeah right, who's the one who always needs help?" Lenz asked.

"Um, you."

Sonny's eyes widened, "Lookout!" Verto swung backwards just as Sonny shouted his warning, slashing the growling mass of flesh in half.

He turned to Sonny for a brief moment, "Lookout for what?"

Sonny stared as the two chunks of monster hit with a loud thud, "Never mind." Verto snorted lightly and continued forward, using his Psi sword to light the way.

"I thought you guys couldn't use your powers here anymore. That's what happened to Trunks, right?" Sonny claimed.

"My energy works differently than his, I have two sources. And the technology blocking his ability to use his power doesn't completely work on me," Verto explained briefly. Sonny shook the confusion form his head and decided to remain silent.

Lenz had a different approach, "Little brother, how did you recover so fast anyway? Even with one of those weird beans, you should still be tired right?"

"You mean how did my Psi energy come back so quickly? I don't know, I shouldn't have been able to use nearly as much as I did against Frost and yet I'm fine after only a day. It might have been just the extent of how angry I was at the time. That Berserker power is potent as you probably felt yourself. Leira also mentioned a bad side effect from the encounter with that Renegade, but so far I appear to be fine. So in truth, I really don't know," Verto said.

Lenz frowned, "I don't trust that lady."

"You shouldn't, she wanted you dead for some reason. Hell she's even tried to get me to do it when you literally went ape," Verto replied.

Lenz glanced downward, "Because my hidden power is that dangerous, right?" Verto shifted his eyes and didn't answer.

Sonny finally broke his short silence, "What are you two talking about?"

"Private matter, not important to you. However there is something regarding it I need to address," Verto said as he stared back at Lenz.

"What's that?" Lenz asked in surprise.

Verto pointed at her, "You're not wearing your necklace. The one that's supposed to help suppress your Berserker state." Lenz's eyes widened when she glanced down to her chest.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice? You've had your body on display most of the time I've known you," Verto said with a bitter tone.

"Not that much! And I'm just fine without it! I can control my Psi energy after all!" Lenz argued.

"You're still very new at it. I still have bad outbursts and compared to you I'm an expert. The last thing we need out here is someone like you losing control. Take your brother's stone for now," Verto ordered as he tossed her the pale-colored gem from around his neck. He flinched slightly and Lenz watched with concern when his eyes flickered red briefly before remaining deep blue.

"Seems like you're the one that needs this more," Lenz grumbled as she slipped it on.

"You would have gone insane already in my shoes. Besides, I'm sure Wheelo remembers what happened the last time he pissed me off, he won't like the result this time," Verto said sharply.

"I thought it was because you were possessed at the time?"

Verto rolled his eyes, "Whatever the details were."

"Can you two continue this argument later? We won't get anything done if you two can't agree on anything," Sonny interjected.

Verto glared at him but smirked, "It's part of our charm. Just stay back and don't fuck it up." Sonny grimaced at the semi-arrogant tone and said nothing as the trio moved on. They found the passageway quickly without anymore surprises and moved in. The door slammed shut behind Sonny once he was through, startling all of them. Verto glanced back in annoyance before stabbing his blade of light into the metal. He began carving a hold wide enough for an average human to fit through before stopping.

"Stay alert behind us, just in case that was a mistake," Verto ordered. Sonny and Lenz nodded slightly before following him down the ramped tunnel. A few minutes later they reached a thicker door. Verto stuck his blade into this one as well, only to watch it glide sideways and run along the surface.

He scoffed, "That figures."

"What happened?" Lenz asked.

"Wheelo has strengthened this door with an energy resistant alloy. It's similar to the design of the Protoss ships and armor. I know you never actually met them, but he likely heard about them coming here right after the Zerg did. It's not a big deal, just needs some extra effort and focus, stand back," Verto said.

Lenz backed into Sonny, who quickly jumped back, holding his hands up, "Sorry!"

Lenz shrugged, "Meh, it's not like I haven't had my ass grabbed before. You've got nice hands." Verto shook his head before refocusing his energy. Small bursts of lightning came off his forearms as his sword brightened. He touched the end of his blade to the metal again, and it sizzled before melting through. He slowly cut an archway out of it before kicking the block forward and stepping through. He was barely a foot into the room when he spotted Doctor Kochin.

"Hey prune face, remember me?" Verto asked. Kochin laughed as Sonny and Lenz ducked into the lab behind Verto, who walked straight for Kochin.

Kochin's laughter continued, "You look shorter than last time, runt!"

"Try bifocals then, you old rust bucket," Verto mocked back.

Kochin seemed relaxed, "Hmph, we're ready for you this time." He tapped his cane twice and the console next to him opened up. Beneath the sliding panels, a large sphere of blue emerged. It lit up and slowly faded in and out at regular intervals.

"And what new toy is that? It would be rude to break it before I know what it was supposed to do," Verto said clear arrogance.

"Why don't you come find out?" Kochin dared him. Verto stepped forward and his sword immediately vanished from his right hand. He glanced at his hands briefly before looking up at the grinning Kochin. He stepped backwards a few feet and was able to summon the sword again.

Verto smirked, "Nice, you figured out how to make a Psi disruptor. Too bad the range is so limited."

Kochin returned the grin, "It doesn't change the fact that you'll have to cross the threshold to stop us. Doctor Wheelo is already preparing your friends for one of our experiments."

"What makes you think I'll need energy to tear you apart?" Verto asked.

Kochin chuckled, "There's no need to bluff in order to impress the girl. I would give up now if I were you."

"Good thing you're not me," Verto said as he cracked his knuckles and started forward again at a brisk pace. Lenz seemed concerned despite the apparent ease of which Verto was going to win.

"Hey wait up!" she called out.

Verto stopped long enough to turn his head, "What?"

Lenz was already about halfway to him, "Aren't you taking this a little too lightly?"

"How so?"

"Well, they did surprise us last time. Won't they have some sort of trick or trap waiting somewhere? He said they were ready for you," Lenz stated.

Verto snorted, "An energy disruption device won't help them any, it'll just take longer to smash this place."

"But you always said not to rush in and be patient so you can analyze the situation. Isn't it possible your judgment is impaired without the crystal to suppress negative energy?" Lenz argued.

Verto's eyebrow went up before a light smile followed, "Wow, you were paying attention. You're right, no need to rush this. I suppose I was being a bit cocky."

"Okay, what do you want me to do?" Lenz asked.

"Watch my rear," Verto replied as he turned back to Kochin.

Lenz put a finger to her chin, "Well, it is rather fine."

Verto smacked his head, "I should have known that level of intelligence wouldn't last long. I mean watch my back in case I screw up somewhere in the next few minutes."

Kochin's loud laughter returned and echoed, "You already have!" Around Verto, a bright column of red and gold flowing light rushed upwards. Verto cringed as this energy painfully shocked him several times over while holding him in place. Lenz saw the metal tentacles coming out of the floor and did the only thing she could think of. Verto stumbled out when Lenz crashed into him, replacing his painful scream with hers. Verto turned back as Lenz tried to escape the trap meant for him. She was wrapped up quickly before the floor fell away and she was pulled down into the dark. Verto tried to follow, but the energy trap stayed active until the floor sealed itself again, preventing any further action.

Kochin grimaced, "No matter, we have other ways of capturing you."

Verto's expression darkened, "You had better let her go."

"Or what? You have no power here you brat!" Kochin shouted back. A door slid open to the side and footsteps quickly approached. Both Verto and Kochin looked over in question, seeing one particular person they didn't expect to see. This person kicked a table out of his way just so he wouldn't have to go around it, scattering its contents throughout the lab. Kochin nervously watched the broken table land near him before scowling slightly.

Verto relaxed, "I guess I came here for nothing, have fun."

"Just a minute boy," Vegeta grumbled.

"If you want a recap, they captured your wife, your son, and Lenz. Is that enough to grab your attention?" Verto asked in a dark tone. Vegeta didn't answer as he strode towards Verto, keeping his eyes locked on Kochin.

"Kid, who is that?" Sonny shouted from the lab entrance.

"Bulma's husband, and Trunks' father," Verto said quickly.

Vegeta finally stopped a few feet away, his intense stare fixed on Kochin, "Is that the one responsible for this?"

"Yeah, and his butt buddy Doctor Wheelo. You knew him as Doctor Cash," Verto answered.

"I see, pity."

Verto became confused, "What are you going on about this time?"

Vegeta's glare shifted to Verto, "Are you deaf boy? I said it's a pity!"

"And why is that?"

Vegeta's smirk appeared, "Because, you'll die before you can even get close!" Verto barely had time to realize what he meant before he was floored by a sudden knee strike to his chin, followed quickly by a backhand to the same place.

Verto fell backwards before slowly getting back to his feet, "What the hell?" Vegeta's response was a quick golden blast that Verto narrowly avoided.

Verto's anger increased, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Vegeta didn't answer with anything other than his trademark smirk.

Verto's eyes narrowed, _Okay, think clearly. It obviously isn't Vegeta, or it's Vegeta being mind controlled somehow. I recall that these guys did stuff like that. There's also a chance that it's really Kati Cash impersonating him, but that wouldn't explain the energy blasts...Wait a second. I can't use ki right now, so he shouldn't be able to. That means something else altogether. Alright, I'll lure him away from that Psi disruptor so I know for sure. I can't make any more snap judgments._ Verto leapt backwards far enough to where he could feel his Psi energy again. Vegeta flew at him just as he was readjusting, but missed and got his fist stuck in the wall when Verto easily dodged. Verto then realized that he couldn't feel anything from Vegeta at all.

_No spirit signature at all? And he used ki with the dampening field on, how?_ Verto glanced at Kochin, who seemed amused at the moment.

Verto shook his head, "I get it. Clever design this time."

"Yes isn't it?" Kochin laughed.

Sonny cleared his throat, "What's wrong with him?"

"This isn't Vegeta, this is an android. Roughly the same design as Doctor Gero's tin cans. That explains why it can use energy where I can't," Verto replied.

"Who's Gero?" Sonny asked.

"Same guy who made Cell."

"Impressive deduction for a toddler," Kochin commented.

"Yeah I get that a lot. And for the record, it's not going to matter," Verto said defiantly. His palm lit up with white briefly before it shifted back to a flashing blue.

"And why is that?" Kochin asked.

Verto ignored him as he stared down at his blast, wide-eyed, _What the? Why isn't it working?_ He took a deep breath and concentrated harder, but his blast didn't react much other than an occasional lightning burst. Vegeta's robotic clone finally pulled his fist free and rushed at Verto, who was forced to fire early and knock the android backwards for a moment. Verto stared at his hands again, _Why isn't my Feedback technique working?_

"Weren't you going to say something boy?" Kochin called out, but to no avail as Verto seemed lost in his own train of thought. He remembered Leira's words from before, and the truth dawned on him.

"_Your emotional control has been impaired by Chal's ability. It will likely have distinctly bad side effects until you can find a way to overcome them." _

_"What kind of side effects?" _

_"I don't know."_

Verto scowled deeply, _Great, I can't use my best move. Guess I'll have to do this the hard way._ Vegeta-bot threw a table aside before stomping towards Verto again, looking eager to continue. He shot several blasts all at once, which Verto deflected with his Psi sword to protect Sonny. One of the blasts detonated close by, sending up smoke. Verto lost track of the android long enough for it to attack from behind. Verto was hit hard by Vegeta-bot's kick to his back, and he tumbled to the ground and lay prone. The android moved in for the kill, but missed when Verto suddenly jumped up. It chased Verto through the air, where he carefully strayed clear of the energy void he sensed from Kochin's Psi disruptor. Verto allowed the android to close in before gathering power for his next move. The android paid little mind to the next ball of Psi, and paid for it.

"Psi Freeze!" Vegeta-bot tried to deflect it and was quickly covered in ice. He fell straight down, somehow landing on his artificial feet before being completely encased. Verto hit the ground long enough to change directions as his fist glowed bright blue. Kochin's eyes widened when he realized what was about to happen. He grabbed a hold of his cane and depressed the button attached to its top. Then he pointed it forward and released a massive red blast from the cane. Verto turned his head as it reached him, apparently running him over. Then Kochin's blast swirled around before being sucked into a bright red and white blade.

Verto held the extra energy firmly before smirking a bit at Kochin, "Thanks for the juice."

Kochin gasped, "Impossible, you can't use synthetic power!"

"Not in the typical way, but as long as I don't directly absorb it into my body, I can use it against you. The only thing you did was spare your pathetic robot a few more seconds. In the meantime, right back at you!" Verto shouted as he reared back. Verto slashed downwards, releasing the power he had absorbed. Kochin ducked out of the way as the blast wave roared on by and exploded.

Kochin dusted himself off quickly before his grin returned, "You missed!"

Verto turned his attention back to Vegeta-bot, "Actually I didn't." Kochin glanced back to see his Psi disruptor crumbing into burnt pieces, finding himself speechless.

Verto's sword slipped back into his fist as it glowed again, "Unless you have another useless surprise to use on me, I suggest you give me back my friends." The ice block cracked as Vegeta-bot was starting to break out. Verto phased out just as the android burst free, and came up from behind.

"Galic Fist!" Vegeta-bot was hit in the back as the attack detonated, sending him flying into the far wall at frightening speed. His body left an impact crater about ten feet around. Despite this, the android managed to turn around and stand up on the bottom end of the crater. His eyes widened when Verto's sword suddenly came at him in stabbing position. Verto landed feet first and pressed the blade straight through. The Psi sword scattered off the android's body, causing Verto to scowl deeply as he jumped back.

Kochin found his voice again, "Hahahaha! I told you we were ready! That bio-fighter's armor is much stronger than that of the door. You'll find it just as strong as Super Android Thirteen!" Verto snarled as his blue aura swirled up around him, sending loose equipment flying into the air.

Verto's anger increased at the same rate as the tornado's velocity around him, "You're all a bunch of stupid fools!"

"What's that runt?" Kochin asked mockingly.

Verto's eyes flashed solid red, "You're all fools!" The tornado exploded with raw red fury just as Verto flew out of it at Vegeta-bot. One red sword swing later, the android was sliced in half. Verto didn't stop there, feeling the need to cut the android into several dozen sparking pieces before stepping back and firing a potent blast. Kochin watched in horror as the bio-fighter was obliterated in an instant, leaving nothing but scorched flooring and walls behind. Verto panted slightly as the fire and smoke filed the room. Sonny peeked out from where he had ducked for cover, fearful of what he had seen. Verto stood back up and appeared to have calmed himself, though his eyes remained an eerie crimson shade. Small bursts of lightning continued to randomly assert themselves around his arms and legs, but nothing more.

"Anything else, you fucking moron?" Verto shouted.

"Not so fast boy!" Kochin declared. Another set of doors opened on the opposite side, revealing Trunks with a golden apparatus attached to his head.

"As you can see, we still have your friends. You had no problems fighting a disguised bio-fighter, but how about the real thing?" Kochin asked. Verto glared at Trunks, who had a surprisingly similar expression. Trunks ran towards Verto quickly in full attack mode. Verto bared his teeth slightly before phasing out. Trunks froze mid-punch before he dropped face first from Verto's knife hand strike to the back of his head. Kochin's control device fell apart when Trunks hit the floor.

"How?" Kochin gasped again.

"You really are an ignorant bastard! Trunks was already weaker than me by a fair amount. Using the ki disruptor technology only makes your mind control a double-edged sword. You would have been better off using a few more androids. Either way, same result. Get ready to die," Verto said as he shifted towards Kochin. The evil doctor nervously clutched his cane as Verto stalked him. Once he was within a dozen feet, Verto stopped momentarily. Kochin frantically hit a button on his console, and another burst of binding energy shot out from the floor. Inside it was a vanishing afterimage that was smirking back. Verto was about ten feet away, still walking forward.

"Damn it!" Kochin shouted in frustration. Verto continued forward quickly, stopping at the platform Kochin was standing on when the lab started to shake. Kochin looked around, trying to figure out what was causing it.

Sonny held onto the wall as best he could, "What the hell is this, an Earthquake?"

Verto's eyes had shifted to the side and downwards, "Looks like Wheelo has royally screwed up, imagine that."

Kochin took exception to that, "Don't talk about the great Doctor Wheelo that way!"

"Let me guess, you spend most of your time under his desk? Well it doesn't matter, you'll both get plenty of time together at the bottom of hell when I'm done, if you're lucky that is," Verto growled back.

"You're the fool boy! By now Doctor Wheelo has transferred his mind into that girl, gaining her knowledge and more importantly her power!" Kochin claimed.

Verto snorted, "I doubt that's what I'm sensing, but we'll see about it." Kochin chuckled as he keyed in a command that reopened the floor where Lenz had fallen into.

"Then by all means, go try and stop him now!" Sonny ran up as Verto stepped towards the hole, and Kochin picked a different route of escape. The lab continued to shake violently and the ceiling began to crack apart.

"What should we do?" Sonny asked.

"I'll go after Wheelo, I'm probably the only one who can handle this. Get Trunks out of his nap and find Bulma, and then get out of here. Whether this lab blows up before or after we leave doesn't really matter to me at the moment, got that?" Verto asked. Sonny nodded nervously while Verto jumped down the dark shaft. It didn't take long before he reached the next level. There were several different things he could have expected to see when he reached Wheelo and Lenz, given the situation. What he saw next wasn't one of them.

* * *

Lenz winced as she woke up to extremely bright light shining on her face. She quickly realized that she was bound to a table and tried to free herself, but her body barely responded. _Crap, how long was I out?_

"Oh, you're awake. Apparently anesthetics don't work as well on Saiyans, or perhaps your brains just work a little differently than I originally thought," Doctor Wheelo said from her left. Lenz glanced over as he approached with a creepy smile.

She bared her teeth, "You had better let me go!" She struggled to get loose, this time straining the metal that kept her in place.

"Oh you should remember this alloy from before, so don't bother struggling," Wheelo suggested. He turned away for the moment and stared at a computer screen as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. On the display was a brain, shaded randomly with color with a brainwave chart beneath it.

"Hmmm, this is strange," he muttered.

"What is?" Lenz asked.

"Your brainwave pattern is irregular, even to other Saiyans. That boy seems like he would be the unstable one, but he doesn't have two patterns, in fact no one does naturally. When I saw his medical charts a few months ago, it certainly didn't have two," Wheelo explained.

"I'm confused, what does that mean?" Lenz asked.

Wheelo barely acknowledged her, "It does explain why the purging process isn't working. You shouldn't even be awake at this point, nor capable of forming words."

"Maybe you're just an idiot, ever think of that?" Lenz mocked.

Wheelo stepped back over to look her in the eye, "There's a mystery here and you're going to help me solve it. Do you understand that much girl?" Wheelo asked cryptically.

"Whatever."

Wheelo grimaced, "Tell me, do you know what a split personality is?"

"I've heard of it, like there's a different person inside of you that turns on and off," Lenz answered.

"Good enough. You Saiyans typically show signs of this behavior when it involves transforming into those giant apes. However, a true split personality merely changes the brain wave pattern, which in turn changes the behavior and personality of the person involved. This is slightly different however," Wheelo continued. He walked back to his display and pointed to the brainwave chart. Lenz managed to turn her head enough to see three lines on the chart he was pointing at. One of them was straight, lining the middle. The other two were weaving around above and below the middle line, though the one on top was much more active.

"And? What's that supposed to say?"

"The middle line represents your waking line, meaning above it you're awake and below you're not. The upper line is definitely you as you are now, awake and aware. The lower line is something else that appears to be nearly comatose. Normally when you fall unconscious or wake up, this upper line shifts down or up respectively."

"So, what does it mean when it's waving around like it is?" Lenz asked.

Wheelo grinned, "A lot of things, though yours seems to indicate singular and simple thoughts, not surprising.

Lenz growled at the insult, "So what's your point?"

"No one has two lines, simple enough for you now?"

"Maybe I'm just special?"

"Maybe you're just stupid," Wheelo said sternly, "What it means girl, is that there is another consciousness within you. But it's obviously dormant for the time being. I can't proceed until I understand what it is and how it got there."

"Too bad for you, I guess you'll just have to find someone else to run your perverted experiments on!" Lenz exclaimed.

Wheelo grinned again, "Are you familiar with the term 'possessed'?"

"It's when something or someone takes control of you from the inside right...you mean that's what that line thing is?" Lenz said with a gasp.

"Maybe, maybe not. But let's find out shall we?" Wheelo asked.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to bombard your brain with specialized radiation that's normally used to draw out split personalities, or commonly called alter egos. You probably won't remember anything," Wheelo explained.

Lenz panicked, "No, don't! You don't know what that might do!" An orange light above Lenz turned on as she painfully screamed from its effect. The noise went on for about ten to fifteen seconds as she squirmed to escape, but to no avail. She then fell silent with her eyes shut, but Wheelo noticed a significantly different breathing pattern. It sounded shallow and much older, like someone with lung problems. He saw that the two brainwave patterns had switched positions and instantly knew he had succeeded.

"Where am I?" a new voice whispered. It was definitely Lenz that spoke, but the voice was drastically different, following the same shallow pattern as her breath.

"Where am I? she asked again. She still hadn't opened her eyes, but her voice had changed to a rather cryptic snake-like tone. Wheelo's eyes widened slightly but he remained calm,

"You're in my lab, my name is Doctor Wheelo. What is your name?"

"My name? I don't have a name."

"Why not?"

The Saiyan hybrid shifted slightly, "I don't need a name, I no longer have a purpose, so there's no point."

"Everyone has a purpose, even if they haven't discovered it yet. It sounds to me like you did have a purpose and it's simply on hold for now. Let's try again, what is your name?" Wheelo asked again.

"Kaon...Kaon Kyokudo," she rasped.

Wheelo turned his head slightly, knowing that he was in uncharted waters now, "And what was your purpose?"

Kaon grinned evilly, even with her eyes closed, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Wheelo felt a distinct chill crawl up his spine all of a sudden, but nodded slightly, "Yes."

Kaon laughed crazily as her eyes finally opened, "To kill!" They were deep red with a blackened vertical line where the pupils were supposed to be.

Wheelo did his best to hold his nervousness, "That's good. I have a use for you, if you're willing to cooperate. I need your body and all its strength."

Kaon stared at him and frowned slightly, "No thanks, not interested in your skinny type. I prefer actual men. You look like you'd lose a fight to an adolescent."

Wheelo grimaced at the ironic statement, "I mean I need you to kill someone for me."

Kaon maintained a deep grin, "Maybe, if you let me out. Of course I would need my powers for this. I can sense strong beings on this world."

"You emit and control Psionic energy waves, do you not? You should be able to handle it," Wheelo said.

"Not with this rock around my neck, please remove it," Kaon suggested.

Wheelo eyed the yellow crystal carefully, "This, suppresses your power?"

Kaon nodded, "Oh and it hurts so much, please get rid of it! I'll do whatever you ask if you do!" Kaon added a squirming and seductive moan into the act, one that seemed to hypnotize Wheelo. He tugged the stone and its string necklace off, holding it up to examine it closer.

Kaon grinned again, "Thanks, that's much better." Wheelo took the stone with him to his console as he tried to figure it out.

"What exactly is this?" he asked.

"Release these bonds, otherwise I can't..." Kaon said as she lifted up. The metal bonds snapped in half abruptly when she tried harder, "Oh never mind." Wheelo felt slightly at ease when Kaon didn't leap off the table at him. She was flexing her arms and legs while looking herself over.

"Not a bad outcome I suppose, although this body is a little young and top heavy. My clothing leaves something to be desired, and she clearly doesn't use her visual-psychological tactics enough," Kaon muttered aloud. She then ripped the arms of her outfit completely off and removed the shirt underneath completely. Wheelo was busily examining the stone, not paying much mind. He clearly found more interest in it at the moment.

"Do you happen to know where this came from?" Wheelo asked without turning around.

Kaon grimaced slightly, "An annoying beast."

"Can you elaborate on that?"

Kaon smirked as she came closer to Wheelo from behind, "There is one little thing I need, doctor."

Wheelo finally turned, "What is that?" Kaon reached for his head as he tried to pull back, but couldn't.

"Relax doctor, this is a little reward for freeing me." Kaon stood on her tiptoes and kissed Wheelo with an apparent deep passion. Wheelo groaned slightly and tried to escape, but she held him firm. His skin changed to a pale gray and began to wrinkle at a rapid rate, as did his hair. His body grew thin and brittle within seconds as he appeared to be aging quickly. Kaon let go and Wheelo collapsed to his weak knees, shaking as he looked at his withered hands.

"W-what did you do to me?" he stammered. He sounded exactly like an old man that was very near his death bed.

"I just need some of your life-force, a little meal if you will. Don't worry, you won't suffer for long once you've recovered. Normally I drain my food dry, but I won't in return for freeing me," Kaon explained. Wheelo crawled along the floor as Kaon was glancing around for an exit.

"W-where do you think you're going? You said you'd work for me!" Wheelo grumbled.

Kaon grinned wickedly, "No I didn't. I merely saw an opportunity and I took it. Be grateful I didn't kill you."

Wheelo coughed, "Since when do Saiyans absorb bio-matter and energy from others?"

"Saiyans?" Kaon asked in surprise.

She eyed her reflection in a nearby mirror, studying it a bit more thoroughly, "Yes, I can see it now. I guess that explains this body's appearance. Fancy that, after all this time they still exist. They were always good sources of manpower and food."

Wheelo's went wide as he grasped the meaning of her words, "What the hell are you?"

Kaon snorted slightly, "Clearly something you should not have trifled with old timer, but I'm glad you did. Let's see, her memories are still blocked out, so I suppose I should make the most of this while I wait. Your human energy can take awhile to digest, so I guess I should have gone slower." Kaon then glanced upwards and laughed when she sensed something else.

"I see I'm not the only guest in your house. This one feels like a better source of energy. Although, this body in its current form will struggle against that one. I suppose I'll have to risk it, would be a waste to get killed or sealed away again after being cooped up in the abyss for so long," she rambled on.

"How were you sealed in the girl's body?" Wheelo asked.

"Details that I don't intend to tell you," Kaon replied. Wheelo eyed the necklace on the console and grabbed at it as he struggled to his feet.

"I get it now, with this stone, whatever you are can be kept under wraps," he concluded. Kaon frowned as she glanced at Wheelo stumbling closer. She cast out her palm and shot a quick blue electrical charge that struck Wheelo in the side. Wheelo clutched his torso and screamed as he fell to the ground.

Kaon stood over him menacingly, "No one is putting me back into that dark place, especially not a pathetic human like you." Kaon walked off as Wheelo continued to randomly cry out in pain.

She stopped and turned around, "With whatever is left of your life, you can see exactly what I am in just a moment doctor. Then you can study me from the afterlife." Kaon's reddened aura exploded outwards initially before quickly compacting again. Her hair stood straight up, but remained thin and fine rather than thick and stalky. Her skin darkened to a moderate blue as her eyes filled in with black. Her aura tightened further and became an intense lavender flame, one that dissipated quickly. A clear ripping sound came from her clothing, which tore off with ease as she grew several inches in height, leaving only black undergarments. Her transformation ended fairly quickly as she looked herself over.

"That's better, I feel much looser now," she exclaimed. The ceiling above them cracked apart as a pair of boots came crashing through. Verto landed next to Wheelo, but ignored him once he spotted Lenz, or rather, what she had turned into.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Verto shouted at Wheelo without looking.

Kaon answered for him, "He set me free little man. And it looks like you're the first victim!"

**A/n: At this point, I think I can safely let all of you draw your own imaginative conclusions to this.**

**WDG**: Dun dun dun?

**VB**: Speaks for itself doesn't it?


	75. The Shattered Necklace

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 74: The Shattered Necklace**

Verto stared wide-eyed at the new form of Lenz as his eyes shifted back to blue, unsure about anything at this point. It wasn't just her physical transformation or her current mental state that had him concerned. _I felt the unstable Psi break out of her before, but now I don't feel it at all. Somehow she's converted it into Chi despite the disruption fields around here. And it's dark, almost like Mercurial's was. Don't tell me that's what was inside her all along, another demon?_

"Well my pretty little meal, shall we get started?" Kaon asked. Verto stole a quick glance at Doctor Wheelo, taking note of the bad shape that he was in.

"I assume you took his life-force to help rejuvenate yourself so you could turn into that?" Verto asked with disdain.

"More or less. You can find out for sure in just a moment," Kaon replied.

Verto's glare intensified, "So how did a bloodsucking demon get inside of Lenz?"

"You mean me? How could you say such a thing!" Kaon said, feigning innocence.

"Cut the crap! I know that energy too well to believe that it was just the source of her hidden power," Verto countered.

Kaon seemed surprised, "You make it sound as if you've encountered my kind before."

"I have, specifically about a month and a half ago when I accidentally set one loose and had to kill its host. It managed to avoid death when someone else sealed it," Verto explained briefly.

"Is that so? Well don't worry. I'm not quite like what you might have faced, and you won't be able to take care of me so easily. This body belongs to me and always will. Even if you were able to kill me, you wouldn't change anything. As for the girl you knew, she's back where she belongs. It's certainly been a long time coming, I can't even count the years anymore," Kaon said.

Verto's hands briefly sparked with energy, "Let her out and go back to the pit you spawned in!"

Kaon didn't seem threatened in the least, "Make me." Verto's aura flashed on, scattering more debris and sending Kaon's purple hair into a flurry.

Rather than act frightened, she cheered him on, "That's the way, let me see your power, all of it!" Her hands and feet became entrenched with a deep lavender flame and she stepped forward. Verto's eyes glowed bright as he dashed towards her, arm drawn back. He struck her blocking hand, pausing in slight surprise. He glanced up long enough to see her baring a fang-filled grin. Verto jumped sideways just as her kick arrived, nicking his upper right arm. He landed off-balance and held his shoulder with concern as a small batch of charred clothing flaked off. There was no burn on his arm, but it was enough of a statement to cause concern.

Kaon laughed, "Nimble little thing aren't you?"

Verto was still feeling preoccupied with what he was sensing, "How the hell can you convert that unstable Psi energy straight to Chi in this environment? His damned ki disruptors are online!"

Kaon looked genuinely confused for a moment, "If you mean my power, it was simple once I transformed. You sound as if it was supposed to be a complicated process, but really it's not if you know how to do it. Since you asked the question, that means you're knowledgeable enough to not only know about it, but also wield it. Yes, it's coming to me now..." Kaon paused and closed her black eyes, sighing lightly.

Verto scowled, "What?"

Kaon smiled lightly, "Oh I see, I didn't realize it before. She has such strong lust for such a scrawny little thing. Waiting for you to grow up drives her crazy. So tell me, little brother, do you feel the same way?" Verto allowed a gasp to slip as his aura dropped off.

Kaon's eyes opened, "Well, aren't you going to answer? I can see it in your eyes, your compassion has already cut your power in half." Verto was barely aware of it, as his head filled with a wild barrage of emotions.

Kaon stepped closer, "Come now little brother, let's go take a relaxing bath. I'm still waiting to hear those three little words that you haven't been able to say." Verto's heart sunk when it was Lenz's voice he heard, not the shallow one of Kaon. He stood up defiantly, but he was shaking slightly from the overload of feelings.

_Damn it, she's trying to use my emotions against me so I can't fight her. I have to block it out._

Kaon dared to step within a few feet and bent down suggestively, "I can smell it in your blood, you want this body." Verto shut his eyes, doing what he could to imagine a villain in front of him. Unfortunately, this backfired badly, and all he could see in his mind was Lenz.

"Train me more little brother, show me that new attack again," Kaon dragged on. Verto's aura came out a smoky silver and blue, switching from one to another regularly and erratically.

_I can't let her use this against me! I have to turn this around on her!_ Verto's palm turned upwards as it lit up with a sparkling blue, making Kaon pause and back step momentarily.

She didn't lose her composure though, "Come on now, you're not going to attack me. You'll hurt that which you love most!"

Verto's blast shifted to white as he opened two saddened eyes, "I don't want to, but I have to."

Kaon snorted, "Foolish, you don't know what you're dealing with."

Verto reared back, "I don't care! Feedback!" Kaon smirked slightly as she effortlessly caught the white ball and stopped it in her own hand. Verto stood in awe as the lavender flames around her quickly crushed his disabling technique like it was nothing.

"Maybe against another opponent, but that technique is far too weak to affect me," Kaon said.

"How?" Verto asked, flabbergasted.

"You simply don't understand what you're up against. Add to that this girl's memories and you're already finished. I'll admit that your little trick had me concerned for a moment there, but your emotional maelstrom appears to have nullified any real threat you might have posed. Now I'll show you something fun," Kaon offered.

_Damn it, my feedback technique probably wasn't concentrated enough, that's why it didn't work that time either. I've never seen anyone completely stop it outside of absorption, so I have to assume that the problem is with me. Shit, I can already feel the negative energy coming back, I don't have time to get things under control for it to work yet...oh crap._ Verto put his thoughts on hold as Kaon cast out her palm and a thin rope of purple shot out at him from her forearm. He flew backwards, but didn't make it far before it latched onto his leg and pulled down hard. Just as Verto landed, he felt his energy fading. Kaon's apparently organic rope was sparkling all the way back to her, and her aura expanded just slightly. Verto quickly conjured his Psi sword and slashed through the rope around his leg, severing it.

Kaon laughed, "Well that didn't last long, pity." The remaining purple rope then retracted quickly until it was literally sucked back into her blue arm, leaving no trace of its whereabouts.

Verto stood up wearily and held his sword in a defensive position, _Some sort of arm tentacle that's concealed beneath the skin. That won't be easy to deal with._ He watched her carefully as she stepped forward, full of confidence. Kaon suddenly phased out and Verto raised his left forearm, blocking her intense kick. Verto barely had time to realize that her leg had been shimmering with static energy before the floor suddenly exploded upwards. Verto fell backwards and off balance, stunned from the odd attack. Before he could regain his footing, Kaon's strange arm tentacle shot out and wrapped completely around his body, holding him firm. She chuckled as she stepped in for the kill. Verto winced as he felt his Psi energy literally vanishing from within.

"That was over quicker than I thought it would be. You must really care for the girl. Too bad for you," Kaon claimed. Verto's eyes reddened in anger as his aura enshrouded him, but it wasn't enough to get loose.

Kaon grinned, "Oh, did I press your buttons too hard? Are you mad bro?"

"Let go of me!" Verto snarled.

Kaon didn't even flinch at the vicious response, "You have potential kid, but you're also a bit dangerous. Allow me to relieve you of this hidden energy of yours so that you don't become a problem for me, about half will do. You have too much to absorb all at once, but I wouldn't want you to suddenly think you ever had a chance!" Verto cried out as the bonds tightened and flashed brightly before unraveling. Kaon pulled her arm sideways and flung Verto into Wheelo's computer console, flattening most of it. She waited patiently as Verto crawled out slowly, recovering from his energy loss. He gasped for breath as he emerged, wary of what to do next.

Kaon sighed, "Much better, now I can at least move at full speed. It's been too long since I felt this way. How would you like me to finish you off, I'll let you decide. Take the rest of your energy? Sever your head from your neck? I'm flexible to your choice." Verto glared back intensely and stood up with determined blue eyes before stepped forward.

"Well now, you certainly have spirit. No wonder it felt so good to absorb your power," Kaon complimented. Verto stopped for a very brief moment when he saw Wheelo on the ground next to him.

He kneeled down and rolled the elder man over, "Hey Wheelo, quit playing possum and get up. I need a favor."

Wheelo glared back up at him, "What?"

"You heard me right. If you have another of those enhanced androids, now would be a good time to use it. I need to get close and that won't be very easy without some help. She'll probably tear through them but they'd at least provide a decent distraction so I can capitalize on it," Verto explained.

"Why the hell are you asking me for help?" Wheelo grumbled.

"I can't stand you, you probably can't stand me, but in front of us is a bigger threat that we're both probably a little responsible for, so do the math. Do something useful here or we're both dead. I can distract her long enough for you to act, but then I'll need assistance," Verto declared.

Wheelo groaned as he sat up, "And what do I get in return boy?"

Verto stared back at him with intensity, "If we're lucky, we both get to live. Is that clear enough?"

Wheelo grimaced, "Fine, as much as I despise this idea, I'll help you. But I'm afraid I don't have a biofighter available. I assume you destroyed the Vegeta replica, due to the fact that it hasn't responded here yet."

"Yeah."

"The energy dampening controls are in a different wing, and it's likely that Kochin is busy with your other friends. No matter, the prototype should do," Wheelo said as he finally stood up.

"Prototype?" Verto asked.

Wheelo stumbled towards what remained of his computer console, "I require a few minutes to prepare it, do not interrupt me and it would be preferable to not allow her to kill me. You'll know if and when I've succeeded." Wheelo tapped a large red button and the panel opened up beneath it. Verto only watched for a moment before turning his attention back to Kaon, who seemed amused.

"Oh please, do continue. I was enjoying your last moments," Kaon said gleefully.

"It's your last moments that you should be worried about," Verto warned.

"Ha, are you actually going to try fighting me again, in your current state?" Kaon asked with a laugh.

"You cut my energy in half, big deal. At the same time, you removed some of the instability I have to deal with when I use that Berserker power, so essentially I'm just under my normal level. If you really have Lenz's memories, you'd know that I'm just as capable when I'm running low on energy," Verto explained.

Kaon took it in stride, "Maybe, but you'll need your silvery transformation to even keep up and I don't intend to give you any usable energy for that."

"Then I'll make you."

"Hmph, without your ki, you haven't got a chance. You can try that disabling technique again, but it will fail."

Verto crouched down slightly, "Maybe, but we won't know until we cross that road!" Verto began gathering a blue, spinning ball and Kaon only chuckled.

"Come now runt, how stupid do I look? I know you're going to try your freezing technique. You'll never hit me!" Verto held out his other hand, which also shimmered with energy but remained unfocused. Kaon shrugged and lowered into a stance as her hands and feet became immersed in purple flames again.

"You're welcome to try though, it's certainly a lot more entertaining," Kaon said slyly. Verto fired a quick beam from his left hand and held steady as he anticipated the dodge.

Kaon moved left and Verto aimed that way, "Psi Freeze!" The freezing ball passed right through Kaon's afterimage and crashed into the far wall, covering it in ice.

Kaon grinned as she glanced at the result from dozens of feet away, "Well, I did tell you didn't I?" Just as she finished and turned back, Verto's Psi sword stopped an inch away from her throat. Kaon nervously stiffened from the surprise move.

"Surrender demon," Verto ordered.

Kaon shifted her eyes at him, "You're really serious aren't you? You'd really go through with it?"

"If I have to, yes. Lenz would want that, as you probably know," Verto said with a stern nod.

"I suppose that's true, but I don't think you really have that kind of resolve. Even if you did, it would be meaningless," Kaon declared.

"And why is that?"

"Let me put it this way, catching me off guard with one clever little maneuver is not going to help your situation!" Kaon then grabbed Verto's Psi sword with her bare hand, surprising him. She then pushed it away easily and Verto jumped back, unsure about what just happened.

"How?" Verto asked as the sword vanished.

Kaon grinned again, "This is what I meant by fruitless. You understand the basics of your power enough, but you're far from my experience. You rely on these petty techniques that require almost no energy or concentration. I use techniques that can melt your bones in a matter of seconds, and you're too afraid to use something like that. Especially against this body."

"We can take this topside and I'll be more than happy to fight you like that," Verto offered.

"Tempting offer, perhaps it's the girl's wanton feelings to prove you wrong, but I'll pass." Before Verto could react, Kaon's knee smashed into the side of his face. Verto flew backwards, stunned by the sudden blow. He fell into the same wrecked computer console and lay there for a moment.

_Ugh, so much for being just like Mercurial, but then again this one has a much stronger body to work with. Add to that the transformation, and apparently being able to repel my energy attacks bare handed, what next?_ Verto glanced over at Wheelo, who appeared to be concentrating rather hard. He was bent over with a set of wires attached to his head. _Is he transferring his mind? Oh great, that means he's bringing out the giant robot. Why did I even bother asking for help?_

"So, how long are you going to lay there, I know you're not done yet runt! You can take better beatings than most, and you've barely been touched so far," Kaon claimed. Verto stared at the ceiling, searching for other life signs nearby.

_Looks like they still haven't cleared out yet. Maybe Bulma or Trunks got tied up with something up there, odds are one of them will think to shut these damn ki disruptors off._ Kaon walked up, drawing Verto's attention with her toothy smile as she crossed her blue arms.

"You seem distracted, and it's obviously not with my body. Is it someone else around here? Let's see, oh yes! That human that came down here with you, and a few others. Those people are important to you aren't they, thus why you wanted to move the fight above ground. Too bad I prefer close quarters combat," Kaon said.

"Actually I was wondering if you were going to transform into something easier on the eyes. Your current form isn't doing anything for me," Verto sneered back. She quickly moved in and stomped down hard on Verto's stomach, sending spit flying as he rolled up and clutched his gut.

"That was uncalled for," Kaon said in a moment of brief anger. She stepped back, allowing Verto to get up to at least a knee. Kaon then turned and walked over to Wheelo, who wasn't moving.

"First things first, I'm going to kill this worm that you asked to help you. I hate it when there's worthless scum lying around," she said with a vile tone. Kaon grabbed Wheelo up by the neck, but he didn't try to resist and only slumped.

"Well, maybe he's just so out of it now that he's finally croaked, guess he's lucky. But I'm going to make sure anyway." CRACK. Kaon dropped Wheelo once his head had been completely twisted around and turned back to her target.

Verto grimaced, "Wish I could say that bothered me."

"It will when you have to explain your failure in the afterlife," Kaon said.

Verto dug his boot into the broken equipment, "Well, we're not there yet." He suddenly shoved a chunk of rubble at her before phasing out. Kaon knocked it aside and spun, catching the punch aimed for her head.

She laughed, "Try again!" Verto landed and kicked low towards her shins. Kaon jumped up and over, and Verto slowly reached towards her torso. Kaon grinned as she easily blocked and caught Verto's wrist, stopping him inches from her chest.

"Your size prevents you from taking any advantage like this you know," she claimed.

Verto smirked, "Yeah I know. I just wanted to give you something you lost." Kaon's eyes widened when she saw the thin rope dangling from his hand and tried to get away. Verto pushed forward and pressed the pale colored stone into her skin. Bolts of white and purple lightning erupted from it and arced out all over her body as she screamed. Verto backed off in surprise, as he hadn't expected such a strong, visible reaction.

_Damn, that thing is even more effective than I thought._ Through the thick strands of light, Verto could see her skin color fluctuating, as well as her face and eyes. Over the continuous screaming, he could discern two voices in the air.

"Get out of my body!" Lenz cried out.

"No, it's mine!" Kaon shouted back. She managed to get back to a vertical position while floating in the air. Her arms struggled to even move, but she clearly saw that they were shifting back to the paler Saiyan skin. Lavender flames kicked up around her and started to repel the lightning, and her skin changed back to blue.

Verto watched with concern, _Aw shit._ With one strong burst, the crystal was forced away from her and she breathed easier. Once it was away, it glowed brightly one last time before it completely shattered into small pieces that resembled sand grains. Only one small shard barely half an inch long remained, landing next to Verto's boot.

Kaon breathed heavily, "Nice try, little boy. But my destiny will not be denied, especially not by an enchanted piece of rubble. Now I'm going to show you why."

Verto sighed uneasily, _Great, now what do I do?_

**A/n: A short chapter for once in awhile, but I didn't want to take away from the first sequence. Next one will be much longer.**

**Next time on DBV: Trunks and Sonny rescue Bulma from Kochin's lab and force the aging assistant into shutting down the ki disruption devices in order to help Verto. In the process, Wheelo emerges in his huge robotic form and attacks them.**

**Oh I almost forgot...**

**Verto (Berserker): 550,000,000**

**Verto (weakened, normal): 305,000,000**

**Vegeta-bot: 310,000,000**

**Kaon: 350,000,000; Demon form: 525,000,000**

**Doctor Wheelo: 10**

**WDG: **Hmm, I wonder what that half-inch long shard is for?

**VB**: Maybe give her a splinter?


	76. Mechanized

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 75: Mechanized**

Sonny Satsu staggered as he tripped on his own feet, holding the wall for support as everything around him was shaking.

Trunks stopped several dozen feet ahead of him, "C'mon on, keep up! We gotta save my mother!" Both of them had been chasing Kochin through a long hallway ever since Trunks had woken up. Random parts of the ceiling and floor had been collapsing around them, hampering their progress.

Trunks could see Kochin gimping along ahead of them, "I'm going ahead! Catch up when you can!"

Sonny nodded, "Got it, just go!" Trunks increased his sprinting pace and quickly gained on Kochin just as he reached the end of the tunnel. Kochin panicked and tried to shut the large steel door, but was forced away when Trunks smashed into it with his shoulder. Kochin got back to his knees long enough to see Trunks' shoes barely a meter away.

"Crap."

Trunks cracked his knuckles, "You're gonna pay for making me into a puppet!"

Kochin feigned relaxation, "Now now, I still have your mother captive here. Do anything rash and she dies!" Trunks saw Bulma nearby, chained atop a small pillar. She looked rather concerned, but that changed to a determined glare as she motioned her head towards Kochin's direction. Trunks glared back down at Kochin and scowled before back-stepping.

Kochin grinned, "There now, that's a good boy." Just as he got to his feet, Trunks kicked him in the side. Kochin sailed through a few tables before landing roughly and ceasing to move for the time being. Bulma smirked with pride as Trunks ran over towards her.

"Good job Trunks, now shut off the power to this thing," Bulma directed.

"What is it, a force-field?" Trunks asked. He reached up and was given a minor shock when he touched the barrier.

"The controls should be on that main panel over there," Bulma pointed out as the barrier became invisible again. Trunks darted to his left and found a small, simple console with a few buttons on it. After pressing only one, the force-field shimmered one last time before dissipating. Trunks hopped up and broke the chains around her limbs easily before helping her down.

"Where's Verto?" Bulma asked.

"I don't know. Sonny said something about him chasing after Lenz right after the room started shaking. I can't sense any energy though," Trunks explained.

"Alright, let's take care of that problem then," Bulma said. She strode over to the largest computer console and started accessing its active programs while Trunks kept watch. A video display came up, showing Verto dodging attacks from Lenz, or rather, what she had become.

"Who is that? What is that?" Trunks asked in confusion.

Bulma seemed particularly concerned, "That's not good." She began typing like mad right before an access denied message came up.

"That figures, just like last time. Odds are he changed all his encryptions too," Bulma grumbled.

"Well the anti-ki things can't extend that far out, can they?" Trunks asked.

"Far enough to cover most of the city if he planted enough of them. Although it'll be just as dangerous with them offline by the looks of it. Alright, give me a few minutes and then go help Verto out. He might need it," Bulma suggested. The sound of laughter filled the room as Kochin managed to sit back up. His face had partially peeled away to reveal metal beneath, which came as no real surprise to Bulma or Trunks at the moment.

"Him too? Do any of you guys actually have a human body?" Trunks asked.

Kochin ignored the question, "You'll never make it in time. That runt will not defeat Doctor Wheelo now that he's changed to a much stronger body!"

Bulma glanced over in annoyance, "Do the world a favor and just shut the hell up!"

"Did he really get into Lenz's body? Is that why she looks like that?" Trunks whispered.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. Lenz has hidden power that we still don't understand. And Flandal wouldn't have been able to change form unless he was using Kati's shape-shifting power," Bulma replied.

"How dare you use that name!" Kochin shouted.

"Oh put a sock in it. No one other than you two care about what he wants to be called!" Bulma fired back. Kochin bent down to pick up his cane, only to have Trunks rush at him and knock it away. Kochin bared his artificial teeth before grinning slightly as his arm suddenly shed its disguise. It came together in the form of a small mini-gun much like his partner's. He was only able to get one bullet off before Trunks grabbed the barrel and snapped it in half. Kochin fell to his knees in dismay, holding his ruined arm while it sparked.

"Mom, can I just finish this guy off? He's all robot anyway," Trunks requested.

"Only if he gives us a reason," Bulma said sternly.

"Aw!"

Bulma shook her head a bit, "Alright, I suppose he might have a reason. Give me the encryption codes, or I'll let Trunks have his fun."

Kochin glanced at the Saiyan adolescent nervously, "Forget it!" Trunks smirked much like his father and stepped towards him.

Kochin crawled backwards and pleaded, "Fine, fine! I'll do it!" He carefully got to his feet and Trunks escorted him to the console Bulma was standing at.

"Well, you know what to do," Bulma said when Kochin didn't do anything upon arrival. Kochin scowled as he typed in the code and the access denied message cleared. As soon as it did, Trunks flinched slightly.

"Wow, that was quick, I thought it would take longer than that," Trunks muttered.

"It's the close proximity Trunks, there was probably one very near here," Bulma said. The lights overhead fluctuated and multiple machines around them began to power down.

"Hmmm, that shouldn't have happened, unless..." Kochin paused as he suddenly typed like mad, even though he was one-handed at the moment. A large bar graph came up on the display, showing multiple readings for different areas, but most of them were quickly dropping to low levels.

"I sense something…weird," Trunks said, though it did not draw Bulma's attention.

"What are we looking at?" Bulma asked.

"This is a general power meter for all active systems in the entire lab. As you can see, we're losing power across the board," Kochin pointed out.

"Hmph, looks like someone else wants to shut you down," Bulma remarked.

Kochin snorted, "A power failure like this can only mean a few things. One of which is a complete meltdown, and I assure you that it would not be good for South City as a whole. Secondly, there is a chance that...oh no! That means that Doctor Wheelo is really going to use it!"

"Use what?" Before anyone could answer, the room trembled violently and the wall on the far end crumbled apart. A large black and abnormally shaped object smashed through, caving in part of the lab. Bulma ducked for cover as Trunks shielded her from whatever had just arrived. Once the object cleared the wall and falling debris, it finally turned towards them. It was a gigantic robot with three drill like toes on each foot and two large pincer-claws much like a scorpion. Along its back was also a long drill-like appendage, resembling a tail though it resided a bit high. On its top was a head full of what appeared to be empty port connections dotting heavy armor. But the most noticeable feature of all was the brain floating in fluid just above its facial area.

"Doctor Wheelo, I didn't expect this," Kochin said as he dusted himself off.

The robot spoke with an incredibly deepened voice that boomed through the cave, "There was no other choice Kochin. A problem I will solve shortly with this."

"Are you sure about using the prototype? Not all of the systems have been properly tested," Kochin proclaimed. Wheelo turned and looked down at Trunks, who cautiously stepped into his battle stance.

"I suppose a test is in order before I handle the monkeys," Wheelo claimed. A gap below Wheelo's brain opened up much like a mouth, and Trunks remained steady. A sudden golden blast shot out and Trunks panicked. The area exploded in a light shower of smoke and debris. Kochin laughed when he saw no real trace of Trunks. Wheelo looked upward and saw Super Saiyan Trunks floating there, holding onto his mother.

"Thanks Trunks, that was too close," Bulma said. Trunks winced a bit when Bulma grazed the skin on his arm with her own, but said nothing. His flight wavered, but he got control back almost instantly.

"I can sense a power level from that robot," Trunks said in surprise.

"What?"

"Excellent, that was with only point five percent of potential energy charged," Wheelo declared.

"A splendid test sir. It appears that it will function quite well in battle!" Kochin added. Trunks lowered to the ground, and Bulma scowled menacingly once she was on her own feet.

"Flandal, you son of a bitch! This will solve nothing!"

"This will solve everything, Bulma. This will allow me to capture my desired body and if needed, travel through outer space. I will not be restricted by human limitations any longer!" Wheelo bellowed.

"So much for all that talk about saving humanity," Bulma sneered.

"I will save humanity, by becoming ruler of this world, muhahahahahaha!" Wheelo cackled.

Trunks' golden aura flashed to life as lab debris scattered around him, "Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged. Kochin, what is the other brat's position?" Wheelo asked. Kochin brought up his flickering video display, showing that Verto and the demonized Lenz were still facing off. Verto was busily dodging small energy shots while Kaon was laughing for some reason.

"Still preoccupied sir," Kochin rattled off. Wheelo turned his attention completely to Trunks, who waited for the first move. Wheelo stepped forward as the robot's huge feet left partial indentations in the lab flooring. Trunks charged at him and jumped towards Wheelo's metal head, aiming his punch for the brain. He was slashed out of the air by one of the robot's arms and landed hard.

"Trunks!" Bulma called out.

Wheelo laughed, "Give up, you won't beat me!" Trunks got up with determination as he wiped blood from his lip. He then brought both arms up and charged ki into them, lighting up the lab with golden. Bulma recognized the pose and ducked for cover. Wheelo was content to stay still, confident that he could take the attack without a problem.

Trunks smirked at this, "This is from my dad moron! Final Flash!" The potent beam roared out of Trunks' hands and overran Wheelo in very little time. The lab ceiling broke apart in the blast wave, as did several layers of earth above. From the outside, it appeared as though a great beam of light had shot out of the ground before heading into the horizon and space. Trunks panted slightly as he grinned victoriously. That grin was quickly gone when Wheelo emerged from the debris cloud, unscathed.

"It's no use, you little brat!" Wheelo declared again. Trunks cringed in anger before charging at Wheelo with a full head of steam.

"Trunks no!" Bulma pleaded, far too late. Wheelo managed to sidestep the attack, despite the size difference, and swung his arm down across Trunks' back, putting him into the ground viciously. Wheelo launched into the air and stomped down hard, causing Trunks to cry out with pain as his hair faded back to purple.

"Is this all a Super Saiyan has? How pathetic!" Wheelo declared.

"Why don't you get off my son and find out?" a grouchy voice said from behind. Everyone glanced up at the new tunnel to see Vegeta standing there, arms crossed.

"Vegeta!" Bulma called out. Vegeta floated in carefully, eyeing Wheelo's every little twitch.

"You!" Wheelo growled. He launched off of Trunks, straight at the Saiyan prince. Vegeta phased out, missing Wheelo's claw by inches. He reappeared above and planted both arms across the head with a massive amount of force. Wheelo grunted as he landed on one huge knee.

"Hmph, you're nothing special now either. If you want to kill me so badly, I suggest you follow my lead. We can settle this once and for all, Cash!"

"It's Wheelo! Doctor Wheelo!"

"Tsk tsk, someone is having an identity crisis," Vegeta chuckled. Wheelo roared with rage and blasted off at Vegeta, who lured him out through the new tunnel Trunks had made. Remaining ceiling rubble and dirt fell as Bulma ran over to check on her son.

"Trunks, are you alright?"

Trunks groaned, "Yeah, I hope Dad wipes the floor with him." Kochin suddenly cleared his throat behind them as he held up his cane in a threatening fashion.

"Hahaha, he won't defeat Doctor Wheelo's greatest weapon, no one can! As for you two, there's another experiment I need to run." Trunks' hair flowed as he started to power up again, but paused when a loud gun click sounded next to Kochin.

Sonny Satsu stood there with his assault rifle pinned against Kochin's head, "Just a minute doctor."

Kochin glanced over in annoyance, "And just what do you think you're doing?"

"Isn't it obvious you crazy old codger? I'm gonna blow you away!" Sonny claimed.

"With that peashooter? I hope you're joking Mister Satsu. You don't actually think that standard issue bullets could even scratch the oldest bio-model?" Kochin asked. Sonny grimaced and pulled his gun away, keeping his aim locked on Kochin.

Kochin turned towards him fully, "Good, at least your primitive mind understands that. As the sole human survivor of our little test, you will be quite useful as a biofighter."

Sonny stocked his gun's bottom barrel, "In your dreams you metal piece of shit!"

"Then go ahead, fire away. You'll understand soon enough when your bullets do nothing!" Kochin claimed.

Sonny smirked just slightly, "Whoever said I would use a bullet? How about a nice piece of pineapple instead?" Sonny fired a high speed grenade right into Kochin's chest, which blew up instantly. The ex-marine ducked down just as he fired and the flames barely grazed him. Kochin, on the other hand, was now a mess of metal trying to flap about on one leg while surrounded by fire. Sonny jumped to his feet, grabbed his rifle and ran into the flames without fear. Before Kochin could react, Sonny slammed the butt of his gun into the robot's head, knocking it clean off. Kochin's metal body sparked and slumped before ceasing to operate. Sonny stepped away and sighed heavily while Bulma and Trunks looked on, impressed.

"What?" Sonny asked.

"Dude, that was sweet!" Trunks claimed with admiration.

"You know, I was just thinking, what would this world do without any aliens dropping by to help save it. Now I know, people like you would come out of the woodwork to handle it. It makes me feel better about the future," Bulma said.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I found out about a group that needs to be addressed…" Just as Sonny was speaking, the ground shook violently again.

"What now?" Bulma asked.

Trunks seemed to know, "It's Verto."

* * *

Verto cringed and dodged a potent finger blast from Kaon, who was laughing with delight. He had been unable to get anywhere near her ever since the suppression crystal had shattered, mostly due to her constant barrage of small but focused bolts of dark Chi. _Damnit, I'm not going to be able to do anything unless I transform. C'mon Trunks._ Kaon cackled evilly as the remaining lab was slowly torn apart by her assault. Verto ducked into the ever-growing dust cloud and attempted to conceal his presence in order to buy time. The amount of debris being blown around didn't help matters, nor did the residual energy from Kaon's attacks. Verto was barely able to relax and focus enough after a few seconds, just as the next blast came through and nearly hit him. The explosive force cleared out the air, causing Kaon to stop when she didn't see Verto anywhere.

She laughed about it, "Hide and seek eh? I'll play for a little while." Kaon proceeded to walk slowly around the room in a circular fashion, glancing in every direction. She knocked over broken tables just to look under them, but Verto suspected it was more of a mocking touch than anything.

"Hmmm, not here." Verto silently moved opposite Kaon, knowing he couldn't risk getting too close or she might detect his suppressed energy. He was also concerned that any of her energy attacks might disrupt his stealth if they got too close. Kaon methodically stalked a fallen cabinet as Verto was moving close enough to grab the last crystal shard. He made sure she wasn't looking back before picking it up and shoving it safely into his side pocket.

_There isn't much left, probably not enough to even keep my own power down if I lose control, but it's better than nothing. I suppose I don't have to worry though since she drained all of that extra power. I need to lure her to the surface somehow, whether the ki disruptors are shut down or not. I shouldn't have counted on Wheelo at all._

Kaon kicked a hole in the side of the metal shelving and grinned, "Where are you small fry?" Verto moved along her previous path as she suggestively strutted across the lab, stopping in the middle.

Her hands lit up with purple fire, "I guess I'll have to smoke you out, little cockroach!" She held up her right palm and unleashed a swatch of cone-shaped flames. Despite being in the opposite direction, Verto could feel the intense heat as if it were on his own skin. The machinery melted from the flame's touch, and the flooring became rough and blackened.

_Holy crap, she wasn't kidding about melting my bones. _Kaon's dark eyes narrowed for a moment before she held up her other palm, straight in Verto's direction.

"This should flush you out!" she declared. Another fiery jet shot out, which Verto barely dodged. It was so hot that he could feel his clothing cracking apart on his left side. Kaon stopped and turned, facing Verto even though she still had her arms spread.

"That was close, but now I know where you are!" she claimed. She unleashed simultaneous flame jets and kept channeling them as she slowly brought her arms together.

Verto grimaced, _Damn, I don't know if my shield technique can withstand that. No time like the present I guess_. Just as the oddly shaded fire closed in, it struck a bright blue shield and rolled around it into the walls. Verto appeared in the middle of it, as both flame jets combined into one massive barrage. Verto's aura flashed on as he poured extra energy into the shield. Kaon laughed evilly as she kept the pressure on, pressing Verto's energy backwards. Verto struggled to stay still as the heat and power from her attack was quickly eating away at the Psi shield.

"One barbecued Saiyan, ready to be eaten!" Kaon called out. Verto gritted his teeth slightly as he tried to figure a way out of this situation. That answer presented itself when he suddenly felt a huge surge from within.

His eyes widened briefly before he managed a grin of his own, _About time Trunks!_ Kaon paused when Verto's shield suddenly lit up with bright green just before it became a huge ball of white. Her flames were pushed back and then split off to different points around the room. The ceiling started coming down in larger pieces as the lab shook from Verto's power output. Kaon stopped channeling her flames and decided to observe what was going on instead. The feral cry coming from Verto was enough of a hint that things were about to change, never mind the light show. Verto shield fell away, replaces by his silver aura instead.

Kaon backed up a step, but merely shrugged and sighed, "I was expecting this ever since you showed up. All the better, to kill you at your best. Then I will devour this world!"

"Like hell you will. I'll stop you and I'll tear you out of that body. Even if it kills me to do it!" Verto proclaimed.

"Ha, such bravado. But what about the girl herself? I know you don't really have what it takes to finish the job. It doesn't matter what techniques you use, you won't get rid of me without killing her. Surely you recall this from your previous encounter with my kind," Kaon pointed out.

"Hmph, I've been possessed before and have managed it. I've helped others too, you won't be any different," Verto said with certainty.

"You keep thinking that, little brother," Kaon said smugly.

Verto lowered into his ready stance as Kaon calmly mirrored it. _Alright, I have the edge in power by the feel of it, but it isn't much of one. She might actually have more energy to use since she stole some of mine. I'll have to frustrate her enough to move this fight above ground. That shouldn't be too hard even if she's better at close combat. The only thing is that I'll also have to withstand any techniques she's going to throw at me, and odds are I haven't seen them. With Lenz's memories, that puts me at a serious disadvantage, so I'll have to get creative on the fly. If I act fast, I can get this fight moved before she pulls out all the stops._

"Well, I'm waiting for you to prove me wrong," Kaon reminded. Verto answered by charging in at full power, punching wildly at a surprised Kaon, who was barely able to block it with her forearm. Verto spun as he dropped won, aiming a kick towards her knees. He connected and Kaon fell backwards. Verto jumped over her falling form and prepared to drive both fists into her torso. Kaon's hands went down as she touched ground, allowing her to roll backwards with her legs up. Verto phased out just as she closed those legs around him. Kaon kipped up and stood ready with a bright smirk on her face as Verto stared her down from a dozen feet away.

Kaon motioned him in, "Try again little man." Verto eyed her carefully before considering his next approach. He promptly phased out, catching her slightly off guard. The attack didn't come right away though, giving Kaon time to see through it. She suddenly swung her fist to the right as she spun, grazing an afterimage. She stopped and kicked left, meeting the same result.

"Trying to trick me with the afterimage technique? That's not like you, is it?" she asked. Four images of Verto then appeared in a semi-circle around Kaon, all of them with crossed arms and flashing slightly.

"Well, whatever works," Verto admitted.

"This won't." Kaon quickly unleashed a wide spray of energy bolts, which passed through all four images just as they vanished.

"Huh?" Kaon asked in surprised. She turned to see Verto standing still at the far end of the lab, just before he starting running at her in a dead sprint. Kaon paused, _Close assault type of attack? No, this has to be different._

Verto pulled his arms back mid-run, "Ka….me…." Kaon realized what was going to happen and prepared to dodge the odd approach, but remained unsure of how it was going to play out.

"Ha…..me…." Verto came to a stop inches from her with his palms up, and she phased out.

Verto jumped and shot the massive beam up and towards the ceiling at an odd angle, "HAAA!"

Kaon was standing a seemingly safe distance behind him, "You missed!" She froze when she saw him flying at her, with his speed boosted by the Kamehameha Wave. He slammed his elbow straight into her face, stunning her. Kaon fell backwards with a dull thud just as Verto hovered over her and began punching. Kaon groaned painfully as Verto rapidly landed blow after blow, lighting up every pain receptor she had. Multiple cuts and bruises started to show within a few seconds under the assault. Verto finished with a hard jab that darkened her right eye before jumping backwards. Kaon sat up grumbling in anger as she wiped blood from her lip.

"That looks like it hurt," Verto said.

"You brat!" Kaon roared. Verto grinned slightly as he dared to glance at the fresh hole his beam had carved in the ceiling. He could sense the outside air rushing in, and the power signal of Vegeta flying away. There was another unfamiliar power level following with decent speed, but Verto was unable to tell whom it belonged to. Verto turned back to Kaon, who looked like she wanted to tear off an arm and eat it.

_Got her frustrated enough, time to bait the hook before this lab collapses._ Kaon's aura was slowly coming off her in smoky lavender waves, and it reeked of maliciousness. Her skin color began to shift to a deep red as Verto felt the heat coming from her increase rapidly. She lunged at him with a claw-like attack. Verto dodged by a hair's length and chopped her back with a single knife-hand. Verto immediately clutched his hand as it felt burnt after the contact, and he backed off.

_Check that, lure her and stay at range. I can't believe how warm her body is._ She snarled at him, revealing a few fangs that had grown in-between her teeth.

"I can't say that anyone could be attracted to that fiery temper. I realize you strive to be the hottest chick in the room, but this is going overboard isn't it?" Verto asked in a joking manner.

"Argh! Come here so I can kill you!" Kaon growled back.

"You want me? Come and get me!" Verto shouted as he launched out of the lab and towards the surface. The tunnel behind him ripped apart as Kaon followed, her potent aura leaving burnt dirt and rock in her wake. Verto shot out of the ground in the middle of the city and took off for the horizon. The concrete glowed hot and red as Kaon emerged, stopping long enough to track his position before following. Verto glanced back with concern as he felt her gaining on him, as well as a significant increase in her energy level.

_What kind of power-up is this? I thought the heat I could put out with the Berserker form was bad. It's like her body temperature is that of an active volcano._ Verto grimaced as he flew over a barren sandy desert and halted. He didn't have to wait long before Kaon arrived, seething and baring her sharp fangs at him.

_Now I see what Leira meant. I was a fool to think her hidden power was like mine and could be controlled. That demon inside isn't helping matters, but there's more to it than just that. If it emerged in her because of my training rather than in the other Rotians who just went crazy, then it's my fault. Add to that her people basically came from the corrupted blood of the Renegades, or at least some of them. Which means that they're all capable of this, probably more so even if they aren't possessed. All hell, that means the Renegades and the Rotians are all part-demon._

**A/n: And there's the key to the next open chapter.**

**WDG:** Oh snap!

**VB**: Queue the creepy music.


	77. Burial

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 76: Burial**

Verto held steady in his stance as his own thoughts were flooded with the new realization. _Not only is this curse real, but it's extremely dangerous. Chal mentioned that none of them could use Chi, nor transform into anything, but he could have been mistaken or lying. Although, whether this curse is demonic or not, that doesn't explain why Lenz has been possessed by one and as far as I can tell, the others haven't. This is more like that incident with Mercurial. It also kind of reminds me of my own problems when I was with the Zerg._ Kaon floated across from him, with an angry expression rarely seen. Her aura was no longer a calm purple flame, but a raging inferno. For the moment, it seemed as if she would explode if she were agitated any further. _Alright, I can figure the rest out later. I'm going to have a tough enough time without being distracted._

Kaon snarled at Verto, "So, you think you've bought yourself time and gained the advantage out here? Think again!" She promptly soared higher into the air and cast out her palms, not aiming for Verto. Bright lavender flame jets shot out towards the ground around him. She then turned in a complete circle, making a matching swath of flames for nearly a half-mile around on the ground. She then slowly lifted her arms up as she continued to spin, and the flames extended high into the air and arced inwards. She finally stopped when the flames reached her outstretched arms above her head. Verto stood slightly in awe when the flames not only remained, but also intensified. Kaon dropped down and landed on a nearby cliff near where Verto was hovering.

"As you can see, this is a very different technique from what you saw before. It's called Hellfire Prison. I don't recommend trying to run, for those flames will penetrate your entire being instantly. So just let me kill you now, because there is no escape!" Kaon declared.

Verto glanced at her with a confused expression, _Why did she make it this big? True it isn't a lot of room, but I can stay at range fairly easily here._ Kaon's grin got wider as she lifted off and flew towards him. Verto side-stepped and caught her in the back with a single blow. He was quickly reminded of his earlier mistake when his hand lit up with searing pain the moment he made contact.

Kaon got off the ground and chuckled, "What's wrong little brother? Am I too hot to handle?"

"That's one way of putting it," Verto said. Kaon attacked again, but Verto phased out and moved to a safer distance. _Just as I thought, close combat is completely out. That will complicate things in this fire cage she made, it's already too damned hot in here for human standards._ Kaon glided towards Verto and jerked her arm back slightly. The long tentacle-like rope protruded from it once again, with a matching shade of red this time. Verto phased out before she could even swing it, and she paused before dropping back towards the ground instead. Kaon allowed her appendage to hang loosely at her side, where the end of it touched the nearest cliff. The ground there blackened and steamed at first, before it glowed hot and began to melt.

Verto watched with concern, _Definitely can't let that touch me._ Kaon pulled the tentacle back up and revealed that the tip had been covered in dripping magma. She cranked her arm up before she cracked it like a whip, sending a small burst of molten rock shooting towards Verto. He dodged aside, but couldn't help but notice something different when it sailed on by. It landed dozens of feet away and exploded, leaving a small but precise crater behind. _That wasn't just lava, that was an extremely hot energy blast._ Kaon smirked as she dipped her tentacle into the ground again.

Verto paid much more attention this time, _So that's what she can do. She can control her body temperature and increase it to an incredible level at will. That also applies to her energy. I guess that makes sense, Mercurial was a type that used shadow-based energy. This one is certainly a fire-type._ The cliff Kaon was standing on quickly melted away into the canyon below. Her whip-tentacle had been almost completely entrenched in liquid-hot magma that was slowly dripping off. Kaon floated into the air again and arched back, pulling her arm as if to launch everything at once. She suddenly closed in and swung forward, releasing multiple blasts of fire. Verto held his palm up and summoned his Chi shield to block them. Despite the spinning motion of the barrier, the small lava bombs seemed to stick. Verto's eyes shot open when he could see small holes forming in his shield. He flew upwards and released it, allowing the bombs to continue their path shortly before dropping into the ground and detonating.

Verto felt at a loss for words, _Well that was different._ Kaon laughed as she swung again, before stopping and repeating the motion. Dozens of small bombs flew at Verto from different angles. Verto used his shield again to stop the first several and allow him to move to safety. The lava bombs remained implanted in the shield and came along for the ride. He could see them quickly eating through where they had struck, and he tried to decide how to deal with them as they swirled around with his shield's motion. He heard a distinct sound behind, where Kaon appeared in the air, unleashing another barrage. Soon the shield was covered in small, bright orange dots and it began to collapse. Kaon cackled as her tentacle whip retracted back into her arm and she took aim.

"Time to fry, little man!" she shouted. Verto remained determined as his aura flashed brightly. His crumbling shield matched the intensity of his aura and reformed itself around the lava bombs. Several exploded immediately, showering the ground in hot cherries. The others were forced away and detonated on their own. Kaon frowned and held back on her planned fire wave, giving Verto time to recover. His shield dispersed, revealing several small burn marks on his clothes where some of the hot material had gotten through.

Kaon seemed impressed, "Hmmm, you're the type that adapts quickly aren't you?" Verto didn't respond as a few drops of sweat streaked down the side of his face.

Kaon's grin returned, "Let's find out then!" Kaon dropped both arms down and concentrated on a portion of the land below. A large square chunk split from the main plateau and rose up at her command. It floated up and stopped before her, temporarily obscuring her view. She then drove both arms deep into the excessively large boulder, making the entire thing glow hot and partially melt. Kaon could sense Verto preparing his energy for something, but wasn't content to wait once she realized that he hadn't moved yet.

"Let's see how you deal with ten thousand of my Lava Bombs!" The boulder shattered apart into numerous blazing rockets of shrapnel. Kaon's wicked smile remained when she saw Verto was still there, but it vanished when she saw what he was doing.

"Super Galic Gun!" Kaon froze in surprised when a massive wave of green came roaring towards her. The majority of the Lava Bombs were obliterated instantly and she scrambled to get out of the way. Verto's beam went on by and smashed into her Hellfire Prison flames. There was a momentary struggled before it blasted through and soared into the morning skies. Verto's eyes narrowed when he saw that the rest of the flame wall remained intact, despite the large hole that he had made.

Kaon gazed at her flame wall with clear disdain before floating upwards, "That was the correct way to counter. It seems I can't be playing games with you any longer." She turned and fired another spray of purple fire at the opening and then adjusted her aim accordingly. The flame wall filled back in and Kaon raised both arms wide. Verto felt her extending her power outwards and carefully prepared for whatever was about to happen.

Kaon then brought her arms in and crossed them together with an evil glare, "Time to settle this!" Kaon's flame walls started moving inwards all around, quickly bearing down on Verto. He glanced around with concern before diving towards the parts of the ground that were still unaffected.

Kaon scoffed as she turned around, "Do you really think that I hadn't considered that? My Hellfire Prison Sphere is perfect!" Just as Verto reached the lowest parts of the canyons, all of the ground rock heated up and broke away as great pools of magma rose to the surface. They were quickly followed by a bottom layer of the flame wall that came upwards and joined the rest, completing the hot sphere. Verto scowled as he retreated back into the air. The flames then took on a thicker, darker hue as Verto felt more energy being expelled from Kaon. _Damn it, she's trying to limit my options._ His palm glowed and sparked with green Chi as he turned away from Kaon and fired.

"Final Shine!" His wave crashed into the flames and held steady, showing little if any real effect. _Yeah, that figures. Even if I concentrate my energy as much as possible, I can't get through if she's doing the same. She wants close combat and is taking away my range advantage to get it. Fine then, I guess I'll oblige. I just hope it works this time, or I'm toast._ Verto began to break into a heavy sweat as the air temperature rapidly increased with the flames inching closer, but he still turned to face Kaon. She pulled her arms down and prepared her whip tentacle again. The flame walls stopped moving abruptly and held position in a radius of about one hundred feet around Verto. He took note of Kaon's body motion as she appeared to sigh with relief, and her energy fluctuated.

_Why did she stop? She knows I'll have to get desperate or risk killing Lenz to defeat her at this point, so why opt for this if she has me cornered? Maybe she still wants the rest of my energy like before. It does feel like her power dropped after she strengthened her flame barrier. I wonder if that means she has to stay still to manipulate it._ Kaon appeared to be very confident of the current predicament and floated forward.

"Come little boy, I want to finish this!" she declared. Verto held his wrist out and his Chi sword snapped to life, hissing at the air momentarily. He concentrated and increased its power, making it thicker and brighter.

Kaon's whip pulsed with energy as she smirked, "That's more like it!" She flew forwards and slashed with her whip. Verto parried left and spun around, missing a kick to her side. He twirled his sword over his shoulder and blocked the whip again before phasing out and away.

_Great, just like my sword, she can increase that tentacle's durability with her energy. I won't be cutting it easily._ Kaon laughed crazily as her other arm shuddered before producing an identical whip-appendage.

"Hahaha! Good, but let's see how you deal with two!" she laughed as she lashed at him with both whips. Verto pulled back into a defensive posture, deflecting both attacks before floating out of range to go through his options.

_That's going to be tough to deal with. I'll have to keep up the best I can and surprise her when there's an opening. If it doesn't work, well, shit._ Kaon screamed with delight and flew in, swinging both arms for all they were worth. Verto defected both whips as they came in one at a time, and then back-flipped when she swung low from the left. Kaon sent the other towards his opposite shoulder just as he turned. Verto blocked it, but felt more pressure, allowing Kaon to attack from the other side. Verto quickly held out his other hand and formed another blade of green light just in time to block it. He pushed forward and forced both whips away for the moment. He hurled the extra sword like a javelin straight at Kaon, who had to duck out of the way to avoid it. When she turned back, Verto was forming a potent ball of Chi in his free hand. It sparked with green lightning, turning bright blue for a brief moment before remaining green.

"Damn it," he muttered aloud.

Kaon turned her head in question, but shrugged it off, "What's wrong? Is the heat getting to you?"

Verto grimaced, _This fucking figures, I can't use Feedback in either form, which means I also can't use my healing technique. Any damage I do will have to be handled by someone else. Alright, I have to finish this as soon as I can._ Verto threw the green orb at Kaon in slight frustration.

Kaon dodged easily, "Oh come on, you can do better." She froze when the orb spun back towards her from behind. Kaon swung one of her whips and batted it into the Hellfire Prison flames, where it exploded harmlessly. Verto charged in just as she was turning back, completely unguarded. Kaon gasped but managed to fall backwards just as Verto swung his sword over wide her chest, barely missing her. Verto caught a direct kick under his chin and his sword faded from the stunning blow. Kaon turned and hurled both whips at him, surrounding his body and then pulling tight. Both tentacles wrapped around his body, binding his arms and legs as well. Verto groaned as the heat quickly began to burn his skin.

"I have you now! Time to relieve you of all that energy, and then I'm going to drown you in lava!" Kaon proclaimed. The bindings glowed and sparked just as Verto cried out in pain. He struggled to even squirm, but to no avail as he felt his power fading.

"How appropriate this is. You taught the girl, which eventually allowed me to get free, and now I get to kill you and use your power to annihilate this planet. It really is poetic isn't it?" Kaon asked. Verto's face filled with dismay and he looked downwards as his aura fell away.

"A soft heart too, no wonder I beat you. You practically let me do it!" Kaon claimed.

"I'm sorry…" Verto whispered.

"What's that brat? Speak up while you can!"

"I'm sorry, Lenz."

"It's a little late for that isn't it runt? Don't worry, she can't hear you anyway!"

"I'm sorry!"

"For what?"

"I'm sorry, that it had to come to this. Please forgive me!" Verto shouted.

"Exactly what are you getting at brat? You're too weak now to stop me!"

Verto's aura crackled to life suddenly before it flashed with vivid intensity, "Kaio-ken!" Kaon's eyes widened just before her tentacle whips were blown apart. Kaon shook it off despite the surprise, eyeing the freed Verto, who looked very different at the moment. Nothing physically had changed, aside from the deadly look in his eye. His aura had shifted to bright green and was shooting up to the skies and down to the ground in a wild column of energy. A sharp buzzing sound went through Kaon's ears before she was aware that he was holding his sword. It was easily four times thicker than it had been a moment before, and energy came off it in green flame-like waves She was able to take this in before she realized that both of her arms were hurting badly. She glanced down to see two bloody stumps where her hands were supposed to be. She shuddered as she stared wide-eyed at her severed limbs, tumbling into the flames below. When she glanced at Verto again, he came at her in an instant, and she forgot about the pain in her arms. A mixture of red and orange colored blood burst from her throat as Verto's empowered sword penetrated her body from front to back. She began to fall, but was caught and held in the air by Verto. His hands and arms sizzled from touching her skin, but he didn't let go.

Kaon managed a painful laugh, "I'll be damned, you did have it in you after all." Verto's eyes leaked fresh drops of salt water, which evaporated when they fell onto her. Kaon's skin seemed to cool from this as it shifted back to a dark blue. Verto's uniform partially flaked off into blackened ashes from the contact, and his forearms blistered rapidly. The Hellfire Prison also dissipated, leaving only the sun's early light in the darker sky. Despite all this, Verto didn't let her go, even when Kaon stopped breathing.

* * *

Vegeta glanced back at Doctor Wheelo's dark robotic form in the red and orange morning sky. He had led him far to the north and east, almost to the end of the land. Out there, only ice and snow could be seen, aside from the cold mountain tops. Vegeta stopped once Wheelo entered the area and waited patiently for him to catch up.

"Well, let's finish our business once and for all, I'm getting sick of dealing with you," Vegeta said spitefully.

Wheelo also stopped and hovered about a hundred feet away, "Yes, I concur. Now I'll be able to repay your barbarism with my own. This design is far superior to every one of you Saiyans!"

Vegeta laughed, "Hahahaha, apparently your memory banks need to be filled. You already know that I'm not an average Saiyan! You're just like that failure Gero, always underestimating your opponent!"

"The same could be said for you. I am not an average human, nor is this ugly metal shell that I've had to resort to. But I assure you, it is much more powerful than you!"

"Now that I'd like to see. Since we are far from any civilized area and any technology, you will be able to prove it on equal ground. Let's see how well you do without one of your ridiculous ki disruptors. Now come on, I want to kill you before I eat breakfast!" Vegeta shouted as he waved Wheelo on.

"Gladly." Wheelo aimed one of his crab-like claws, which opened up and released a massive golden blast. Vegeta phased out just in time, and the nearby mountain lost part of its cliff side. Wheelo turned and fired at Vegeta several more times, causing various avalanches when he missed.

Vegeta phased in behind him, "Pathetic!" Wheelo swung at him wildly with his massive claw, hitting air. He roared with early frustration as bolts of electricity surged off his metal skin and struck the ground at random.

"Well, I can actually sense a power level from you now. Clearly, you're nowhere near your limits. You should try harder, because I'm not impressed yet," Vegeta said with a frown.

"Your ego is over-inflated. My scanners indicate that you're holding back a considerable amount of energy as well. Release it so I can fully test this body!" Wheelo ordered.

"What for? It doesn't matter how much power you have if you don't know how to use it. Beating a child is no great feat. You won't defeat a seasoned warrior, and certainly not me!" Vegeta growled back.

"What are you? A Saiyan, or a coward?" Wheelo asked.

The veins on Vegeta's forehead popped out, though his smirk reappeared, "You are a fool, but I'll reward your ignorance just this once." The wind increased exponentially as Vegeta rapidly powered up, breaking the Super Saiyan barrier and causing a ground blizzard in the process. Vegeta's golden aura became the only differential color in the white-out conditions.

"That's better, but you're still holding back!" Wheelo claimed.

"If there's one thing you're going to learn today, it will be that I don't hold back. The idea of finishing off a weaker opponent excites me. Taking on a stronger one is even better! However, you're neither since you lack any real battle skills. If you think that an overcharged pile of junk is any match for a Saiyan, then prove it!" Vegeta proclaimed as he continued generate the powerful wind. He lost sight of Wheelo for a brief moment, and then the huge robot came barreling at him through the wind-driven snow.

"What?" Vegeta managed to say. Wheelo swung hard with his right claw, grazing Vegeta just as he moved out of the way, altering his flight into the snow pack headfirst. Vegeta pulled his head out of the snow and shook it off in anger. Behind him, a large golden blast quickly arrived. The blast detonated, clearing the air of the loosened snow. Wheelo looked on as Vegeta stood tall where the blast had hit, looking a bit roughed up from the impact. He held his palm flat and aimed at Wheelo, who appeared to be waiting patiently.

Vegeta smirked again, "You want to test that rust bucket's strength, then stay right there!" Wheelo firmly planted his huge metal feet into the snow, and awaited the attack.

Bright blue shimmered into view, pulsing with Vegeta's anticipated kill, "Here's your going away present! Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta released the blast and hit Wheelo dead on as it detonated, blinding all around. The mushroom cloud quickly took over the skies above, giving the mountain range a very odd feature for early morning. The snow around had melted off and was causing mudslides into the new crater. As the smoke cleared, Vegeta's eyes widened when he saw Wheelo's robotic legs still intact in the pools of mud. Wheelo laughed as the blast fully dissipated, showing that he had taken very little, if any, damage.

"Well, I would call that a very successful test, wouldn't you?" Wheelo asked.

"So you can take a hit, too bad that you didn't just die, because now the real battle begins!" Vegeta roared as his aura reappeared. It quickly filled with lightning as he ascended to Super Saiyan Two, blowing any remaining snow pack completely away to reveal the rough barren terrain below. Wheelo showed no real reaction to this, and Vegeta elected to act first. Vegeta rushed in, kicking at Wheelo's tree-trunk leg before ducking away from the left arm's swing. Wheelo stumbled off balance enough to allow Vegeta to move behind him. Vegeta punched the side of Wheelo's large head multiple times before phasing out and moving up. Wheelo staggered through the muddy crater, unable to regain balance initially. When he was finally able to stop himself and look up, all he saw was a sizable barrage of ki bolts dropping towards him. Wheelo vanished in the explosive cloud after a few seconds, though Vegeta added several more blasts for good measure. He stopped and smirked as he prepared to witness the results. The cloud bellowed up on the last explosion, and Wheelo shot out of it. Vegeta cringed and dodged as Wheelo tried to run him over like before. Vegeta dropped low to strike the midsection. Wheelo stopped quickly enough to swing his large claw into Vegeta, knocking him down and into the ground. Wheelo leaped into the air and came down hard with his feet. Vegeta grunted in pain as the blow pushed him into the hard mountain side.

Wheelo backed off long enough to laugh, "Hahaha, I told you Vegeta, you'll never beat me!" The ground around Vegeta exploded, sending chunks of rock flying in all directions as Vegeta stood up.

"I admire your ability to stand up after that," Wheelo said.

Vegeta shifted his stance as his palm glowed green, "And I admire your ability to die! Final Shine!" The intense wave of ki smashed into Wheelo and blew up, darkening the sun's light momentarily with its raw fury. When the light cleared, Wheelo was still there. His armor had been partially burned and dirtied, but not broken.

"Damn it, just what the hell is he made of?" Vegeta muttered.

Wheelo chuckled again, "This is my newest armor design, and it shall stand up to even the most powerful attacks that you can perform. Give up!"

Vegeta growled back at him, "Blasted coward, hiding in a shell. Be a real man!"

"Call it what you want. You obviously don't understand my genius even as you see it for yourself!"

"Hmph, now whose ego is over-inflated?" Vegeta asked. He charged in before Wheelo could answer, ducking under Wheelo's claw swing and kicking hard at the robot's midsection. Wheelo fell backwards from the force, but braced himself and recovered with a sudden close range blast from his other arm. Vegeta blocked against it, but was still forced away several hundred feet through the air before he could get off its path. Another blast quickly followed with precise accuracy, and Vegeta was pushed into the clouds.

"Blasted robot!" he grumbled. He shoved the synthetic energy ball to the side and dove downwards. Just as he passed the cloud layer, he suddenly rammed into Wheelo's head. Vegeta groaned as the blow stunned him and Wheelo reached up and grabbed Vegeta by the arms and pulled sideways. Vegeta let out an agonizing yell as Wheelo tried to literally pull his arms from their sockets.

"What a predicament this is. Since you slowly removed a piece of me at a time, so shall I with you!" Wheelo proclaimed. Vegeta cringed as he attempted to shake him off, having little if any apparent luck. Wheelo pulled tight again and Vegeta felt a distinct pop in his neck this time. He glanced over at the large claws holding strong near his wrists and his eyes widened when he noticed something about them. A few particles of black material were dropping off from it, leaving residue on Vegeta's arm. He promptly smirked, albeit painfully as he chuckled.

Wheelo turned his head slightly, "What is so funny, monkey? You're going to die!"

"Oh really? Well you haven't beaten me yet!" Vegeta's power surged as Wheelo managed to maintain his grip. Vegeta then painfully rotated his left arm, into the angle Wheelo was holding him by. He groaned loudly when his shoulder popped and went slightly limp. When it did, it swung backwards easily, and Wheelo's claw exploded in golden light from a point-blank blast.

"Argh! How did you do that?" Wheelo shouted. Vegeta grinned as the claw broke apart, freeing his left side. He immediately swayed towards the other arm, kicking it hard enough for Wheelo to let go. Wheelo backed off to examine the damage while Vegeta favored his left shoulder. He winced as he maneuvered his arm back into place with his shoulder, panting slightly as he did.

"Heh, apparently you failed to cover all of that robot with your special armor. I couldn't help but notice that the inside of that poor excuse for a weapon was not as durable as the rest. That will be your last mistake!" Vegeta claimed.

Wheelo glanced at the broken claw and grunted with slight disgust, "A minor setback."

"Then show me how I'm wrong!" Vegeta shouted back. Wheelo's broken claw fell completely off, leaving only a sparking stump of an arm. He then charged at Vegeta and they collided midair once again, wrecking even more landscape as their battle continued.

* * *

Verto cringed as he held Lenz's smoldering, lifeless body, allowing tears to flow freely. Even though her body temperature had dropped, it was still very hot to the touch, and Verto's arms and hands continued to blister slightly even in his Super Mystic form. As he wept in silence, he could sense several power signals heading his way, all of which he recognized. Gohan and Piccolo got there first, both surprised at what they saw.

"Is that, the girl?" Piccolo asked. Verto nodded his speechless answer as he looked away.

"Verto, if you can save her, you should do it quickly. Use your healing technique!" Gohan urged.

Verto couldn't even look him in the eyes as he held Lenz tightly and whispered back, "I can't."

Piccolo was incredibly alarmed, "What?"

Verto glared back at him, "I can't!"

"Why not?" Gohan asked.

Verto didn't answer directly, "It's my fault, I should have listened."

"Give her here, we'll take her to Dende!" Gohan offered.

"I think not!" a voice said from the side. All three turned to see Leira and Kibito Kai flying closer.

Gohan was confused, "What? Why not?"

Leira glanced at him first before setting her gaze on Verto, "I did warn you, didn't I. Now you've seen what she would have become in due time. Granted it was much earlier than I expected."

Verto shook his head sadly, "You didn't warn me about this."

"And I was ordered not to, for your own good and protection. Had you known, this would have happened far sooner, and to an even worse degree of pain for you. What's the first thing you would've done?" Leira asked. Verto didn't answer as he stared down at Lenz.

Leira answered for him, "You would have tried to get her to release and master her own power, just like you did after your battle with Frost. Now that you've seen the demon within, my orders are to eliminate the threat by any means necessary."

"Who would order such a thing?" Gohan protested.

Piccolo grabbed his shoulder, "Gohan don't."

"It is not your time to know, Son Gohan. Verto, you will hand her body over to me and I will take care of the rest," Leira ordered.

"No."

Leira dared to float closer, "Listen, I know you're distraught, but you must hand her over now. The demon inside is still alive."

Verto pulled Lenz into a tight, protective embrace, "No! Stay away!" Leira paused cautiously as she saw the sad, desperate look of fear on Verto's face. Gone were the serious eyes that shined with age and experience well beyond his current self. In that rare moment, he had the expression of a scared child, and Leira sighed heavily.

"Alright, I can see where this is going to go. I'm going to need some assistance Kibito," she said.

Verto's sad eyes were gone in a heartbeat, "Don't you dare even think about it Kai!"

"It's not what you think Verto," Kibito said in a peaceful manner.

"Don't bullshit me! She's already dead, enough has been done!" Verto shouted back.

"Calm down kid," Leira said.

Verto's eyes flashed with bright blue, "Fuck off bitch!" Piccolo and Gohan became increasingly concerned about the potential bloodlust forming from Verto's anger. Despite being in his Super Mystic state, there was obviously very little control over his actions at the moment.

Leira briefly showed anger, "Calm down, or we won't be able to save her life."

It was Verto's turn to be surprised, "What?"

"You heard me right, I'm offering to save her life, but only if you agree to my terms," Leira stated.

"But you wanted her dead, you admitted that!" Verto reminded her.

"Perhaps, but I said just now that I will take care of the threat. That does not necessarily mean that she will die. But again, only if you if agree to my conditions," Leira replied.

Verto's serious expression returned, "I'm listening."

"If we act fast enough, we can save her and reseal the demon. But she must not develop her powers any further, for it will risk setting the demon free again. My other condition involves a return favor, details of which will be provided at a later time. Do you accept?"

Verto didn't show one breath of hesitation, "Do it." Leira nodded slightly and flew closer to take Lenz out of Verto's arms. Verto held on briefly, but let go in slightly dismay. Leira took Lenz and floated down to set Lenz on the ground, very near the edge of the lava pool.

Piccolo moved over to Verto, "That was risky kid, you have no idea what she might ask you to do."

"Did I really have any other choice but to trust her? I'll do whatever it takes," Verto said sternly. The small group watched in silence as Leira stepped away and started making strange hand signals in rapid fashion. They all felt energy rise out of Leira and fluctuate rapidly. Suddenly, a mass of lava washed up and over Lenz's body. Verto was on the ground in an instant, boiling mad.

"Stop, this will help her!" Leira said.

"How? It's lava!" Verto shouted.

"You need to understand what we're dealing with here. There are many types of demons, and since you fought her in this form, you know that she is one that not only withstands extreme heat, but increases her body temperature to magmatic levels. Exposing her in this form will heal her, and then we have to act fast. Kibito, get ready!" Leira ordered. Kibito nodded and dropped to the ground, standing ready with his palms aimed at Lenz. The lava rolled over Lenz smoothly, including the hole in her chest where Verto's sword had pierced. The lava rose back out and the hole filled back in with blue tissue, as did her other scrapes and bruises. Within mere seconds, she was as good as new, and the lava crawled away, back into the pool. Even her hands and forearms had been restored, to Verto's amazement. Leira cast out her hand and used telekinesis to levitate her away from the fiery lake, setting her gently down.

"Restrain her now Kibito, the demon could wake up any second," Leira warned. Lenz was surrounded by a thin layer of blue energy as Leira stood over her with some sort of rolled up paper scroll. She studied it briefly before rolling it back up and holding it between her fingers in another odd pose.

"What is that?" Gohan asked.

"A gift from a far away place. It will help us seal the demon," Leira replied as she heaved it down onto Lenz's torso, "Tri-gram Seal!" Three thick streams of energy burst from the scroll and surrounded Lenz. Verto recognized the effect from what the crystal shard had attempted to do before.

Her eyes shot open and locked onto Leira with anger, "You!" Verto heard the distinct voice pattern of Kaon, which naturally surprised everyone else.

Leira kept her poise, "Go back to the abyss, demon!"

Kaon laughed as she began to hover as her body glowed with the familiar purple flames, "I don't think so, traitor! You're not putting me back in there!"

"Everyone, channel your energy towards the scroll!" Leira ordered. Piccolo and Gohan held their glowing hands up without much thought, and the energy beams tightened around Kaon. Verto's bright silver aura flashed to life after a moment of hesitation, and the demon screamed in agony.

"You can't hold me down forever, I will return. And I'll make sure you are all incinerated!" Kaon cried out. Just as she finished, her skin color fluctuated back to a normal peach tone. The blue retreated towards her center before vanishing completely as she slumped in defeat. The energy bonds slowly faded away as a notable branding symbol appeared on her bare stomach. It featured three solid circles with unfamiliar glyphs that spiraled outwards. They also faded rather quickly, and Leira sighed heavily once the activity ceased.

"It's done. She will be out of it for awhile, but should recover soon. As for you…" Leira paused as she pulled a small brown candy from her back pocket, similar in size and shape of the one Etarb Erec had given Verto.

She tossed it to him, "I believe you know what to do with that. Best heal all those burns right away, I take my leave."

"Wait!" Piccolo shouted to her.

Leira turned, "Yes?"

"Just what is it you're going to ask for in return?" Piccolo asked.

Leira gave him a sly smirk, "You'll find out soon enough. You can even assist him if you like. I'll have to arrange a meeting with an old friend of mine first." She then vanished before anyone could get another word in. Kibito stayed around just as long before he was gone too, leaving Verto, Gohan and Piccolo to their own thoughts. Gohan then turned northeast, sensing Vegeta's power along with another. Verto ate the small candy, and his power sparked through his aura before he forcibly powered down. He bent down and draped Lenz over his shoulder, noting that she seemed bigger than before. _That transformation aged her at least a few years, strange. Oh well, it doesn't matter, at least she's alive._

"I guess we should go help Vegeta," Gohan said.

"Don't bother, it's Doctor Wheelo he's fighting with. I already sense Goku heading that way, let them settle it. I don't want to see that bastard ever again," Verto said in a very threatening tone. He then took off into the air as he flew west, leaving Gohan and Piccolo behind.

* * *

Shockwaves went off over the frozen tundra as Wheelo and Vegeta continued their clash. Wheelo's robotic armor was showing more signs of dirt and small blemishes, while Vegeta was slowly becoming more winded. His body was battered in places and his clothing was partially ripped off, but he was maintaining his form. The battle scared off wildlife for miles around, even from the distant forests south of them. The activity ceased suddenly when Wheelo managed to land a sizable kick that sent Vegeta flying backwards.

Vegeta recovered quickly while in midair and aimed his hands forward, "Enough!" His hands lit up with gold as a rapid barrage of ki blasts shot forth. Wheelo attempted to dodge them, but was caught immediately when Vegeta adjusted his aim. Wheelo fell to the ground, followed quickly by Vegeta's blasts, which further added to changing the landscape. Wheelo suddenly launched out of the smoke cloud and swung his broken metal arm at Vegeta, missing completely without the attached claw. Vegeta barreled into Wheelo's body, hammering it back to the ground. Vegeta smirked as he followed the robot's path and landed a short distance away.

Wheelo groaned slightly, "I don't understand! He shouldn't be able to do this!"

Vegeta laughed, "I told you, fool. You have no real combat skills, and even if you did, it wouldn't be of any use now. Soon I'll rip the other arm off, then where will you be?"

Wheelo stumbled to his feet, "I'll show you Saiyan!" Wheelo's robotic mouth opened up and fired a powerful burst of energy that skimmed across the land like a massive laser. Vegeta narrowly avoided the shot as a small canyon was cut from its force. Wheelo lunged at him before Vegeta had a chance to recover, smashing him with the other claw. Wheelo quickly fired another golden laser towards Vegeta's flailing body. The ground exploded near where he fell, clouding the results. Wheelo waited patiently for Vegeta to emerge, though it wasn't very quick. When he finally did stand up, he was holding a bloodied and injured shoulder in definite pain.

"No combat skills huh? Well what would you call that?" Wheelo shouted.

"If you want to consider a lucky shot as skillful, be my guest. In the meantime, I'm going to show you real power and blow you away!" Vegeta bellowed. His aura broke apart the dust and expanded in size as his hair lengthened and his eyebrows vanished.

Wheelo watched intently, "What is this? His energy level is surpassing his limits! I don't have enough remaining power to combat that!" Vegeta's battle cry continued until his Super Saiyan Three transformation was finished. He charged up his Final Shine blast once again as he aimed for Wheelo. It took on a much fuller ball form this time as Vegeta was releasing much more energy into it.

"Let's see you survive it this time Cash! Final Shine!" Wheelo recoiled slightly before sending a return blast to at least stall Vegeta's beam. Green and gold clashed between them, and it was clear that Vegeta's would win.

"Curse him! I'll have to use all of my remaining power!" Wheelo grumbled. Wheelo's golden beam expanded and pushed Vegeta's back to a middle point between the two. Vegeta's response enhanced his blast to nearly twice its original size, which steamrolled Wheelo's like it wasn't even there. Wheelo saw what was coming and could only try to withstand it as he protected his brain casing. The massive green explosion that followed lit up the skies all around the world, dimming all of the other light for nearly a full minute before fading. Vegeta stood still in his normal form, panting a bit from the effort he had put out. He didn't see Wheelo initially, but that didn't stop him from scowling when he noticed another power signal flying in.

"Wow Vegeta, you really did a number on this place," Goku said as he landed and looked around.

"Idiot," Vegeta grumbled. Both of them heard rustling ahead as Wheelo tried to stand. His robotic body was still intact, but was sparking all over as if it was shorting out. The heavy limbs were no longer moving with ease, and soon both legs broke apart at the knee joints.

Wheelo fell backwards into the deep crate and ceased to move, "Damn you…..Vegeta…." His robotic voice faded and the rest of his body slumped completely.

"So, what is that?" Goku asked.

"Fool! It's that ridiculous Doctor Cash! The one who you tried to save when I left him for dead!" Vegeta growled at him.

Goku shook his head, "Some people just don't learn."

"Exactly. Since it's your fault he survived, I think I'll let you bury him this time!" Vegeta said. Goku frowned slightly as Vegeta walked off, but sighed and aimed at the crater. He fired multiple shots into the sides, causing the walls to collapse and completely cover Wheelo's robotic shell. Once done, he followed Vegeta through the air towards the south and west.

* * *

"….And so, the SHARC corporate headquarters will be scheduled for demolition this Friday. Not much is being said from the incident this past Sunday evening other than that a biological experiment went terribly wrong. Officials say there is no danger of contamination, but they are not allowing anyone near the building." CLICK.

"Looks like the cover-up machine is hard at work again," Verto muttered in disgust as he tossed the remote control aside.

"Well, they have to, otherwise there will be a massive panic," Bulma pointed out.

"Can't say I disagree with it, most people in a group will react badly to something like that. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen the sheep run in circles," Verto said.

Bulma shifted slightly, "How's Lenz?"

Verto sighed, "Not awake yet."

"Did that woman say how long she'd be out?" Bulma asked.

"No, but for now I'll settle for alive. I don't know though, I've never seen that sealing technique before….then again there were several techniques yesterday that I haven't seen," Verto said.

"Well, if there's any good news out of this, with ol' Flandal gone, things should be quiet around here," Bulma said with confidence.

"Maybe, but I doubt it."

"I take it you have no idea what kind of mission she's going to send you on?"

"Not a clue."

"You could always refuse," Bulma suggested.

"No, she stayed true to her word and saved Lenz after trying to get her killed several times. The least I can do is honor my end of the deal," Verto claimed.

"But she did say that thing inside could resurface, right? So what would be the point in saving her now?" Bulma asked. She regretted the question when Verto's glared heated the room.

"Sorry, bad question," Bulma apologized.

"It's okay, I haven't figured that out either. If there was only a way to remove it without killing her…" Verto trailed off.

"Yeah, if only. We could always ask Shenron…" Bulma started to say.

Verto cut her off, "Oh of course! I nearly forgot about the Dragonballs! Trunks said he was rounding them up for no particular reason. I think we have one now. How many has he found?"

Bulma bit her lip momentarily, "Five, last I checked." She regretted that answer as well when Verto's suspicious eyes seemed to pierce her own.

"What's that supposed to mean? Is there something you're not telling me about this?" Verto asked.

"Um…let's just forget about that sweetie. That's not the important thing," Bulma said with assurance, "What exactly would you wish for to help her?"

Verto clearly didn't buy into the answer, but let it slide, "Alright, you can tell me later. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of wishing the demon away and or changing her into a full-blooded Saiyan without the curse bit. But of course we'd have to do something with her people that Frost killed off. I've already figured out that both the Rotians and Renegade Saiyans have some sort of demonic ancestors, I just need to figure out the rest. I'm sure I can help these people if I'm given the chance to."

"Yes, I'm sure you could," Bulma said shakily. She reached into her capsule case and opened one marked with orange, revealing the Dragon Radar.

"This is a new radar since we lost one the other day. The sixth ball is still buried in Flandal's lab somewhere. I'll leave that to you. The last one hasn't been found yet, for some reason I can't pick it up on the radar," Bulma explained.

Verto took the radar with a stern expression, "Thanks." He turned to leave, but stopped at the door.

"Something wrong?" Bulma asked.

"I expect some truth when I get back, you know how I feel about being kept in the dark," Verto said in a lowered tone.

Bulma failed to answer him, but didn't have to when Vegeta came walking by, "You'll be told what you need to know boy!"

Verto glared up at him, "That goes double for you." He promptly left the compound and flew quickly back to South City.

**Power levels:**

**Super Mystic Verto: 624,000,000; Kaioken burst: 800,000,000**

**Kaon (enraged Demon form): 575,000,000**

**Vegeta (SS2): 500,000,000; SS3: 600,000,000**

**Doctor Wheelo (Mech Form): 510,000,000**

**WDG:** Hmm, Leira wants a 'favour'…

**VB**: Doubt that'll be any fun


	78. The Mission

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.**

**Chapter 77: The Mission**

Verto landed on a nearby rooftop, carefully looking the SHARC building over as patrols swarmed the grounds. The structure had taken some damage during the incident, though most of it was inside and below ground level. He considered using the tunnel that he had made himself, but it had been partially filled in from the top. He was just about to blast through the armor plating when he spotted someone familiar below. Upon descending, he found Sonny Satsu directing instructions to an armed forces group dressed in camouflage.

"You and you sweep the top twenty floors. You and you take care of the lobby and above to level thirty. I'll lead the rest through the sub-levels. If you see any strange contacts, report them immediately! If they run at you, shoot first and aim for the head! Let's go!" Sonny ordered. Just as he finished, Verto landed nearby, startling all of the guardsmen.

"Great timing as always, thanks for the other day," Sonny said.

"It's what I do. You think I could get in there for a few minutes before you guys sweep through?" Verto asked.

"No way, you'll just contaminate the scene!" one of the marines claimed.

"Why?" Sonny asked.

"We left something behind during all of the chaos. I only need that particular non-mechanical item."

Sonny looked thoughtful, "You have ten minutes. Feel free to cut down any nasty surprises. And let Miss Briefs know that I'll be contacting her in order to thank her in person."

Verto nodded and went inside as one of the soldiers argued, "He's just a kid!"

"Just a kid? Are you kidding me?" Sonny laughed. Verto rolled his eyes and proceeded inside. He kept alert but sensed nothing as he approached the elevator shaft he had cut open a few days earlier. Dark, quiet depths awaited him below, yet there was nothing. With the power off, it made the building even creepier than before, even with the apparent lack of activity. Verto made his way to the secret staircase with his eyes alone as he carefully stepped through the corridors, not wanting to be ambushed. Nothing felt unusual to him, despite the lack of lighting. Even the emergency lights were out and as tempted as he was to use his energy to see clearly, he didn't trust the shadows. He found the breached passageway soon enough and proceeded down to the lab, passing through the tunnel with no problem. Once he reached the dark lab, he turned on the radar and found the orange ball in a far corner under some rubble. _Well, that was simple._ Just as he breathed easier, his senses picked up a power signal on the surface, one that he did not recognize. _Who is that? It feels like a Psionic signal, but it also feels like a human ki. That can't be right. Guess I better check this out._

_

* * *

_

Verto came out of the SHARC building and rounded the corner when spotted a tall brown haired teenager wearing a blue suit. He was stumbling around slightly and looked very confused. Sonny Satsu and the other marines were trying to ignore him, but the amount of noise he was creating made that difficult.

"Yukina! Yukina!" he called out repeatedly.

"What's with that guy?" Verto asked.

"Not sure, he just showed up a little while ago shouting for some girl that probably isn't even here. Looks like just a drunk idiot," Sonny replied.

"Well, I'll handle this. I sense a decent amount of energy coming from him. Don't judge based on looks alone," Verto suggested as he quickly walked towards the newcomer. He wanted to know everything he possibly could about another human with potential psychic powers. _These mutations are starting to get a little out of hand, and I don't recall ever seeing this guy before. _The stranger stopped in mid-shout and turned around, staring directly at Verto as if he could sense his presence. _If he can control his power, I shouldn't be surprised. I probably just triggered an alarm in the back of his mind._ He looked very nervous when Verto stepped towards him. He had obviously sensed at least a portion of the younger fighter's power. Verto sensed fear dripping off of him, followed by a sudden surge of false confidence.

"Hey punk! Don't you know who you're tailing? No one dares cross paths with the Mighty Kuwabara! The Warrior of Love!" he said.

_Huh?_ Verto thought as he stared back blankly.

"What's wrong kid? You look scared, you better run along!" Kuwabara suggested.

"That had to be the worst introduction I've ever heard. Even Saiyaman could do better," Verto grinned slightly.

"Who's that, some sort of demon? I bet he's the one who stole my Yukina away from me! Where is he at punk, I'll save the day!" he declared.

Verto grimaced, _Okay, apparently I'm dealing with a crazy drunk, or a complete moron. I suppose I can test his skills now though if he believes he's a hero. Now to come up with a good enough amount of motivation._

"So, I take it Yukina is your girlfriend?" Verto asked.

"Yeah, she's my girlfriend. And I'll fight for her any time anywhere!"

Verto chuckled, _Oh yeah, definitely the type of headstrong moron that's easy to fool. _

"I was just wondering what her name was. Saiyaman never told me when he mentioned a kidnapping the other day. I assume that must have been her I saw bound to the bed, ready to be taken," Verto lied carefully. It worked nicely, as Kuwabara went into a fit of rage almost immediately.

"How dare you, creepy kid! Take me to him, I'll teach that punk a lesson!" he shouted.

"I'll do that, if you can defeat me in a battle!" Verto challenged.

"I'm not above tearing up a few little punks. Let's do this outside of town, I don't want these people to see what I do to you! Prepare to fall to the warrior of love!" Kuwabara declared. For the first time in awhile, Verto actually struggled to keep from laughing at this, but others nearby could not help themselves.

"What's so funny?" Kuwabara shouted at the crowd that had formed.

"Is this guy serious kid?" Sonny asked.

"They are probably laughing because they know you can't beat someone like me, but I'll humor you and take this dispute out of their view so you're not completely embarrassed. Let's go!" Verto said as he turned and walked quickly towards the outskirts of town. Kuwabara followed with a large scowl on his face. As Kuwabara walked behind him, Verto intentionally emitted a few small bursts of both ki and Psi energy, just to test his senses. After a few silent minutes, Verto finally turned and walked backwards so he could talk face to face.

"So, Kuwabara is it? Why the long face?"

"Well, I can't figure you out kid. One minute I'm sensing Spirit Energy from you, and the next I'm sensing really strong life energy or something. What are you, some sort of hybrid like Urameshi?" Verto's eyebrow lifted in question, but answered to the best of his ability considering what facts he had so far.

"What you may have sensed was my Ki, which is life energy. You have it to, but you don't seem very adept at handling it judging by what I've sensed from you so far, though you may not have all that much to use. Not sure about your Psionic power yet, it seems strong enough," Verto explained as they reached the edge of town.

"I guess that makes sense, I must not be used to my energy being so strong. Wait a second! You can sense energy too?" he asked.

"Was one of my first lessons, actually. As I was saying, I don't sense much of a ki signal from you, but the amount of Psi energy you have is unmistakable," Verto admitted.

"Psi energy, oh you mean my spirit energy?" Kuwabara asked again.

"Whatever you want to call it, it's the same thing. I'd say we are far enough away, let's get this started," Verto said as they entered a calm field with short grass.

"You don't seem very evil like a demon either, unless you are trying to trick me!" Kuwabara said as he took up position about ten feet away.

"I have my moments, guess you'll find out on your own," Verto replied coolly. He was struggling not to be too confident, but it was difficult knowing that this teenager Kuwabara did not have a chance against him in a straight on fight.

"I'm not gonna go easy on you kid!" Kuwabara warned.

"Bring it on goofy," Verto chuckled. Kuwabara charged forward slowly with a punch drawn back. Verto waited till the last moment to dodge, only moving his head aside. Kuwabara tried again with the other arm, but swung clumsily and missed when Verto dodged again. A few more attempts with a kick or two thrown in passed by, and Verto came away unimpressed. Kuwabara was almost as slow as a normal human would be, though the effort behind his punches was certainly stronger than normal. Verto finally caught the last punch with his hand easily, before turning slightly and throwing Kuwabara to the ground.

"Man, this kid is fast!" Kuwabara muttered as he recovered.

"You have no idea how fast I can be," Verto said as he suddenly phased out and reappeared behind Kuwabara. He took a second to react before Verto kicked him very lightly, putting his face in the dirt again.

"You won't beat me by brawling, I had a few of the best teachers when it comes to that. Not to mention it's in my blood," Verto suggested as his opponent got up again.

"All right then! You have forced me to unveil my super secret weapon!" Kuwabara declared as his hand started to glow with Psi energy.

Verto shook his head, "About time, get on with it_._"

"Spirit…Sword!" he shouted as a long orange blade appeared in his hand, which he grasped with the other to steady it. It was a very erratic blade, and it pulsed slightly, showing that he might have been kind of new at the technique, or just hadn't trained much. Verto's had been like that initially too, but over a short amount of practice time he was able to perfect it into a rounded off beam of energy. _Is that the extent of his power, just a sword?_

"Taste my blade, demon kid!" Kuwabara shouted as he charged in. Verto allowed him to get within striking distance before he quickly blocked the erratic sword with one of his own.

"What the, you have a spirit sword too?" Kuwabara asked in surprised as he attempted to overpower Verto.

"That, and much more. But enough about me, let's see what you can do!" Verto said as he pushed him off easily. Kuwabara fell backwards in surprise before getting up and forcing more power into his sword.

"Spirit Sword, get longer!" he shouted.

Verto paled slightly, _Ugh, now that is a bad name for an ability. _As one might expect from his words, Kuwabara's sword got quite a bit longer and he swung towards Verto's legs, attempting to undercut him. Verto jumped to avoid it easily, and then fired a weak ki ball towards him. Kuwabara was quite surprised by this and dove to the side to dodge it, losing some of the length on his sword in the process.

_Not very good concentration skills, he must still be pretty new at using his power, or has slacked any training he has had. Let's see how he adjusts._ Kuwabara got up slowly and made his sword longer again, swinging towards Verto from above this time. Verto sighed at the tactics and didn't move, opting to form a small Psi shield above him instead. The orange blade struck it and nearly bounced right off. Kuwabara gasped in surprise before trying again, this time with much more effort. Again the shield blocked it easily, and Verto stared at the struggle above, sensing Kuwabara spend some energy in a fruitless effort.

"Come on dude, this isn't going to cut it," Verto suggested. Kuwabara ignored him and continued his struggle to penetrate the shield. _I should try to rile him up again, maybe he will dig into some hidden power. This can't be the extent of his abilities._

"How do you plan to save your precious girlfriend then? You can't even get by me, and Saiyaman is much stronger than me!" Verto declared.

"Shut up you!" Kuwabara growled. Verto sensed his energy suddenly increase the instant his anger grew, by nearly a factor of five. _That's more like it, let's see what happens._

"Argh, I'll save you Yukina!" Kuwabara shouted again. He pulled back on his sword for a moment before it suddenly turned gold in color. _Hmmm, I was kinda hoping for more._ Kuwabara then swung down and smashed into Verto's shield again. Verto energized his shield just a bit in case he had underestimated him, and watched as it blocked the gold sword just as easily.

"Come on man, you gotta do something different," Verto suggested.

Then he saw the smile of Kuwabara's face, "Oh really?" Verto glanced upwards and literally saw his shield being slowly sliced apart. Verto added more energy to it, but it didn't do any good at all.

_Uh oh._ Verto dodged aside just as the golden sword pushed right through, barely missing his right arm in the process. The new sword didn't feel that much more powerful, but it did feel different from what it was before. _All right, I'll try firing a ki beam then. If he can't avoid it, I'll just turn it upwards._

"What's wrong punk? Your shield is no match for my power! My Jigento Sword can cut through anything!" Kuwabara declared.

Verto scowled slightly, "I admit you surprised me, but don't get cocky. Let's see how well you can use it! Galic Gun!" Kuwabara's eyes went wide as a small version of the beam raced towards him, but he maintained composure and sliced into the blast with his long sword. To Verto's great surprise, it literally tore right through the blast like paper, making it split and veer off course, exploding harmlessly on either side of him.

_His sword has the power to cut through energy strands, weak ones at least. This isn't the first time I've seen something like that, Lenz's demon could burn through my shield too. I'll try increasing the power until he tops out._ Verto fired another beam and kept the effort going while Kuwabara held his sword out in front to block and cut through it. It worked for a moment, but then Verto increased the amount of power he was using by almost ten, and Kuwabara drained quickly. Once Verto felt that he was drained enough to not be a threat, Verto shut off the beam after redirecting it into the sky. Kuwabara's blue coat had torn off during the struggle, but he was unharmed aside from a few bruises and general exhaustion.

"Yukina, I've failed you, I'm sorry my love!" Kuwabara wailed as he dropped to the ground, sword vanishing.

"Not too bad, almost had to make me try," Verto admitted.

"You mean that was nothing to you?" Kuwabara asked in surprise. Verto dropped some of the effort to suppress his power, and Kuwabara's eyes went wide in shock.

"Holy crap! You're just like one of those Super X class demons I heard about! Or maybe it was M class, no wait wasn't there an S?"

Verto gave him a slightly confused glance but shrugged it off, _Not sure if I should be honored to hear that or not. _

"Well, that's a portion of it, but enough about that,' Verto said as he stepped closer.

"I'll never surrender! You'll have to kill me first!" Kuwabara said with defiant growl.

"Well don't worry about that. I never intended to hurt you, I just wanted to see your power and abilities. If you or I were truly evil, believe me you wouldn't be standing here now in either case," Verto added.

"Oh, I thought you were in league with a demon that took my girlfriend!" Kuwabara claimed.

Verto allowed a confused expression to cross his face, _Well that settles that, but this guy seems determined that there are demons here, which isn't too far from the truth I suppose. _

"Relax, Saiyaman is a friend of mine, but not a villain. I don't know who this Yukina is either, I just wanted to test you to make sure you weren't a threat. I am curious though, how did you get here? I would have sensed someone like you a long time ago, so you must not be from this world," Verto said.

Kuwabara slowly got up, "I went through a portal that was supposed to take me to Demon World, but then I ended up here instead. I thought these people were food for them or something, but I can't sense any demons around here!"

"You aren't in any demon realm. You are on Earth, but I have a feeling you might have ended up in the wrong dimension," Verto replied.

"Huh, if I'm on Earth, how can I be somewhere else?" Kuwabara asked.

"There is more than one Earth out there. Don't feel bad, I'm technically not from this one either. Different dimensions with the same planet and all," Verto said as simply as he could.

"Maybe that's why I feel so strong here," Kuwabara muttered to himself.

"What do you mean?" Verto asked carefully.

"I'm not sure why, but it was a lot easier to use my power here. And I had a lot more of it. My power never gets so big when I switch swords!" Kuwabara claimed.

_That partially explains the power surge, it sounds like the place he's from doesn't have too many warriors. Or perhaps they do and it's much harder to concentrate energy or something. _Kuwabara suddenly glanced around as if he had sensed something. Verto picked up on it a moment later when two figures suddenly appeared.

"And it looks like I was right," Verto said with a slight frown.

"Well it's a good thing you came across him first, I could only imagine what could have happened if it were Vegeta instead," Kibito Kai said. The other person with him was unfamiliar to Verto. He appeared to be a teenager of about seventeen, bearing a blue and brown robe with a red scarf. He also had the letters 'Jr' stamped on his forehead and had an unusual feeling to his energy.

"Koenma!" Kuwabara proclaimed.

"As usual Kuwabara, your spiritual awareness put you in the wrong place again. Fortunately it wasn't in Demon World this time, because I'm sure I would be signing your afterlife papers right now if it were. Come with me, its time to go back," the teenager said.

"So who's the purple guy, he feels pretty tough?" Kuwabara asked.

"That is irrelevant, you won't remember him anyway once we take you back!" Koenma said.

"Oh, right, stupid rules. Hiei better not do his weird eye thing again, I hate that…" Kuwabara mumbled as he slowly trudged towards the pair.

"Thank you young man for finding him for us. Hopefully he didn't do too much damage around here," Koenma said as Kibito teleported them away. Verto grimaced as he stared up at the sky, wondering just what that was all about. _Maybe I better not wonder about it too much, odds are I'll likely find out sooner than I would prefer._

_

* * *

_

Verto had returned with the sixth dragon ball by dusk and had called it a night so he would have plenty of rest for the last one just in case there was something else to deal with. Given the encounter he had, he elected not to pressure Bulma or Vegeta for any answers yet. He was sleeping peacefully when he was suddenly hit with a cold, wet barrage.

He sat up quick enough and wiped the water from his eyes, "Okay, who dies first?" As things became clear, he spotted Old Kai standing by with a dripping bucket. He quickly realized that he was no longer in his bed, but on the grounds of the Kai World. Verto glanced up to see Old Kai grinning like an idiot as he tossed the empty bucket aside.

"Old man, is there a particular reason you've chosen now to show your wrinkled face after ducking me the last few times?" Verto growled.

"Young people, so impatient," Old Kai muttered as he shook his head.

"Old fools, constantly asking to die early. Spill it!" Verto retorted.

"Simple, we have a mission for you."

"How about no?" Verto asked as he stood up.

"Now that wouldn't be good for anyone. It's a preventive mission," Old Kai continued.

"And what is it? I don't know if you noticed, but I am rather busy right now. I've been dealing with a lot of shit lately, and I doubt a few days away are going to help matters," Verto said.

"We need you to help save a world," Old Kai continued before cutting short.

"Let me guess, mine? Guess what, I've been doing it every other damn day," Verto growled again. Once his sleepiness wore off completely, Verto noticed two other power signals behind him and they felt familiar.

"No, you need to save his," Old Kai pointed. Verto turned to see Kibito Kai standing there, but with him was the Koenma fellow he had spotted the day before.

"I see, so that stumbling oaf in blue was bait, or a test," Verto summarized.

Koenma nodded, "Both, I have need of your talents. Specifically your combat talents."

"And if I say no?" Verto asked. Koenma frowned and Kibito bit his lip while Old Kai grew angry.

"You'll do what you're told you bum! You should feel honored that we decided to come to you for help!" Just as Old Kai finished, he was immediately staring at Verto's blue Psi sword and backed away.

"Remember who you're talking to Kai, I'm not a fucking mercenary you can just call on whenever you have a problem that you can't handle," Verto snarled.

Kibito dared to step closer, "Verto, please! This is very important!"

"Oh I don't doubt that, it's written all over your faces. So, what are _you_ going to do about it?"

Kibito's frown deepened, "We can force the issue if necessary."

Verto's face darkened further, "Was that a threat? Have fun cashing in on it. Face it, neither of you are suicidal, so don't pretend that your efforts will be very effective on me, I'm not just a small boy who doesn't know any better. Out of all of the people I've learned to watch the most, you two are incredibly close to the top!"

"I have no desire to make you do anything, but you must understand this is a problem of epic proportions!" Kibito claimed.

"I've been getting a lot of that lately. In fact, it seems like every time I try to just relax and take a normal day off, something, a lot like this, comes around to fuck it all up!" Verto shouted.

"Verto, please!"

"No, I'm sick of this shit! I've been trying to make things right in my own corner of the world ever since I got my life back. And, oh lucky me, all kinds of problems are stalling any progress. Now I can't even help people without some random powerful entity showing up for a fight, or taking me to one. And how could I forget, Lenz needs help dealing with her inner demons...literally. Her people have been wiped out by a galactic tyrant who has his sights on not only Earth but whoever is willing to start a war with him. And oh by the way, her people's Saiyan great-grandparents are running around attacking Frost's bases. Hell they can even use Psi energy too, isn't that nice? To top things off, I can't even collect a damn dragon ball without encountering some nut job that got mutated. Oh, he's also from a different world. Then again, maybe I'll just run into some viral infection that turns humans into monsters and the scientist behind it has made an absurdly powerful robot to live in. Never mind, I already did! And if I find out that you two are behind ANY of this, it's not gonna be good. Do you get it now? Can I go home? Or do I start making craters?" Verto finished as he sighed from his venting. Both Kais were quiet as the air settled, but Koenma wasn't.

He promptly broke into a fit of laughter, "He'll do. He's perfect for the job!"

"I don't recall agreeing to anything, don't jump the gun," Verto suggested.

"I admit, my first impression was that you were another young idiot who knew how to fight and spew foul language, I really must apologize. I usually have that wonderful luxury with my most of my fighters. And the smart ones usually end up going psycho anyway,' Koenma chuckled a bit.

"I'm glad you're impressed, now what do you need my help with Junior?" Verto asked.

"Right to the point, huh? Well not to worry, if these two are correct then this should interest you. First of all, you should know that I'm the current ruler of the spirit realm in my dimension, so obviously I keep an eye on things. Well, let's just say that not long ago, we encountered a slight problem. Our timeline began to change, the result of someone going into the past and mucking everything up. Being the ruler of the spirit realm allows me to slip out of the timeline briefly in case of an emergency, but I can't remain in the past for very long nor can I jump too far into the future, since it can cause many complications. I traced the changes to a very specific point where things can be righted again, however, the culprits are not something we can take down very easily. They first appeared at an event we call the Dark Tournament, and due to their actions, specifically the leader's, all of my strongest fighters were destroyed and our Earth spiraled into chaos. I still don't know what he wanted there, but I can only assume he only wanted to kill off the human race, which he effectively did by winning the tournament along with his teammates. It wasn't them that directly caused the dark times to descend on Earth, but it was because of them that it wasn't stopped in time. Other dark forces eventually opened a tunnel to the Demon realm and the entire planet was overrun with evil," Koenma explained.

"That explains some of your story, but not all of it. What are you up against, and why did you call us to help?" Verto asked.

"I traced everything that I could and while I don't yet know how they got into our realm to begin with, I know two things that should interest you. They came from this dimension, and they are called Saiyans," Koenma said with an eerily calm voice. _The Renegades can jump dimensions? _

Verto cocked an eyebrow at this, "How strong are we talking?"

"I couldn't tell you even if I tried. Our dimension is extremely different compared to this one. Ours has more restrictions on how powerful a being can be. If I were to guess, I'd say I feel nearly a thousand or more times stronger here than there, and I'm nothing compared to most of those guys. We do rate power levels in our dimension, from E rate to A rate, and then the terribly powerful S class. The leader shattered our charts when he finally unleashed his power upon the poor fools that challenged him, and I'm not sure if we even saw the full extent of it. His minions weren't quite on his level, and our stronger fighters were able to match them and take them out, but they didn't hold a candle to the leader. I was able to get through the dimensional rift these Saiyans left behind and call your overseers for help. At first I was skeptical about their choice of which fighter to send, thus why I transported that big dumb lug to your planet to test you while I still could, but I can see why now. I don't think I would have wanted that Vegeta character I keep hearing about, he sounded difficult to deal with," Koenma explained.

"That's one way of putting it. About how long is this going to take? I don't want to be gone for more than a few days, my trainee shouldn't be left alone. Especially after what happened the other day," Verto said as he tapped his foot a bit. Koenma was a bit taken by surprise at this question, thus Old Kai answered for him.

"It will take as long as you take to end it, young whippersnapper! Time might move differently there than it does here. But as far as this place is concerned, it shouldn't be more than a few days if things go well," he said.

"It better not take long, you may or may not have noticed that I'd like to be back quickly," Verto growled back.

"Maybe you should go home for a little while to prepare for this journey. I'll take you back for a few hours so we can get the story straight to Bulma and Vegeta, you know they'll want in on it," Kibito suggested.

"They'll probably want to tag along. After all, you mentioned a tournament. I should go get Goku and Gohan too, then we can just end it quickly. Nothing wrong with a little overkill," Verto said with a wicked grin.

"You may select one of your companions to go with, if we agree with your choice that is. We have another in mind," Kibito said.

"What?" Verto asked.

"We'll cover that soon enough," Old Kai grumbled.

"And I'm afraid I won't be able to transport more than three to my realm at a time. After all, this is damage control. I'd rather things didn't go completely wrong when we're just trying to fix the timeline. I also know that this may not repair the damage, but only lessen it to a degree. I simply have to right the ship though, otherwise even I may be erased from existence, as will the peace we managed to set up in my time. Since I can slip out of the main stream of time, I'm currently immune to the effects, but not for long. I haven't given you all of the details yet anyway and we need to be careful in how we proceed. We can't just rush into it, especially if you are not as strong as your friends seem to think you are," Koenma said with a tone of concern.

Verto glared back at him, "Yeah, I can be patient for a few days. Because if you had said that to Vegeta, you would not have lived through that statement! I expect to be filled in when I get back, let's go get this over with Kibito!"

**A/n: If you have not seen any of Yu Yu Hakusho, you might be in trouble here. I will also add that some of these chapters are very long due to the fact that while it is a crossover that will involve timeline changes, I will also be trying to maintain certain aspects of that original story. It may remind a few of you of how I did the rewritten Buu Saga. Note: This has also been rewritten a few times from its original form which I felt to be a little stale. And for those of you who at first thought I was going with a Naruto crossover, fooled ya!**

**Next time on DBV: You know what….I'm just gonna let you be surprised this time, no hints.**

**Power levels:**

**Verto: 312,000,000**

**Kuwabara: 10,000,000**

**WDG**: So, does that mean he'd give Frieza a reasonably tough fight? Oh dear..

**VB**: Well, we can leave that one up for debate.


	79. Dark Tourney 1

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 78: Dark Tourney 1: Leira's Conditions**

For whatever reason, Verto found the Capsule living space rather quiet, which was odd considering the time of day. He didn't sense Vegeta, but odds were that the Saiyan prince was in the gravity room and the alloys in the wall would make sensing him difficult. Kibito waited impatiently in the lobby while Verto made his way back to the room he and Lenz shared to retrieve a few things, including his green and blue uniform. He uneasily entered upon seeing that Lenz was still asleep from the ordeal she had gone through the other day. All her wounds had been healed for a good while now and despite the fact that Leira said that she would be out of it for awhile, Verto couldn't help but think that it had been too long. _I would prefer to bring her along to keep an eye on her, but I won't know what will bring that demon out again. And my judgment might be skewed because of it, I can't have that in a strange place full of potential enemies. I just wish I would have known before._ Kibito walked in after a moment, startling Verto slightly when he dropped a hand on his shoulder.

"You couldn't have known what was going to happen, so don't blame yourself. You're not a Kai after all," Kibito said in assurance.

Verto scowled at him, "Is that supposed to make me feel better? Kais are not perfect either. Had I known about this, I would have approached things a lot differently."

"Well, I have my doubts on that. You are in a unique position of one who cannot always control his own power or instincts, hopefully that won't come into play on your mission. And I can speak from experience when it comes to blaming the person in the mirror. If you recall, the entire incident with Majin Buu was my fault to an extent. And I had no idea that this planet had people like you whose power could surpass the Kais," Kibito pointed out.

"Okay, so we both admit that we have problems with major mistakes. At least yours worked out in the end, but this one is still up in the air. I shouldn't leave her until we're sure that everything is alright," Verto retorted.

"I'm sure it will be fine as long as things around here remain peaceful, or as peaceful as they can be with Vegeta around," Kibito corrected himself.

"Translation, they probably won't," Verto muttered.

"That isn't a very good attitude to have," Kibito scolded.

"No, it's a realistic one. Any other words of encouragement before I go on this little mission of yours?" Verto asked.

"And what mission is this?" a grouchy voice asked from behind. Kibito was the only one who turned around in surprise while Verto merely sighed at the Saiyan prince's sudden arrival.

"Um, hello Vegeta," Kibito said nervously.

"Going somewhere are we? Now I'll repeat myself, what mission is this?" Vegeta asked again as he tapped his foot impatiently. Kibito glanced at Verto for support, but the smaller boy only shrugged.

"You didn't actually think we were going to get out of here without explaining things did you?" Verto asked him.

"I suppose that was very _unrealistic_ of me. Maybe I should let you tell him," Kibito claimed as he stepped away.

Verto had a tight hold of his white hair before he had the chance to vanish, "Oh no, you're going to be the one who tells him why he can't tag along for a big fight."

Vegeta's typical grumpy mood darkened quickly, "And why is that?"

* * *

"Well that went well considering the circumstances," Kibito said fearfully as he transported Verto back to the Kai world an hour or so later.

"That depends on your point of view. I doubt that blast would have missed on purpose if I hadn't deflected it at the last second," Verto replied as he shifted the case of capsules in his hand before shoving them into his pocket. In the capsules were food, clothing and anything else that Bulma felt to be prudent supplies. She had been somewhat all right with the Kais borrowing Verto for a few days; she knew there was little she could do about it. Vegeta, though, hadn't taken the news that he couldn't go very well, and effectively voiced his opinion over it. He didn't care for Bulma's screaming after the eruption either, though that had been Verto's fault for changing the direction of his blast.

"Thanks for that by the way, he might not have been powered up, but I'm sure it would have done more than a minor bruise," Kibito said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah well, I'm still trying to figure how Lenz didn't wake up from that. And while I didn't really like the new window it gave me, I'll consider it a favor for later. I should probably consider it two favors for going along with this," Verto warned as Kibito gritted his teeth a bit.

"Well actually, you're returning a favor," Kibito muttered.

"Oh really, whose is that...oh don't tell me..." Verto said as he slapped his head. Almost immediately he spotted Old Kai and Koenma waiting patiently next to a floating crystal ball, which was currently featuring a fierce matinee of Vegeta kicking the crap out of his own shadow. Standing next to them though was Leira. _Yeah, that figures. They're all in on this._

"I shouldn't have doubted him, now I know I wouldn't have wanted that guy along for the ride," Koenma said nervously.

"Yes, I do wonder how you put up with him at this point," Old Kai pondered as he glanced at Verto.

"Because I can occasionally beat the tar out of him and he is thrilled at the idea," Verto answered, causing Koenma to grimace.

"Quite a pair those two make, are the others like this too?" Koenma asked.

"Most of the time no, however there are certain occasions where even the kindest one can snap and turn an evil monster into dust," Old Kai replied.

"How nice, are you ready to go?" Koenma asked.

"No, I think you are forgetting something, I wanted to be filled in when I got back. Guess what?" Verto said with a slight frown as he stared up at Leira, who had her eyes closed.

"Suddenly he reminds me of most of my fighters, all rolled into one," Koenma said as he shook his head.

"I promise you he can get the job done," Kibito said as he put a hand to the boy's shoulder. Verto eyed him carefully at this sudden confidence he was showing, as it wasn't behavior he recognized. His attention went back to Leira, who finally seemed to notice his presence as she looked down at him.

"This is the return favor for me saving the girl's life and resealing the terrible beast inside of her. As you have probably figured out by now, you're going after the cursed Renegade Saiyans. And you're going to have two companions with you, but I'm selecting one of them specifically. Make your choice on the other one, but I have to approve," she explained.

Verto thought it over briefly, "You said that there were demons and such that probably look odd at this place were going, right?"

Koenma nodded, "Of all shapes and sizes."

"Piccolo, he won't look as out of place like he usually does. Besides, it's probably best to have a non-Saiyan along for the right so we don't stand out completely to the Renegades. Piccolo can sense Psi waves better than anyone other than me and Gohan. Although, if the Renegade I fought is with them, this little operation will be found out quickly," Verto said. Kibito nodded but waited until Leira returned the nod before he promptly teleported away.

"I was going to suggest the Namek anyway. Having this operation discovered doesn't concern me all that much, but it's true that they might decide to leave and we may not get another opportunity like this for some time. But I have a solution for that too, and he is the other companion I have selected. We'll cover that in a few minutes," Leira said. Kibito returned with Piccolo a few moments later, who looked very ready for the mission as if he had been filled in ahead of time.

Verto grimaced in annoyance as Kibito vanished again, _Yeah, that would figure into things if she's trying to control the situation._

"Verto, have you already been informed about this mission?" Piccolo asked.

"For the most part, the rest of the details of the environment and such still escape me," Verto grumbled as he glanced over at a suddenly nervous Koenma.

"Well, we will have to proceed carefully then. Since you're the only one who has even met one of these Renegade Saiyans, we'll be relying heavily on you for information. You can't allow yourself to lose control at anytime, understood?" Piccolo asked in a stern tone.

Verto nodded, "Yeah, I got it. I'm just wondering who she thinks will be helpful to us."

Leira snorted slightly, "Well, he probably won't be helpful at all. In fact I anticipate he'll be more of a distraction. I originally intended for you to go alone Verto, but this particular person can assist you in luring them out. They may confront you openly with him along, thus why Piccolo will need to be keeping track of him at all times. It's still your mission to perform, so think of Piccolo and this person as your traveling companions, and in a case, bait."

"Bait?" Piccolo asked.

"Well who is he? I can't think of anyone that would lure them out if they don't want to be seen. Unless they have some sort of personal history of course," Verto added.

"Well, this is more of a shared history with the rest of the other Saiyans," Leira said vaguely.

Verto slapped his head again, "Oh god, don't tell me it's..." Kibito reappeared a few feet away, holding onto a white and purple alien who looked severely agitated.

"Him?" Piccolo asked in surprise.

"Can we trade up for Cell? At least then we have some intelligence along for the ride," Verto requested.

"Let go of me you damned freak!" Frieza shouted as he tried to pull away. Piccolo shook his head in dismay at this predicament. Kibito let go of Frieza, who jumped back and observed who else was in his company.

"It's you, the monkey kid with the freakish power!" Frieza claimed as he pointed at Verto first.

"I see you're all healed up, want some new scars?" Verto asked. Frieza fired his Death Beam at Verto, only to see it batted into the skies.

"Strike one Frieza, you get three before I respond," Verto warned. Frieza nervously looked over and saw Piccolo behind him.

"You, the Namek I fought with. You ever find a new home?" Frieza asked in a mocking tone. Piccolo growled back and bared his teeth, but kept from acting upon it. Frieza laughed at this apparent victory as he looked the Kais and Koenma over.

"I remember you fighting with that pink buffoon! If it wasn't for the kid you would have died and rotted in hell with the rest of us, too bad that didn't happen! Hahaha!" he laughed at Kibito.

"It's a pity that monster didn't turn you into candy while he was running loose," Kibito replied in a chilly voice he rarely displayed.

Frieza ignored the resentment and looked everyone else over, stopping when he saw Leira, "Now there's a familiar face. How is my son?"

"Alive, you should be thankful for that," Leira said coldly.

"So, why have I been brought here?" Frieza asked.

"You are going to go along with these two to help stop a team of Saiyans from radically altering another world's timeline. Your primary function though will be bait to lure them out," Leira explained.

"Hmph, why should I?" Frieza retorted.

"I don't need him," Verto added.

Leira's red hair whipped at the air as her head spun around, "Yes you will, the Renegades know of your existence now and they know you're an enemy. They are not likely to turn up without some sort of motivation. They'll sense your presence the instant you arrive there and flee. However, if they sense Frieza, they will likely come to you. They share a dislike for Changelings."

Verto's eyebrow shot into the air, "And why would they run away from me? Chal was nearly as strong as me as long as I don't transform, and I'm guessing their leader is just as strong as Frost, who I could not beat alone."

Leira grimaced slightly, "Let's just say that they're also aware of my connection with you and that risking exposure will jeopardize any and all of their plans."

Verto saw the chance and took it, "Why?"

"Not for you to know at this time," Leira replied, denying the obvious attempt for information.

"If you want me to help you, then you had better come clean with me about everything," Verto snapped back.

"No, it is not your place to know anything outside of what I've been willing to tell you," Leira said with a raised tone.

"This is pointless bickering, let's get back to the matter at hand," Piccolo interrupted.

"I'm not sure, I was kind of enjoying watching the monkey and his guardian go at it," Frieza claimed. Two orbs of energy smashed into him simultaneously, plowing him over.

"Shut up!" Verto and Leira both shouted as they lowered their palms. Frieza painfully stayed down as his skin smoldered and steamed from the distinct burns left behind.

Verto turned back to Leira, "We can't take him anyway, he's dead."

"Check again," Leira said as she pointed at Frieza. Verto glanced over and gasped a bit when he realized that the halo above Frieza's head was gone.

"King Yemma has granted him a temporary life pass that will conclude once this is over, or if he dies again. So I suggest that you don't allow yourself to get too angry about this and decide to send him back until he's not needed anymore," Leira suggested.

Verto scowled, "Fine, but don't push me Frieza, I'm in a bad enough mood." Frieza gulped noticeably and nodded.

"Alright, there's a few more things before you leave. First, as you might have guessed from your short encounter with that young fool, this is a world where energy is much harder to store up. As so, you will feel your power drain and fall off the moment you arrive. And it will be a very noticeable change for you all. There will be plenty of time to adjust, but essentially you'll just have to imagine what it was like to be weaker years ago," Leira explained.

"Guess I should be glad that Bulma packed a scouter. If our powers are lowered, then so is our ability to sense nearby energy. How much of a reduction are we talking about?" Verto asked.

Koenma, who had remained quiet, cleared his throat, "Ahem, when I came over here, I had the opportunity to examine a numerical chart here that was comparable to the system we use to measure energy levels. In my world, my energy would be considered A class at a maximum output of fifty thousand, though I'm no fighter. Do I seem like I'm at that level here?" Koenma asked.

"Not even close," Verto replied quickly, "I'd say you're pretty close to Frieza's level."

Piccolo looked over with concern, "What?"

"Yeah, he's hiding most of it, but I can feel it," Verto said. He pulled the capsule case out and opened the purple labeled capsule, revealing a scouter.

Verto slipped it over his eye, "I don't really need this, but I want to know how much of a power difference I'm about to walk into. Release all of your energy please." A noticeable breeze came from Koenma and the scouter lit up with numbers. It stopped with eight digits displayed.

"Fifty million, which means that you're literally a thousand times stronger here than on your world," Verto said as he shut off the scouter.

Koenma nodded, "Yes, it's quite a bit easier to use energy here."

"Which means that none of us will be able to concentrate our energy into any sort of power we're used to. But that might not be a bad thing for this version of Earth," Piccolo added.

"It also means you'll need to be careful because everyone there will not be accustomed to you either, your power will have to remain low and suppressed until you need to use it. Frieza will have to revert to his base form as well," Leira said.

"What? Why?" Frieza protested.

"Because you can't sense other levels, most likely," Kibito said.

"I can suppress my energy just fine! Besides, I can't return to my base form anymore, not since I fought with you on Namek!" Frieza claimed.

"Didn't seem to stop your son when he went to his ultimate form. He managed to go right back and heal himself completely after I torched him," Verto muttered aloud.

"Frost is not like other Changelings, he's genetically altered to have certain abilities that the rest of us wouldn't have!" Frieza yelled back.

"I suppose being part Saiyan would do that. Having an asshole for a father would do it to," Verto remarked, drawing Frieza's glare.

Leira shook her head slightly, "I suppose it won't matter how it plays out with him. Most of the Renegades would be able to beat him in a one on one contest anyway, even if he had a strength advantage. I have one last thing to address as part of my conditions for this mission, Verto give me your hands."

"What are you going to do?" Verto asked.

"Since the Renegades will likely only rely on their Psi energy in this world, so shall you," Leira said as her hands glowed gold. Verto's wrist bands also glowed with a golden hue and he felt his ki draining away.

The process ended quickly, and Piccolo gasped aloud, "You took away his power?" Verto's hands shook with anger as he tried to summon his ki, but it wouldn't respond. His eyes flashed with red almost instantly.

"No, I merely sealed his ki, using a similar technique that I used on the girl. This is also for a lesson in emotional control, I trust you understand why?" Leira asked.

"You have horrible timing," Verto said with annoyance.

"Think of it as further mastery of your power. I won't tell you not to use your maximum effort in this, seeing as most of the demons in this place are just as evil as anyone else you've ever faced. Since your power will be much weaker than you're used to and since you're currently unable to use your feedback technique, you may have to consider techniques you don't normally use, to multiple extents," Leira added.

Piccolo's breath escaped him once again, "You can't use your feedback technique, since when?"

"Not now," Verto grumbled.

"Since he returned from the battle with Frost, that's why the girl was so difficult to control once the demon was roused," Leira explained.

"Now that is stupid. Sending us into an unpredictable situation and then cutting the power of the strongest team member. Sounds like a death sentence, it's too bad I can't carry it out," Frieza said with dismay.

"Maybe it is, and then again, maybe you're just as ignorant as ever. I assure you that I didn't take away all that much," Leira replied.

"Whatever, you took away half of my full power. I won't be able to transform or use Chi at all," Verto reminded.

"And this is why you have much to learn. I suggest you take care," Leira said as she promptly vanished into thin air.

"Great, I can tell this is going to go well," Verto said, dripping with sarcasm.

"Shall we get going then?" Koenma asked.

"Might as well," Verto said with a shrug.

"I would prefer to fill you in once we arrive, it will be much simpler that way as I will be able to provide you with a visual record as well," Koenma said as he snapped his fingers. A large blue sphere of energy suddenly materialized, and in the middle of it was blackness and stars. It was space, and just off to the side there was a mass of purple colored clouds.

"That is the rift that we must cross. You three may want to stay close to me as we fly across it, I'll form a barrier for protection," Koenma suggested. Frieza seemed hesitant as Piccolo and Verto stood within arms length of Koenma. Suddenly, Piccolo's arm lengthened and forcibly dragged Frieza over next to Verto, bumping into him accidentally.

"Watch it!" Verto growled.

"Blame the Namek!"

Koenma sighed as a thin sphere of white formed around all four of them and flew into the portal. It closed behind quickly, leaving the four unlikely companions in the darkness. Ahead, the purple clouds sparked with lightning and Verto could see a darkened tunnel within it.

"That's the rift connecting our two dimensions," Koenma said as they floated towards it. It wasn't quite as massive as Verto had originally thought, but still big enough to span a few miles across.

"I have a question, how did this rift get here? I'm sure if it's been here for a long time you would have had more than a few visitors. After all, Saiyans are nearly extinct and I know I have not seen anything like this," Frieza claimed.

"I'm not sure how it got here, all I do know is that our side of the rift was not there before these Saiyans crossed. Our universe is pretty quiet for the most part, and ninety nine percent of any action takes place on our Earth or in the adjacent Spirit and Demon realms, as the other species are quite underdeveloped. The common misconception of being the center of the universe is almost accurate for the humans," Koenma said with a disgusted voice.

"Yeah, I've heard that one a few times. Fools are everywhere after all," Verto added as they crossed into the cloud. They remained silent as they flew through the rift, with occasional flashes of randomly colored lightning nearby. To Verto, it felt like a massive storm in the early development stages. _But developing into what?_

"We're at the end," Koenma shouted as another black expanse opened up. Once out of the cloud, Koenma snapped his fingers again. This time, the portal led to an unnerving location, though instead of pink sky it was primarily white. Along the distant ground, yellow clouds were split by a long river that stretched and twisted into the horizon.

"This is the Spirit World, or roughly translated, the afterlife. Don't be concerned, you won't die if you cross into it this way," he said as he saw the look on Frieza's face.

Verto didn't feel much better about it, "It's not a place I like to be reminded of either. They might not have told you, but I've died twice already."

Koenma eyed him carefully, but he eased up within a few seconds, "Well, obviously you passed whatever trials they put you through to get your life back both times. Once on the other side, you should be able to breathe normally. I ask that you three keep your energy as low as possible for now. We are in the past, so I'd rather not run into someone unexpected quite yet."

"In the past?" Piccolo asked.

"Yes, these Saiyans arrived twenty years ago for me, sorry if you may not have heard all of the details," Koenma said.

Verto couldn't help but chuckle slightly, _Well, maybe he wasn't completely prepared._ Verto carefully powered down once they crossed over and Koenma released the barrier. They spotted a large castle not far away with many paths forking off from it. The yellow clouds below didn't appear to have a landmass, though Verto could see a river embedded within it. As he was suppressing his energy, Verto felt suddenly feint.

"Hey, you all right?" Koenma asked as he turned. Verto fell for several feet before stopping himself and hovering uneasily before regaining his bearings. Piccolo and Frieza seemed to have similar difficulties for a brief moment, but recovered fine.

"That's some power drop. Doesn't really help that I'm still so used to using ki instead of Psi to fly. At least I've had some practice at it," Verto said as he flew back up.

"Psi? Oh you mean your Spirit Energy. I didn't realize you called it something different. Wait, since your ki is gone then that must be something else. You do know that Ki and Spirit Energy are one in the same don't you?" Koenma asked.

"No they're not, or maybe not to you. Ki is life energy, at least where I come from," Verto replied.

"He's right," Piccolo said.

"No, there are a lot of different types of ki, life energy and spirit energy are two such types. Maybe those that determined that where you're from just had different names for each type since they are on different wavelengths and can be used separately. We have something similar here with both types, although it is far more difficult for anyone here to tap into life energy without serious problems. I trust then you are used to using both types effectively?"

"And mixed together," Verto added.

Koenma's eyes popped open, "Now that is rare. That's nearly impossible here, except for those who are exceptional. I guess I can't ask you to show this to me now can I?"

"No, not like this, nor by myself. For me at least, both energy sources have to be equal in strength to combine together successfully. It feels like my Psi…ahem, spirit power went down by a ton like we expected but it's still there at least," Verto explained.

"I see, well we will just have to deal with it then, can't be helped. Come on, we have to get in that castle and retrieve some information. It's going to be a little dicey since my other self is in there," Koenma explained.

"Other self? Oh right, the past. Wait, how far back have you taken us?" Verto asked.

"About twenty years like I said. This should be the day before the tournament. My other self is probably still here doing that boring paperwork," Koenma noted.

"I take it the plan is to sneak past him to find what you need?" Piccolo asked.

"Roughly. As I said, I traced the timeline changes to around this time, give or take a few days. But I can't ask you three to just jump in and take care of this. I also want to do my best to preserve the timeline as much as possible," Koenma said vaguely as they approached the castle.

"Here comes the part I'm not going to like," Verto muttered.

"Why, I thought you liked to fight?" Koenma asked.

"Yes, when I don't have to hold back. What you're suggesting is probably a surprise assassination. While I can do it, it isn't my style. And if these Saiyans are that powerful and can use spirit power like I can, it won't be that easy. Like the red-head said, they'll sense me the minute I get near them," Verto replied.

"Hmph, Vegeta is clearly not teaching you enough," Frieza muttered.

"I beg to differ on that one," Piccolo claimed.

"That's not quite what I had in mind actually. I want you to join one of the teams in the tournament, specifically one that will be taking on the Saiyans and preferably not the human team that I supported at the time. Certain minor things happened then that allowed my team to become the heroes we needed at the time. We don't need to screw that up," Koenma continued.

"Fine, just don't pair me with a bunch of weaklings. I dislike having to carry a team," Verto groaned.

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that, c'mon!" As Koenma landed, his body faded for a brief moment and he stopped to breathe.

"What's wrong?" Verto asked.

"Looks like someone's having issues," Frieza commented.

"I'm starting to lose my battle with time, we need to hurry," Koenma said as he approached the door.

* * *

Upon entering the castle, Verto spotted ogres of various color running around, doing random chores. Most of them ignored him completely; they were too busy staring at Koenma.

"Oh look Namek, they're even uglier in this place than ours," Frieza laughed. Everyone ignored him, though Koenma gave off a distinct roll of his eyes. Along a particularly long hallway, Koenma stopped at some sort of central door and paused for a moment before looking in. He pulled right back and stayed behind the wall. Verto could hear someone speaking inside and dared to look himself, but Koenma waved him off.

"It's me, when I was younger," he whispered. Verto nodded and kept quiet.

"That's it! I can't sit here anymore! I'm going! Forget this stupid paperwork!" the Junior Koenma declared.

"Where are you planning to go sir?" a deeper sounding adult answered.

"Where do you think? The tournament of course!" Junior said.

"Koenma-sir, you have to keep stamping! It's very important work!" the ogre claimed.

"Shut up Ogre! A trained monkey could do this job!" Junior shouted.

"Hahaha, we have the perfect replacement. Get to work kid," Frieza whispered. Piccolo smacked Frieza in the side of the head, shutting him up.

The ogre inside gasped, "Koenma-sir, you're irresponsible!"

"It's a pity you feel that way Jorge, I was just about to take you with me. Ciao Ogre, guess I'll be going alone!" Junior claimed as he began to walk away.

"Huh? Wait Koenma-sir!" Jorge shouted after him. The older Koenma waited for a brief moment until he heard a door slam shut, and then proceeded into the room. Verto and the others followed, spotting a large red chair behind a smaller desk. Other than that, the only thing of note was the large TV screen and the scattered papers on the floor.

"I always did hate this room, ugh," Koenma groaned as he started for the desk. He grabbed a remote and switched on the screen, which immediately skipped to a small group that was sitting leisurely around a hotel room. One of them was sleeping soundly, and the other four were sipping drinks. Among them, Verto recognized Kuwabara in his blue uniform.

Piccolo narrowed his eyes a bit, "I take it this is these are the fighters you want us to join up with?"

"No, but please keep an eye on them. The one sleeping is my Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi. It's most important that he stays alive during all this. The others are part of his team, they need to remain living if at all possible as well. I suggest you stay away from the short one in black with the headband," Koenma suggested.

"I gathered that, he looks a lot like Vegeta, and I'm guessing the attitude isn't far off," Verto noted.

"Indeed, his name is Hiei. The redheaded one is Kurama, and the masked fighter is actually Yusuke's teacher in disguise. Good, looks like that didn't change any. Alright, now to find your team, specifically it's owner," Koenma said.

"Wouldn't it be better if he joined up with yours? At least then we wouldn't be on opposite sides and it would be easier to protect them," Piccolo suggested.

"I thought of that, but I felt that it could change history too much and it would throw things out of control. I realize that might happen anyway, but I'm just trying to stem the damage. Ah here we go," Koenma stated as the video feed switched. This time it featured a slim, black-haired man with a scar over his right eye, wearing a business suit. He was busily discussing something with a much bigger man with sunglasses. He had an odd short haircut that was partially gray on the bottom side, though all black on the top.

"The guy in the suit is Sayko, the owner of Team Toguro. Speaking of Toguro, that's the big guy he's speaking to. If memory serves and has stayed constant, they should only have four members. You will be number five," Koenma explained.

"Yes, because it's obvious they will just let anyone walk up and join their squad," Verto muttered.

"Well, you might have to demonstrate that you're worthy. And if it comes to that, do what you have to. This island is chalk full of evil demons that wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone at any time for any reason. Now for some transportation," Koenma said as he flipped off the TV and left the room. Verto and Piccolo both scowled as they followed him closely, Frieza looked completely disinterested.

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to leave me hanging with no real idea of what is going on other than what you told me? Assuming that's even accurate," Verto said.

"I agree, this does seem strange," Piccolo said.

"Because I have to return to my time before I completely fade away. I knew I would have to leave you guys alone from the start. I might be able to return in short spans, but if not I will try to send a representative that won't be affected by the time shifting," Koenma replied as they reached a ramp leading outside. There, a small white cloud was waiting by a platform.

"This is your ride. It will take you to the tournament grounds on Earth. Once there, find Toguro and join his team. After that, look out for these Saiyans and take care of them," Koenma ordered.

"Yeah, because I automatically know exactly what they look like. I only know what one of them looks like," Verto retorted.

"I'm afraid I don't know either, I only know that there's a full team of them, which is six," Koenma said.

"Six? I thought it was five-man teams?" Piccolo asked.

"But each team can have a substitute to be used only when one of their members is dead. I know from the evidence review that there were definitely six. If we had time to go over all the tournament rules, I would. But we don't, so just try not to get killed down there!" Koenma suggested. Verto jumped on the Nimbus-like cloud and stared back at Koenma, who was now transparent.

"One last thing, I suggest you don't tell anyone else the real reason why you're down there. I seriously doubt that it would be of any use, and if anything it would probably hinder all progress you make. Above all else though, remember that on that island, no one responds to threats well. They do respond to brute force though. Good luck!" Frieza and Piccolo seemed content to sit on the cloud while Verto remained standing as it cruised off into the horizon.

* * *

The white cloud dropped the odd trio off at a large hotel in the early hours of morning. Verto frowned deeper when his senses picked up various Psionic signals all over the island, many of them with a darker feel to them. Most of them were nothing to be concerned with, but a decent amount of them felt like they could be something. _Of course that's also taking my power drop into account. They might actually be nothing, but now that I'm weakened there isn't such a stark difference anymore._ Piccolo seemed to notice this as well, and Frieza looked bored. The hotel door opened automatically for Verto, and he nearly walked into a short black haired man with a headband. Verto's eyes narrowed as he recognized him from the video he had just seen. He also got the full brunt of the dark Psi that Hiei was emitting. To Verto, it didn't quite feel like the same energy as his, but its potency was significant. Hiei eyed Verto with suspicious eyes, and the boy only glared right back. Verto felt an overwhelming urge to make Hiei find his own problem to deal with, but instead elected to back down and suppress his energy lower.

Hiei blinked sharply and turned his nose, "Get out of my way!"

"Gladly," Verto muttered as he stepped aside and walked inside. A taller, red headed boy was right behind Hiei, and was also giving Verto quite a stare. Verto also recognized him to be Kurama, another member of Yusuke's team.

"Excuse us," Kurama said as he walked outside with Hiei.

"Wise move not to start anything kid," Piccolo claimed.

"Hmph, looked like another Vegeta, only shorter. Can I please kill him?" Frieza asked.

Verto shook his head slightly, "No, we don't need to incite a riot. Let me handle this part."

"Go ahead, it's your mission after all," Piccolo reminded.

Verto stepped towards the high hotel desk, as he wasn't looking forward to this particular moment. _It might be too out of sorts to ask for the owner of the team right away, maybe I'll just ask for the other guy. _The hotel Concierge was eyeing him with another round of suspicious eyes, but softened his stare once Verto walked up.

"Are you lost son? Did your family lock you out of their room?" he asked.

"No, I'm a competitor. I need to find someone named Toguro," Verto said as simply as he could.

The concierge gasped in surprise, but then laughed aloud, "Now now son, there's no need for games around here. There are many demons that would consider you a quick meal. You don't need to be asking to see the strongest one!" Verto scowled immediately, _All right, I guess I should take the intimidator route. _

"I'm not just a little kid. Don't make me demonstrate!" The concierge continued to laugh at Verto's expense as a few sparks flew off the smaller boy. Verto quickly charged a small blast and fired it at a nearby chandelier. The blast smashed through the cable and sent the decorative assembly crashing to the ground, shattering all of the glass and darkening the room a bit. Piccolo's eyes widened while Frieza looked amused.

The Concierge was instantly furious, "Do you know how much that costs?" Verto aimed another small blast right at the man, silencing his anger.

Verto smirked, "Looks like we're getting somewhere now. Care to handle my request, or do I have to demonstrate again?" The Concierge was too busy trembling to answer and only held up his hands in defeat.

"That isn't very polite," a deep voice said from the side. Verto glanced over, spotting a large, muscled man with a long green trench coat. The sunglasses gave him away, though so did the haircut.

"I don't do polite unless it suits me. You're Toguro I assume?" Verto asked as he dropped his arm.

"Yes, what do you want here, little boy?" Toguro asked.

"I hear you only have four members on your team. I'll be the fifth," Verto said sternly.

"And what makes you think you're worthy?" Toguro countered.

"Give me a test and see for yourself," Verto replied. Toguro paused in thought as his dark eyes scanned Verto thoroughly.

"Do you even realize what you're getting into? This is not a game, and definitely not for children," Toguro warned.

"I asked you to give me a test. Unless you want to become the test and get killed before you even fight, I suggest you comply," Verto growled. Toguro's eyebrow went up in question, but it dropped just as quickly as he turned for the door.

"This way," he beckoned. Verto turned long enough to catch a knowing nod from Piccolo before following.

* * *

Verto followed the large Toguro outside and then into the forest nearby.

"I must say, this is unusual of me to do. Granting a death wish like this," Toguro said. Verto's glare deepened as he glanced around. There didn't appear to be anyone nearby, but he prepared his energy just in case.

"Oh? Who's are you granting, because it ain't mine fool," Verto said in confidence.

"Perhaps," Toguro said as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, three figures appeared in a clearing ahead. One was female with pale skin and purple hair above a single horn on her head. The second had two horns and a malicious set of eyes hidden behind a dark cape that covered most of his body. The third was much harder to miss, a brown giant with a large club hanging from his back, he bore three horns from his head.

"This is the Demon Triad, part of a small organization of mine. If you think are worthy of a test, you must kill these three by yourself. If you manage this, come back and I'll personally test you," Toguro offered as he turned on his heel. Verto turned to the small group and then promptly phased out. Toguro paused mid-step when he heard a piercing roar of pain coming from Gokumonki, the giant. The ground shook when he collapsed with a gaping, bloody hole in his stomach. The female demon, Miyuki, gasped at her partner lying on the ground. She joined him quickly when Verto phased in behind her and bashed her head with the back of his fist. The last demon, Inmaki, vanished just as Verto turned to him. Toguro saw though, that Verto's eyes had locked onto his position and was following. While sheathed in shadow, Inmaki attempted to move around Verto and strike him from behind. He stopped suddenly when Verto's boot caught him in the jaw and knocked him from of the shadows and unconscious. Verto turned to Toguro, who only grinned slightly in response.

"Not bad, but I said you had to kill them all. I suggest you hurry it up," Toguro ordered. Verto glanced down at the three prone demons, who were barely twitching.

"It isn't necessary," Verto argued.

"Then you have no place on my team if you can't go for the kill," Toguro said as he spun on his heel and walked away. Verto sighed heavily before stepping over to the giant first and sharply punching the side of his head. A loud crack filled the air as Gokumonki's final groan sounded and he slumped. Miyuki's eyes shot open in surprise and she attempted to run. A quick blue blast followed and erased her from life. Inmaki managed to wake up just in time to see Verto's Psi Sword coming straight at his head.

Toguro smiled and stopped as the last painful wail sounded, "It appears I have a place for you after all. Follow me." Toguro kept walking, not noticing that Verto's eyes had shifted to him with a menacing glare before they briefly flickered red. Verto wiped off what blood had landed on his face and followed.

**Power levels (after reduction****):**

**Verto: 312,000**

**Piccolo: 300,000**

**Frieza: 60,000**

**Verto (suppressed): 5,000, Bursts of 20,000**

**Demon Triad members: 3,000 each**

**Next time on DBV: Verto is introduced to the rest of the evil Team Toguro as they observe the competition. Tensions rise when Verto is asked to fight the first round by himself, and he very nearly loses control of his power after he utterly destroys the other team.**


	80. Dark Tourney 2

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 79: Dark Tourney 2: Side of Evil**

Verto followed the huge Toguro back through the hotel, grabbing a look or two from Piccolo and Frieza.

"Friends of yours?" Toguro asked.

"One of them is," Verto replied. Toguro motioned them both to follow, to which Verto was unsure how to react. He had kind of hoped that he would be able to handle it all himself, but then again, having Piccolo's support was helpful.

"How did it go?" Piccolo asked first.

"Kinda depends on what you expect out of him," Toguro answered, "I trust you are of some relation to this boy?" Piccolo and Toguro locked eyes in a deep stare off, each trying to read the other.

"His teacher if you must know, my name is Piccolo."

"I don't recognize your class of demon, nor the pale one," Toguro said as he glanced at Frieza.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you," Piccolo suggested.

"Fair enough, what is your name boy?" Toguro asked.

Verto hesitated, as he was about to say what it was, but the stern feeling he got from Piccolo told him to reconsider. _Damn, using my Saiyan name might be a bad idea since Chal knows it. Even if he isn't here, the others might recognize it or it might draw too much attention. As long as the demons think I'm one of them, the Renegades might too, as long as I keep my power suppressed until the time is right._

"You can call me 'D'," Verto said. Piccolo emitted a sort of satisfaction, while Frieza chuckled slightly.

Toguro adjusted his sunglasses, "D? Is that your real name?"

"No, but that's what you'll call me unless I have reason to tell you otherwise," Verto answered carefully.

"Very well, follow me," Toguro said as he walked towards the nearest elevator.

Frieza wasn't quite sure of what to make of Toguro, seeing as he was quite a bit bigger than even Piccolo. _Hmph, not like it matters. I'm sure the brat is going to kill me anyway, perhaps I should just let him get it over with. But seeing him and the Namek under pressure will likely provide amusement._ The elevator ride was quiet and still as the floor number rapidly climbed into the thirties. It stopped at thirty-eight and the doors opened. Toguro took the lead to the first room on the right, labeled three-thousand and six. Inside, there were a few chairs and couches to sit on, though one of them was occupied. It was the dark haired, slim man from Koenma's video, Sakyo.

"And what do we have here, Toguro?" Sakyo asked as he looked all three of his guests over. Verto's eyes narrowed slightly at his icy cool voice, recognizing the evil intentions behind it.

"Potentially a fifth team member. I haven't decided yet," Toguro replied.

"Which one, the green one?"

"No, the small boy. He calls himself D."

Sakyo eyed Verto carefully, "He looks a little young for this type of game. I hope he is at least capable of providing some entertainment."

"If you're expecting a clown suit with a barrel of bad jokes, I suggest you look elsewhere," Verto snapped back.

"Easy kid," Piccolo rasped.

"Not exactly. Personally, only gambling provides real entertainment for me. Gambling on a life and death struggle in the ring for example. Show me what you can do," Sakyo ordered.

"Against you? That's hardly fair," Verto claimed.

Sakyo's fingers folded, "Fair doesn't exist down here. But you're right, I am not a suitable challenger. Show me against Toguro." Verto glanced up at the big man, though he didn't seem very interested, despite seeing how Verto had wiped out his small band of cronies.

He grinned slightly without looking back, "It wasn't me he was talking about." The hair on the back of Verto's neck stood up when his danger sense went off. He ducked down just as a pale lance-like weapon tried to take his head off. Verto spun to the side and immediately formed his Psi sword, slicing the weapon clean. What remained pulled back to a much smaller, pale man in blue with greasy dark hair. It literally became part of his arm and reshaped into a hand with a small bloodied cut. Verto decided not to ponder who or what this newcomer was and charged him, sending him flailing into the nearest wall with one powerful punch.

"That will do," Sakyo said. Piccolo and Frieza stared back in surprise while the small man laughed evilly as he pulled himself out of the wall and left the room.

"Who or what was that?" Verto asked.

"My older brother. As you might have noticed, he can reshape and manipulate his body to his desire. There are not many demons like him," Toguro explained.

Verto glanced up at the towering menace, "And what are your talents?"

"Brute force, a lot of it."

"And the other team members?"

Sakyo cleared his throat, "Not so fast. Tell me, what is it you want out of this tournament?"

Verto hesitated, but took it in stride, "I'm looking for someone, actually several people. They are very powerful and they are here. I don't know what they look like exactly, not yet anyway. Past that, I have no real goal besides fighting them."

"Oh? Interesting. And that someone obviously isn't Toguro. Is it the Spirit Detective and his team?" Sakyo asked.

Verto paused as he turned his head slightly in confusion, "No, never heard of them."

Sakyo looked noticeably surprised, "Then who is it?"

"You'll know them when you see them, they'll most likely resemble me to an extent. Like I said, I haven't seen them before, but we are similar in both appearance and genetics," Verto explained.

"They're children too?" Sakyo asked in a mocking tone.

"No, just monkeys," Frieza cut in.

Verto resisted the urge to answer Frieza directly, "No, they're probably not children. And for the record, I'm not a child either, despite how I look. Don't treat me like one." Frieza laughed aloud, drawing a growl from Piccolo.

Sakyo folded his hands, "Very well, I'll look into it with the other team owners. In return for this small favor, you will help our team to win the tournament, no matter who you're facing out in that ring. Is that an acceptable agreement?" Verto paused again, but this time only to rethink how he would carry the rest of the conversation.

"Yes, provided that if and when we come across these people I'm looking for, you allow me to fight them alone. I don't care about the rest of the tournament, nor do I have any real idea of what their intentions are here, but I have a feeling they may be targeting this Spirit Detective you mentioned," Verto lied carefully. Piccolo picked up on it, but said nothing.

Sakyo frowned immediately, "You wish to fight them alone? Normally I would have no argument for that, but if they are after Yusuke Urameshi, then we have a common problem. You see, Toguro wishes to fight Yusuke after throwing a match to him a few months ago. He and his team have the potential to make it to the finals, but not if he is assassinated ahead of time. The other demons and greedy humans are unlikely to attempt that outside of the ring, but these new challengers likely won't follow any such honor, will they?"

Verto was unsure how to answer that since he didn't know, _Well that backfired_.

"These fighters may or may not be honorable, we don't really know that much about them. However, if they are not scheduled to come up against this Yusuke's team, then it is very possible," Piccolo added, saving Verto the trouble.

"Hmph, Saiyans have never been anything but bloodthirsty," Frieza added. Verto phased out and backhanded Frieza in an instant, making an identical hole in the wall.

"When will you learn to just shut up? Give me a reason and I'll rip out your tongue!" Verto shouted.

Piccolo held him off, "I'll deal with him kid, this is your mission, remember?" Verto sighed and nodded, returning his attention to Sakyo.

"Very well, I want you to watch the first match today between Team Urameshi and Team Rokuyukai and tell me what you think. This may give you a better idea on the issue of whether these...Saiyans, may attack or not. Return here alone in a few hours, until then, I leave you to your own musings. Your friends may watch the matches from the stadium," Sakyo finished as he bowed his head slightly.

"Question before I leave, what are the tournament rules?" Verto asked.

"Kill or be killed, fairly simple," Toguro said, "If that doesn't happen, submission. And if you are down or out of the ring for ten counts, you are disqualified. Other than that, anything goes once the fight has started, except for outside interference of course."

"Straight forward, and I have to say I like the ring-out rule," Verto replied.

"I don't, I prefer to finish the battle one way or another," Toguro grumbled.

"Try playing with no count on the ring out rule and you'll understand what I mean. I'll be back," Verto declared as he turned for the door. Piccolo shoved Frieza ahead of him, causing a small protest. Inside, Sakyo waited for them to leave before saying another word.

"He came across a bit over the top didn't he? Clearly several years ahead of his apparent age. What do you think?" Sakyo asked.

"That kid is very powerful, and he was suppressing a great deal of his energy. I couldn't accurately gauge his Spirit energy, nor the green one. The pale one is very strong as well, but I sensed a huge difference between him and the other two. There was almost no noticeable increase in the boy's strength when he attacked his friend without warning, and that one felt nearly as powerful as Bui and Karasu. At the same time, I sensed both hesitation and a deeper rage, he is definitely not an ordinary kid," Toguro claimed.

Sakyo frowned, "Are you saying that they are a potential threat to us?"

Toguro adjusted his shades, "Unknown. They were hiding something, but it was probably more directed at these strangers he spoke of. The green one is probably the most trustworthy out of all of them, the pale one the least."

"Well, he did bring up something I wanted to inform you about since it may involve us. All five members of Team Gorenja were killed a week ago," Sakyo said.

"Interesting, especially since the tournament bracket is setup for them to potentially face us in the semi-finals. They were checked in as of yesterday. We may have some imposters amongst the competition," Toguro replied as he rubbed his chin a bit.

"Their owner denies everything, but he was not forthcoming about it. It may be prudent to allow the boy to take care of his own problems until they become ours. After all, he is very strong," Sakyo commented as he lit a cigarette.

Toguro snorted a bit, "I doubt there is much to worry about Sakyo. But if these imposters want in on the fights, let them come. In the meantime, we will make use of our powerful new allies."

* * *

Verto returned to Sakyo and Toguro as instructed a few hours later while Piccolo and Frieza joined the hordes of demons in the stands. Almost immediately there was an incident when Frieza killed a weaker demon for blocking his sight.

"God damn it, I just knew it was a mistake having him along," Verto muttered.

"I thought he was a friend of yours?" Toguro asked as he watched a few of the demons scatter.

"Did it look like I was friends with that freak?" Verto retorted.

"It doesn't matter, the weaker apparitions will learn to stay away if they wish to live. Of course there is no rule regarding violence against the crowd, nor within it," Sakyo said. Just as he finished saying that, Piccolo blasted another demon as Frieza ducked out of the way. The larger Namek shook with frustration upon apparently missing while Frieza had the nerve to stick his tongue out at him. Verto slapped his head slightly before glancing around the stadium for any signs of the Renegades. The crowds were rather thick, and the demons were so numerous and varied that he couldn't tell. His senses were picking up all kinds of power levels, but nothing overly powerful aside from Piccolo and Frieza. He also detected another problem, the demons were all emitting a similar Psi signal to his own when enraged. That meant that his senses couldn't be relied upon until someone cranked up their power level high enough to be considered a threat. There were enough other signatures that felt seemingly normal enough to throw him off as well. _Which means I won't be able to detect them until they give themselves a reason to be detected. Guess I'm stuck until that time. _

The first match of the tournament left Verto somewhat unimpressed initially, but that did change slightly. He didn't really care about what Sakyo or Toguro thought when it came to their objectives, as he had no real intention to stay any longer than necessary. Team Urameshi took on Team Rokuyukai to begin the tournament and it did have its entertaining moments. There were two things that caught Verto's eye right off the bat. The other team's leader, Zeru, apparently liked to impose his will on others through intimidation. He used his flame-like energy to incinerate part of the crowd to attempt to scare his opponents. The only thing was, Yusuke slept through all of it and didn't even stir. Verto wasn't sure if he was truly that tired, or if he was simply not affected enough to wake up. Kuwabara had gone first, taking on a kid named Rinku that liked to play with yoyos. While seemingly evenly matched, the kid could outmaneuver him, yet had made the mistake of underestimating the older teen as well. Kuwabara's tough hide kept him alive while Rinku threw him around the ring with his possessed yoyos. He even managed to live through one dramatic fall from the top of the arena by using his Spirit Sword to catch himself and then counterattack. It ended when both fighters had landed out of the ring and Rinku had used his energy to tie his toys around Kuwabara. This prevented him from getting back into the ring by the time the referee had counted to ten. Kuwabara was very unhappy about the ending and demanded a rematch; though Rinku wanted no part of him anymore. The referee reminded Verto of the other ones from the previous tournaments he had been in; annoying. The only difference was that it was a female humanoid that had the tail and ears of a fox. Her name was Koto.

For the second fight, Kurama had stepped in against a dark skinned demon named Roto. Roto liked to talk a lot, but he did have one notable ability, the power to make a blade extend from his wrist. It was a little odd since the blade was also covered in his own skin, but it was still a weapon. It was oddly similar to Kaon's ability with her arm whip, without the heat. Other than that, he was nothing worth mentioning compared to his opponent. Kurama dodged his blows effortlessly to begin the match and got behind him to finish him off when he suddenly stopped. Verto couldn't hear what they were saying over Koto's annoying babbling and the random cursing from the crowd, but it was clear that Roto said something that had threatened Kurama in some way that forced him to stop fighting him completely. He even folded his arms behind his back and didn't bother to dodge when Roto ruthlessly punched him repeatedly. Verto saw that Roto was holding some sort of object with a button, and apparently that was the cause of his inaction. He thought it to be a bit cheap since the demon had no real power other than his little sword trick. Kurama let him land a few more blows before Roto suddenly froze up. Kurama easily took the object away and smashed it, whereas Roto stood completely still in the ring. A video camera angle revealed that at some point, Kurama had planted a plant seed in Roto's chest, and it was apparently the cause of the matches' sudden reversal. Kurama walked away for a moment before turning back. Verto barely sensed the energy he used on Roto afterwards, but one thing was clear; the plant powers that Kurama possessed were not easy to deal with. Green vines and flowers suddenly burst out of Roto's body as he collapsed and died.

With the score one to one, the Rokuyukai leader Zeru came back out for the third match against Hiei. It was then that Verto got to witness one of the most devastating attacks he had ever seen. Things started off hot when Zeru powered up and launched dozens of fireballs at Hiei, who simply dodged them all while moving randomly around the arena. This took out some more of the crowd and had even gotten a little close to the booth Verto was in. Zeru tried a different strategy and powered up so much that his skin actually turned fiery red. It was eerily similar to what Lenz's inner demon Kaon had done. Verto didn't sense that much more power out of him at that point, but he was nearly even with Hiei as far as he could tell. He launched forward and actually struck Hiei in the stomach, which set him on fire as he was flung into the air. Zeru blasted him as hard as he could, which for the moment appeared to have fried Hiei. This was not the case though as Hiei shook it off a moment later with little damage despite the fact that he was still smoldering. Being a fire-based demon probably had something to do with it, but Verto wasn't sure. Then he had sensed it, a latent evil energy gathering from not only Hiei, but also the surrounding area. Hiei's bandana burned off to reveal an opening third eye that flashed brightly as this energy gathered into Hiei's right arm. Black flames erupted from his hand and his power exploded outwards. Beams of black energy crackled all around the island as Hiei conjured his attack. Zeru attempted to back off, but he was too scared to dodge what was coming. Toguro and Sakyo were both intrigued by this new turn of events after Hiei announced the attack as the 'Dragon of the Darkness Flame.' A black, flaming dragon emerged from Hiei's blast and swallowed Zeru, pushing him into the stadium wall before it exploded and vanished. When the area cleared, only a smoking silhouette from Zeru's body remained on the wall. While this dragon attack was not on the same raw power level as some of the attacks Verto had seen and performed, it was still very impressive. He could only imagine what someone could do with that attack if they could control it, not to mention in a place where it would be much stronger. Hiei didn't look like he was in complete control when he fired it, and it showed when his right arm was in terrible shape afterwards.

The remaining weaklings on Team Rokuyukai ran for the exit once Zeru was erased from sight, leaving Rinku on his own. However, a new fighter emerged from the tunnel, claiming to be both the alternate fighter and the true leader, Chu. He stumbled into the ring slowly, downing a large bottle of booze while he was at it. Verto didn't think of him as more than an idiotic drunk, and the crowd agreed. He did sense something strange about his power signal though, as if it was much more than he was putting on with his staggering. He even got on the mic and declared how great he was, slurring his words the entire time. The Urameshi team wasn't sure on whom to send in, and the masked fighter declined to even move. Just as Kuwabara attempted to wake up Yusuke, he jumped right into the ring, completely awake. As he stretched a little, he started taunting the demon crowd. If his wish was to get them riled up, it certainly worked, because a 'Kill Yusuke' chant started, and didn't end for quite some time. It was both amusing and a little intimidating for Verto to hear that many voices shouting their hatred at one person. He understood it though; the Spirit Detective's reputation for killing demons had apparently earned him that sort of disrespect. The taunting and chanting continued for several minutes while Chu babbled on how great he was, in-between full bottles of sake. He even jumped into the crowd and beat up someone who had the nerve to call him a pathetic drunk. As he came back, he claimed to be a master at drunken fighting.

"Is this crazy drunk for real?" Verto asked Sakyo. Sakyo only nodded and rolled his eyes slightly as the apparent team owner rambled on about his backup fighter. When the match finally got going, Chu seemed to quickly sober up, though Verto sensed that he was still very tipsy. His energy seemed to harness it and increase his focus for short bursts. The early sprawl saw Yusuke struggling to keep up with Chu's strange movement and decent speed. While they both knocked each other down, Chu came out on top when he recovered and sent Yusuke into the stadium wall with one strong kick. He fell over as his blood alcohol level seemed to return him to his drunken daze, and this caused the referee, Koto, to delay her count by quite a bit. This also gave Yusuke plenty of time to recover outside the ring. He jumped back in with determination, and demonstrated his special attack for Chu, the Spirit Gun. While it was a little on the weak side, it was strong enough to make Chu sweat a little bit and start drinking some more. Chu powered up from whatever he had drank and then demonstrated his own blast, which he threw like a baseball at Yusuke. Yusuke avoided the first one, and shot the second one down with his Spirit Gun. The two blasts collided in the middle of the ring and struggled with each other before canceling out. Once the blasts were gone, both fighters rushed the other and beat the living daylights out of each other. Hits rained in very quickly as neither fighter bothered to block the other. It was obvious that both were going for the opening to deliver the deciding blow.

In the midst of the fight, one of Verto's apparent teammates entered. Though before he had, Verto had heard a distinct explosion from just outside the VIP booth. He looked sadistic to a degree that Verto hadn't seen in awhile. He bore mostly black with a cape and a mask covering his mouth and chin.

"Karasu, it'll be awhile before it's your turn to fight," Toguro greeted him.

Karasu glanced Verto over before nodded to Toguro, "I heard there was someone decent here, I was wondering who it was."

"You mean Urameshi, that's him fighting now."

"So I've been watching," Karasu replied, not sounding completely interested.

"Well, what do you think?" Toguro asked. Karasu's eyes narrowed, but he didn't answer.

"Hmph, I thought you wanted to fight that kid Yusuke so badly," Verto said as he glanced upward. Toguro seemed indifferent about his remark, but it was difficult to tell.

"And who are you supposed to be, a peasant boy?" Karasu asked.

"You wish," Verto replied coolly.

"His business is his own. However, he is with us, for now," Toguro briefly explained. Sakyo asked for silence as the brutal slugfest in the ring came closer to its climax. Chu got the first real opening when he managed to knock Yusuke away with a well-timed blow to the head. Chu charged up a much bigger blast with all of his remaining power and fired it right away. Yusuke landed in a bad position and was unable to dodge. Instead, he fired his Spirit Gun twice in a row, using a rapid-fire type of attack. The two blue blasts went right through Chu's orange ball and hit dead on, though Chu's blast also hit Yusuke. Both fighters survived, but were completely drained and missing half their clothes. Verto sensed that Yusuke still had a little to give, but his energy had fluctuated rather violently after the attack and had all but vanished. Thus the fight came down to whoever could beat the other one's head in first. Chu requested a particular stipulation involving knives for maximum and endless violence to conclude the match. He had stuck them into the ring and then placed his own foot in front of the blade while beckoning for Yusuke to do the same. After about five to six minutes of constant punching, Chu and Yusuke both head butted each other at the same time, and Chu went down for the full ten count. The demons in the crowd hated this, but hated it even more when Yusuke didn't finish Chu off for good upon their request. Yusuke's team won the round and became the first team to advance. The fights had taken so long that the officials elected to end the festivities for the day, causing Verto to scowl with impatience.

* * *

"So Karasu, you never told me what you think of him? Will he be worth your time?" Toguro asked once the round was over.

"As long as he keeps winning, we'll see," Karasu claimed, uninterested.

"And you?" Toguro asked me.

"I'm not overly impressed if that's what you mean, however they do have potential. They are decent fighters for their level, and that Yusuke kid is probably the most impressive if he hasn't been doing this for even a year,' Verto replied.

"You must be rather impressive too if Toguro allowed you to be on our team," Karasu claimed as he dared to reach for Verto's hair. Just as he made contact, Verto suddenly spun around and snatched his arm out of the air. Their eyes met and Verto's flashed with red intensity. Karasu did well to hide his fear, but Verto still sensed it and responded accordingly.

"Don't touch me again, ever," he rasped as his eyes faded to blue again. Toguro expressed brief concern, but let things slide.

Sakyo had other ideas, "Perhaps you should proceed back to the hotel with your companions. Then, we will require your services tomorrow in a few different ways."

"How so?" Verto asked.

"I want you to keep an eye on Yusuke Urameshi until it is time for our matches. If those people you're after are going to attempt assassination, it will be when they are not in the ring. Our match is last tomorrow against the Spirit Warriors Team, and I wish for you to fight them as well. Do this and I will acquire the information you seek," Sakyo purposed.

Verto sensed a partial bit of deception but let it slide. _That might actually work out better. While I would prefer to flush them out quickly, I can protect Yusuke and have Piccolo scout for me. If all else fails, I can have him keep an eye on Yusuke while I fight._

"I take it that isn't against the rules around here," Verto guessed.

"No, but most demons probably won't try to murder him outside of the arena. It would be a waste for him to come here if that could happen," Toguro said.

"All right, I can do that," Verto agreed.

"Oh, and let the green one know that he will be the substitute fighter if one of us dies," Sakyo added.

"Hmph, that's hardly necessary," Toguro claimed.

"I have a hunch Toguro," Sakyo replied.

Verto rolled his eyes and left, but suddenly had a realization. _We should have asked Koenma to do that from the beginning. Piccolo could have been their fifth and I could have gone over to Yusuke's team as the substitute, that way all the bases are covered. Though I suppose it doesn't matter that much, and there's always the chance that Piccolo would end up fighting the Saiyans instead of me. But as far as the final rounds go, I really don't care. We're outta here once the Renegades are dealt with._


	81. Dark Tourney 3

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 80: Dark Tourney 3: Duty Calls**

Verto didn't allow comfort to sink in as he shared a room with Piccolo and Frieza. Just being in the same room as the Changeling prevented him from sleeping, even if Piccolo was going to stay aware of his actions. He finally elected to meditate to make up for the rest time, staying in a prone position to at least appear asleep. Frieza didn't do much aside from ordering an excessive amount of wine to drink, and Piccolo did as one would expect, floating above a table. Once daylight spilled over the high-rise, Verto's stomach made it impossible to get sleep. He unpacked a food capsule and devoured its contents quickly, drawing amusement from Frieza.

"And you claim you're not a savage beast, what hypocrisy," Frieza claimed.

"For once I'm going to agree with him," Piccolo muttered. Verto growled slightly as he finished his meal, staying silent as he tightened his belt.

"How are you going to proceed?" Piccolo asked.

"You two should hang around the stadium so you can identify the Saiyans. I'm going to keep track of Yusuke just in case. Koenma claimed that they might assassinate him and Toguro asked me to keep tabs anyway. I'll come back to the stadium when it's time for our team's match," Verto said.

"We really should have planned this out better," Piccolo said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. You sense anything unusual during the night?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary...aside from all of the humans and demons' varied energy. I don't believe we can rely on our ability to sense energy levels seeing as there is such variety here. And it looks like they'll keep their powers suppressed for now," Piccolo added.

"I'd tell you to make use of your ears, but that might be difficult given the crowd noise," Verto joked.

"So the great and powerful monkey needs help after all," Frieza dared to say.

"You really want to go back to hell don't you?" Verto asked.

Frieza hid his fear, "It would be more entertaining for me. This is a waste of time. To think that I, the great Emperor Frieza, have been reduced to bait to lure a worthless gaggle of monkeys!"

"You know, it's really tempting to off you now. But I'm feeling generous today, so when the time comes, it'll be Piccolo's turn. And he's not nearly as nice as I am," Verto said in a sweet tone.

Frieza winced as he met the Namek's glaring eyes, "Point taken." Verto smirked slightly as he left the room, trying to sense Yusuke's position.

* * *

The older human was not in the hotel at all, and judging by the feel of it, still running low on energy. Verto entered the nearby forests and searched, eventually spotting Yusuke training. He appeared to be having trouble summoning his energy, to which Verto was not surprised. Yusuke hadn't shown any sort of expertise with the rapid-fire technique he had used against his opponent. Verto stayed at a distance and watched with his astral vision technique, not wanting to interfere or alarm Yusuke. He was also on the lookout for any would-be attackers to both himself and his charge. Considering the crowd's bloodlust over Yusuke the previous day, Verto just didn't trust Toguro's guarantee that no demon would dare attack him outside of the ring. At this point, any attacker had a grand opening with Yusuke so weakened. Verto still couldn't sense any Psionic energy similar enough to his own, both in strength and frequency. Throughout the day, he could hear some of the louder stadium announcements, but didn't dare spy on the stadium because of its distance away from himself and Yusuke. He was about to go back there for Team Toguro's match when he finally sensed something. It was rather low in power, but was heading towards the unaware Yusuke regardless. Verto's eyes snapped open as he sensed the attack and rushed off in that direction. Upon arrival, he saw Yusuke trying to avoid what appeared to be a football made of stone. There was a small amount of energy guiding it around, which traced back to a nearby demon. He had on what appeared to be football pads, though slightly amended with spikes on the shoulders. He bared a lot of teeth with no visible eyes under what resembled a cow's skull. The newcomer seemed to be holding back a little as Verto approached from behind.

"Who the hell are you?" Yusuke asked.

"Rugby!" the demon growled.

"What, like the sport?"

"I want to see your Spirit Gun and see how it compares to my Demonball. Fire it!" Rugby demanded. Yusuke didn't answer and jumped onto a tree limb to avoid the demon's ball, ducking behind it for cover. Rugby redirected his ball and it smashed into the tree, obliterating the limb as Yusuke fell to the ground.

"I see, you can't use it can you? Now I get it, you must have some sort of trick to steal our demon powers and then use them against us. Time for your penalty, one death!" Rugby declared as he materialized another ball. He stopped mid-throw when Verto walked into his line of fire.

"Beat it runt, we're busy here!" Rugby claimed.

"Yeah, that isn't happening. Just out of curiosity, what team are you on?" Verto asked.

"Spirit Warriors, we're gonna crush this tournament!"

Verto smirked slightly, "Then you had better get your ass to the ring. You can settle this with me there. If you can do that, you can have him," Verto offered as he pointed to Yusuke.

"Just who the hell are you?" Yusuke asked.

"We're facing you? You're actually on Toguro's team? Hahahaha! Where's the army to back you up?" Rugby laughed.

"You'll see soon enough," Verto replied calmly.

Yusuke gasped as Rugby continued to laugh, "You can bring on Toguro! That overrated peon don't scare me!"

Verto grinned, "I don't recall saying that I needed him, especially not against your pitiful efforts."

Rugby pulled back as if to launch his Demonball again, "How about I kill two birds with one stone?"

"Clichés aren't going to save you," Verto said. Rugby fired and immediately had to duck when Verto batted it back at him. The ball slowly turned back around and came in from behind Yusuke as Rugby backed up a few steps.

"It's Yusuke right?" Verto asked as he tracked the ball.

"Um, yeah," Yusuke said with obvious hesitation.

"What's your move called, the one he wanted to see?" Verto asked.

"What, my Spirit Gun?"

"Yeah that's it. This waste of life wanted to compare it to his stupid ball technique, right?" Verto asked.

"Yeah, why?" Yusuke asked. He froze when Verto's finger lit up with bright blue and aimed right at him. He quickly fired and Yusuke flinched just slightly as the shot whizzed over his shoulder and laid waste to the Demonball.

Verto stared at his finger for a moment, "It doesn't. Not a bad technique, I could make use of it. I wonder how it'll do on his disgusting body instead," Verto pondered as he turned to the stunned Rugby. Verto prepared another charge and aimed at Rugby, who was now fleeing in panic.

"Bang," Verto whispered. His shot immediately turned Rugby into a pile of ash, along with a few nearby trees. _That technique could be more useful than I thought, it would make my Shock Cannon a lot faster instead of having to charge up the modified Special Beam Cannon or a Psi Storm all the time. Its stopping power is balanced enough with its speed to be viable in any battle and situation. _

"I had things under control you know!" Yusuke claimed.

Verto grimaced, "No you didn't, and you're welcome."

"Why did you do that anyway? You said you were with Toguro's team, didn't you?" Yusuke asked.

"I might be on his team, but that doesn't mean that I'm with him. My business here doesn't involve you, so I hope it stays that way. I have as much love for demons as you do, so relax," Verto said sternly.

"What business?"

Verto tensed up suddenly, "Someone's coming." Yusuke glanced around until he spotted Kuwabara emerging from the woods.

Verto eased up and slowly walked away, "I suggest you get some rest to recover your energy. I'm due at the stadium now." Yusuke only stared as Verto walked off and Kuwabara came closer.

"What was that all about? And who was that kid?" Kuwabara asked.

"Beats me, maybe he's some sort of guardian angel or something stupid like that. A demon tried to take me out and he kicked its ass," Yusuke explained.

"That's weird. Hey Urameshi, shouldn't we have a team meeting or something? We should hurry and decide who we're going to use as the fifth fighter. The tiny masked guy or the big bald one with the pony tail?"

Yusuke shrugged, "I dunno, maybe we'll just flip a coin or something. If I had known that Koenma was going to send him then I wouldn't have even asked Granny for help, not that she showed up either. All I did was mention it to her, she said no and then the one with the mask followed me to the boat."

"Hmmm, I wonder why Koenma never mentioned that guy before?" Kuwabara wondered.

"It doesn't matter, let's get to the stadium. Toguro is up next."

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for! It's time for the defending champions to make their grand entrance!" the referee Koto announced.

"Toguro! Toguro!" the crowd chanted. The tunnel doors opened to reveal Toguro and Verto.

"Time to earn your keep boy," Toguro said.

"Hardly worth the effort. If that waste of space with the cow skull was any indication, I could probably beat all these guys in my sleep, and so could you," Verto claimed.

"Except you killed their teammate, they'll be demanding your head," Toguro pointed out.

"While protecting your investment, I gave him time to run," Verto countered.

"Doesn't matter."

"And here's the man who needs no introduction, the resident badass of the tournament!" Koto announced.

Verto scowled as he started to hear random chatter from the front row, "What the, who's the kid?"

"Maybe Toguro is gonna split a pre-match meal with his opponents!"

Toguro grinned, "You can show them any time you wish, I can tell you're getting antsy."

"I'll show them soon enough," Verto grumbled.

"For reasons unknown, only Toguro appears ready to fight. The rest of his team appears to be missing in action," Koto pointed out as Verto resisted the urge to blast her. Ahead of them, a team of giants stood by, looking eager to fight. Verto's mood didn't improve, _That figures, pair me with every overly big fighter nearby. Now I know how Krillin feels all the time._ The gigantic Spirit Warriors came closer as they faced off with Toguro and Verto in the middle of the ring. Koto formally introduced them as Gorilla, Bagaki, Gagaki and Dosukoi. Their leader and apparent substitute, the absurdly huge Topaz, remained behind them. Verto rolled his eyes at their names, feeling like he was wasting his time even being there.

"Where's the rest of your team?" Gorilla asked.

"They're very lazy and don't want to fight right now. We'll be happy to entertain you in their place," Toguro said as he removed his jacket.

"Just you, and that runt?" Bagaki asked as he looked down at Verto from high altitude.

"Hahaha, he's so small that the referee could kill him! He wouldn't even make a decent meal for us!" Gagaki claimed.

"Enough about my size you bloated freak," Verto retorted.

"Oh my, it appears that Toguro will actually have what appears to be a small servant boy fight for his team. Could this be some sort of new strategy or a handicap?" Koto asked the crowd for dramatic effect.

Small bolts of lightning struck the ring around Verto, "Servant boy?"

Toguro looked amused, "I was going to alternate fights, but now I think I'll let you handle this alone. Is that alright with you?" Verto snorted a wordless reply.

"Let me get this right, you want that tiny thing to fight all of us? We've all got to be at least ten times bigger than him!" Gorilla claimed.

"How about we cook him and split the sandwich? Hahahaha!" Bagaki suggested as he laughed.

Verto's fist cinched up, "Ring the damn bell, I'll take them all." His words didn't get through all of the laughter going around the stadium, which stopped once the captain stepped forward, holding a huge axe.

"Silence fools. This tiny runt was able to kill Rugby not an hour ago. Do not take him lightly!" Topaz growled at his team.

"Yeah right! What did he do, hire a hit man?" Gagaki asked.

"However it happened is beside the point! We will gain our vengeance and then we will focus on ending the Spirit Detective's life!" Topaz declared. Toguro frowned and stepped forward, causing most of the Spirit Warriors to take notice.

"Having a change of heart now?" Verto asked.

Toguro ignored him, "Here's how we will do this, the last team standing wins. The boy will take you four on until either you all die or he does. I'll take your captain."

"So let me get this right, this kid is going to take on four consecutive fighters and then you'll go? Is that right?" Koto asked.

"Didn't you hear earlier? I'll take them all at once. I don't care how you keep score, let's just see who lives," Verto proclaimed.

"Awful cheeky brat you have there Toguro!" Gorilla pointed out. Toguro didn't answer as he was in the midst of a stare off with Topaz.

"This has got to be the strangest opening round we've ever had. Well, at least there should be a decent bloodletting from this one. Team captains please clear the ring so we can begin!" Koto ordered. Only Toguro and Topaz left the ring, not taking an eye off each other. The other four stayed in the ring as Koto signaled to begin. They all pulled out huge weapons except for Dosukoi, who appeared to be a sumo-wrestler type.

"So who gets to carve him up first? Or should we even bother taking turns?" Gorilla asked.

"Rock paper scissors will settle this!" Bagaki declared. The four large demons stepped away and proceeded to play the popular game while Verto glowered at them.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! The Spirit Warriors can't decide who's going first in a four on one match! The bloodbath has been put on hold!" Koto whined.

"Hey ref, do me a favor," Verto said.

"Um, yes, what is it?" Koto asked.

"Get out of the ring, it's about to get messy," Verto replied. Koto was about to protest when Verto's blue aura appeared. The mocking crowd was suddenly silent, as were the Spirit Warriors. Verto didn't take his power to anywhere near full force, but it was enough to grab attention. Koto didn't budge until a small lightning bolt pierced the ring near her feet, and she dove out to the ground. Once she was away, Verto flashed forward and reappeared behind the fat demon Dosukoi with his glowing arm stretched out. Blackened blood spilled out as the top half of the demon's body fell backwards from Verto's knife hand. The other three suddenly became fearful as when Verto phased out again and they frantically looked for him. He finally appeared behind Bagaki and shoved him into Gorilla. The two of them argued with each other, leaving Gagaki completely unprepared and unaware.

Verto charged in from behind, blue fist drawn back," Galic Fist!" Once the bright explosion cleared, Gagaki's axe fell and stuck into the ring tiles in front of his teammates. Only a small amount of black debris remained of the axe's owner.

Verto stood back up as the remaining two giants shook with slight fear, "If you want to withdraw, now is the time. Otherwise you'll become a pile of dust just like your teammate." Neither of the two larger demons seemed eager to leave yet and side-stepped until they were lined up with Verto between them. Verto glanced back at Bagaki before staring down Gorilla.

"I hope you realize that this move isn't going to work," he said.

"Shut up runt!" Gorilla growled.

"Incredible! In no time, Toguro's servant boy has wiped out two of his opponents! Can he continue to amaze us by winning the match?" Koto asked the crowd.

"Hey! Quit it with the servant boy crap! It's getting really irritating!" Verto shouted.

Koto looked over in surprise, "What should I call you then?"

Verto held his head slightly, _You'd think they would have registered my damn name by now, even if it is a cover._

As Verto was lost in his train of thought, the two demons became angry when they realized that he wasn't taking them seriously. They charged in at full speed from both directions. The crowd groaned when the demons smashed into each other. Both grinned, assuming Verto had been squished like a pancake between their large bodies. They pulled apart and discovered that he wasn't there. One of the demons in the crowd pointed Verto out in the air.

"Wow, he's actually flying above the ring without any wings! This kid is really talented!" Koto announced. Gorilla apparently had seen enough and chucked his axe straight at Verto. Verto glided back and knocked it out of the air with a crossing kick. It fell straight at Bagaki, who panicked at the sight of it. He jumped to the side to avoid it, and turned right into Verto's fist. Bagaki's body was sent flying into the stadium wall, and his head went into the crowd. Gorilla stood nervously in the ring as Verto turned towards him. He began to back step until he noticed his captain scowling at him. Verto walked calmly towards Gorilla, allowing the demon to explore his escape options.

Koto filled with excitement again, "Wow, what an awesome level of brutality! Only one of the Spirit Warriors is left after his team has been torn to shreds by this mysterious kid. Whoever he is, it's obvious that Gorilla is no match for him!"

"She's right you know. I suggest you forfeit now and save yourself," Verto advised.

"But, he'll kill me!" Gorilla claimed as he glanced as Topaz.

"I'll kill you dumbass! He won't make it past the next match to care about you!" Verto fired back, "Give up now or die where you stand!"

"Don't you dare surrender Gorilla, or I'll be picking your remains off my axe for a hundred years!" Topaz roared. Gorilla struggled with the decision briefly before growling angrily and charging at Verto, who already had his palm up and charged.

"Suit yourself, now go to hell!" Verto exclaimed as he fired. The blue blast erased Gorilla completely and the crowd was reduced to a low murmur.

"Wow, incredible! Toguro's servant boy has completely annihilated the Spirit Warriors!" Koto announced again.

"Hey, what did I just say a minute ago?" Verto shouted at her.

"Well, you never said your name," she protested openly.

"Call me D."

"Is that your real name?" Koto asked, repeating Sakyo's question.

"That is irrelevant, but if I hear the words _servant boy_ again, it's not going to be pretty. Do you get it now?" Verto warned with a small burst of energy that nearly blew her over.

"Right, let's hear it for D!" Koto said nervously. The crowd suddenly exploded with thunderous approval as Verto stepped down and walked back towards Toguro.

The larger demon was frowning, "Impressive, but you didn't show me everything."

Verto glanced up at him, "When did I say I was going to? No need to expose myself to beat four fat ass morons with zero power, and I used too much as it is. You wanted them beat, and I'd say they're beaten. I told you I'll keep my end of the deal as long as you and your boss keep yours." Toguro didn't answer initially as he sensed a distinct struggle in Verto's energy. Verto's eyes had briefly turned crimson red and he appeared to be on the edge of his control.

"Perhaps you and I will have to face off so I can finally fight at my full power," Toguro offered. The change in Verto's apparent rage was immediate as it almost became overwhelming confidence.

He smirked evilly, "Be careful what you wish for. Maybe you should just stick to Yusuke for now, we can settle the rest afterwards."

Toguro looked concerned at this behavioral shift, but didn't pursue it, "Fair enough, D." Toguro headed for the ring as Verto glanced down, frowning slightly as he stared at his hands. The light scars on his right hand were burning again and he felt an urge to rip something apart. _Damn it, I almost lost control again. I knew I used too much power on those creeps, but I was trying to make a point. Those guys were villain-types without a doubt, but any negative feeling that drove me to kill them should have been alleviated. Instead, it got even worse, and I about went crazy again. Better steer clear of Frieza or I'm going to screw this whole thing up._ As Koto was introducing Topaz against Toguro, Verto headed for the tunnel. Towards the back, he spotted the Elder Toguro and the creepy Karasu. The flexible albino only laughed while Karasu seemed to be eyeing Verto from head to toe.

"Impressive display. I can't wait to see your other talents," he claimed as he dared to reach for Verto's shoulder again. This time he struck Verto's blue Psi shield, inches away from his body.

"I warned you once before, don't fucking touch me you sick bastard. I'm in a bad enough mood and I won't warn you again. I guarantee you won't like the result," Verto said coldly as he walked by. Karasu backed off peacefully as Verto strode away at a brisk pace. A loud roar sounded from the arena just as Verto sensed Toguro's power shoot up for a brief moment and Topaz's die off. _Big surprise, what a joke of a round._ He passed various demons that paled now at the sight of him and got out of this way. All but one of them shook nervously when he went by, which drew Verto's gaze. This one was just as tall as Toguro and almost as muscular with a mostly bald head and a small pony tail hanging from the top. They locked eyes and had a brief stare off before the newcomer walked over. Verto sensed an odd power coming from this man, but he didn't feel that it resembled Saiyan energy. If anything, the only thing he received was a feint headache, and it seemed more due to his struggle to control his inner rage.

"Can I help you little man?" the tall humanoid asked.

"No, I thought you might be fighting for one of the teams, that's all," Verto replied as he turned.

The stranger smiled strangely, "Actually, I am a member of the Urameshi team. I hope to fight in the next round, but they're probably going to stick me with the alternate's slot. No matter, those humans are unlikely to survive the whole way."

"You're a demon I take it?" Verto asked.

"Close, I'm actually a special agent from the Spirit World. I was sent by its ruler King Yama to keep an eye on the situation. My superiors and Prince Koenma don't want me to partake in the contest, but I bore easily. My name is Ranot, pleased to meet you," he said as he stuck out a friendly hand.

Verto took it, "Likewise, I know the feeling about boredom." Initially, Verto still sensed something strange around Ranot, but it wasn't threatening. If anything, it was an almost calming presence and Verto felt relaxed.

"I saw you fight out there, awesome display. Your skill level is incredible," Ranot claimed.

"It really wasn't that much," Verto admitted.

"For a boy it was. Maybe we'll face each other in the final round, if my team can make it. I would enjoy a match with someone like you," Ranot said.

Verto smiled lightly, "Maybe. Hey, have you noticed any strange people around here?"

Ranot seemed amused, "Here? Are you kidding?"

Verto rolled his eyes, "Okay, good point. There's supposed to be five or six of them, and they might look like me. Probably very strong compared to the rest, that kind of strange."

"No, but I have gotten some different readings. There was a tall green man with pointed ears and a turban that concerned me, along with his small pale counterpart with a purple head. They didn't feel quite like demons, and the short one looked like he was trying to cause trouble. I haven't noticed anyone else yet, but I'd be happy to keep an eye out and inform you," Ranot offered.

"That would be great, thank you. And you shouldn't have to worry much about the two you mentioned, they're with me," Verto pointed out.

"Alright, no problem." Verto walked away satisfied as Ranot followed him with his gaze the whole time.

A tiny smirk formed on the large man's face as Verto turned the corner, _Interesting, very interesting._

**A/Ns: Well I hope I didn't ruin things too badly this time, though if you're still here then I'd say it came across fine. I planned the double update since I knew that first one wouldn't have much in the way of action…depending on your point of view that is. Oh and thanks to a certain reader on the one or two miss-spell mentions for Sakyo because the spell check didn't catch it.**

**WDG:** My spidey-senses tingled when Ranot introduced himself. Something about him just screams to me, _"traitor!"_

**VB: **That's one way of saying it.

**Next time on DBV: Piccolo gives Verto a new training method to help control his rage while he retrieves information from Toguro and Sakyo. As the second round begins, Verto attempts to help Yusuke's team when two of their own go missing. In the process however, he runs right into a trap laid out for him and it's time to meet the Renegades.**


	82. Dark Tourney 4

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 81: Dark Tourney 4: Chal's Troops**

Verto couldn't find Piccolo or Frieza initially due to both their suppressed energy and the demon crowds. He actually found Yusuke and his team by accident, as it seemed that they were keeping a nervous eye on him. He held back the urge to tell them off and opted to simply lose them in the crowded corridors. That plan utterly failed when the demons suddenly showed much more respect and cleared a path for Verto at every turn. _Funny how things work out._ After the fifth subtle attempt to lose them, Verto literally ran into Kuwabara and gave up. Both Yusuke and the smaller masked fighter were with him, partially blocking the way. Kurama and Hiei quickly closed in from behind, springing the obvious trap.

"Fine, you got me, what do you want?" Verto asked.

Kuwabara stuck out his chest slightly before bending over, "Hey tough guy, we'll ask the questions here!"

Verto's glare intensified, "Oh really?"

Kuwabara recoiled, "Or, maybe not!"

Yusuke stifled a laugh, "Smooth Kuwabara, you just got stared down by someone half your age."

"I did not!"

"The fool notwithstanding, just who the hell are you?" Hiei demanded.

"And for that matter, why are you with Toguro?" Kurama added.

"Does it matter?" Verto countered, "My business isn't with any of you."

"Then who is it with?" Kurama asked.

"Someone else, be glad for that," Verto replied as he stepped forward.

Kuwabara dared to block his path again, "Hey shrimp, we're not done talking to you yet!"

Verto paused long enough to glare at the tall teenager, "Unless you want to be buried in that ridiculous suit, I suggest you get the hell out of my way."

"No way, you can't take the five of us!" Kuwabara claimed. Verto glanced back at the rest, and while they did look ready to jump in at a moment's notice, he sensed nervous hesitation.

"I thought you were a man of honor?" Verto asked instead.

Kuwabara was quite taken aback at this, "Well, I, uh…"

Verto pressed the verbal advantage, "And seeing as I helped Yusuke out earlier, I figure I get a free pass for now. Excuse me." The bumbling oaf let him by, unsure how to respond. Hiei however, was not so accommodating and flashed forward, back into Verto's path.

"Not so fast, you haven't answered me yet. Unlike the fool, I will make good on my threats!" Hiei declared.

Verto scowled up at Hiei, who was only a little taller than him, "Not with one arm you won't. As I said already, I don't have any business with you and I think we all agree to keep it that way."

"Then why'd you help me deal with that ugly bastard from before?" Yusuke asked.

"Because I was asked to for a return favor, nothing more. I assume you saw what I just did to their whole team. If you have a problem with that, file a complaint," Verto suggested. He stepped past Hiei, who phased out again and this time pressed his metal blade into Verto's gi.

"I won't ask again!" Hiei shouted. Verto mimicked Hiei's movement, confusing the group momentarily until they spotted him walking away behind Hiei.

Kurama held an angry Hiei back, "Stop, we can question him later. Right now we need to be focusing on the next fight." Verto's reddened eyes shifted a bit at this, as he had been rather close to the point of explosion.

_Damn it, I almost let him get to me, I need a punching bag or something._ Ahead, he finally spotted Piccolo, but no Frieza. Piccolo had his usual stern expression as he and Verto locked eyes.

"You nearly lost control again, and this time you weren't even in a fight. Need I remind you that they need to live through this?" Piccolo stated.

Verto nodded grimly, "Yeah I know. It would be easier if we could have just teamed up with them instead."

"Easier perhaps, but not necessarily wiser. Did you learn anything about the Saiyans?" Piccolo asked.

Verto grimaced, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? I was watching Yusuke, who almost got killed by one of these weak demons."

Piccolo stared at the wall, "I've been a bit….sidetracked."

"Is that why Frieza is missing?"

Piccolo visibly blushed, "Sort of."

"And you can't sense where he is can you?" Verto growled.

"He may not be able to sense energy, but he can suppress his very well. I can't find his among all the different energy levels here. Too much evil," Piccolo claimed.

"Yeah, I guess that's understandable. I'll find him," Verto said. He shut his eyes and concentrated hard, using his astral vision technique to quickly scan the stadium for Frieza. It didn't take him long to find the changeling, who was in the process of bullying three very human looking women. Verto isolated his position to behind him, past where Yusuke and his team had first started to tail him.

"Damn it, here we go again," Verto muttered.

"Did you find him?" Piccolo asked. Verto motioned for the Namek to follow and moved quickly through the corridors. He blew right by Yusuke and the others in the process.

"Hey, what the!" Kuwabara stammered. Verto didn't stop as he flew through small packs of demons who could barely get out of his way. Piccolo followed close behind as he felt a distinct change in the air, centralized within Verto's energy as waves of pure rage. Verto arrived just as he saw Frieza about to make a move on one of the women he had cornered. Two were of average size and shape, though one had blue hair and the other brown. The third was younger by far and in the process of trying to tell Frieza off while the other two shook in fear.

Frieza caught a slap meant for his face and laughed, "My my, aren't you spunky?" He pulled back and reached for her body. He didn't quite make it though when Verto's fist smashed into the side of his face. Frieza crashed into the wall, causing part of it to crumble as he lay there, stunned.

The shorter girl wasn't sure how to react, "Um, thanks." She gasped slightly when Verto's heated glare turned towards her before he focused on Frieza. As he stepped forward, waves of heated air came off him, causing a drastic temperature change. Frieza shifted and got up to a weak knee as he spat the blood from his mouth. Verto stopped and stood over Frieza with pure contempt, and judging by the way he was shaking, he was going to snap if he was given any more incentive.

"Why you disgusting little monkey brat!" Frieza crowed. Verto's eyes flinched in rage and Frieza's level of fear skyrocketed. The next blow left nearly a two inch indention on Frieza's face. The halls lit up with bright red light, all of which was coming from Verto's outstretched hand, and Frieza found himself in a very bad predicament.

"No, wait! Please don't!" Frieza begged.

"Shut up! You killed my whole family, my whole planet!" Verto shouted.

"No I didn't! Have you gone mad?" Frieza pleaded.

Piccolo arrived, but wisely stayed off to the side, "Verto, stop this!"

Verto seemed to be in a different place altogether, "I won't let you do it again!" Piccolo sweated nervously as Yusuke and the others ran in. He knew full well that he wouldn't be able to stop Verto if he lost control.

"Keiko, Botan!" Yusuke shouted.

Piccolo turned and blocked the way, "Stay back."

"What's going on?" Kuwabara asked. All eyes were on Verto as he appeared to be hesitating. His dangerous blast was still charging, but there was clearly a mental conflict going on.

Piccolo bravely elected to try and assert himself, "C'mon kid, you know we need him for now. You can kill him again later." Red light shot out from the blast and Frieza winced when it crashed a few inches from his dented face. Verto used the odd variation of his sword to cut an outline around Frieza's head. Frieza dared to sigh with relief, until the red beam moved into his shoulder. He cried out in agony as his shoulder was torn to shreds by Verto's energy. Verto stopped after about ten seconds and promptly walk away without another word. Piccolo took it as a good sign as Verto's power level slowly fell off.

Frieza clutched his ruined shoulder as a torrent of blood trickled out, "Argh! Find a leash for that damn kid Namek!"

"Just consider yourself lucky that I actually tried to stop him. There wouldn't of been much else I could have done," Piccolo admitted. Piccolo then gave Frieza a stiff shove in the direction Verto had gone. He gave Yusuke's team a brief nod before following.

Keiko, the girl who tried to slap Frieza, seemed very confused, "What was that all about?"

Kurama stepped in, "I don't know, but the amount of spirit energy I sensed just now was incredible. I think it would be prudent to stay away from that boy if it can be helped."

"He's on Toguro's team, we'll have to deal with him eventually," Hiei pointed out.

"Maybe." The group turned to see the mostly bald newcomer leaning against the wall nearby.

"Hey, you're…what's his name again?" Kuwabara asked.

"It's Ranot, don't try too hard Kuwabara, I would hate for your brain to melt down. Anyway, that kid has a different mission than you all. And as long as things go to plan, you won't even need to worry about him," Ranot explained.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yusuke asked.

"It means that there's someone else out there that Team Toguro will be facing before the finals. We should examine the tournament bracket when it is released in the morning," Kurama said.

"Just so we can help psycho kid? No thanks," Yusuke muttered.

Ranot snorted slightly and stepped away, "I advise caution Mister Urameshi, and also don't be too quick to judge. That kid may actually be the strongest ally you have."

* * *

Piccolo literally drug Frieza back into the hotel room and slammed the door, "So what was all that about?" Verto was already there, slumped on the couch and visibly shaken as he attempted to calm himself.

Frieza stumbled slightly as he favored his bloodied shoulder, "Isn't it obvious Namek? The brat has gone insane!"

Piccolo glared sternly, "I was talking to you Frieza, I'll get to him in a minute."

Frieza's eyes remained cool, "Settle down Namek, I was merely searching for some entertainment."

Piccolo's right index finger lit up and shot a blast that grazed Frieza's face, "Don't wonder off again."

"Whatever green bean," Frieza muttered as he stuck out his tongue.

Piccolo then turned to Verto, who was back to glaring at Frieza again, "Well, what happened? What did you feel?"

Verto's intense stare softened slightly, "I've felt it ever since my battle with Frost. It's like this sudden overload of anger and rage."

"Your hidden powers?"

"Partially, but I can control that to an extent. While I was out in deep space, we had a joint mission to capture one of the Renegade Saiyans, Chal. I fought him and won, but I know he didn't try to beat me. He wanted to get captured and running into me was his key to escape later," Verto explained.

"How?" Piccolo asked.

"Chal has a mental ability where he can influence and project negative emotions into others. While I was there, he caused multiple fights between Frost's own soldiers, and he didn't even have to be in the room to do it. That led to me and Frost fighting each other as well. After that first round, he escaped and used that mental technique on me. The result wasn't pretty, and I slaughtered the majority of Frost's troops like they were animals. You know the rest," Verto continued.

"So you're still suffering the side-effects of this mental ability?" Piccolo surmised.

"I have been, it's why I can't use my Feedback technique. But what I felt just now is different, it feels too strong. That means he's here, Chal is here."

"Wait, I thought you and Frost fought because of Lenz?" Piccolo asked out of confusion.

"We did, but it was Chal that helped her release her Berserker power, it had to have been. Frost then saw her as a threat, though I'm pretty sure he was planning to betray us anyway. It just happened a lot sooner," Verto finished.

"So, your training to control yourself was a failure," Piccolo guessed.

"Not completely, but he got to me at a weak moment, no thanks to Frost."

"Cursed monkeys," Frieza muttered aloud.

Verto stared at him, "Haven't you tempted fate enough for one day?"

"Go on boy, finish me off! I'm waiting!" Frieza dared to say.

"I just might next time, instead of letting you suffer like this. I hope that seems like familiar behavior to you," Verto warned. Frieza promptly shut up when it seemed as if Verto was about to strike again.

Piccolo resumed the conversation, "Well, if this particular Saiyan can influence others like this, our situation is going to get much more complicated."

"Maybe, but we're in a crowd of demons that already fight with each other. This seemed very focused on me, which means they know we're here. We need to confirm their presence and what team they're on. We can proceed from there," Verto said.

"Agreed, I'll consult with Toguro and Sakyo about it. You get some rest," Piccolo ordered.

Verto stood up, "I'll do it, it's my mission."

"And you're on the straight path to failure if you can't control yourself. Stay here and refocus," Piccolo urged.

Frieza's skin became whiter than usual, "Are you out of your mind you green-skinned hobgoblin? You're leaving me alone with him?"

"It's the perfect place to retrain himself to better control his rage, around the person he hates the most."

Verto smirked, "If that's the case, I'll have to release this aggression first. Good thing Bulma packed a few Senzu beans."

"What are those?" Frieza asked.

"If I don't kill you by accident, you'll find out," Verto said. Frieza's eyes widened as he grasped the full meaning of Verto's words. He cringed and glanced towards the window, as if he were plotting an escape route.

"Just don't destroy the room too much, I would like a place to sit," Piccolo said as he turned to leave. Verto cracked his knuckles a bit and grinned evilly as he stepped towards Frieza. Piccolo gave off a brief expression of amusement before opening the door and stepping out. Frieza was already screaming in pain before the door closed.

* * *

Piccolo had his own reasons for wanting to make the short trip through the hotel. The only reason he had dared to leave Verto alone with Frieza was that he felt the boy had regained control for the moment. Piccolo had already been forming a training regime for Verto to counteract the mental damage done in the last year or so, but the urgency was becoming more apparent.

_It's not his fault, and he has been through a lot. Anyone else would have already cracked. It's that damned hidden power of his, he needs a long period of peace to refocus. Once he's done beating Frieza to a pulp, I'll have to start the training. It'll be difficult here in this strange and evil place, but it needs to be done as soon as possible._ Piccolo arrived at Sakyo's suite a short while later and collected himself. The door opened before he could knock, revealing Toguro, who had likely sensed him coming.

"What is it?" Toguro asked.

"We need to talk, seeing as the kid did what you asked of him. I only ask for any new information you might have found about this Team Gorenja," Piccolo said.

"What about them?"

Piccolo looked smug, "They're the ones you two were talking about when you mentioned imposters."

"You were eavesdropping on a private conversation?"

"These ears do more than just frame my face. I was unable to watch their match due to complications, so I'll ask you. What did they look like?" Piccolo asked.

Toguro adjusted his sunglasses, "They all had spiky hair and brown tails. Each of them appeared to be fairly strong and they won their matches swiftly against inferior opponents."

"I see, thank you. I suppose they were all wearing body armor as well?"

"Yes, are they who you're looking for?"

"Their characteristics are an exact match."

"The boy doesn't have a tail," Toguro pointed out.

"He did at one time, pray there isn't a full moon," Piccolo replied.

"Why?"

"Let's just say that the problem would be a lot bigger."

"You can let him in Toguro," Sakyo said from behind. Toguro stepped out of the way enough for Piccolo to get through before shutting the door. Piccolo immediately spotted the shorter of the Toguro brothers, sipping a drink. He also made note of a very tall man wearing heavy armor that was standing off to the far side.

Sakyo held up a small piece of paper, "This is the new tournament bracket. As you can see, we won't have another match until the semi-finals. We will most likely be facing these alien imposters you spoke of."

Piccolo eyed the paper suspiciously, "This bracket looks wrong. It's unbalanced."

"So it is, but it wasn't our idea. That would be up to the tournament committee," Sakyo said.

"There isn't much in the way of honor or fairness around here," Piccolo muttered.

"It's kill or be killed. If you can't handle that, you should leave," Toguro said sternly.

Piccolo barely acknowledged the powerful statement, "Hmph, I used to think that way."

"I invite you and the boy to sit with me tomorrow to enjoy the matches," Sakyo offered.

"The boy most likely, I have other things to handle," Piccolo said.

"You needn't worry about keeping an eye on Yusuke Urameshi. I expect he and his team will be in the ring for most of the day. After all, they'll have two rounds to fight tomorrow, if they can win," Sakyo pointed out.

"What?" Piccolo gasped. He glanced at the paper sheet again and saw that it was indeed true.

"It should be a most entertaining day, don't you think?" Sakyo asked.

Piccolo stared into Sakyo's cold eyes, "Perhaps, but what if Yusuke's team doesn't make it through?"

"Then he's not worth fighting me and we'll have wasted our time. They will be killed," Toguro said.

"I see, what about their sixth member, the substitute?" Piccolo asked.

"I have no idea who he is, most likely a representative from Spirit World I expect," Sakyo guessed.

"No, he's not from Spirit World, I would be able to tell," Toguro corrected.

Piccolo grimaced slightly, "Alright, thank you for your time."

"The first match starts at noon," Sakyo reminded. Piccolo nodded and left the room, and a wave of uneasiness swept through him. He kept his ears locked onto Toguro and Sakyo, but heard nothing worthwhile from them.

* * *

Upon returning, Piccolo found Verto was asleep and completely relaxed. The walls had been hit by something, or rather, someone, and were cracked all over. Frieza was down and battered, lying in a heap in the corner. He was obviously in pain, but didn't appear to be able to move. His shoulder was bleeding again, leaving quite a stain on the carpeting. His left leg was bent awkwardly, a sign that it had been broken. His face was a puffy, bloody mess and he was barely able to breath. Piccolo eyed the open capsule case on the coffee table and reached for the one marked 'Emergency'. Inside was a small white case and five loose Senzu beans that spilled out onto the table. Piccolo grabbed one and walked over to Frieza's fallen form.

He paused when Frieza starting mumbling, "Damned primate! He's just lucky Frost didn't kill him!"

Piccolo scoffed, "It was more than just luck, you should have realized that by now."

"Shut up lizard breath! I don't need any lip service from the likes of you!" Frieza rasped. Piccolo kicked Frieza lightly in the back, and he groaned from the impact.

"If you want to prevent more of this, I suggest you cooperate Frieza," Piccolo stated.

"What for?"

"Because I have more restraint than Verto right now, and even I can't stand the sight of you. It would be far better for me to kill you than him," Piccolo pointed out.

"Why?"

"Don't play dumb Frieza, I know you've seen what he can do. Even to those who are already dead. You've seen the soul burning technique, correct?" Piccolo asked. Frieza paused before nodding resignedly.

Piccolo could tell that Frieza was frightened just by the words, "Then help me train him to suppress these violent outbursts, because they will only get worse."

"And the next time he feels the need for a punching bag, he'll kill me anyway!" Frieza claimed.

Piccolo flipped the Senzu bean to Frieza, where it landed next to his hand, "Eat that."

"What? Is this some sort of Namekian joke? You're feeding me beans?" Frieza laughed.

"Just eat it," Piccolo said in frustration. Frieza struggled to get it into his mouth, even more so when he tried to chew it. Within seconds though, his pain was gone, as were the injuries.

Frieza stood up in amazement as he examined the shoulder that Verto had nearly destroyed, "Astounding!" Piccolo snorted and walked away while Frieza continued to look himself over.

He finally stopped after a few minutes and glanced at Piccolo, "So, how do you wish me to proceed Namek?"

Piccolo turned on his heel, "You're actually willing to help?"

"I despise the both of you and hope that you'll both end up rotting in the bowels of hell. But I'm not stupid, I am very aware of the danger that kid poses, especially to someone like me. I do not want to end up barbequed and ceasing to exist. Now what do you want me to do?" Frieza asked.

Piccolo smirked, "What you do best."

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Verto asked.

"You heard me, I want you to attempt to meditate while Frieza taunts you. If you can remain calm and still around the one you hate most, you should be able to fully control your rage. And for every time you lash out, he gets a free shot at you in any way," Piccolo explained.

"Better get Dende, we'll run out of Senzu beans," Verto muttered.

"Maybe so, but this won't be just during your meditation time. He's going to follow you around all day and night," Piccolo said.

"What?" Verto exclaimed.

"WHAT?" Frieza shouted.

"You want better control over your emotions, I can think of no better way. Here are the Senzu beans. Yusuke's match starts in about thirty minutes," Piccolo said as he handed over the capsule.

Verto shook his head, "You know, Lenz was right. You are too logical."

"Speak for yourself! The blasted Namek is even worse than I am! At least I would have offered a mercy killing before forcing someone to work with a monkey!" Frieza claimed.

Verto knocked Frieza into a previously undamaged wall, "Shut up!"

Piccolo held his head, "Ugh, well this isn't starting off well."

Frieza grumbled a bit as he pulled himself out of the wall, "I get a free shot now, right Namek?"

Piccolo pointed to the door, "Take it outside first, you've done enough damage to the room." Verto left quickly, to which Frieza reluctantly followed, but kept a small distance of at least a dozen feet. Verto walked briskly from the hotel, through the woods and towards the stadium without one word. Frieza thought about getting his supposed free shot in, but thought better of it when Verto's death glare set in.

_Damned monkey brat, if only he wasn't so strong._ _ I doubt if anyone here can win against him. _ Frieza paused mid-thought, remembering what had been said about the tournament rules and what the champions received. _Of course! The champions are granted one wish each! They must have something like the Dragonballs here. I can wish myself immortal again! The only problem is the brat and the Namek, but with the kid going off the handle and those other Saiyans running around, it shouldn't be too difficult to place myself into this tournament. I merely need the right opportunity to slip away._ Frieza chuckled lightly, drawing Verto's dark stare again.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"The fact that I would be needed to hold a Saiyan's leash again, it is truly ironic," Frieza laughed. Verto rolled his eyes and faced forward as they neared the stadium and it's crowd of demons. Upon entering, he spotted Koenma, or rather the older one who had recruited him to begin with. The blue ogre, Jorge, was with him, making Verto weary as he suddenly wasn't sure if he was the right one or not. When he turned to stare back, Verto knew the answer.

"Koenma-sir, it's that really powerful kid form Toguro's team!" Jorge claimed nervously.

"Thank you Ogre, I noticed," Koenma carefully replied.

"He's looking at us!" Jorge gasped.

"Just stay calm, keep moving." Both were clearly shaken as they quickly walked in the opposite direction.

"Look boy, I think they're scared of you. Maybe you should pull out a banana to reassure them that you're just a monkey," Frieza suggested. Verto's fist shook as he resisted the urge to pound Frieza again. Moving on, Verto found Sakyo in the next chamber beneath the stadium. He was with a young adult human female that looked like one of the three Verto had partially rescued the day before. They didn't appear to be talking at all though, just smoking. She gasped slightly upon seeing Verto and Frieza coming closer.

"Relax, they're with me," Sakyo said.

"That's not reassuring," she claimed.

"Isn't about time for your brother's match?" Sakyo asked.

She huffed slightly, "Sure, chase me away, like every other guy…" She walked off with a hint of frustration, giving every demon the evil eye.

"Your girlfriend?" Verto joked.

"Kuwabara's older sister. Hopefully Yusuke's team can survive the matches. I wouldn't want to have to see her be punished or killed if they can't," Sakyo claimed.

Frieza chuckled, "I could just kill her now and she won't have to wait."

"And I could just cut off your limbs for suggesting it," Verto snapped back.

"No need for that. The match is about to start, let's go," Sakyo said as he led the way. Verto and Frieza followed while giving each other death glares. Upon reaching the stands, Sakyo descended a few stairs down before picking a conveniently open spot next to the aisle. Verto had enough room on Sayko's left to sit comfortably, but on his right, Frieza did not. He shoved the nearest demon out of the way, prompting another confrontation. It was a big one this time with a dull gray skin color and glowing yellow eyes.

It bared multiple sets of teeth at Frieza, "Get your own seat, this one is mine!"

"Looks like it's mine now, too bad," Frieza laughed. The demon attempted to force the issue, and was wiped out by a very minor blast wave from Frieza's hand.

Verto shook his head slightly, "And I thought Vegeta was one of a kind, guess not."

Frieza's head snapped around, "What's that supposed to mean kid?"

Verto smirked, "I guess the simplest term for you would be that you were 'behaving like a monkey'."

Frieza filled with anger as his fist balled up, "Curse you!"

Verto relished Frieza's misery, _Well, maybe this training won't be so bad after all._

Down in the ring, Koto the referee announced the next team battle, "And now, Team Urameshi will take on the Doctor Ichigaki Team!" Both teams entered the ring, but appeared to be short two members each. Verto squinted a bit, spotting Yusuke, Kuwabara and the masked fighter.

_The two demons are missing, the one with the red hair and the other that looks like Vegeta_. The Ichigaki team had three humans that each had some sort of attachment on their backs and neck. They were supported by a short demon in a lab coat that had troll-like features, but he didn't look like a fighter.

"Hmmm, it seems that Hiei and Kurama have gotten lost," Sakyo mentioned. Verto shut his eyes and searched for their energy signals, but there was too much interference from the other demons for him to pick them out of the crowd.

"Hmph, so it's only six weaklings this time instead of ten. Good, maybe this will go faster," Frieza said.

"Perhaps, I'm curious to see how they handle going up against other humans," Sakyo claimed. Below, Verto could hear the short troll-doctor laughing over and over again about whatever he was using to control the humans on his team.

"I despise mad scientists, he's lucky he doesn't have to face me," Verto commented.

"Maybe, but each of his warriors are strong and relentless. Yusuke still seems tired from his fight with Chu," Sakyo pointed out. Verto scanned the six fighters thoroughly, finding what Sakyo said to be true.

"Judging by their energy levels, their chances are slim. Only the masked fighter can stand up to those three easily, so they'll have to rely on him," Verto stated.

"Wise deduction, but do you think he can fight three times in a row?" Sakyo asked. Verto didn't answer as the sound of the mad doctor began to overtake everyone's ears.

"…You want to know why Urameshi? It is said that the human body can generate an endless amount of spirit energy! Humans themselves are all sitting on a monstrous power. Take free will away and the monster says hello!" Ichigaki declared.

"Psst, hey monkey, he's talking about you!" Frieza chuckled. Verto blinked sharply as Ichigaki's words and paid no mind to Frieza's.

"Hey, asshole, why don't you come fight me yourself?" Yusuke asked.

"Oh we'll be spending plenty of time together Yusuke. It's already been arranged that if we win, you will belong to me. Think of it Yusuke! If I can get a normal human to produce an incredible amount of energy, just imagine what I could do with the Spirit Detective!" Ichigaki pointed out.

"I like my free will right where it is, no thanks!" Yusuke claimed.

"Haha, I'll take care of that problem. Now let's get this show on the road, no more stalling!" Ichigaki demanded.

Koto frowned, "So it appears that we will be down two members for each team for the duration of the round. And remember that neither team can use a substitute until someone has died."

The masked fighter then stepped forward and gave her input, "I request that instead of single matches we make it a three on three battle royale. The last team standing wins."

"So there's a young lady under that mask, I was under the impression that it was a man," Sakyo claimed. Other demons in the crowd had a similar reaction, but most were more focused on picking up the 'Kill Yusuke' chant again. Ichigaki fumbled with some sort of electronic device for a moment before hooting with joy.

He quickly calmed himself, "Accepted." Koto then announced the doctor's team as M-one, M-two and M-three. The doctor and Koto cleared the ring and the match started. Almost immediately, all three of the controlled humans charged at Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Oh wow, look at the Ichigaki team go, they're out for blood!" Koto announced. The smallest among them, M-two, jumped into the air and fired off six small energy rings simultaneously. Both Yusuke and Kuwabara dodged erratically, barely missing them all. Two of the rings ripped into the ring surface, but the other four dissipated and faded without even a blemish.

Verto watched intently, _Only two of those were real, the others were illusions. Not bad._ The short barrage separated Yusuke and Kuwabara, allowing M-one to go straight for the Spirit Detective. His palm lit up with dim red as he tried to attack. Yusuke stood his ground, preparing to fight hand to hand. He suddenly glanced at the masked fighter before ducking out of the way. M-one's blast made a small crater where Yusuke had been. On the other side of the ring, Kuwabara faced off with M-three, who, like an old master, was maintaining distance. He suddenly threw his arms up and created a long, narrow swatch of blue energy that was rather similar to Verto's Psi sword, but not as concentrated. Like Yusuke, Kuwabara didn't show any signs of running. M-three brought his arms down, hitting Kuwabara, who dropped to the ground.

Verto quickly realized what was happening, _They can't see the attacks, not fully anyway. Yusuke should be able to…when he's not running low on energy like he is now._ The masked fighter stepped in and attacked M-one from behind, stunning him with a kick to the head. She was chased by M-two and his energy rings before she artfully dodged a knife-hand strike attempt. She caught M-two by surprise with another kick to his torso and then spun him around, tossing him into M-three. The masked fighter landed next to Yusuke and spoke quietly as she took a protective position. The three mind-controlled humans slowly recovered and focused their attention on her alone. Verto grimaced, as he could tell that she was going to have a difficult time against the three of them on her own, especially while protecting her teammates.

"What's keeping the other two?" Verto asked.

Sakyo looked thoughtful, "That's a good question."

"What's wrong boy? Concerned about a few lowly humans?" Frieza laughed.

"More than I would be about you," Verto growled back.

"I'll try to act like that bothers me," Frieza replied coolly.

"If you're so concerned, perhaps you should go and look for them," Sakyo suggested.

Verto eyed him, and then gave Frieza an evil look, "You move one inch Frieza, and you're dead!"

Frieza shifted a bit to the right, "Is that enough?" Verto bit his lip and ran up the stairs. He didn't encounter anyone initially and made for the stadium entrance.

Before he got there, Piccolo stepped out from behind a pillar, "Where are you going?"

"You may not have noticed that two of Yusuke's team are missing out there. I don't like their chances, especially if _someone else_ got to them first," Verto said urgently.

Piccolo stiffened, "Alright, you stay here and I'll search for them. You keep an eye out and keep track of Frieza." Verto nodded slowly as Piccolo took off into the woods. Verto turned back the way he came, slowly walking as he tried to calm himself. He was nearly to the correct stairwell when he felt something out of place. It was some sort of subtle energy displacement that hadn't been there before. The area is spanned wasn't very big, but it was enough to make Verto feel as if there was a trap and he had sprung it. All of a sudden his arms and legs locked in place and his breath became short. He tried to move, but struggled to even budge.

_Great, now what?_ Verto cringed as he tried to break free of whatever had snared him. He sensed a small degree of unfamiliar energy in the air and prepared to break out of it by powering up.

Just before he did though, he heard laughter from a male voice, "My my, did our little friend wonder off on his own?"

"Who's there, show yourself!" Verto demanded.

"Well that's just rude, he didn't even notice me and I was right behind him," another voice said, feminine in nature. Verto's eyes widened as he suddenly felt four strong presences around him, and the closest one had spoken second.

_Demons? No wait, I sense two energy signals with each and I sense Saiyan energy. It's the Renegades! Alright, stay calm, don't alarm them too much yet._ Verto remained as calm as he could and felt each energy signal out, noting that none of them reminded him of Chal. A hand brushed his shoulder and Verto felt it get much colder. A young woman about a foot taller than him stepped into view. She had blue hair that spiked slightly on the right side of her face, along with light blue eyes and a slightly flat nose. She was very thin yet curvy overall and despite her energy level, didn't appear to be that strong physically. Even though she was grinning at him, her icy eyes put Android Eighteen's to shame. She dared to run a finger across the side of Verto's face, and he shivered from the contact. She was wearing black Saiyan armor with shoulder pads and a violet jumpsuit.

"So, shall we start with names, I think I can guess your abilities," Verto said.

The female smirked, "My name's Laysh. Your blood runs hot, I'll bet you'll be a real lady killer in a few years."

"Better tell your friend to let go of this hold he has on me or I'll really kill a lady," Verto suggested.

Laysh was surprised, "You sensed him already?" The next two Saiyans stepped out from opposite pillars, one of them was thin but well muscled with brown hair. The other was of a smaller frame, but looked almost exactly like the first. The bigger one of the two had on brown armor while his skinny counterpart wore black.

"Lieutenant Chal was right, he is very perceptive. Alright kid, I am Dorit, and this is my twin brother Frit," Dorit said, gesturing to the smaller man to his left. Frit had a slight grin on his face as he snapped his fingers, and Verto stumbled out of the apparent hold. He turned to see the last Saiyan stepping out from hiding. This one was the tallest of the group, but also the oldest by far with graying hair.

"I'm Selffur, pleased to meet you, Verto," the older man said.

"I guess I won't bother to ask what he's told you, why are you here?" Verto asked straight away.

"Should we be somewhere else?" Frit countered.

Verto raised his eyebrows, "Is that a trick question?"

"Maybe we like it here, it wouldn't take long to conquer this world after all," Frit pointed out.

Verto clenched his fists, "If you think it'll be that easy, you're welcome to try."

Dorit held his hand up, "No need for that yet. We've learned from Lieutenant Chal that you're very powerful and we'd like to make an overture."

"So before I say no, go ahead and offer away," Verto replied in a bitter tone.

"We have a common enemy, Frost," Dorit pointed out, "Join us and we will destroy him together."

"This sounds familiar, and tempting. Though I can't say that I'm in a big hurry to go up against him again. What do I have to do in return?" Verto asked.

"Nothing," Dorit said simply.

Verto turned his head slightly, "That I don't believe, there's always a catch."

"No, that aspect is true, for the moment," Dorit hinted.

Verto felt the tension rise, "By nothing, you really mean stay out of your way."

"Yes."

"I can't do that."

Laysh threw an chilly arm around his shoulder, "Come now, you owe these creatures here nothing."

"It isn't what I owe them, it's what I owe myself. I don't break my word and I gave it to save someone important to me. I'm returning the favor and I really don't care who I have to beat in order to do that," Verto explained.

The older Saiyan Selffur cleared his throat, "As Chal said, smart, perceptive, strong and naïve."

Verto turned to face him, "We'll see, what do you want here in this dimension?"

"Dimension? This is an isolated planet," Dorit claimed.

"And you called me naïve? Haven't you noticed the drop in energy levels you've undergone? You probably should have noticed it once you crossed the rift, you know, the one with the storm."

"You know, he does have a point. That sure was a bumpy ride when we entered this area. That storm did kind of pop up out of nowhere, and I remember that it wasn't on scanners until we were in the middle of it," Laysh said.

"True, but atmospheric conditions read this to be a planet with odd energy fluctuations, which would explain why it's harder to concentrate our energy. You make an interesting point kid, however it's of no real concern. We were ordered to come here. Lieutenant Chal never expected to come across you so soon, but it will not matter. I strongly suggest you stay out of our way," Frit suggested.

"Or what? You can't push me around and you know it," Verto declared.

Frit lifted his hand up, "Interesting you should say that." Verto suddenly felt a massive force push against him. He struggled against it, but he was forced backwards by this invisible technique. The Renegades watched on as he was plowed into a wall. Frit kept his hand aimed at Verto, who couldn't do much more than budge or breathe.

"We should just kill him now, he won't be of any use to us," Frit claimed.

"No brother, Lieutenant Chal said specifically not to touch him. He has something special planned for him," Dorit said.

"A waste of time, let me do it now!" Frit refused.

"I don't know Frit, you sure you want to anger the Lieutenant again? He may not let you off so easily this time. Besides, I wouldn't mind keeping this kid around, he's kinda cute," Laysh said suggestively.

"Frit's logic is sound. However, it is not worth dying for, let the boy go," Selffur ordered. Frit scowled slightly and gestured to the left. Verto was yanked from the wall and sent flying out of the stadium. The four Saiyans watched him tear through several dozen trees before Frit dropped his arm. In the distance, a momentary flash went off before part of a nearby mountain cracked apart and a sizeable piece of it fell to the ground, causing light tremors.

"Time to go I think. Selffur, use your ability on this area in case he comes back in the next few seconds," Dorit ordered.

Selffur nodded as Laysh drooped her shoulders, "I really wanted to fight him now. These stupid demon creatures are no challenge."

Dorit smiled slightly, "Relax Laysh, I think we'll have our chance to enjoy ourselves here." As the Saiyans departed, a shadow in the back of the area moved out, revealing the larger man Ranot. He eyed them carefully before he backed off.

**A/n: Everyone catch the food puns I brought back into play here? Here's the fun part, while I was struggling to think them up, I got hungry at work and raided the snack machine for chips. Need I say more? **

**Flew solo on this one, WDG was unavailable so I apologize on any errors I might have missed.  
**


	83. Dark Tourney 5

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 82: Dark Tourney 5: Standby**

Verto growled a bit with uncomfortable anger as he collided with the mountain and was dug in slightly. With a quick exertion of power, he burst free of the rock and tore the mountain's side completely off. He was about to rush back to the stadium, but had quickly lost the Renegades' power signals. _No point I suppose if they're trying to lose me on purpose. I still don't know the extent of their power nor abilities as a whole so I'd better wait for a better opportunity. If I just storm in there I might lose control again or fall into their next trap._ Once he calmed down, he sensed Piccolo coming near. He waited long enough for the Namek to see him before dropping down below the tree line.

Piccolo followed, "What just happened? I sensed a disturbance and suddenly you're out here. Taking out some of your aggression on this mountain?"

"I had a little run in with the Renegades. Chal wasn't with them, but they more or less confirmed that he is here somewhere. Got a taste of their abilities too. They didn't say what they wanted specifically, so we're still in the dark with that one. I get the feeling that they're willing to fight me in the ring, otherwise they might have tried to kill me just now," Verto explained.

Piccolo was clearly concerned, "They're that powerful?"

"Don't panic, you're the one with the cooler head right? Anyway, in terms of what we would consider a straight on match up of strength, no. Chal is, but they weren't, as far as I could tell that is. But that doesn't matter though if they use techniques you or I have never seen," Verto reminded.

"I see. You handled it very well then by not lashing out and actually taking the time to question them to ascertain their abilities. What techniques did you see?" Piccolo asked.

"As I told you already, Chal uses lightning type attacks, a lot like my Psi Storm, but better. The woman among them seemed very cold, so something involving ice I imagine. Another seems very good with telekinetic movement, thus how I ended up out here when they decided to cut the conversation short. The other two didn't give me any clues to their powers, so we're in the dark there. The one that spoke with me seemed to be the leader and also appeared to be the most well-rounded fighter both in a physical sense and energy level," Verto answered.

"Good work," Piccolo said.

"Let's find the two demons from Yusuke's team. I don't think we had to worry about the Renegades taking any of them out, and I get the feeling we never did," Verto declared.

Piccolo's eyes narrowed, "Explain."

Verto lifted off into the air, motioning Piccolo to follow, "I just have a hunch. Sure they could've killed him if he was in the way or something, but I don't think that's the goal here. They mentioned that they did not see a storm or a rift when they crossed over, but that it was there afterwards. They seemed to think that this was an isolated planet or something."

"I don't see what that has to do with anything," Piccolo claimed.

"It may not be a big deal, but if you think about it, how did the Zerg come to Earth? Through a dimensional rift," Verto pointed out.

Piccolo turned his head slightly and nodded, "Alright, was there anything else?"

"They gave me the usual warning about staying out of their way, and offered to help defeat Frost. Needless to say, I didn't accept," Verto said.

"Why not?" Piccolo asked.

"If you're going to say that Frost is a bigger threat, I don't completely agree," Verto retorted.

Piccolo was slightly taken aback, "I'm asking why you didn't consider it."

"Frost is a mutual enemy, but he also creates both a power balance and a buffer zone. If he moves against us himself, the Renegades will take advantage. The same goes for us and them. The only thing he can safely do is stay put and wait for one of our skirmishes to come back to him again," Verto explained.

"So you purpose to let this stalemate of sorts continue? That's a dangerous approach Verto," Piccolo warned.

"It's also Vegeta's approach at the moment. We have a slight advantage in overall power, and the Renegades have transportation and surprise on their side. Frost doesn't have another logical choice," Verto pointed out.

"True, but what if he disregards that? Changelings aren't known for their logic once they have a goal," Piccolo said.

Verto paused, "Well I didn't say it was foolproof. But if that happens, I'll let you be the one who says 'I told you so'."

Piccolo shook it off, "So, what do you think these Saiyans will do?"

"Good question, they're more like a wild card. Maybe if we find out what they're after here we'll have a better idea," Verto suggested.

"In that case, we must treat them as another eminent threat and prepare ourselves when we return to our Earth. We'll discuss our findings with the others as well," Piccolo added.

"One step at a time, we need to get out of this mess first. Look, there's the two demons," Verto pointed at the ground. As Verto and Piccolo approached, they saw Hiei and Kurama were under attack by some sort of giant robot. Both were dodging the robot's arms, which extended and bent accordingly to follow their movements.

"I've got this," Verto said as he dropped out of the sky before Piccolo could say anything. He landed just behind the robot and punched straight into its back. It stumbled and rolled forward, taking a few trees with it.

"It's that kid!" Hiei shouted.

"Aren't you two due in the ring? Get going, your team isn't doing very well," Verto said.

"Yes, but we need to find out who these humans are on the doctor's team and how they're being controlled. M-five here should be willing to talk," Kurama said as he looked left. There was M-five, a brown demon with spots covering his body.

"Have fun with that then, leave the robot to me," Verto replied as he stepped towards his target. The robot launched its extendable arms at Verto, who stood ready to take them on.

"He'll be crushed!" Kurama proclaimed.

Piccolo dropped in behind him, "Not likely." Just as the arms reached Verto, they stopped dead in their tracks. A powerful blue energy erupted and began to shred the arms apart, disintegrating them completely. Once the built-in claws were gone and useless, Verto shot forward and plowed through the robot's body. An odd mixture of oil and blood spilled out as Verto landed on the other side and gazed at the hole he had made. The robot slumped over and sparked as it shut down. M-five went into panic mode and ran for his life. Hiei and Kurama chased after him, with the latter using some sort of thorny vine to grab M-five's ankle. He pulled back and the demon's foot was torn off. M-five went down in a heap just as Hiei reached him. He immediately started punching M-five in the face relentlessly, leaving it a bloody mess.

Hiei stopped only for a moment, "Alright scum, you had better start talking. Otherwise I'll have to let Kurama do the interrogating, and he isn't as forgiving as I am!"

"W-what do you want to know?" M-five stuttered.

"How is Ichigaki controlling these humans? They're strong enough that he would have considerable difficulty capturing even one of them. Tell us now," Kurama said coldly. M-five didn't answer right away, prompting Hiei to deck him again.

His tongue loosened accordingly, "Okay, okay! They're the disciples of Metamura, a martial arts master! He fell sick and Doctor Ichigaki offered to cure his illness in return for their help with an experiment!"

Kurama stared at him, "But the doctor didn't cure him at all, did he?" M-five froze from Kurama's chilly stare, and Hiei motioned to cause more facial damage.

"Stop! I'll tell you where he is. He's on this island! Ichigaki brought him here for insurance, to make sure they cooperated! Even with his control devices, there's no guarantee they'd follow orders…" M-five explained.

Verto scowled deeply, "So they're threatened with his death instead. He's mine!"

"It's not your fight!" Piccolo protested.

"Does it look like I care? You guys can go find this old master of theirs, I'll pay a visit to the troll doctor," Verto declared.

"No Verto, you know we've been warned not to interfere!" Piccolo reminded.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to this time," a voice from the side said.

All of them glanced over, but Hiei was the first to speak, "Who the hell are you?"

"Leira, what's wrong this time?" Verto said.

"Yusuke Urameshi is going to be killed in the next round. You must not let that happen," Leira stated.

This pulled Hiei and Kurama's full attention, "By who?"

"The owner of the team you'll be facing has recruited a substitute that will be used after the captain is beaten. None of your team is currently strong enough to deal with him," Leira said as she glanced at Verto, "But he is."

"One of the Renegades? Is there more of them here?" Verto asked.

"You'll find out in due time," she replied vaguely.

Hiei gritted his teeth, "How is he supposed to fight for us? He's on Toguro's team and we were already given a substitute!"

"Use the masked fighter's disguise," Leira suggested.

"Of course! They are nearly the same size. We'll just have to talk him into removing it. He'll likely be worn out after fighting with those humans that are controlled by Ichigaki," Kurama claimed.

"For the record, the masked fighter is female. Hurry and find their master," Leira suggested. Kurama and Hiei nodded and turned back to M-five, who was trying to crawl away. Verto and Piccolo both stared down Leira, who looked slightly flustered, but not towards them.

"There's something about this you're not telling us, spill it," Verto said, slightly agitated.

"Only that I have a measure of regret that this happened. I made a mistake and I have to rely on you to clean it up. Be careful," Leira warned.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Verto asked. Leira didn't answer as she turned around and vanished into thin air.

Piccolo shifted slightly, "I think I know. Let's get back to the stadium and give the doctor his pet back."

* * *

When Piccolo and Verto arrived, Kuwabara was down and out of the ring. Yusuke was suddenly powering up and preparing to fire at the three humans. He managed to stop from shooting his Spirit Gun when the masked fighter calmed him down. The crowd took note of Piccolo and Verto dropping down into the arena, more so when the crumbled robot hit the ground.

"My precious Gatsubal!" Ichigaki crowed when he looked over.

"That's what that pathetic thing is called? I've got a new name, Trash Can. As in what I'm about to throw you in," Verto declared as he stepped towards Ichigaki.

Koto the referee ran between them, "Stop, you can't interfere in this match!"

Verto glanced at the ring for a moment, "I'm not in the ring now am I?"

Koto seemed defiant to stand between them, "You're not a member of either team, so you have no place here!" Above, Kurama and Hiei quickly dropped into the stadium, landing on the broken robotic contraption.

"And you can't jump in either, they agreed to a three on three match!" Koto pointed out.

"Hey guys, you're late," Yusuke said from the ring. The other fighters were standing still at the moment, not attacking for some reason. Verto stayed silent while Kurama explained what had been transpiring out of the arena and why the doctor now controlled the human martial artists. Piccolo tugged at Verto's arm, motioning to maneuver around Ichigaki and block his exit. As they repositioned themselves, Verto could feel Yusuke's anger sparking his energy when Hiei was finished explaining the situation, and voiced his opinion to the mindless fighters. Verto didn't quite hear what he said other than some random cursing, but he could definitely tell what the humans started to say as blood started pouring from their eyes.

"Kill us!" all three said in unison as they refused to even move.

"Bah, the human emotional brain is the only part throwing a wrench into my socket here! Despite the effectiveness of my devices that feeling crap still manages to poke its ugly head out. Well, that won't last for long!" Ichigaki claimed. Yusuke's power erupted again, but the masked fighter held him back and said she would handle it herself. She landed and shifted stances as Yusuke backed off, but Verto felt her spirit power being concentrated into something. Then she started chanting in a language he didn't recognize. Suddenly, a blue burst of Psi energy came forth from her hands and took the form of a large twister that swirled in the air a bit.

"It's a hoax! I've gauged this fighter's power. She doesn't have enough energy for an attack that big! It's just a trick, attack her!" Ichigaki ordered. _Wrong, very wrong._ The three humans powered up their own energy attacks and charged ahead, only to come to a halt when she erected a large energy shield around herself. She finished her chant and then leapt into the air, punching each of the fighters once in the chest before dropping to the ground. Each of them paused in mid air as the creatures attached to their backs suddenly came off. All three humans then fell to the ring and stayed there, their power plummeting. Verto sensed that she didn't kill them, but their energy levels were extremely low, enough to the point where everyone else thought they were dead initially.

"But, my perfect inventions! How can you destroy scientific achievement with chanting?" Ichigaki shouted in shock as Koto counted them out.

"Stupid doctor, stupid tournament," Yusuke grumbled as he marched towards Ichigaki, who was starting to backpedal a bit.

Verto smirked, "Oh good, I thought he would never come this way."

"Just prevent his escape kid, it's their fight so let them finish it," Piccolo warned.

"Hey, asshole! You better realize that you're not walking away from this!" Yusuke shouted as Hiei jumped into the ring next to him. Verto noticed Kurama coming closer as an older man entered the arena from his far right. Judging by both his appearance and age, Verto guessed that it was the old master they had been looking for. He looked like he was recovering from something rather brutal, but was managing to walk into the place just fine. The evil doctor tried to bargain with them for Metamura's safety, only to realize that it was a moot point when Kurama pointed him out. Ichigaki then reached into his lab coat and pulled out a syringe to injected himself with. His low power surged and his body mutated into a larger green demon. While initially strong, Verto sensed that there wasn't much to be concerned with.

_With the exception of Kuwabara, all four of them can beat him in that state_. Ichigaki jumped into the ring and loomed over Yusuke and the others, trying to use his long arms to slash at them. Verto and Piccolo stood by and watched as Yusuke declared that he would handle it alone. He was hit once by Ichigaki's claws, but barely acknowledged the attack and beat the crazed doctor silly. He landed a fierce uppercut that sent Ichigaki into the stands, where the doctor lay and didn't move again. As the dust from that settled, Metamura's students woke up, and a heartfelt reunion occurred in the ring while the demon crowd groaned.

"This crap is making me sick!"

"Damn it, they survived again!"

"We're not going to be satisfied until at least one of them bites the dust!"

"Kill Yusuke! Kill Yusuke!"

"It's funny how they managed to not notice us at all once their opinions got in the way," Piccolo claimed.

"Yeah, I guess they really didn't need us on this one," Verto replied.

"Help the one in blue get to their waiting area, I'm going to track down Frieza," Piccolo said as he left through the tunnel. Verto nodded and went to help Kuwabara to his feet. The elder teenager hesitated with fear along with the blue-haired girl that Verto had seen with Yusuke's team before.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Relax, I'm just here to help," Verto replied as he helped Kuwabara stand up.

"Oh, well thank you, I'm Botan," she said.

"Just call me D for now. Let's get this lump out of here," Verto suggested. It was a short walk to the locker room area, where Verto assisted in getting Kuwabara to the nearest bed.

"There you go champ, take it easy. These injuries look pretty bad!" Botan said as she helped him lie back.

"Thank you for assisting us my young friend," Kurama greeted Verto as he walked in.

"Yeah, but why is he helping us this time?" Yusuke asked right behind him.

"It's a long story. We should concern ourselves with Kuwabara first. Then we need to make a plan with the masked fighter," Kurama suggested. Hiei and the masked fighter came in just as Verto stepped out, allowing them the luxury of being left alone, but it wasn't long before the announcement came.

"May I have your attention please! The third round of the Dark Tournament will begin immediately! Also the fights will proceed as the bracket is ordered, starting from the left. Will Team Urameshi and Team Masho please report to the ring!"

"What?" Yusuke shouted.

"So that's what they're up to, convenient timing," Kurama said.

Verto's eyes widened at the declaration, _Seriously? They weren't even given a chance to rest._

"Yusuke, make yourself useful and go stall them," the masked fighter suddenly said. Everyone stared at her, most likely because she didn't speak much.

"What the? And what are you going to do?" Yusuke asked.

"Just do it, dimwit!" she said in exasperation.

Yusuke looked confused at her words, "Huh? Okay then…"

Kuwabara groaned, "Hey Botan, help me get out there!"

"No way, you're in no condition to fight!"

"I have to!" he urged.

"Take him out there Botan," Mask said.

"B-but!" Botan protested.

"Do not worry, he won't be in any position to fight either way," Mask reassured. As Botan was helping Kuwabara out, Mask began peeling the wrapping from around her head. At the same time, Verto felt something about Mask shift slightly.

Kurama seemed shocked when an old lady was revealed beneath the mask, "Genkai, how?"

Verto caught the confusion bug for the moment, "You seemed a lot younger a moment ago."

"Shut up, we don't have time for that story. You wanted to make a plan, so hurry it up," she snapped at him.

"We were warned that an extremely powerful substitute would be used against us in the next match and it was suggested that you allow this boy to take your place. Seeing as you're drained from your technique and Kuwabara is injured, it's a tempting idea," Kurama explained.

"We should have recruited him from the start. Had I known there was an old woman under that mask, I would have killed you and Yusuke for such foolishness," Hiei claimed.

"You couldn't do either in your condition right now, so I suggest you cram it up your ass!" Genkai rasped back.

Hiei started towards her, "Why you!"

"Hiei, please! Is there any way we can use our substitute?" Kurama asked.

"Of course not, none of us have died yet! Though I'd be happy to slit Kuwabara's throat if it will help," Hiei replied.

"And there's the matter of finding him as well. If Koenma doesn't trust his own replacement, then we have little choice. You two go out there, he'll be along in a moment," Genkai ordered. Once Kurama and Hiei left, Genkai retrieved a matching set of clothes from a nearby cabinet.

"I don't understand, why didn't Koenma send you along instead of that big buffoon? Then I wouldn't have to be involved," she claimed.

"It wasn't him that sent me here…well not exactly," Verto paused as he tried to think of his answer.

"What are you saying?"

"It's a long story like they said, but let's just call it a time travel thing where something happened here that wasn't supposed to. The world gets wiped out because of it," Verto explained briefly.

"And you're here to fix everything? Sounds like you'll just make it worse, and that confounds things since you're on Toguro's team," Genkai pointed out.

"Only because they're going up against the imposters that I have to stop. After that, I'm gone," Verto said.

"Alright boy, put these on," Genkai said as she handed over her spare clothes. Verto grimaced but turned his back and removed his green uniform. As he was changing, he became weary of Genkai's staring, like he was under a microscope. He quickly realized that she was likely seeing all the scars he had amassed in recent history, the burns from Kaon being the newest.

"Tell me, how old are you?" she asked.

Verto turned in question, "About ten now I think."

"Don't lie to me boy," she snarled back.

Verto's eyebrow went up, "Alright, would you believe mid-twenties?"

"I guess I'm not the only one who uses a technique that causes age-reduction," she replied.

"Never heard of that, and this isn't a technique. It's just how I am," Verto said.

"That's absurd."

"Do you want me to go into the long winded details about time travel? I guarantee my story will take longer than that match out there will," Verto said sternly.

"Never mind," she grumbled as she turned around. She appeared to be preparing something that Verto didn't see as he was putting on her shoes, which barely fit his feet.

She turned around and handed him a white wrapping, "Put this on over your head." Verto eyed the makeshift turban and noticed a light red liquid pooling in the center of it.

"What is that?" he asked.

Genkai saw the hesitation and grinned, "What do you think it is?"

"No way am I dying my hair, especially not pink!" Verto protested.

"That's fine, then you can tell whoever sent you here about how you failed because you were too stubborn and stupid to look convincing," Genkai said calmly.

"Argh, fine!" Verto grumbled as he turned around. Genkai dumped the solution over Verto's black hair, which quickly changed color in response. _Thank god Trunks and Goten aren't here to see this, never mind Vegeta. I would never hear the end of it._ Genkai personally soaked each strand until there was no longer any hint of black on Verto's head. She then wrapped a different cloth around all but Verto's eyes, concealing most of his head.

"Now, I suggest you keep your true power suppressed while you fight, until you have to use it that is. Most demons have very good spiritual awareness and if it's too high, they'll sense the difference between us. Get going!" Genkai barked at him.

* * *

When Verto entered the arena again, he saw four cloaked individuals on the other side of the ring from Yusuke. He was facing off with a red haired demon with a single horn on his head, along with pointed ears. Verto couldn't make out what he was saying over the microphone, but it sounded like he wanted to settle everything in a gauntlet type of match.

Koto was happy to translate it, "Jin has suggested a series of one on one matches with the winning team getting five wins and Yusuke gives the nod!"

Before anything could start however, another bell signaled some sort of decision, "May I have your attention please! Due to the Urameshi team fighting without rest, a medical examination will be ordered to take place immediately! Please report to the medical tent!"

"What is this, gym class?" Yusuke groaned.

"They're up to something!" Kurama suggested. Verto walked over and stood next to Hiei, nodding slightly when Hiei glanced at him.

"At least that old woman has a brain, but we're going to handle this without your help," he whispered.

"Sure," Verto replied.

"As long as they don't grab my balls and make me cough!" Yusuke snorted, ignoring the short conversation next to him. As he said that, a very attractive woman appeared in a nurse's outfit next to a freshly set medical tent. _Hello_.

"Whoa, scratch that!" Yusuke said when he caught sight of her. She walked towards them with a swagger, though Verto could sense a darker ambition coming from her. The others might not have been able to detect it through her suggestive movements, but Verto definitely did.

"Hello gentlemen," she said in almost a moan. Then she lifted her hand and gradually moved it towards Yusuke, and then Kurama. Verto sensed a momentary spark of energy from her, but it was very low. _She must be scanning us to determine who is the weakest. If I suppress my power too much, there is a chance that she will pull me along for the ride. A medical examination is not what I need right now._ Just as her palm faced Verto, he let out a very quick burst of energy before suppressing it just as fast. Her eyes went wide for a moment before she calmed herself and turned away.

"Yes, why don't you and um, Kuwabara, come with me to the medical tent!" she said directly to Hiei.

"What are you talking about? I need no attention. Why don't you go nurse that fool on your own!" Hiei spat at her.

"Because his wounds do not interest me quite as much as yours do, Hiei," she replied calmly. Hiei grunted slightly and followed her as Botan helped Kuwabara to the tent. A brief exchange of quiet conversion ended when Hiei tried to walk out of there. Then Verto sensed the nurse powering up, and her energy surrounded the tent. Hiei attempted to run right through the force field that was erected, but failed and fell backwards. Verto sensed him try to power out of it, but it only seemed to affect him more. This also left Botan and Kuwabara trapped in the tent as the nurse stepped out without pause.

"What the hell? Hey red head! Why do I get the feeling you aren't a licensed nurse?" Yusuke shouted as he ran towards her. She suddenly stripped off her outfit, revealing nothing but a yellow colored vine wrapped around her curvy body.

"That's correct Yusuke! Enchantress is more like it. I am known as Ruka, and am the most talented person alive in spell defense incantations!" she said. Hiei looked angry at himself for falling into the trap, and attempted to punch his way out, only to get struck by random lightning bursts and put on his knees. _That force field must be like my feedback wave, it repels and strengthens whenever force is used against it._ The tournament committee then decided to announce the obvious for everyone.

"Hiei and Kuwabara have been ruled medically ineligible and will sit out for the duration of this round!"

"Give me my damn team back!" Yusuke growled.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Didn't you hear? They are both very sick, and they need a little time to recover!" Ruka said as she reentered her shield and sat down while Hiei struggled next to her.

"Hey, fox girl! How can you let them lie like that?" Yusuke asked as he jumped into the ring to hunt down Koto.

She screamed a bit as he bore down on her, "I have nothing to do with these decisions, really!"

"Wrong damn answer!"

Kurama then cut off Yusuke in the ring before he did something foolish, "Hey, it's all right!"

"Says who? Those lying bastards are cheating again!" Yusuke pointed out as Verto joined the two in the ring.

"Obviously the committee is against us. But we haven't been hurt either. Truthfully, Hiei and Kuwabara are not well enough to fight right now, not against these demons. Think about it, why would she only capture two of us when she had the chance to do more? Maybe her power is too weak to restrict us all and she took a pair that were too weak to resist at the time. Normally I'd say Hiei should be able to break out of that, but not with his condition right now. She's helped them less than they believe. This should lure Team Masho into a false sense of security. The advantage is ours," Kurama explained as he glanced at Verto again. They were interrupted by a deep voice laughing from across the ring. The red haired demon and one of his larger companions were standing there.

"Three against five now Jin. I'd bet you can destroy all of them yourself!" the big one said.

"Ugh, nah! I'm having to change my mind if it's going to be a fix like that! I don't give a damn, someone else go! I'm sure I'd rather watch!" Jin said as he started to walk off. _Wow, an honorable demon._ He had a very strange accent as well, kind of an Irish thickness to its tone.

The large one suddenly grabbed his shoulder, "Don't start thinking you can disrupt the set this time Jin!"

"Argh, don't you ever put your grubby hands on me again!" Jin growled as he roughly shoved him off and walked away, sitting next to the wall. As the other Masho members were discussing who was going to fight, Kurama turned to Verto.

"Let us fight them as long as we can. I'd rather not pull you into this unless necessary. After all, it would greatly increase the chances of your disguise coming off!" Kurama suggested. _Well I suppose I can't ask him to trust me already based on almost nothing besides a little help. I guess I'm on standby for now. _Verto sighed slightly and stepped out of the ring as Kurama had Yusuke leave as well, in order to fight first.

* * *

The round proceeded quickly as Kurama took on Team Masho's first fighter, a blue demon named Gama. This demon used some sort of strange paint to cover himself in markings that seemed to focus his energy. He attacked Kurama relentlessly, but missed on each attempt. Gama didn't wait long before using his paint against Kurama instead, covering his ankles and wrists with small amounts of black ink. The effect seemed to hold Kurama in place and make him unable to dodge. Gama explained that it was a heavy chaining effect that resembled having roughly two-thousand pounds of weight attached to each limb. Gama then moved to strike the supposedly defenseless Kurama, who twirled his head slightly as his energy surged out.

"Rose Whip!" A long thorny wine shot out from his hair, which tore the surprised Gama to shreds. As Gama bled out, he looked up to realize that Kurama hadn't used his hands to summon his Rose Whip, which was intertwined with his red hair. Gama struggled to get up and attack, leaving his purple colored blood to constantly spill out onto the ring and onto Kurama as he swung wildly. The blood stained Kurama's uniform as Gama finally collapsed and Koto began the count. As she was counting, Gama was whispering something to Kurama that made him panic. Verto suddenly sensed Kurama's energy fading, as if something was blocking it out. _He's sealing Kurama's energy, which will make him unable to make it through the next match, whether he can move or not. _

"That isn't good. You might want to jump in," Verto suggested. Yusuke didn't hear him, focusing completely on Kurama's situation.

"Nine…ten! Kurama is the winner. May I have the next member of Team Masho!" Koto announced.

A shorter demon came in next, taking off his cloak to reveal sharp blue hair and a turban. His outfit was a matching shade of dark blue and white. He looked more human than anything, but Verto sensed something dangerous about his energy. Kurama still couldn't move and Koto decided that he wanted to stay in.

"The next match, Kurama versus the Ice Master Touya!" Verto's eyebrow went up under the mask, _Master of ice, that doesn't sound good. Although, it may give me some insight to the Renegade that might use it for her attacks._

"Your sacrifice will not be in vain Gama, Kurama will pay," Touya declared. He quickly released his power, and a chilly wind blew through the arena as Koto shrieked and got out of the ring. The ring itself seemed to freeze up before the air reached Verto and Yusuke.

"Whoa! That's cold!" Yusuke claimed called out. Kurama shivered just slightly as the cold energy poured over the ring and then ascended upwards, trapping the combatants in a huge aura of frigid air. _That's his technique, freezing the air and ground would make his opponent's chances of defending drop and his chances of landing a blow that much greater. At the very least, Kurama can still move, if that curse thing wears off. But he won't be able to go very far._ Kurama's leg still didn't budge very much when he tried to step sideways, and he stopped with a nervous look towards Touya. He then started speaking softly to Touya, trying to start a conversation of some kind as a stalling tactic. It didn't last all that long when Touya started charging some sort of green energy attack in his open palm.

He held it up and then blew it away with his own breath, "Shards of Winter!" The green energy condensed into sharp icy spikes that flew at Kurama with frightening speed. Kurama was able to dodge them just in the nick of time, revealing that the curse around his hands and legs had worn off. He moved and rolled around the ring as Touya continued to fire off shards of ice at him. He eventually was hit once, and that was enough to slow him down to receive more. The needles of ice ripped into Kurama's arms and legs, taking him down but not hitting anything vital. Kurama had been able to block the ice with his own body, shielding his vital points despite the pain. Touya took exception to that and held out his arm, concentrating deeply. A long blade of thick ice formed around his wrist, extending out nearly a foot and a half from the end of his fingers.

"Crap, Kurama throw the match! I can handle it!" Yusuke shouted. Kurama glared at him before resetting his attention on his opponent.

"Looks like he has a plan," Verto said.

"Shut up you midget! Our teammate is about to die up there if you hadn't noticed!" Yusuke shouted in his face.

"Take it easy soldier. If it was hopeless, I'm sure he would have heeded your advice," Verto said calmly. Yusuke continued to fume, apparently wanting to take his frustrations out on the masked Verto rather than anyone else. Verto watched as Touya charged recklessly, allowing Kurama to maneuver just right to counterattack with a knife-hand to the back.

"And another thing, how long are you going to keep that stupid mask on?" Yusuke grumbled. Touya stumbled and fell out of the ring, with his blade arcing towards Yusuke. Verto shoved Yusuke out of the way and quickly blocked against Touya's ice blade, catching it in his hands. The crowd got restless and a various amount of noise was created as Touya stopped in mid air and remained still as Verto glared back at him, literally holding him up by the ice blade. A slight jab of pain came from Verto's palm, followed by a slight trickle of blood that froze on Touya's sword. _Aw hell, now I've gone and injured myself._

"My apologies, I had not meant to lose control and exit the ring like that. I nearly killed your friend, please forgive me," Touya said as Verto slowly lowered him to the ground. The blood coming from his hand angered him more than the botched attack, and Verto broke the sword in half just from his grip. Touya's eyes lit up in slight fear as he backed into the side of the ring.

"I must remind the masked fighter that you cannot interfere in this match or else your team will be disqualified! Since you were only defending yourself this time, you will be let off with a fair warning!" Koto announced as she ran in their direction. Verto dropped any intent he had to harm Touya, but that didn't stop his eyes from igniting with bright red momentarily. Touya quickly jumped into the ring to continue his match while Verto stared at the wound the ice sword had caused. It had been when he caught the sword, and it had sliced across his hand horizontally. It wasn't bad by any means, but it was bleeding a great deal more than it should have been given the differing strengths of the demons and him. _Well, I shouldn't have expected to be invincible here after all, my own fault. At least I kept the objective alive while he was being an idiot._

"Uh, thanks. Are you alright?" Yusuke asked. The crowd roared before Verto could respond, revealing that Touya had produced another sword and had cut Kurama's arm with it. It wasn't a large cut, but it was enough for Kurama to hold it protectively. Touya declared his final attack and Kurama dashed to the side as he held his arm. Touya confidently chased him down before lunging at him. Kurama's arm suddenly sprouted a mass of green leaves and thorns. Both managed to stop Touya's attack, and then counter it with a long vine that pierced his chest. _Nice one, now how the hell did he do it?_ Touya wondered the same thing as he choked on his own blood.

"How did you manipulate your death plant without your energy?" he asked before glancing at Kurama's arms. The plant had grown from them, meaning Kurama had intentionally planted the death seed within himself.

"That's crazy, you used your own body?" he cried out.

"I-It was my only option," Kurama stuttered.

"You really are something else," Touya grunted as he dropped to the ground and Koto began to count him out.

"All right, now it's my turn!" Yusuke announced.

Kurama was fading fast judging by what Verto could sense, though it wasn't enough to kill him, just knock him out for a while. Koto counted ten before Touya could reach his knees again, and Kurama was declared the winner as he passed out on his feet. At first Yusuke was petrified until Koto checked his pulse.

"Wait folks! Kurama still has a faint heartbeat, it appears he has simply passed out!" she announced, causing the demons in the crowd to groan.

"All right, that scared the hell out of me. And hey, fox girl! Just so we're clear, the rest of the fights are all mine!" Yusuke shouted to her. Verto snorted next to him, _Hmph, more or less._

"Not so fast!" a new, deeper voice answered. It belonged to the next Team Masho fighter, who was a dark skinned and very tall man with scars all over his body.

"You forgot something; he's standing in the ring! It looks like he's volunteering to fight again!" he said.

"Oh give me a break dickhead! Kurama's not even conscious, I'm taking this fight!" Yusuke shouted back.

Koto looked confused for a moment, "Um, all right! Team captain decides, Yusuke versus Bakken!" The demon crowd started shouting random obscenities until another announcement bell went off a few seconds later.

"Correction, the next fight will be Kurama versus Bakken!"

"What?" Yusuke and Verto said at the same time.

"A fighter cannot be removed from the ring against his will, and as will cannot be determined here, Kurama remains eligible!" Verto's fist cinched up, but he managed to maintain his position, _That is one dirty play._ Bakken chuckled at this before grabbing Koto up by the back of her neck.

"Looks like you're not needed anymore kitten!" he laughed as he tossed her out of the ring. Koto landed painfully as both Yusuke and Verto growled at the same time. Bakken turned towards Kurama before striking him hard in the stomach. Kurama went down instantly and didn't move.

"Kurama is definitely down Bakken! Step away while I take a ten count!" Koto ordered as Bakken looked back at her, annoyed.

"You're kidding! No one embarrasses my shinobi set and gets off with a ten count!" he grumbled. She got to nine before Bakken picked up Kurama by the shirt and placed him lightly on his feet, though still held his weight.

"Oh look at that, he's back on his feet! I guess he wants some more!" Bakken said as he held the shirt collar tightly before unloading on Kurama's face.

"Stop the fight!" Yusuke shouted.

"Not much of a challenge for me, I like that!" Bakken laughed as he bashed Kurama's head several times before dropping him on the ground. Koto had hesitated before getting back in the ring for her referee duties; apparently this beating was beyond even her sadistic appetite.

"Stop! I'm all for extreme pain and suffering you disgusting freak! But this guy isn't even awake to enjoy it, I'm taking a ten count!" she said as she stepped between Bakken and Kurama.

"Count yourself out bitch!" Bakken growled as he smacked Koto in the head, sending her bouncing to the grass outside of the ring. _Hitting a defenseless woman, I can't tolerate this much longer._ Verto glanced over at Yusuke, who was shaking in anger.

_I should not do anything rash, though this guy probably wouldn't be winning if Kurama were awake. I'll let Yusuke kick his ass, I'm sure he's itching to right now._ As Bakken reached down for Kurama's limp form, Yusuke's hands starting to come together for his Spirit Gun attack. Fortunately, Verto didn't have to stop him, because Bakken's teammate started shouting at him.

"Why did you stop me Risho?" Bakken asked angrily.

"If you would have struck him, you would have died as well!" Risho said as he pointed straight at Yusuke, who had Bakken's head in his crosshairs.

"Place Kurama outside the ring! It's obvious Yusuke cares more for that demon's life than this tournament. He's willing to take on everyone in this stadium if he must. We must not be caught up in a revolt, we need the win!" Risho said from under his hood.

"You're getting soft Risho, you're going to end up like Gama and Touya!" Bakken shouted back. Then he looked back towards Verto's way, and saw the angry expression on Yusuke's face before sighing and tossing Kurama to the grass.

"Well I think we can all agree that Kurama will be staying outside the ring! Just change the blasted scoreboard already!" Koto said as she was getting back up. As Yusuke was helping Kurama over to the stadium wall, Verto heard some commotion from the medical tent, where he sensed Hiei's power relaxing slightly.

_Hiei must have been preparing to jump in as well, I doubt that force field would stand up to that dragon flame of his._ Verto then noticed that both he and Kuwabara were now standing up, and their energy was slowly returning to normal levels. _Hmmm, that's strange, that force field must also have a healing effect. That witch won't be able to keep them in there for long if this keeps up._ Once Yusuke left Kurama's sleeping form, he stood up with a deathly glare directed at Bakken. Verto had wanted to pound the moron in the ring himself, but he felt that Bakken was Yusuke's to finish. _It's his world anyway, this guy won't last long._

* * *

Verto was right about the next fight. Bakken unleashed his special technique on Yusuke, which was a thick fog formed from his sweat that covered the entire arena. Verto was unable to see any of the action initially, but from what he sensed of Bakken's sneaky attacks and Yusuke's response to it, there was nothing to worry about. Yusuke only let the fog settle in for a minute or two before he fired off his Spirit Gun, which collided with a wall and exploded. The wind forcefully removed the fog from the area, clearing up the air and sending Bakken into panic mode. Yusuke then pummeled him relentlessly, breaking bones all over his body. He was knocked out from Yusuke's last punch, which put him in a pile of rubble near where his teammate Jin was sitting. Jin himself got up once Bakken was declared the loser, and the crowd went crazy as he stepped towards the ring to take on Yusuke.

Verto opted to step back towards Kurama, who was stirring slightly as he eyed the two in the ring. Yusuke and Jin both started laughing about something, though Verto didn't hear what as Koto announced the start of the match.

"You all right?" Verto asked in a low voice as he looked Kurama over. He was covered in blood all over, but most of the damage seemed to be from his own design.

"My injuries aren't as bad as they seem, this death plant is the most trouble. It will take a great deal of concentration and energy to remove," he said softly.

"What do you know about this Jin character anyway?" Verto asked.

"He's a master of wind manipulation, and not many fare well against him one on one. I myself most likely would have lost. What about you?" he asked.

"Not sure, have to see him fight to know. But if his energy level is any sign, I would probably beat him easily," Verto admitted.

"Tell me, why are you helping us? You haven't explained that very well to us yet," Kurama pointed out.

"I'll give you the short end of it right now, I was only supposed to make sure your team leader survives outside of the ring, but seeing as you clearly needed the help, I don't mind," Verto explained as a sudden strong breeze took over the arena. He sensed the wind being driven by Jin's energy, which also allowed him to hover off the ground a bit. Jin smiled and suddenly flew straight up until he was very high in the sky. He stayed up there for a few minutes, taking in the scenery as far as anyone could tell.

"Hey come on! You've got a fight to lose!" Yusuke shouted up. Jin glanced downwards at this and promptly dropped to the ground, using his own power to accelerate into a very fast nosedive. Yusuke stood ready for a frontal assault, which judging by Jin's approach, was unlikely. Jin turned and blew right past Yusuke before circling around. Yusuke tried to turn, but was too slow and took a punch straight to the face. As he fell backwards, he attempted to counter attack with a knee kick that only brushed Jin's hair. Yusuke tumbled backwards and rolled on the ground before stopping, a decent trickle of blood came from his lip. _He took that hit on purpose, bit of an odd way to start a fight._ Yusuke got up and complimented Jin on his attack, grinning at him ear to ear, which Jin returned as he floated cautiously.

"Seems Yusuke has found someone a lot like him," Kurama said softly.

"How touching," Verto muttered. Jin slowly landed with an even bigger smile, announcing a special move. He stretched his right arm a bit to loosen it, and then started making quick arm circles. Verto sensed energy being pushed into this motion, and soon there was nothing but a blur of wind current spinning around his forearm. _What the hell is that?_ The mini-tornado spun tightly until Jin could actually move his arm alone while the twister kept spinning, churning up a lot of dust in the process.

"This is one of my favorites! I call it the Tornado Fist!" Jin declared as he brought his arm back for attack. Yusuke didn't seem concerned initially, but Verto felt that he should be. _That attack is stronger than it appears, with the added force of wind energy behind it. It will no doubt cause a great deal of damage if it lands._ Jin ran at Yusuke, who stood motionless as he watched the movement. When he got within a few feet, Yusuke suddenly realized that he shouldn't take the hit and attempted to dodge. He managed to completely avoid the fist, but the wind energy clipped him and sent him flying towards the stadium wall. He landed sideways and sighed in relief, until he saw Jin flying towards him with a second round of twister prepared. Yusuke jumped off as Jin arrived, and this time the wall took the hit. The wind energy exploded outwards from Jin, leaving both the wall and the first ten rows crumbling with many demons getting caught in the blast.

_Wow, not sure if I would have wanted to get hit by that, not without some sort of power just to block it._ Yusuke jumped back into the ring as the smoke cleared from Jin's blast, which revealed a still smiling demon floating there.

"It's been a long time since I've had a fight and actually had some cheer about it, ya know!" Jin announced.

"I think I do," Yusuke grinned back as Jin floated back into the ring. Jin started rotating his arm again, and this time Yusuke didn't wait for him to finish.

"Not this time pal!" he shouted as he dashed in, punching rapidly. Jin backpedaled as Yusuke gave chase, barely managing to block all of Yusuke's punches. The action moved quickly around the ring, with half of the crowd not being able to follow as the two exchanged fast blows.

"It appears their speed is nearly even, though it is hard to follow it," Kurama noticed.

"No, Jin isn't using his wind power. Yusuke has a slight edge, at least on the ground," Verto said.

"You can follow that step for step?" Kurama asked.

Verto nodded, "It's mostly a lot of reckless punching by Yusuke, but it's fast enough that Jin is having trouble blocking it." Yusuke continued his rampage and eventually managed to catch Jin off one time, long enough for a hard jab to the ribs. Jin stumbled, giving Yusuke the opening he needed for a heavy blow. Jin avoided by flying straight up in the air, stopping far above the ring to recover.

"There's my chance going air-borne, damn it!" Yusuke groaned. Jin appeared to be suffering some effects from Yusuke's one punch, affecting him far more than Jin's attack on Yusuke earlier.

"Jin has been hit hard, taking refuge in the air until his squashed diaphragm can recover!" Koto announced.

"So, how do you gauge them now?" Kurama asked.

"Jin's only advantage is what his wind energy grants him, Yusuke has a slight edge in speed and a decisive raw strength advantage. Due to Jin's escape ability though, they will both have to pull out all the stops to beat the other," Verto replied.

"You seem quite experienced in battle for such a young boy," Kurama noted.

"Comes with the territory, you would understand if you had been through half of the hell that I have," Verto said.

Kurama chuckled. "Perhaps." Jin seemed content to stay in the air and spend as much time as he wanted to think up another attack plan, but Yusuke wasn't having it. The bright blue blast that came from his right index finger got Jin's attention as it rocketed through the air towards him. Jin looked as if he was going to crap his pants.

"Yes, it appears as though the great Jin has been caught completely off guard! Will this be the deciding blow?" Koto asked in full play by play mode. Jin's demeanor changed quickly and his energy erupted outwards. He used his body to channel it and then manipulate it into a very rapid tornado, much larger than the one he had been using before. The Spirit Gun blast struck the side of the twister and struggled for a few moments, lighting up the shocked faces of just about everyone in the audience. Jin's tornado shifted sideways, allowing the blue blast to move harmlessly by as it vanished into the clouds above.

"Hey, I needed that!" Yusuke shouted at him. Verto found himself impressed, _Nice barrier, he has such control over the wind that he can even deflect energy beams with nothing but air._

"Did we get that on video, please tell me we did! Jin used his power to create a wall of wind that turned Yusuke's Spirit Gun blast into a space cadet!" Jin sighed in relief and floated down, telling Yusuke that his long ranged attacks won't work on him. _Not true, if Jin is caught at the right time, that blast can be effective. Other than that, the only way to nail him with it is at a close range. I wouldn't do that though,_ Verto thought as Jin laughed at Yusuke's folly. The crowd started chanting positively towards Jin, who soaked it in before getting ready for the next attack. He spun his right arm again while he floated, producing another violent tornado around his arm.

"Jin is getting his Tornado Fist ready for action again!" Koto said over the airwaves. Yusuke didn't move, but looked both concerned and focused at the same time. Jin dove towards him at top speed, intent to punch his head right off.

"Oh my, the Spirit Detective is refusing to back down, he's not even guarding himself!" Koto cried out as she backed off. Verto sensed Yusuke getting his energy ready for something, but didn't bother moving until Jin was much closer. His stance shifted slowly until his index finger was pointed straight at Jin, shining brightly with full power. _So much for brains, he's going for it already._

"Don't be crazy!" Jin shouted as he continued his flight path anyway. _If that blast hits that tornado, the combined explosion will probably kill them both, and maybe part of the audience as well. _

"Let's see which one of us is tougher! Spirit Gun!" Yusuke shouted as he fired. The blast ignited almost immediately and engulfed the entire stadium in blinding light. Most of the destruction went straight up however, indicating that Jin might have been able to deflect it. Yusuke was sent flying backwards into the wall and Jin was sent on a slightly different course through the air. Koto regained her composure and climbed back into the partially destroyed ring, looking franticly for both fighters. The crowd groaned when they noticed Yusuke lying next to the medical tent.

"Wow, it seems both fighters were able to withstand the explosion!" Jin's clothing was slightly ripped, as he seemed very relieved, but also confused at the same time.

"I thought I was crazy Urameshi, but you take the prize! To hell with that! You don't make bombs go boom in your face!" Jin shouted down at him.

"Damn it, at least one of us should have died!" Yusuke shouted back. Hiei berated him quietly from inside the tent while Yusuke only shrugged it off and claimed he would think of something.

Verto frowned, "He got lucky with that one, Jin probably saved both of them with that evasion."

"Yes, I highly doubt Yusuke will be able to pull off one of his miracle comebacks against him, but it wouldn't be the first time either," Kurama said.

Hiei's voice boomed in the arena as Yusuke was ignoring him, "Just try not to get killed! But if you do, I'll be taking your place in the next fight!"

"Please, even if you escaped, it's illegal to enter the battle once you've been deemed ineligible to fight!" Ruka interjected.

"Illegal?" Hiei chuckled as his power surged around him, "To hell with the rules! My power has nearly returned and I am going to fight! And if anyone tries to say otherwise, well I think you know the rest!" Ruka shook nervously as Hiei's power clashed with the force field quite a bit. Yusuke sighed and took a deep breath as Koto started counting, jumping back into the ring at the count of seven. He and Jin traded a few more confident insults before Koto gave the go ahead. Jin then started twirling both arms, creating two Tornado Fists.

"Uh oh," Koto said as she backed out of the ring again.

"Yusuke won't be able to deflect both of those with his Spirit Gun," Kurama stated.

Verto nodded slightly, "Yeah, he might want to consider a different technique for this one." Yusuke did indeed try something different, for him. He shifted stances to a pose that looked as if he was charging a much bigger blast between his hands, but when his energy erupted, the spirit power spread through his body instead, powering him up more. _Well what is this going to be?_ His blue aura appeared and flowed smoothly through the air, but also inconsistently, showing that he might not have done this very much. _Wait a second, instead of using one finger for his blast attack, he's going to use his whole body to channel it._

"This might be messy," Verto said as he stared at the flowing aura.

"Have patience, he has a history for surprises. This is likely something he learned from his teacher Genkai," Kurama replied in confidence.

"It might stop both of those Tornadoes, but if he screws up, he will likely kill himself in the process," Verto retorted.

"Well he is a gambler through and through," Kurama chuckled.

"He can stand there with his thumb up his ass for all we care! He's not gonna win!" a demon shouted from the crowd. Jin looked excited at this development and wiggled around in the air.

"I can't be waitin' anymore! Let's play it!" Jin shouted. Yusuke's power surged one more time, and his body shifted slightly, involuntarily. This told Verto that not only was he new to whatever technique he was using, his body was also unstable when employing it. Jin flipped around before surging towards Yusuke at his best possible speed. Yusuke finished his power up and caught Jin's first punch directly with his left hand, shaking a bit as he firmly held it in place. The crowd gasped as this happened, and remained silent as the two forces clashed. Yusuke was forced backwards by several feet before he clamped down and stopped. Yusuke then charged up and literally threw Jin right off of him, disabling the first tornado completely.

"Incredible, Yusuke blocked Jin's first Tornado fist! But there's a second helping on the way!" Koto shouted.

"It's goodbye!" Jin announced as he punched forward with his other arm. Yusuke raised his foot and blocked it before kicking off, disabling the second attack. Jin floated motionless, shocked at what had happened and unable to fend off what was coming.

"Spirit Wave!" Yusuke shouted as his fist charged up with the remaining energy. He then punched Jin once in the gut, lighting up the arena once again as the blast took on a physical impact. _That attack has its best power from point blank impact, just like my Galic Fist. I see why he was saving it._ Jin was sent flying into the sky, and soon vanished from sight as Koto cried out in joy.

"That was similar to his Shotgun technique, just without the energy blasts," Kurama noted.

"I use something like that, it's effective if done correctly. Looks like he might have pulled this one off," Verto said.

"There's no sign of Jin, is he using his wind power up there?" Koto asked. Verto sensed Jin falling back down a moment later, and he was not using his own power to control the descent. He crashed into the seats and fell to almost halfway down from the upper level, almost completely out of it. Koto began to count as Yusuke caught his breath. Both fighters were low on power from what Verto could tell, but Jin was the only one that was incapable of continuing. Koto finished the nervous count and declared Yusuke the winner, though Jin was able to stand up one more time before he passed out completely.

"That was a damn good fight Jin! We'll hang out if you ever wake up!" Yusuke said as he turned towards the remaining two fighters.

* * *

The demon crowd starting passing their hatred of Yusuke over to Team Masho.

"They're pathetic! It started off five against three! Now there's only two left and Urameshi is still standing!"

"Get that trash out of the tournament!" Verto noticed an overweight man made his way out of the tunnel and directly behind the team leader Risho, berating him about something before running back up the stairs. Risho stepped towards the ring and removed his cloak, revealing that he was black haired man wearing a dark uniform and an orange scarf.

"You better not blow this like your buddies did!"

"Give us a kill!"

"Give us his head!" the crowd continued to ramble on at the opposing captain, who didn't lose his composure.

"With Team Urameshi up four to one, this fight could swing momentum in either direction, begin!" Koto ordered.

"Sorry to say Yusuke, but you're going to die without even laying a finger on me!' Risho said in all confidence.

"What?" Yusuke asked in surprise. Risho only chuckled at him.

"That's it, I'm kicking your ass straight to the moon!" Yusuke shouted as he ran in a dead sprint towards him.

"Stop the fight immediately!" the announcer said from the upper level. Yusuke tripped on his own movement and grinded to a stop face first.

"What the hell for?" Verto asked.

"They're up to something," Kurama said with a concerned tone.

"Tournament committee, please clarify! Why did you order a stop to this fight?" Koto asked.

"Upon review of the last fight, it has been discovered that Koto delayed her count significantly during Yusuke's second ring out!"

"Since when do we pay attention to that?" Koto asked innocently.

"Upon deliberation and with a unanimous decision, the fight between Yusuke and Jin has been ruled a double-loss. Neither fighter is eligible for the remainder of the round! The score is now corrected as three to two." Verto shook his masked head, _Wow, and I thought the last one was bad. Talk about being screwed over._

"This can't be the end…" Yusuke gasped.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Kurama asked.

"The captain won't be a problem, we'll see about the supposed substitute if he ever comes out," Verto replied. The medical tent darkened as the barrier started to buckle due to Hiei's rapidly rising energy. Ruka was sweating heavily as her force field was slowly being torn apart by Hiei. Although Kuwabara looked much healthier and energized, he was standing in the back corner of the tent with Botan and away from Hiei.

"Yusuke, let's forget about their rules, we'll only be dragged down by them. Instead, I suggest we show this entire stadium a new definition for victory!" Hiei declared.

Yusuke's fists shook as he turned back to Risho, "Yeah, why not? They're gonna kill us anyway, so why don't we take on every demon freak until there's no one left? Sounds good to me."

Verto jumped up into the ring and landed beside Yusuke, "Relax, I've got this. Go get some rest."

Yusuke paused, "Wait…weren't you a girl before?"

"Does it matter? I'm here to help, now get out of the ring so I can beat this loser's ass!" Verto said. Yusuke still looked confused but walked off anyway, unsure of it all. Verto turned and stared down Risho, keeping a very strict hold on his energy level to far below his opponent.

"Ugh! What a terrible way for a fight to be called! I hope this next one has more of the gruesome violence that we all love, am I right people?" Koto shouted. The crowd jeered at her before settling down.

"Well that was a pathetic response. Next fight, Risho versus the masked fighter! Let's go!" Koto declared.

Risho scoffed as Koto got out of the way, "This little thing is going to fight me? What a waste!" Verto didn't answer as Risho drew closer.

"Your spirit energy is so low that all I'd have to do is tap you and you'd die," Risho claimed.

"Risho seems assured of victory, maybe he wasn't watching Team Urameshi's last fight?" Koto suggested to the audience.

Risho paused and stared at her, "Nobody asked you, sympathetic little whore!"

Koto gasped slightly before turning angry, "What did you say to me?"

Risho focused his attention completely on her, "You heard me. You're nothing but a groveling, human-loving slut! You've sided against your kind long enough in this stadium!"

"I only call it as I see it, it's not my fault if human fighters are better than demons!" Koto argued.

"Such nonsense. When we win, I'll make sure you don't live past today!" Risho said. Just as he turned back, Verto's fist met his face, sending him flying out of the ring and onto the ground in a heap.

"Whoa, what a punch by the masked fighter! Risho is down and out! I'll start the count…one…two…" Koto rambled.

Risho flinched painfully as Verto stood on the edge of the ring, "That was a cheap shot, I wasn't ready!"

Verto snorted lightly, "Maybe that'll teach you to focus on your opponent and not the ref next time." Risho growled as he stumbled back to his feet, still wobbly from the initial hit.

"That does it, you're going to pay for that!" Risho declared. He held his index finger up as he began to glow orange all over. The ground started to shake and crack as streams of dirt and rock spewed into the air around Risho. He managed a confident sneer as the odd technique pulled in the earth around him.

"I'm sure you were wondering what my skill was. Full control of the earth around me! It makes for very good armor, of clay!" Risho shouted. His technique pulled the clay and dirt in and covered his body in it, leaving only his face, upper arms and hands clear. The rest of his body was immersed in thick, spiky armor. _That'll increase his physical strength and endurance, but I'll bet it'll cut his speed in half. He's got nothing on Frost either._ Risho leapt into the air and began channeling his energy, making his armor glow red as he began to descend.

"Meteor!" Verto waited until just before Risho reached him to dodge it. It appeared to be nothing more than a powered up flying tackle technique, and Verto was unimpressed as Risho crashed into the ground. _Pathetic, I'll end this now._ Risho pulled himself out of the ring crater, but not nearly fast enough when Verto came flying at him. One powerful punch cracked the armor, and Risho fell backwards, stunned.

"Once again, the masked fighter has flattened Risho with one hit! Is this the end for Team Masho?" Koto asked the crowd. The crowd itself was absolutely silent as one of the demon's heroes had been wiped out with little effort. Risho struggled to get to his knees, stopping when Verto stepped within a few feet of him.

"Quit now, while you still have a little dignity left," Verto suggested.

"You think you're so strong that none of us have a chance? We've got a surprise for you! Koto, I wish to withdraw and allow our substitute to fight in my place!" Risho claimed. Verto backed away and stared towards the tunnel, ready for whoever was going to come out, _About time._

"Team Masho wishes to stop this fight and bring in their relief fighter. The committee will deliberate this," Koto announced. Almost immediately, the scoreboard lit up with a bright circle, indicating approval.

Risho laughed even as blood spilled out of his mouth, "Hahaha, now you're in for it!" He dared to come closer and hover over Verto's shoulder while the younger fighter was waiting patiently.

"Our relief man would make Toguro quake in his boots, you have no idea how strong he is!" Risho cackled. Verto silenced Risho's laughter with a swift kick to the jaw, sending the taller demon flying into the audience.

"I can't say that wasn't well deserved. Both teams are now down to one fighter a piece, though if the masked fighter is killed, Team Urameshi may use their substitute. Team Masho, I need your fighter out here now please!" Koto declared. Verto suddenly picked up on a strong ki coming from the tunnel, and it was coming closer. It felt extremely familiar, and Verto scowled under the mask. _I should have dragged that freak with me by the tail, figures he would do something like this. At least I know what Leira meant about making a mistake._ The pale, white and purple skin of Frieza emerged, and the demon crowd hushed when he stopped suppressing his energy, causing the ground to crack in his wake. He floated towards the ring while Koto struggled to stay on her feet.

"Oh wow, Team Masho's relief fighter is so incredibly strong that I can't even stand up! Such incredible spirit energy!" Koto claimed.

"Hmph, I haven't even started yet little girl," Frieza said as he landed in the ring, "Don't worry little masked man, I'll make this quick!"

Verto's scowl changed to a smirk under the mask, _Oh it's gonna be quick alright._

**A/n: Didn't mean for this chapter to be so long with battles that are more or less already in the anime, but I didn't want to leave details out for that particular round, especially for those who haven't seen it. Consider it putting the spotlight on someone else. And yes, Verto is about to demolish Frieza, though I'm sure you all knew that.**

**Next time on DBV: Verto makes quick work of Frieza and prepares for his eventual confrontation with the Renegades in the semi-final round. He puts forth a declaration that he will fight every single one of them by himself or die trying. Can he defeat all of the Renegades, who may possess equal or greater strength than him? Stay tuned for another action packed chapter.**


	84. Dark Tourney 6

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 83: Verto vs. The Renegades**

Verto stood ready to pound his opponent, while on the other side of the ring, there was a fair amount of cockiness stinking up the air.

"Can I get your name please before we start, for official records," Koto said as she poked the microphone into Frieza's airspace.

"I, little fox girl, am Frieza, Lord of the Universe!"

"Uh, I'm a cat, not a fox. Common mistake, it really is. So…Frieza, huh? That's a strange name, you're not from around here are you?" Koto asked. Frieza didn't answer as he had his eyes set on the disguised Verto. Verto didn't return the stare, as he had chosen to glance up towards the upper levels where Piccolo's cape was flapping freely.

"_So this is what she meant, the timeline shift was us all along,_" Piccolo said telepathically.

"_I hope you realize that I'm going to kill him now_," Verto thought back.

"_No, not yet. We may still need him, and remember the training assignment I gave you!_" Piccolo reminded.

Verto bit his lip, "_In other words, hold back._"

"_Yes._"

"_Fine, but don't expect him to come back with all his limbs attached!_" Verto turned his eyes back to Frieza, who still didn't have a clue who he was actually facing.

"So, little mummy man, how shall we start this?" Frieza asked as he held up his arms. Verto walked straight at him, not answering. He was within a dozen feet before he suddenly phased out. Frieza read the attack perfectly, blocking Verto's attempted kick to his side. He grinned when Verto vanished again, easily avoiding the punch to the head from behind. His eyes widened when Verto was gone, realizing that he hadn't detected where he had gone. Frieza heard footsteps land behind him and dropped down, trying to sweep with his leg. Verto was already in the air, grabbing Frieza by the tail and swinging him into the air.

"Why you!" Frieza growled. He regained control of his flight just as a bright blue blast shot out from Verto's index finger.

"Wow, the masked fighter uses a Spirit Gun blast of her own as Frieza is caught completely open in the air!" Koto announced. Frieza held both arms up and tried to deflect the blast back down. It blew up at the point of contact instead, surprising Frieza to say the least.

Verto grinned, _Oh I like this Spirit Gun now._ The air cleared, showing Frieza looking at his bruised and battered hands in surprise. Frieza shuddered in anger and held his finger up, charging up a much more threatening attack in the form of a large, orange Deathball. _That didn't take long, let's see if this works like I want it too_. Verto charged up the Spirit Gun attack again, using enough energy to match what he sensed from Frieza's Deathball.

"Now you die!" Frieza declared.

"Shock Cannon!" Verto shouted back as he fired. Frieza's eyes widened when he heard the words and frantically dove down to get out of the way. The smaller blue missile smashed into his Deathball and lit up the arena with a sudden bright green explosion. The demons in the crowd all went down from the blast's impact, but were otherwise unharmed aside from their ears. Frieza narrowly avoided the Shock Cannon's small explosion radius, but was flung into the ground nonetheless from the force of it. He pulled himself up, fearful as he saw Verto flying straight at him.

"You dirty little monkey! This is my business, stay out of it!" Frieza shouted. Verto phased out and hammered his fist into Frieza's back. Frieza flew forward and smacked into the side of the ring, leaving a wedge of rubble as he bounced into the ring and lay still on his stomach.

"After an earth-shattering counterattack, the masked fighter hasn't let up an ounce against Frieza! Her moves are so fast that I can't even see them!" Koto announced for the crowd. Verto resisted the urge to blast her, _God damn it, I'm not a fucking girl!_ Verto dashed back into the ring, smashing his fist into the ring surface when Frieza dodged the attack. He landed carefully on his feet and shot a quick finger blast at Verto as he grinned wickedly. It was weak enough that Verto didn't even think to deflect it, and regretted the decision when the blast tore through the top of his mask, revealing his hair.

"It's an imposter, see the black hair? Disqualify him!" Frieza quickly pointed out without looking. _Ah hell, oh wait. Duh, I have nothing to worry about._

Koto stared at Frieza in question, "Looks like the same person from earlier. Her hair is pink by the way." Frieza looked back, dumbfounded as his jaw dropped.

Then he laughed aloud, "Hahahaha, it really is pink! The monkey's hair really is pink! Hahahahaha!" Verto's fist shook as he momentarily forgot about holding back due to his rising anger. Frieza never saw the next blow coming, but the rest of the stadium gasped when Verto buried a fist into his gut with a ton of force behind it. Frieza was embedded into the stadium wall before he could even blink again. Verto didn't let up as he rushed in and sent his foot to Frieza's face with all his momentum. Frieza dropped into the pile of rubble that formed and lay still as Koto began her count. Verto flew back into the ring and stood patiently while the ref finished the count.

At a count of seven, Frieza emerged, still laughing, although weakly, "Pink! That's rich! Hahahahaha!" His laughter stopped when a big blast came flying at him, and he tried to fly up to avoid it.

* * *

"OWWW! Did he have to hit me with such a strong blast? I can't even walk anymore!" Frieza groaned as he crawled into the hotel room. Piccolo kicked Frieza in the rear, enough to send the legless Changeling tumbling into the room.

"You're lucky he didn't finish the job, Frieza. It would have been completely legal for him to do it in this tournament," Piccolo reminded him as he slammed the door.

"What the hell stopped him? Do you know how long it takes to regrow limbs in the afterlife? It's agonizing!" Frieza whined.

Verto entered from the bathroom in only his underwear, wiping his wet black hair clean with a thick towel, "How long do you think your dead ass will need to heal from a broken neck?" Frieza didn't dare answer as Verto stood next to Piccolo with a sharp glare directed at the Changeling.

When no one spoke again, Verto cleared his throat at Piccolo, "Ahem, I need some fresh clothes please." Verto was pointing at a smoldering pile of burnt clothes in the corner, telling the rest of the story. Piccolo scowled as he cast his hand out, materializing a new green gi over Verto's body, plus the weighted blue undershirt.

"Thank you," Verto said with a slight nod.

"I can't believe you actually dyed your hair pink," Piccolo said with a slight chuckle.

"Shut up, it was part of the damned disguise. Wasn't my idea, but it worked," Verto retorted.

"What would Vegeta say to that, cute little monkey girl?" Frieza laughed.

Verto's blue sword darkened the room, "You want to lose another limb? Keep talking and I'm gonna start making fresh steaks out of you." Frieza grimaced and struggled to get to a sitting position, which was difficult since the only thing left of his legs were half of his thighs.

"Damn it Namek, when do I get my free shots? I should have a few hundred in exchange for this kind of damage!" Frieza claimed.

"After your little stunt, the only free shots you get now are the ones he gives you. As soon as your usefulness has run out, you're going back to Hell," Piccolo said sternly.

"Fine, give me one of your magic beans! I refuse to go back there without being healed first!" Frieza demanded.

"I could, but the Senzu beans won't do anything for decapitation. Those are valuable, so it would be a waste to let you have another one," Piccolo said.

"Argh, then I want those room service peasants to bring me some wine. I refuse to sit here and suffer for the rest of my temporary life!" Frieza crowed.

Verto tossed him the telephone, "Dial it yourself!"

"What is this archaic device?" Frieza asked.

"It's a telephone, a communication line. Not exactly like a scouter but it does the job. I think you use the numbers in a sequenced code to connect to your desired location," Piccolo tried to explain while Verto rolled his eyes. Frieza took a few minutes to attempt to use the phone before Verto snatched it from him and did it himself before shoving the receiver back into Frieza's ear.

"Hello? I want no less than fifty of your finest wine product to my room immediately, or I shall blow up this building!" Frieza declared. He hung up the phone and laughed a bit, drawing a deep frown from Piccolo.

"Anything for the last laugh I see, how typical of you," he grumbled.

A knock sounded from the door, prompting Frieza to cackle again, "Wow, these humans are efficient once you threaten their lives a bit!" The door opened to reveal Toguro and Sakyo instead, who quietly stepped in before shutting the door.

"That was a bold and illegal action you took, D," Sakyo began.

"Blame the legless wonder over there. Besides, it isn't against the rules if they can't prove it," Verto replied as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"It was already an unfair situation for Yusuke and his team. Your committee only made it worse by not allowing all of them any rest. Not to mention whoever was in charge of that team of demon ninjas," Piccolo added.

"I suppose that's true, but next time you should play your cards much more carefully. Since it was a mess that you three created and then cleaned up yourself, I will let this little stunt slide," Sakyo said.

"You fail to realize that kid can kill everyone on this island anytime he wants to, all three of us can!" Frieza boasted. Piccolo snapped kicked Frieza in the back of the head and he tumbled forward, out cold.

"Finally, he's quiet," Verto muttered.

"So, did you find your friends when you abruptly left earlier?" Sakyo asked.

"In fact I did. It's probably best that I fight all of them, they'll tear your team apart," Verto replied nonchalantly.

"You underestimate us. We can handle whatever these imposters have to throw at us," Toguro claimed.

"Can you?" Verto asked as he uncrossed his arms.

"It will not be a problem," Toguro added.

Verto walked over and held out his palm as he floated upwards, "Punch it."

"Excuse me?" Toguro asked in surprise.

"Punch my hand as hard as you can, do not hold back," Verto instructed as his hand glowed bright blue.

Sakyo looked concerned, "Why would you want to cripple yourself before this round?"

Piccolo stepped back, "I think he's trying to prove a point. Go ahead and see what happens." Toguro's arm bulked up by several factors as he drew back and then punched straight forward, smashing into Verto's bare hand. The force of it sent the furniture flying and glass shattering outwards from the window. Toguro's jaw slipped when he saw that Verto hadn't moved an inch despite being in the air.

Verto stared at his slightly bruised hand, "Not bad. But you're severely lacking in the power you would need to fight them."

"That was nearly eighty percent. Allow me the same courtesy and I'll test your punch," Toguro offered. Verto walked past Toguro before turning back and sending a vicious punch into Toguro's palm without breaking stride. Toguro nearly went flying out of the window, catching himself with his other hand on the windowsill's glass-less ledge.

"And that's me taking it easy," Verto said. Toguro's hand was completely wrecked, and he slowly popped each finger back into place.

"That was a bit much Verto," Piccolo scolded.

"It's not a problem, this body heals quickly. How much of your strength was that?" Toguro asked.

"I didn't measure it exactly, but I'd say maybe ten percent, rough guess. After all, you weren't giving it everything you had either," Verto replied coolly.

"Impressive display. How about a compromise?" Sakyo offered.

"Spill it," Verto said spitefully.

"You may run the gauntlet against these imposters by yourself if you really wish that, but you may not withdraw until you win, or die," Sakyo proclaimed.

"If I end up dead from it, they'll have earned the victory," Verto replied.

* * *

Piccolo left the hotel room early the next morning, though that was rather easy since the window was gone. He opted to fly out of it and land on the ground so he could find a spot out in the woods to meditate. Before he could find that spot however, he found Yusuke and his teacher Genkai out there. He listened in on their conversation, hearing Genkai instruct Yusuke about his power and what he was capable of should he complete her final test. Rain fell soon after, and Piccolo sensed Genkai leave for a nearby cave before Yusuke followed. Piccolo was able to concentrate for a short while before he was interrupted again, but this time by a much more intense energy level coming towards him. Piccolo recognized the ki level as a Saiyan's immediately, but there was only one of them. He was still new at sensing Psionic energy on a regular basis, but he was very aware of the strong presence approaching. The Saiyan emerged from the trees and came closer with a deep smirk on his face. His thinner than average appearance threw Piccolo off for the moment, but he wasn't fooled once he saw the long spiky hair and the tail. At first, he thought he was seeing a smaller version of Raditz, but the energy he was sensing behind this Saiyan's eyes was eerily close to Piccolo's maximum output, and he knew who he was about to cross paths with.

"You're a Namek, aren't you?" Chal asked.

"You're Chal, the one the kid fought with," Piccolo replied.

"Very good Namek, I see you were well informed about me. How is he anyway? I imagine he has had a fiery temper as of late," Chal said with a grin.

"You could say that. But he's always been that way, and I expect he can deal with it better than most people think. I guess it's a good thing that we brought along a punching bag," Piccolo said as he stood up.

"Is that actually Frieza, or just some pathetic replica?" Chal asked.

"It's the real thing unfortunately. I like him about as much as most Saiyans do," Piccolo admitted.

"Strange, I was under the impression that he has been dead for quite some time," Chal pointed out.

"He has been, let's just say that it's complicated."

"Well never mind him. I find it interesting that I should run into Verto here, and so soon. It's only been a month or two since I saw him last after all," Chal claimed.

"Really?" Piccolo asked. _It's only been a week for Verto, there's a massive timeline discrepancy if he's telling the truth._

"Has it now?" Chal asked.

Piccolo's eyes widened, "You can read minds as well?"

"My apologies, but I could feel the change in the air right before you had that thought. I try not to pry but sometimes it's necessary. It's a wonderful lie detector," Chal admitted.

"Fine, since that's out in the open, why are you here?" Piccolo asked.

"I could ask the same of you, but I get the feeling that your only mission here is to get in our way. Our mission here is not to wipe out this planet's inhabitants, as you might have thought at first. You see, these greedy little beings have information on a certain artifact and it would be a shame to kill them before retrieving said artifact. So do them a few favors, win their little tournament and the deal is done. They'll wipe themselves out in due time," Chal explained.

"What kind of artifact?" Piccolo asked.

"Oh now, that's top secret information. I can't just be telling a Namek about it when he can easily communicate across the stars. I may be able to read your mind, but even I can't project my thoughts that far away. Someone else sent you here, and I would like to know who," Chal requested.

"Let's just say that it's someone who has been rather intent on stopping you. I don't know much about their background," Piccolo said truthfully.

"Well, in that case, may I assume that it is a meddlesome woman with deep red hair?" Chal asked. Piccolo didn't answer, giving Chal the answer he needed.

"I thought so. Don't trust her, no matter what she says that she intends to do. She's been trying for awhile now to eliminate us. The only reason Frost is still alive is because of her," Chal claimed.

"I was informed about that, she stopped Verto from killing him a few times when he had the chance. But she has done a few things to help us on Earth, and while her actions might be questionable, they've been for some sort of greater purpose. I can't say the same about you yet," Piccolo said sternly.

"And what have I done to you that was so terrible?"

Piccolo turned his head slightly, "Not to me. The girl, Lenz. You helped to release her deepest power, and it was a much greater threat than you know. However, it also made Verto begin to realize that you and your people are corrupt to the core. Even if he wanted to, he can't help you."

Chal closed his eyes and smiled, "I knew the girl had a deep power, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle I expect."

"Read my thoughts if you must, but it turned her into a devilish creature that threatened everyone. And if you and the other Renegades are not careful, the same could happen to you," Piccolo warned.

"We all have our inner demons Namek, I make no apologies for that. Perhaps the girl is just more of a Saiyan than you think," Chal said nonchalantly.

"And you're a fool. You and your people have the same kind of cursed blood that gives you the power you have now. Don't you think that it came from somewhere?" Piccolo asked.

"I won't deny that, but I can also tell that you are just as in the dark as we are. None of our people have been able to discover that secret as of yet, not without killing themselves. Verto is the key to that discovery, but obviously with nosy characters like you around, he will need some more convincing. I will gladly accept his challenge for a rematch so that I can learn more," Chal replied as he turned on his heel.

"Wait, I have more to ask you!" Piccolo protested.

Chal stopped only for a moment, "And I have nothing more to say to you, aside from a word of warning. I will show you our true nature, and Verto will join us, or he'll die."

* * *

"This is going to be a waste of time," Verto grumbled as he stood at the top of the stadium.

"Stop complaining. We need to see them in action," Piccolo said.

"Seeing them run over a group of weak demons won't tell us anything," Verto countered.

"Maybe, but it's still necessary. You might see something that they'll use against you tomorrow," Piccolo claimed.

Verto shrugged, "Alright, if it'll make you feel better." Below in the ring, the demon hordes were getting restless, eager to see who would be challenging Team Toguro and they weren't disappointed by the display, just the duration. All five of the Saiyans were there, though Verto could only lay his eyes on Chal for the moment. The female of the group, Laysh, stepped forward to fight. She challenged all five of the demons to fight her at once. They were a gaggle of small demons of various color, complete and utter weaklings. They surrounded Laysh at the start of the match and only managed to step towards her before they were beaten. Laysh herself crossed her arms for a moment before spreading them wide, unleashing a massive swath of blue energy that expanded until it was the wide of the ring itself. It passed through each demon in the process, and they instantly turned into blue, frozen icicles. Once the attack was passed, each of the demons shattered into an assorted mess of ice cubes that slowly melted away.

"That didn't take long," Verto said as he stared at the result.

"You were right about her using freezing attacks, but we have no hint to the other two's abilities. You have to assume that they have just as much potential as her and Chal," Piccolo warned.

"Don't worry about it Piccolo. I can handle this," Verto claimed.

"I hope so."

"Rather impressive aren't they?" a voice said from behind. In the stairwell, a larger man emerged into the light, revealing the face Verto had encountered once before.

"You're that Ranot guy, right?" Verto asked.

"At least you have a good memory. Pity we haven't had much to talk about yet. I take it that they are the ones you were looking for?" Ranot asked.

"Yeah, that's them," Verto replied.

"A word to the wise, be careful," Ranot suggested.

"You're not really from this place's spirit realm, are you?" Piccolo interjected.

Ranot glanced at him in surprise, "Wow, I don't think anyone's ever figured that out as fast as you."

"My ears work well, but so do my other senses. You work with Leira don't you?" Piccolo asked.

Verto's eyebrows shot up, "So that's it? No wonder you feel so strong. What are you, the backup plan?"

Ranot smiled smugly, "Something like that, my young friend. Leira doesn't work alone after all, and she tends to make mistakes. I won't interfere unless absolutely necessary however. I prefer to let people finish their job, one way or another, before I stick my nose in. Otherwise, how can anyone excel in this world if the higher powers handle every little detail and the lower beings are completely an afterthought? You never know where potential lies if things are handled in such a mismanaged way."

"Yeah, I feel the same way about that. But then again, it seems like I end up handling every other situation because others can't or won't," Verto added.

"Unfortunately, that is the way of things sometimes. Good luck tomorrow, you may need it," Ranot said as he walked off.

"You seem to get along well with him," Piccolo noted.

"He seems like my kind of person, I get a good feeling from him. Probably helps that he isn't bitter about everything and is friendly instead," Verto pointed out.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean he should be trusted yet," Piccolo reminded.

"Yeah, I know that. You don't need to remind me about betrayal," Verto grumbled as his positive mood faded.

* * *

The next day came quickly for Verto, as he spent most of his time in the hotel to mentally prepare himself for the battle. Piccolo had suggested that he go watch Team Urameshi's battle against whomever they were facing to settle his nerves, but Verto felt otherwise. The anticipation was enough, and that feeling would only increase if he sat in the stadium. Verto instead sat alone and meditated for nearly three hours before it was time for the matches, following Piccolo's training program. Things went smoother than he expected, but only because Frieza was busily drinking as much wine as he could and was not saying much. A knock came at the door when it was time, and Piccolo came through.

"How was their match?" Verto asked.

"The best word to describe it would be random. The other team utilized many magical items to try and gain the advantage. The masked fighter finally revealed herself as well, and she seemed significantly older and weaker than before. I think she may have drained much of her power while giving Yusuke a final test of sorts," Piccolo explained.

"If we had more time, I'd have a few questions for her, but we don't. Let's go," Verto said, putting his serious face back on.

Piccolo led him to a large, domed, indoor arena that had been built on the other side of the island. The setting inside was rather dark and slightly intimidating, even to Piccolo and Verto. The demon crowds seemed even rowdier than before, as random beasts were seen fighting with each other on a regular basis. Piccolo and Verto arrived at the waiting area to see the rest of Team Toguro waiting there, except for the captain himself.

"Where's muscles at?" Verto remarked.

The smaller of the Toguro brothers answered, "He has much more important business to attend to right now."

"So, either that's actually true, or he actually has enough faith that I'll be able to do this," Verto guessed.

"Are you feeling too much pressure? I'll be happy to help you relax," the masked man Karasu offered.

"And I'll be happy to cut off your hands. Unlike Mister Stretch, I'm betting they won't grow back," Verto claimed as he glared fiercely at Karasu. He then eyed the overly large man in the corner, who didn't do much other than breath under all of the armor he had on.

Once he didn't say a word, Verto turned on his heel, "Alright, I'm off. I don't care if you come out there with me or not. Just be forewarned, I don't intend to hand over any of these fights."

"Oh don't worry. My brother completely believes you will succeed, or die trying," Elder Toguro said. Verto gave the creepy demons one last stare before walking off towards the tunnel entrance. The crowds were roaring at the announcement of Team Toguro, but quickly hushed when Verto walked out first.

"Good luck kid," Piccolo said from the tunnel. Verto nodded and continued the march towards the ring. The crowd resumed its chatter once Elder Toguro and the other two fighters emerged, but there was a lasting restlessness when the younger Toguro did not enter.

Koto's voice questioned it immediately, "Just like the Urameshi team before, Team Toguro is missing its captain. We're looking at four on five once again!" Verto made note that she was not in the ring, but was speaking from a small broadcasting table in the stands. There was a different referee girl in the ring that was wearing even less. She was humanoid for the most part, except for the fish-like fins around her ears and an oddly shaped tail that matched her green hair. Verto wasted no time and jumped into the ring before staring down the opposite tunnel, which had yet to open.

"You're the new referee I take it?" he asked.

"Yes, my name is Juri," she said as she offered out a hand to shake.

Verto didn't accept, "A word of warning. Get out of the ring when this starts. You won't be much safer outside of the ring, but in it you probably won't survive."

Juri paled, "Oh great, another bunch of crazies. I don't get paid enough for this."

"It appears Toguro's powerful servant boy D is very ready to fight first! But he needs an opponent, from the incredibly Team Gorenja!" Koto shouted, hyping up the crowd. Verto ignored her for once as five power signals suddenly spiked and the tunnel door opened. One by one, each of the Renegade Saiyans walked out in their fully armored glory.

"Will both teams please meet in the ring to discuss your terms?" Juri asked.

Verto glanced at her, "I'll save you a lot of trouble. I'm going to fight them all myself, one at a time."

Juri was taken aback, "Umm…by yourself?"

"Yes. None of the others fight unless I go down," Verto said sternly.

Chal calmly approached them in his all black armor, "As expected, you're a true Saiyan through and through. I have one condition though, if you lose by any way, their whole team forfeits."

Verto smirked, "How about we just come out and say it, you and I will decide this whole thing and we both know it."

"Don't be so sure. Who knows when you might get a little angry and kill everyone here," Chal reminded.

Juri cringed and back stepped a bit as Verto calmly shifted his feet, "I would spend less time worrying about what I'll do. I've been tempted to go on a killing spree the entire time I've been here, just by being around all these demons. The question is, when will you and your merry band decide to do the same?"

Chal returned the smile as he turned to leave, "I guess time will tell."

Verto cleared his throat, "One other thing."

Chal glanced back, "Yes?"

"Leave your stupid excuse for anger management out of this. In other words, take your mental influence technique and shove it up your ass," Verto suggested.

"Oh that. I'll consider it," Chal said vaguely as he turned away and walked back to the group. Juri announced the terms of the battle, causing the demons to shift in disapproval.

"We wanna see Toguro!"

"Get that little brat out of the ring!"

Verto scowled at the random banter coming from the mob and turned towards Juri, "Can I see your mic for a sec?" Juri blinked sharply before handing it over. Verto lifted his hand high into the air and charged up a small but bright ball of light, and the crowd fell silent.

"Next one who talks will be saying his last words, got it?" Verto declared. No one answered initially, but one brave demon did decide to stand up and shout something Verto didn't quite understand. Verto's head snapped in that direction, only to see the demon floating out of the stands. It was a small one with dull skin, graying hair and a small horn on his head. He was flying out of his own control before he was dropped into the ring. Verto glanced over to see the skinny Frit holding one of his hands up.

"How rude these creatures are. Quite undeserving of death by our hands," Frit claimed as he reached out and grasped at the air. The demon lifted into the air again and his body started to fluctuate. Frit's hand shook for a brief moment before the demon's rib cage suddenly punctured its own skin from being broken. Frit's hand closed into a fist and the demon's body was pulled into a tight ball of blood, bones and other organic materials. Frit opened his hand again and the demon was slowly pulled back out, though not nearly in the shape that it once was. Before it could be pulled out of the fetal position, a blue blast wave tore through it, courtesy of Verto. The demon's entire body was wiped out instantly, leaving very little in the way of ashes behind.

"That was too quick, he didn't deserve a painless death," Frit claimed.

"You did enough, I'm not into torture," Verto said as he dropped his smoking palm.

"That's a pity, because I am," Frit said as he raised both arms up. Several ring tiles came up on his command, tilting tediously around in the air. Verto's blue aura darkened the rest of the arena as Juri ran for cover.

She stopped long enough to start the round, "First match, D versus Frit! Begin!"

Frit grinned, "I've been waiting for this." Verto didn't answer and kept channeling his power further. Frit pointed his left hand forward and half a dozen ring tiles shot towards Verto quickly. Verto dodged the first few before phasing out, missing one that nearly nicked his head. The small rocky missiles embedded themselves in the outer wall, scaring the front row of demons in the process. Frit aimed right with his other hand, sending another barrage in Verto's direction. All of these tiles missed as well, though came within a few feet of the rest of Team Toguro. Verto stopped behind Frit and fired a quick blast at him. Frit didn't bother to move, and only lifted his arm up and motioned backwards with his hand. Verto's blast abruptly stopped and shot back at him. Verto narrowly dodged the unexpected counter attack and watched it sail into the crowd and detonate, taking a whole section of demons out.

"Tsk tsk, not that easy kid," Frit chuckled.

"I didn't think it would be," Verto replied.

Frit turned and grinned wickedly, "Good, because this is where you fall." Both of his hands reached out and Verto's body froze up completely.

Frit laughed as Verto struggled to move, "Too gullible, all you had to do was keep moving. That's alright, you will lose now and then join us!" Verto grimaced as his body was moved to the ground outside of the ring and set down on his own two feet. Frit continued to laugh like a maniac in the ring as Verto's struggles continued while Juri began to count. Verto's eyes flashed bright blue as he released more of his energy, causing the ground to shake violently. Frit's laughter stopped suddenly when Verto's arms managed to maneuver into his power up position and his hair danced around with his aura. Small shards of energy flashed into view and blew off from Verto's body like glass. Frit was speechless when Verto jumped back into the ring at the count of five.

"No one has ever broken that!" Frit claimed.

"First time for everything. Your stupid telekinesis isn't strong enough to hold me down," Verto retorted. He charged towards Frit with his fist drawn back, glowing bright blue. Frit didn't panic and held up both hands again. Verto felt the energy surge coming and phased out just as an invisible force pushed only dust out of the way.

Frit spun and cast out his left hand just as Verto's attack arrived, "Galic Fist!" The impact caused a bright burst of light that blinded the arena, making Koto squawk about its intensity. When it cleared, Frit was several dozen feet away, and his palm was smoking a bit but otherwise unharmed. Verto's lip twitched in slight frustration, _He can stop powered up physical attacks too? Great, I guess I can't have any more easy battles out here._

Frit chuckled as he brushed off his hands, "Nice try kid, too bad you're fighting me. I'm sure my brother wouldn't have liked getting hit by that one."

"You're welcome to try it out," Verto said.

"Amusing, but I don't intend to be nothing but mush on the wall. Unlike many others of our kind, I don't like physical brawls. Although that's mostly because I'm no good at it," Frit admitted.

"I bet you were picked on at the playground. Did the teams pick you after the fat kids?" Verto remarked.

"Clever, much like myself. But as you can see, I've found my own way around my shortcomings. Now let's continue this," Frit said. Verto fired another small blast, causing Frit to shake his head as he held his hand up.

"Pointless!" he claimed.

"Is it?" Verto asked from the other side. Frit glanced over to see another blast heading his way. He held up his other hand as he was caught in the middle of the two attacks. Verto appeared behind him and fired another shot, and Frit's eyes widened. The initial two attacks stopped in their tracks, and Frit had enough time to turn and catch the third. Verto fired one more time from behind again, and Frit managed to catch that one as well. Four blasts hovered around Frit as he carefully held them in place.

Verto smirked smugly, "Not bad."

Frit grinned back, "Watch this then." Frit clasped his hands together and all four blasts combined into a much larger ball. Verto's eyebrow went up as he back stepped carefully.

Frit laughed, "Right back at you runt!" The energy ball pulsed and came racing towards Verto, who flew up to avoid it. Frit turned his palm up and the ball turned as it chased after Verto in the air. Verto scowled as he turned and flew backwards, facing the blast. He fired multiple blasts in order to disrupt it. To his surprise, each blast was absorbed into the bigger ball and kept coming as it swelled in size. He felt the energy output from Frit and realized he was only feeding it. He held out his index finger and charged a large amount of energy into one small but intense shot. _Alright Spirit Gun, let's see what you've got._ Verto fired and the Spirit Gun bullet smashed into the large ball, causing it to deflate momentarily.

Frit scowled from the ring as he held up his other hand, "Oh no you don't!" The mass of unstable energy suddenly shifted and reformed, before swelling to nearly the size of a house. Verto's eyes widened as he increased his flight speed. _Now I see what he's trying to do, use my own energy against me. And with his telekinesis, he can prevent the blast detonation and make his opponents use all their energy in a vain effort while they just feed his attack._ Verto stopped in mid air and held out his own hand as it formed his small Psi sword. The huge ball of energy bore down on him as he held out his sword to block it. He was forced down to the ground from the sheer energy behind the attack, and struggled to maintain his footing for a moment.

Frit laughed in the ring, "It's over!" His laughter stopped again when he saw his attack shrinking in size rapidly. Winds kicked up around the energy ball as it struggled to maintain itself, but to no avail as it was literally sucked back into whom it had come from. Verto's aura sparked with renewed intensity as he stood up and twirled his sword in his hand as he floated back to the ring.

Frit remained relaxed, "I see, you can absorb energy attacks directly by matching it and converting it for your own use. Impressive." Verto didn't answer as he charged in again with his sword pulled back. Frit's hands were cast out again, and Verto's sword was blown away from his right hand as he swung, missing completely. Verto stopped long enough to stare at his hand, seeing only a spark coming from it before he was pushed back out of the ring by Frit's telekinesis. Verto managed to stop and hold position above the ground, grimacing at the Saiyan in the ring.

_Alright, I have to confuse him. His telekinesis might have an unlimited range, but its definitely stronger based on close proximity to him. Attacking with a direct assault won't work._ Verto rushed back into the ring, phasing out well before he got to Frit. He reappeared for a moment behind Frit, vanishing again when Frit's hand aimed that way. He stopped just behind Frit again and launched a punch at his head. He met Frit's other hand and quickly dodged out of the way when he felt the air push back. Verto dropped to the ground and swept his leg towards Frit's. Frit jumped up and fired his own blast at the ground, narrowly missing Verto when it exploded. The ring burst into a large dust cloud that covered everything nearby. Frit turned his head left and right as he tried to detect Verto's presence. His senses snapped to the dust cloud as it was quickly blown out of the way by a sizable blast that roared out of it. Frit quickly used his power to send it elsewhere, which happened to be another section of demon seating. In the light of the next explosion, Frit saw a small shadow in the dust cloud suddenly vanish, revealing where Verto was. The second explosion cleared the air after a few moments, leaving only a few swirling arcs of dust that provided a minor annoyance. Frit frowned as he couldn't detect Verto initially, and landed back in the cracked ring. Nothing happened for a few moments, causing both Koto and Juri to wonder what happened.

"If Contestant D has really been incinerated by that blast, then the winner is…" Juri started. Frit sent a telekinetic burst towards her, knocking her down and out.

"Shut up! He isn't going to die from his own attack like that. He's just moving so fast that none of you weaklings can detect it!" Frit declared. A sharp buzzing sound cut through the air just under his throat and Verto shimmered into view just behind him with his sword in position.

"Partially right, but not quite," Verto said.

"How?" Frit asked in surprise.

"I could move faster than you can detect, but I doubt it would have worked. If I snuck up in a stealthy manner, that would be different," Verto claimed. Frit tried to maneuver his hands to aim behind him, and Verto shifted out of their direct reach, swiping with his sword as he did. Frit dropped to the ground in pain as one of his hands flopped onto the ring tiles, separated from the rest.

"Surrender," Verto ordered as he pointed his sword in a threatening manner.

"Never!" Frit growled back at him. He aimed his remaining hand just as Verto vanished again, and it was severed at the wrist with the next strike. Frit held both arms against his body, trying to protect the wounds that bled slightly.

"Contestant D has cut off both of Frit's hands, brilliant strategy!" Koto shouted from the stands.

"I couldn't help but notice that you have to use both your hands for your telekinesis, that is a glaring weakness in your technique. I could have just broken them physically, but I'm not here to waste time and gamble that you could still function that way. Now give up, or I could embarrass you further!" Verto demanded.

Frit was fuming mad as his armor was stained with his own blood, but bowed his head slightly, "Fine." Frit walked from the ring and jumped out as his brother ran over to assist.

"Frit surrenders, the first match goes to Team Toguro!" Juri announced. Verto sighed slightly but kept his determination as he watched the rest of the Saiyans react to their maimed comrade. Chal remained at ease, as did Selffur. Dorit was legitimately angry and concerned at the same time, and Laysh looked bored. _Alright, one down, four to go._

* * *

"Team Gorenja, may I please have your next challenger," Juri requested. She didn't have to wait long as Dorit made his way into the ring, in a foul mood after what had happened to his brother moments before.

"I hope you don't expect me to take it easy on you after what you just did, boy," Dorit said as he adjusted his gloves.

"None of you should," Verto replied.

"Just to give you fair warning, your little tricks will not work on me," Dorit claimed.

"Let's let the fight answer that," Verto suggested.

"Let the second match begin!" Juri announced. Dorit nodded and shifted into a power up stance. Verto sensed his ki energy surge as it brightened the ring, sending Juri flying out of it. Verto calmly remained still, waiting for anything different to happen. Dorit's body began to swell in size, signifying that he was increasing his physical strength. Then he sensed Dorit's Psi energy adding to this, as if it were a layering effect. His size increased exponentially and his armor struggled to keep up with this.

_Is this is just like Gohan's recharge technique? Wait…it's like Frost's final form._ Verto sensed Dorit's Psi energy drop off as his ki rose, enhancing his physical power even more. When he was finished, he looked nothing like the slimmer man he had portrayed earlier. His weight in muscle mass had easily increased by a factor of five as he resembled a miniature Broly.

_Great, another tank. There's a drop off in energy compared to mine, but while he's like that it won't matter. It feels like all his energy is concentrated in his muscle mass though, so he probably won't be using too many blasts. Now the question is, did his speed drop too?_

"Whoa, Contestant Dorit has employed a strength increasing technique just like Toguro's. Will his opponent be able to hold up to this?" Koto asked the surprised crowd. Dorit finished his power-up with a sudden over-arm smash that broke the ring in half.

"Well, as you can see I've never been one for energy strikes. But who needs that with this kind of strength?" Dorit asked.

"Makes me want to test something your brother claimed a few minutes ago, if you're game," Verto challenged.

"You're welcome to try, but you won't even scratch me," Dorit retorted as he stepped forward and held his arms up. Verto turned his head slightly as it appeared as if Dorit was inviting him to attack head on while he tried to block against it. Verto started forward as his fist erupted with bright blue energy, and the crowd murmured nervously.

"Oh wow, we've seen this before people, get ready for a knockout blow! Contestant D is going for the kill shot early with his Galic Fist technique!" Koto shouted.

Dorit grinned and dropped his guard, "Go ahead and try kid." Verto ran at Dorit, and stopped just a about a foot short of the larger man's torso with his punch outstretched, but not far enough to touch his opponent.

Dorit glanced down in surprise, "Well? Where is it? Did you suddenly realize how fruitless this is?"

Verto grinned as his fist opened up, "Final Shine!" Dorit was hit with the blast at point-blank range and disappeared in the light it produced. The blast crashed into the far wall and tore through the lower bowels of the stadium, causing the demons above it to lose their footing from the shake it produced.

"Wow, what a surprise blast! D used a variation of his punch to fool his opponent! Now that's what I call clever!" Koto declared.

Verto scowled, _Someone please shut her up, this one isn't over._ As Verto watched, the hole in the side of the stadium started to crumble around its edges before a large muscular arm shot out of the rubble. Dorit stumbled out uneasily and stomped back towards the ring. His armor had been partially incinerated in the blast, and he was covered in small bruises and cuts, but otherwise didn't look hurt. His eyes were what had Verto concerned, as they had shifted to red and he was emitting a matching aura.

"I admit, you fooled me with that attack. So I'm going to show you the difference between us!" Dorit said in anger. His power darkened the arena as vicious red bursts came off his body.

_That was quick, I didn't think I'd see someone lose it this early, but it doesn't quite feel like a full fledged Berserker. He might just be tapping into it to gain an advantage like I've done before._ Dorit's body then swelled in size again along with his power, doubling his absurd muscle mass once more. Just the sizes of his biceps were absurdly large, easily closing in on one whole foot in diameter. His shoulders had bulged outward, giving the appearance that he still had armor on except it was made of flesh. His head almost looked as if it was going to be swallowed by the shear size of his neck, but it managed to stay above it. Dorit suddenly punched outwards, and the air it produced struck Verto with similar force.

Verto caught himself in the air and wiped the blood that came out of his mouth, _That's some serious physical strength for steroid man over there, he was able to create enough air pressure to knock me over._ Dorit then launched into the air at Verto with surprising speed, attempting to swat the smaller Saiyan out of the air with his hand. Verto managed to duck out of the way, except for his trailing left arm. Dorit barely nudged it with his hand, and the impact sent Verto spiraling into the stands. The demons scattered out the way, causing Verto's flailing body to wipe out their seats. He groaned immediately and clutched at his arm as he tried to get up. He gasped as he looked at his upper arm just above the elbow, seeing that a sizable chunk of flesh had been torn clean out, matching the approximate size of Dorit's thumb. A replay was shown on the screen as the crowd groaned upon seeing the hit. A fair amount of blood poured out of the wound and within a moment or two, Verto could no longer move his arm.

_Damn it, he broke it and he only grazed me. I can't take any hits from him, that kind of raw strength is ridiculous. I should have been powered up all the way, but even then I couldn't have taken a direct shot without serious damage. Time to be really careful, otherwise I'm going to get rolled._ Verto held his ruined arm cautiously as the demon crowd continued to gasp at the dripping wound. Dorit grinned slightly as he calmly remained still, as if allowing Verto enough time to recover.

"You did well to avoid a direct hit. I've studied the kind of fighter you are very thoroughly and I know I have no chance in a battle laced with skill and technique. Fortunately, I have discovered that one can overcome that with absolute force and physical power. The amount of energy you can put out might make mine seem pathetic, but there isn't much you can do against raw physical strength that overwhelms your own. Give up kid, because I may not miss next time," Dorit suggested. Verto wiped his bloodied hand on the side of his pants before holding his palm over the blood-soaked wound. He winced painfully as he released a small energy burst, cauterizing the wound instantly and leaving a smoking mess of burnt blood.

"Nice deduction, it serves me right for taking you lightly. I take it your fearless leader told you about my battle with Frost and how his final form gave me trouble?" Verto asked.

"I heard enough," Dorit replied.

Verto turned his head slightly, "No, I don't think you did. Have you and Chal ever fought each other before?"

"Of course we've sparred, what does that have to do with this?"

"There's a technique I used on Frost that almost won the battle, something that will shred a pumped up tank like yourself. Don't make me use it," Verto warned.

"I get in one hit and you're already resorting to bluffs? Don't play coy with me kid. Either give up, or I'm going to crush you where you stand!" Dorit declared. Verto smirked as his blue aura sparked back on, and he proceeded to take his power up to full intensity. Dorit paused slightly, concerned over what he was likely sensing.

Verto remained steady, "Physically, I'm no match for you, no doubt about that. But seeing as you won't hit me again, it won't matter."

Dorit returned the smirk, "Well let's put that theory to rest." Dorit launched at Verto with an open hand outstretched. He hit air when Verto phased out at the last second, and then grinded his boots into the ring to stop himself. Dorit turned and spotted Verto only a dozen feet or so behind him. He bent down and dug his large fingers into the ring surface, pulling up hard. The concrete ring splintered as Dorit tore out a sizeable boulder and held it over his head. He then threw it towards Verto, who phased out again to avoid it. The rock chunk nearly hit Juri before it smashed into the stadium wall, crumbling more of it. Dorit turned slowly as Verto began moving quickly around him, phasing into view for barely a moment.

"I see you kid! You're not so fast that I can't keep up! And all I have to do is hit you once and you'll die…" Dorit paused mid-speech when Verto suddenly appeared behind him. Verto kicked hard into Dorit's neck, sending him bouncing off the ground and into the stands.

"Oh wow! Contestant D was moving so fast that we couldn't see him, but there's no mistaking how hard he kicked Dorit. He'll be lucky if his head is still intact! I just wish he would slow down so the rest of us can enjoy it!" Koto complained. Demons scattered and jumped out of the way as Dorit recovered and jumped back into the cracked ring. He looked unfazed despite the hit he had taken, but it was obvious that his confidence had wavered a bit. His teammates seemed partially impressed by what they had seen.

"That boy is swift to say the least. There aren't too many that can catch Dorit off guard like that, never mind take him off his feet while he's pumped up," Selffur acknowledged.

Laysh shrugged, "Nah, Dorit is just slow."

"You're both right, but he's not moving as fast as he can move. If Dorit doesn't realize this quickly, he'll be beaten," Chal said.

"He can move even faster?" Selffur exclaimed.

Chal nodded, "You shall see." Frit stood still and said nothing, slightly awestruck.

"I don't get it, even if Dorit is much slower when he's powered up, I don't see how that kid could be that fast. He's so small!" Laysh claimed.

Chal smirked lightly, "Size does matter when it comes to speed, you know that. He was trained well, but it's not just that. His size relative to his power also increases that speed. I doubt he's even going half as fast as he can. If he was, Dorit wouldn't even be able to react. He's sandbagging." Verto's eyes shifted at Chal's claim, as did Dorit's.

"So, you think you've won this fight already do you? You've barely touched me so far and I've broken your arm! All that speed won't do you any good if you can't do any damage. Your blast didn't even hurt me!" Dorit declared.

"Unless I tire you out. You know what they say about fat guys and exercise," Verto said.

"Stupid kid, you can be overweight and still be in shape. Obviously you're mistaking pure muscle for some sort of blob you may have beaten before. I can keep this up all day," Dorit boasted.

Verto snorted lightly, "That's not the point I was making, and no, you can't keep it up. You'll play right into my hands with an endurance battle, despite how it may look now. Your body won't react well if you push it too hard, and you're so slow that I could fight the rest of your team while I'm dodging your attacks. What good is strength if you can't catch your opponent?" Dorit scowled heavily as steam rose from his body.

"He's taunting him, what nerve!" Laysh said in displeasure.

"And it's working, he's going to lose his composure again!" Selffur pointed out.

"Brother, calm down! You'll overload yourself just like before!" Frit called out.

"Don't help him. It's his own fault," Chal said. Dorit thrust out his open palm, causing another gust of air to hit Verto and blow him off his feet. He recovered easily and hovered outside of the ring, bearing a deep smirk.

"And I thought I had anger issues. Silly me, I had you pegged as the most relaxed and sensible of the whole group. Kind of a waste when all you can do is hulk up and punch things," Verto claimed.

Dorit snarled, "Shut up! I'll show you!" Dorit's eyes flashed a deeper red as his thin aura exploded erratically. His body bulged in places, and the bulk lacked structure as he began to hunch over from the amount of expanded muscle in his upper body. He began to salivate heavily and grunt randomly in-between breaths. Verto eyed him carefully as red energy sparked off his body, scorching the ring and ground around him.

_There it is, full blown Berserker, guess I'll have to follow through on my claims. Otherwise it really will take all day to shut him down._ Verto could hear Dorit painfully grunting from the amount of stress his power was putting on his body. He raised his fists, letting out a howl as he slammed the ring surface. The middle of the ring crumbled into a crevice that formed from the impact. It streaked towards the stadium wall and then dug underneath, causing an entire section of demons to fall into a growing rubble pile that dropped into blackness. Verto began focusing a large amount of energy into his right palm, causing wild sparks to flash vividly and drawing all eyes to it. Dorit charged at him like a rabid animal, and Verto locked his aim. All at once, dozens of blue lightning bolts shot out of Verto's hand, stopping Dorit in his tracks. The Renegade cried out in pain as the lightning ripped through his body, but Verto didn't let up. Dorit's inflated body suffered within seconds and it began to bleed out in many spots before it shriveled. Verto continued the onslaught until Dorit's body was back to its normal size. His remaining armor and jumpsuit were ripped apart from the Psi Storm, as was his upper body, which smoked and bled in several large swaths. The crowd was completely silent as even Koto found it hard to speak, but only for a moment.

"Unreal, Contestant D unleashed a barrage of what appeared to be lightning made out of his spirit energy! Dorit is down and I don't think he's getting back up! Juri, start the count!" Koto requested. Juri stood up from the rock she had been hiding behind and examined the situation before following through. Dorit started to move at the count of six, but struggled to even get to his knees. Verto suddenly stabbed his energy sword into the ring, inched from Dorit's head.

"Stay down, I don't want to kill you but I will," Verto warned. Dorit froze and stared wide-eyed at the energy blade while Juri finished the count.

"Ten! And the winner is D! Team Toguro is up two to zero!" Juri announced. Verto sighed and backed away, allowing Dorit to breath easier. He stared up at Verto uneasily until the Psi Sword vanished.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Dorit asked straight away.

"It wasn't necessary. Once you had allowed yourself to lose control of your own actions, I already knew I could win without finishing the job," Verto explained.

"Your speed was astounding," Dorit complimented.

"As was your strength," Verto said as he reached into his side pocket.

"Now I know what you meant about fighting with Chal. You were trying to warn me about your lightning technique, but I was too caught up in myself to listen. You still could have followed through, so why didn't you?" Dorit asked.

"I've seen too many great people get taken down by a Psi Storm. I had to finish this fight quickly when you broke my arm, and then you gave me the chance to do just that. I held back enough so you didn't die," Verto replied as he pulled out a small bean.

"I wanted to beat you for what you did to Frit, and my anger got the best of me. It happens so easily," Dorit said in disgust.

"I know the feeling, it takes mental training to get over that, but sometimes that doesn't matter. Work on it with someone you despise, it helps," Verto said as he tossed the bean into his mouth.

"You're seriously going to fight with your arm like that?" Dorit asked. He fell silent when the wound suddenly closed up completely, erasing any sign that it was even painful.

"I wouldn't worry about that, work on your speed and not your strength and maybe we'll fight again on equal terms," Verto offered.

He stared up towards the rafters towards where Piccolo was watching, "_You've got the rest of the Senzu beans right?_"

Piccolo nodded, "_There are three left. You handled that well after your big mistake._"

"_Hold onto the beans no matter what happens. I'll fight the rest of them without any recovery._"

"_Are you certain about that?_"

Verto grimly stared over at the remaining three Saiyans, "_I'll manage, it's not like the beans can do much for my Psi energy anyway. The first two fights have shown me that all I have to do is beat the leader, but I'll keep my guard up for the other two and Chal. I can help them and I will call a truce when this is over._"

"_Are you seriously considering that?_" Piccolo asked in surprise.

"_Look, they need help and guidance. That remains a fact whether we like it or not. Would you rather have to deal with them as enemies or potential friends? Chal is the only problem as of right now. Once I get rid of him, the rest will be a wash." _

Chal turned his head slightly and grinned evilly, "_You really think so? Well, you're welcome to try._"

**Power levels**

**Verto: 312,000**

**Frieza: 60,000**

**Frit: 75,000**

**Dorit: 170,000; Berserker: 350,000**

**WDG:** Chal sounds pretty sure of himself for someone who lost before. Then again, he might not have gone all-out that time. Time will tell?

**VB**: There's two matches to go through first, and they won't be pushovers…


	85. Dark Tourney 7

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 84: Dark Tourney 7: Icy Maiden**

"And now, the third match of the semifinal, D versus Selffur. Ready, set, go!" Juri announced. Verto didn't budge an inch from his standing position as Selffur dared to inch closer.

"I hope you don't actually think that I will be as easy to defeat as Dorit and Frit. They're young and foolish, allowing their weaknesses to overcome them so easily. I have many seasons of training and battle to draw from," Selffur claimed.

Verto snorted lightly, "You'd be surprised then how many times I've seen the words old and fool go together. Probably close to a thousand times or so, guess I'll count you as a thousand and one."

"Clever, but words won't win this fight!" Selffur's aura exploded to life, shooting out random bursts of gold and blue as Juri was sent flying from the ring once again. Verto sensed both ki and Psi being emitted at the same time, though there was no indication of any transformation on the way.

_His energy is unbalanced, there's an uneven amount and it's not in sync, so he most likely won't be combining it or anything. Still, he has enough of both to give me some trouble. The question is what kind of special abilities does he have? He's the other one that I haven't figured out yet, so it could literally be anything._ Verto remained steady as his slightly calmer blue aura made itself known again.

"Wow! Both of these fighters are emitting so much spirit energy all at once! I can't wait for the mayhem to start!" Koto declared.

Selffur grinned at this, "You heard the lady."

Verto nodded, "Your move." The ring under Selffur's feet scattered in nearly all directions as he blazed a path towards Verto. He pulled back during the charge, punching forward at the last moment. A bright shockwave blinded all momentarily, clearing up long enough for the crowd to see that Verto had blocked Selffur's punch with his bare hand. They locked eyes, staring each other down with utter seriousness. Another flash went off and stuck around as both fighters engaged in a flurry of melee combat. The action was a blur to most of the audience, save for a few of the stronger ones. Dozens upon dozens of smaller shockwaves shook the arena, causing some of the spectators to duck for cover due to falling debris. Piccolo remained steady as his eyes shifted in turn with their movements.

_That's it kid, make him come to you. Don't take the offensive until you've dissected his movements. He's obviously a more complete type of fighter, but your level of defensive skill can overcome his attacks._

"It's incredible people! Selffur and D are fighting at such an intense pace that none of us can keep up! This is definitely one fight that we'll all remember!" Koto shouted. Only gasps and quiet sounds of jaws dropping could be heard under the louder impact waves of power coming from the arena floor. Kurama was the only member of Team Urameshi watching and he was left at a complete loss for words. The other members of Team Toguro seemed amazed as well, though with the large man Bui, one couldn't tell. In the erratic white ball of energy, Selffur attacked with relentless punches and kicks, all of which were being deflected, blocked or dodged by Verto with apparent ease.

It went on for easily five minutes and Selffur threw all kinds of feints, misdirection and spinning movements into his attack. None of this even made Verto falter. Selffur began to grow impatient, and Verto started seeing sloppy openings in his fighting style. He waited until Selffur put far too much force into one of his punches before he made a move. Verto narrowly ducked under his fist by hair lengths before charging into Selffur's momentum and burying his own fist into the torso. Selffur came to a complete and sudden stop as his stomach tried to go one way while his body went the other. Verto pulled back and phased out, smashing the back of Selffur's head with his fist. Selffur tumbled out of the ring and dropped face first into the ground. Massive groans and crowd noise followed once the demons realized what had happened.

"After several minutes of pulse pounding action, D has floored Selffur with two brutal hits. This fight looks over to me, I don't think Juri even needs to count!" Koto announced. Verto floated over to the ring's edge and carefully watched Selffur's motionless body for any signs of movement. There were none, but he still sensed plenty of energy present.

Juri reached the count of six when Verto held up his hand, "Don't bother."

"I still have to do my job, and my job is to count him out since he doesn't appear to be dead," Juri claimed.

"Hold that thought, he isn't done yet," Verto replied.

Juri scowled, "He's not moving and he's out of the ring. Seven…eight…" Verto grimaced and continued his mile-long stare, knowing that something wasn't right.

"Nine…Ten!" A fist suddenly plowed into Verto's face uncontested, sending him tumbling to arena floor. He was up to one knee quickly as he held his dented face, glaring back at whoever had done the deed. Selffur was standing where he had been, grinning like he had won the lottery.

Verto's glare narrowed, _How? He couldn't be that fast._ _Not after I just got done avoiding all of his offensive patterns, unless he was holding back. _

"What the? At the count of nine, Selffur moved so fast that no one saw him until he had already counterattacked. What a recovery!" Koto said.

Selffur laughed aloud, "I suppose you're all wondering what happened."

Verto spat blood from his mouth, "Something like that."

"I'll give you a hint, you won't be able to block the next hit, no matter how fast you are," Selffur declared.

Verto's eyebrow shot up, "And just how is that?" Selffur didn't answer and stepped closer. Verto watched him closely for any signs of his movement, sensing a slight build up of energy coming. All of a sudden, Selffur was gone in an instant, and Verto completely lost track of him. He glanced around the entire area, but saw no sign of him despite the energy he sensed. Just as Verto jumped back into the ring, Selffur appeared in the same place he had been before.

_Teleportation technique? It might be, but he never left and his energy remained in place._ Selffur faced towards Verto, and he was suddenly in the younger fighters' face. Verto backpedaled to counter, and Selffur was gone again. Verto was nailed by a kick to his back from behind, and he hit the ring surface hard. _Damn it, I can't even see his blows coming, and his energy signal never moves either until he's already hit me._

"Do you get it yet?" Selffur asked.

Verto rubbed his back slightly as he got back up, "Can't say I have. Maybe a few more will do it."

Selffur chuckled, "Ask and you shall receive." Verto watched carefully as he felt a distinct buildup in energy, and then he was hit in the face by another punch. This time it had come from the front, and again, Verto could do nothing to counter it. He fell backwards and lay on his back for a moment as he slowly recovered from the blow.

Selffur stood over him with his arms crossed, "Give up." Verto didn't move while Juri began the count.

_Alright, that isn't speed. I can sense that his energy has dropped off now that he's used whatever this is. _Verto aimed a kick at the lower regions, and hit air when Selffur vanished again. Verto's eyes narrowed when he couldn't see the movement at all. He got back up and wiped his bloodied lip as he glared daggers at Selffur, who was standing by on the other side of the ring.

"Alright people, we're going to get to the bottom of this. Here's an instant video replay of Selffur's last ring out when Juri was about to finish her count," Koto declared. The action stopped long enough for Verto to observe it, though Selffur seemed confident to let this happen anyway. The video slowed at the count of eight seconds and focused on Selffur's prone body. At exactly nine point seven seconds, Selffur vanished completely. It was rewound back to nine point six nine to show Selffur was still there, and then he was suddenly gone. A different angle showed Verto watching intently at nine point six nine seconds, and his face being smashed at nine point seven. Verto's fist cinched up tightly as he turned and glared sharply while the crowd gasped. _So that's what this is, just like that green slime ball from the Ginyu Force. _

"Even our extra slow replay couldn't catch Selffur's movement. Insane!" Koto shouted.

"It's a time disruption technique. You can stop an instant in time and move independently from everyone else," Verto said.

"Very good my friend, I was wondering when you'd figure it out. Now you know why you can't beat me," Selffur claimed.

"I wouldn't say that just yet. All you did was punch me a few times, you'll have to hit me harder than that. But I am surprised that you tried to fight me straight up if you had something like this to rely on," Verto admitted.

"A trick like that takes a lot of energy. Besides, it only works until I disrupt the environment in any way. Knocking your head off for example," Selffur pointed out.

Verto smirked, "You shouldn't have told me that. Because now I know that there won't be any surprise energy blasts coming my way that I can't dodge. As for your time trick, I think I know a way around that."

"Even if you can dodge a surprise blast, catching you off guard enough times will cause enough physical damage to wear you down. After that, it's only a matter of time," Selffur said.

"Assuming you can cause enough physical damage. Because these weak ass punches of yours won't do it. I can take those all day, and I think you'll run out of energy long before that," Verto challenged. Selffur scowled and fired a quick golden ki blast. Verto's Psi shield appeared and reflected it back at Selffur. Just as the blast would have hit, Selffur vanished again. When he did, Verto's blue shield lit up from contact behind his head.

Verto turned to see Selffur pulling back in surprise, "Look at that, I found a counter." Verto held out his palm and fired a blast through the shield at Selffur. He vanished again, but this time reappeared on the other side of the ring. He was panting slightly now, and Verto sensed that his Psi energy had dropped quite a bit. His ki hadn't changed much yet, so he still had plenty to give. _Alright, that technique eats up his Psi energy fairly quickly. I'll have to carefully tempt him into using the rest of it up, but he's unlikely to if he thinks my shield will be up at all times._

"That shield of yours is troublesome. It appears that I'll have to force the issue. Prepare yourself boy, for I do not like having to resort to this next technique. It will destroy you if you take it head on!" Selffur declared. Verto remained steady as his shield grew brighter in anticipation. Selffur held his hands out in a blasting pose and began charging his attack. Verto sensed a generous spike in both his ki and Psi energy, and they were coming together in his palms. His eyes widened as the green energy sparked with unstable lightning.

_Aw crap, so much for no Chi-based attacks. This guy knows what he's doing._ Selffur's arms shook as the blast grew in size before he released it. The blast shot towards Verto's shield, smashing into it and struggling for control as it pushed forward. Verto held his hands up, feeding energy into his spinning shield as Selffur's Chi blast ripped into it. Despite this, his shield started to waver quickly, prompting Selffur to suggest action.

"Give it up kid, you won't withstand this! Surrender while I can still stop it!" Selffur shouted. Verto's glowing hands sparked as a large blue sword emerged and his shield faded completely. Verto openly blocked the blast with his thick blade, struggling as the sword tried to bend back into its owner. Verto cringed as his feet skidded along the rocky ring surface and he reached the edge. His eyes went down and he saw the chance suddenly as the green blast was starting to overwhelm him.

"Kaio-ken!" he shouted. Darker hues of vivid blue poured off him as he jumped down to the ground and swung his blade upwards. Selffur's Chi blast arced into the high ceiling and broke straight through, exploding outside and shaking the entire island. Once the coast was clear, Verto sighed and climbed back into the ring, staring a hole through Selffur's shocked form. He gazed at his hands for a moment before staring back at Selffur, who was at a loss for words.

_Wow, I barely felt the increased strain. Looks like reducing the amount of energy I can put out here allows me to use Kaio-ken more than I should be able to, add to that the lack of ki to use. I might be able to handle a triple if I have to resort to it. _

"H-How did you do that? Your power just exploded out of nowhere. And you countered something that very few of us can even attempt!" Selffur stuttered and sweated nervously.

"I have my secret techniques just like you do. And I'm very familiar with what you tried to do, too bad you suck at it. You're the one who should be giving up now, because your Psi energy is almost gone," Verto said sternly as he allowed his sword to vanish.

Selffur's expression changed to that of anger, "You really think that was my last shot? I'll show you how it's done you little brat!" His eyes flashed with red fury as his energy shifted again.

Verto cautiously backed into his stance, _Here we go again, I pissed another one off._ Selffur remained in a power-up pose as his energy skyrocketed and his red aura started ripping up the grounds. His body shook painfully as bursts of lightning arced off him in long bolts. They randomly struck single demons in the audience, causing them to literally flame out.

"Get a hold of yourself moron!" Verto shouted at him.

Selffur stopped momentarily, "That was just for show, now I'll take this to a new level!" Another aura shot up around Selffur, a golden one made of ki.

"No Selffur, you know you can't withstand that!" Laysh screamed at him.

"Stop you fool!" Frit added.

Verto's eyes shot open in realization, _Don't tell me he can transform?_ The grounds shook violently as Selffur's body fluctuated and his hair started to change color. To Verto's surprise, Selffur's energy was converting to Chi, but it felt incredibly unstable compared to his. The amount of Psi in comparison to his ki was nearly triple, but Verto could still feel the changeover happening. Selffur's hair shifted colors to a bright red and spiked up wildly as his eyes became fully black as night and he grinned evilly.

_What kind of form is this? Maybe it's an early stage of a demon transformation or something. It feels eerily similar to what happened with Lenz._

"Now, little boy, let's see if you can stand up to me," Selffur declared in a darker toned voice.

Koto blinked sharply, "What is this people? Selffur is emitting such strong demon energy that I have to wonder just what he is? Whatever it is, it can't be good for D!" Reddened Chi swirled around Selffur and strayed into the stands, evaporating demons left and right upon touching them.

_Unstable Chi, it's torching souls just from exposure. And he can control it, that is not a good combination._ Selffur's wicked grin remained as he charged at Verto, his hand lit with red hot energy. Verto powered up and glided to his side, away from Selffur as he rushed in. Selffur stopped momentarily, long enough to fire a large, deadly blast. Verto prepared his own blast and fired with both hands, leading to a collision of red and blue energy at the ring's center. What was left of the cracked ring quickly began to disintegrate in the struggle for domination. Selffur's red blast started to overwhelm Verto's quickly, pushing the blue energy back into Verto's face. _Alright, I can't hold back on this one. One level of Kaio-ken isn't going to do it either, time to get up the ante!_

"Kaio-ken times two!" Verto's power exploded, sending wave after wave of blue energy surging back towards Selffur, who couldn't get out of it's way. The blast tore through nearly an eighth of the stadium, though that part was already empty due to the fights earlier. A sizable hole of daylight changed the lightning of the arena once the blast cleared, and it revealed that Selffur was down.

"Wow, such raw power! I love it!" Koto clamored. Juri started the count while Verto caught his breath uneasily while watching for signs of life from Selffur. Those signs came at the count of five, and he got up quickly. His energy had taken a dive and he looked furious to say the least. He launched back into the rubble filled ring, looking as if he were a wild beast on a rampage.

"You, little bastard! Who do you think you're trying to toy with? You think I can't get stronger too? Quit holding back and show me what you've got!" Selffur ordered.

Verto shook his head slightly, "I'm not holding back you damned fool. I can't do that for very long."

"Fine, I'll make you!" Selffur's red Chi erupted again and his power shot up, blasting more random demons with its deadly bursts. The temperature also rose violently, and Selffur's skin started to glow red hot. _Aw hell, now what?_ Verto sensed a dangerous amount of energy building up, as if Selffur was trying to power-up well beyond his limits. He screamed painfully as his skin appeared to catch fire.

"Stop!" Laysh shouted as she tried to step forward before Chal held her back. Verto watched in horror as Selffur's hands and feet began to flake away as red hot cherries. A thin line of red-orange proceeded this, enveloping his forearms and calves quickly before they too flaked away.

_He's overloading. His own energy is consuming him._ The fire crawled up his arms and legs, reaching his torso quickly as he slowly but surely burned up. His energy remained high until this incineration reached his head, and he stopped long enough to gasp for breath despite the lack of lungs. Just as the rest of Selffur's body burned up, the energy detonated in a potent but calmer shockwave that was enough to knock Verto down, along with everyone else in the stadium. Once it cleared, Selffur's energy completely faded and a hush fell over the arena. Verto stepped over to what remained of Selffur, which was a pile of ashes scattered about the rubble. Juri picked herself off the ground and came over to examine this as well.

"Is he…" Juri started to ask.

Verto nodded grimly, "Yeah, he's gone."

"The winner by death is D," Juri said into the microphone before backing away. Only a cracked perimeter of the ring remained, the rest resembled a donut hole. _I see why they wanted me so bad, so they wouldn't blow themselves up attempting a transformation. Although, this seemed more like he was trying to use his rage to pull up as much power as possible and it snowballed on him. _Chal approached the ring edge with a deep frown, as if he felt responsible for what happened. Verto eyed him carefully, wondering if he was going to take charge of the fight yet.

"Such a waste, Selffur was one of our oldest and most talented fighters. Just a step behind you I suspect," Chal admitted.

"Not even close, he torched himself with his own power. He had no control once he got lost in his own rage," Verto replied.

"Yes, he was a fool to think he could take things as far as you. He has always had the most control over his power, perhaps that led to overconfidence in his own abilities. This is why we need your help, to prevent things like this," Chal reminded.

"And I'm not saying I won't help you. But you've got to stop being so reckless. Invading other worlds to get what you want isn't right," Verto scolded.

Chal shrugged, "If it gets things done. I guess we can agree or disagree on that front. But one way or another, you will join us when this is over, I can see it in your heart and mind." Verto sensed a strong energy spiking from Laysh, whose tail was lashing at the air violently as she straightened her gloves.

"Looks like you've angered her, I wouldn't suggest that normally. My mate can be a bit overbearing," Chal claimed.

"She's your wife?" Verto asked in surprise.

"It's not official yet. But you should know that Selffur was her teacher, and she can be quite vengeful. You will not have an easy time," Chal warned.

* * *

"So far, so good for Team Toguro in this gauntlet challenge. Contestant D has defeated three members of the exceptional Team Gorenja. Can he keep this winning streak going? It's time to find out as he faces the only woman among the group. Don't let her good looks fool you guys, that's one chilly fish to thaw!" Koto announced. Laysh threw a menacing glare at Koto, who gasped and shut off her microphone before she said anything else.

"I'll give you the same courtesy that I gave the others. Quit the match now before you get hurt. I don't like to go after women, but you're in my way and I won't hesitate," Verto warned.

Laysh smirked, "Oh, a gentleman. Well not to worry, I'll make it quick, but it won't be painless."

Juri cleared her throat, "Ahem! Laysh from Team Gorenja versus D from Team Toguro, let the match begin!" Laysh's blue hair waved around in the air as her blue-white aura pushed it around. Bright blue sparkles came up around her as her aura died off, creating a stunning visual effect that seemed to make her shine with beauty.

"Any time little boy, I'm ready," Laysh challenged. Verto was tempted to charge in for a head-on attack, but thought better of it and remained still. He didn't know what the purpose of the sparkling blue energy was, as it felt very strange.

_She's got more energy to use than the last one did before he lost control, and I doubt she's going to burn it up as quickly. I have to be careful, who knows what kind of ice techniques she's going to throw at me, assuming that's all she uses._ Verto elected to fire off a simple energy bolt, one that Laysh didn't attempt to dodge. It turned out that she didn't need to. Verto's blast stopped short just past her sparkly, swirling aura, and it froze into a thick icicle. Laysh then allowed it to drop to the ground, where it shattered and slowly melted off. The energy Verto had used for the attack remained however, and was pulled up into the sparkling swirl, making it more defined.

Verto stood up straight and grimaced, _It's some sort of invisible cold barrier that freezes anything that comes through it. And to top it off, she's able to steal the energy I used in that blast. This is not going to be easy._

"I take it by the expression on your face that you're impressed by my Zotto-Koutetsutechnique, and since you probably don't know that that means, you can just call it Shivering Armor. Yes, I find it quite useful. Your attacks may or may not get through, but even if they do, they will slow down and freeze, no matter how much power you put behind them," Laysh explained.

"I don't use moon-speak or whatever language you use to communicate, so I really don't care what you call your moves. And you're not the first one I've met that uses freezing techniques, so it isn't anything I haven't seen," Verto replied.

"If you're comparing me to that weak little imp from one of those earlier teams, I assure you that he doesn't compare," Laysh said with a deep grin. Verto smirked back as he prepared a slowly spinning blue ball of energy.

"Go ahead, see if that wimpy blast does any good," Laysh dared.

"Actually, I just figured I'd give you a taste of your own medicine. Psi Freeze!" Verto shouted. Laysh frowned slightly as his blast hit her nearly invisible barrier and popped like a balloon. A quickly spreading swath of ice appeared and surrounded her with a thin but well defined wall of frozen blue.

Verto didn't waste a moment and charged in with his fist glowing brightly, "Galic Fist!" He punched through the ice wall easily, but found that Laysh had something else in mind as his fist went right to her outstretched hands.

"Koori-Kometoo!" A broad swirl of energy formed before shooting out and becoming a large ball of ice just as Verto's fist smashed into it. The resulting flash of energy produced an incredibly chilly wind that brought with it a cold, blurry fog. When it faded, a wide area of frozen ground was left behind, spanning nearly twenty feet in a semi-circle. The only spot left unaffected was behind where Verto was standing. He pulled back, taking note of the fact that his forearm and hand was covered in a light coating of frost.

"Lucky! If you hadn't released your attack's energy, that would have completely frozen your body over! Koori-Kometoo, or the Ice Comet, is one of my favorites!" Laysh claimed. Verto brushed off the melting moisture and considered his next move.

_Alright, that wasn't such a good start. She was able to counter me after I negated her barrier, not good. And she's probably got another ace technique or two in the hole. I doubt she's going to attack directly though, not when she can use her freezing techniques to slow me down or worse at range. I'll have to be careful here and counter her move for move._ _She probably uses those weird attack names to throw opponents off, I wouldn't be surprised if she started switching them around._

"Not sure what to do? I'll give you a hint, it's called give up. You know, what you told me to do," Laysh suggested.

"I'll pass thanks," Verto said.

"Tsk, tsk. I guess I'll have to turn this up a notch," Laysh declared. She crossed her arms in front of her as if she were trying to defend against an attack that wasn't coming. Verto sensed her energy building up quickly, and the air temperature dropped like a rock. Verto backed up a step in slight caution, unsure what was coming at first.

Laysh smiled lightly as she threw her arms out wide and released her attack, "Shinsei Toukan!" Verto didn't recognize the name of the attack, but he certainly knew what its effect was going to be when a circular burst of cold energy came at him fast. The pit they were standing in glazed over in a hurry, followed by the ring perimeter. Laysh's eyes narrowed upon seeing a nearly perfect sphere of ice around where Verto had been standing.

"Oh my, Contestant D has been frozen solid in a block of ice! We saw this in the previous round and it certainly didn't bode well for Team Gokai Six! Is the fight over?" Koto asked the crowd. Laysh eyed the icy sphere for a brief moment before holding her hands outward, aiming for it. Another broad swirl of energy gathered, darkening a bit as her icy comet technique took full form. She jumped backwards while holding onto her attack, landing on the ring edge as she prepared to fire. The sphere around Verto began to crack just as the inside started to glow bright.

"I have you now, Koori-Kometoo!" Laysh shouted, firing her technique. It came out of her hands at high speed, leaving a cold energy tail behind it. Just as she launched the attack, the sphere broke apart, sending ice chunks into the air.

Beneath the sizable chunks, Verto was holding a charged beam in his hands, "Kamehame…HA!" Verto fired the beam straight at the icy comet, and braced for what might be the deciding clash of the battle. The two attacks did clash for about half a second before detonation. The resulting explosion wasn't as big as one might have thought given the energy output. The crater it left behind was a dazzled mixture of charred and frozen streaks. Verto stood slightly stunned at the effect that their brief collision had.

_That technique can stop a Kamehameha with that much power? That's a problem._ Laysh scowled slightly at the result, giving Verto the impression that she might have been just as surprised as he was.

"You're a pain in the ass kid. No wonder Chal has such a high opinion of you, since he's a huge pain too," Laysh claimed.

Verto snorted lightly, "Yeah, I'm sure you're just all kinds of fun in bed. I can't imagine how cold you would be when it's that time of the month. What does he do, hit you with a few dozen lightning bolts just to thaw you out?"

Laysh smirked, "Something like that. Stick with us and maybe you'll find out."

"I'll consider it, guess we'll call that a possible perk. Then again, maybe I'd rather freeze to death first. You know what they say about cold days in hell," Verto said smugly.

Laysh's smirk faded, "Too bad, you could stand to learn a few more 'adult maneuvers'. For now, we'll settle with something special."

"Leave your clothes on, I'd rather this didn't turn into a weird porno film that involves thick rounded off icicles," Verto said.

Laysh chuckled, "That isn't exactly what I meant. Here, this should give you a better idea." Laysh pulled both her arms up over her head in an attack pose. A bright white and blue sparkling ball of energy formed above her hairline. It grew into a larger ball that spanned about five to six feet in diameter before she stopped feeding it. _Great, what is this going to be?_

"This is my best attack move, something I usually don't use unless I deem my opponent to be worthy of it. I've perfected it over the years, making it the most beautiful and the most deadly attack a person could ever see. I call it Kyuutai Tougetsu or in basic, the Frozen Orb. Although, that attack name is a little misleading. You see, you won't have to worry about this technique freezing you or anyone else. Care to try it out?" Laysh asked.

Verto nodded, "Bring it on."

"You're a brave one, but stupid since you don't know what will happen. Well, I won't keep you waiting, Kyuutai Tougetsu!" she shouted. She launched the orb at Verto, which began to spin almost immediately as it hovered along the ground while bearing down on him. Verto elected to glide sideways to avoid it, and to his surprise, the orb did not follow him. Instead, a barrage of fast moving energy shards shot out at him, striking the ground with precision accuracy of where he had just been. The orb continued firing shots, though in a random pattern all around the stadium. One shot was close enough to clip Verto's leg, sending a cold shiver through him just before his blood ran hot with pain. He quickly sped up, outrunning the fired shards until they were no longer a problem due to distance. The orb finally spun out completely and unleashed a torrent of smaller needle-like energy shards that shot into the stands like a hailstorm. Demons fell by the masses, most of them taking lethal hits from the attack. Verto's eyes remained slightly wide with surprise at the devastation of the technique.

_Well, she didn't lie, I don't have to worry about that technique freezing anyone. Good god though, the amount of focused energy in that attack was absurd._ _I don't think my energy shield would even slow any of those down. _ Verto checked his leg, which was leaking out a fair amount of blood considering he had only been clipped.

Laysh chuckled slightly as she lifted her arms again, "Ready for the second round? I'll actually try to aim for you this time." Verto readied himself until she had charged up her attack, and then he phased out. Laysh froze in surprise for a brief moment, but then concentrated as her blue sparkling energy barrier came alive again. Just as it did, Verto's fist shimmered into view as he aimed for her midsection. His whole body slowed down quickly as it and his whole arm became covered with ice upon contact. Laysh was able to jump up and out of the way as Verto came to a complete stop, his whole body except for his head glazed over. Laysh hovered over him with her bright orb charged and ready, and Verto realized he was in a very bad spot.

"Kyuutai Tougetsu!" she shouted again as she literally dropped the orb straight down at him. Verto struggled to move as his aura came back to life, quickly sending the ice off of his body.

He charged up one palm with an answering blast and aimed skyward, "Final Shine!" Verto's bright blue blast smashed into Laysh's Frozen Orb and struggled momentarily. Verto put forth more effort into the beam, and the orb was pushed straight up and into the ceiling. When it collided, dozens of energy shards scattered out of it and dropped down as Verto's beam pushed the rest into the skies above. Verto formed his Psi sword and deflected the few that came close enough to him to be considered a threat. Demons in the crowd bulled over each other as they tried to escape the shower of death coming in. Piccolo had to move swiftly to avoid a few of them as well, electing to jump into the air and wait until the chaos subsided. Once the threat ended, the video screen panned the audience, revealing dozens of slain demons that had been hit in the head or upper body. Laysh landed with her arms crossed, scowling slightly as her tail continued to lash at the air with agitation.

"Give up kid, don't make me kill you. Just one of those shots would be enough if it hits you in a vital place, surely you understand that don't you?" Laysh asked. Verto calmly remained steady, though he was busily trying to figure a way out of this fight.

_I can't let this fight drag on, I need to save my energy for Chal. But she's strong and talented enough to make this last. On top of that, I haven't been able to get near her. Guess I'll try some misdirection, but I need to find a decisive advantage somewhere._ Verto charged up his fist again, and Laysh shook her head as her Shivering Armor technique sparkled with the air around her.

"That isn't going to work and you know it," she reminded him. Verto charged in anyway, pulling back to punch as hard as he could. Laysh suddenly phased out just as Verto arrived, reappearing behind him. She bent down and locked in a full nelson hold, surprising him to say the least. He struggled to get out of the hold, but didn't have much success.

"Didn't expect that did you? You should never assume that you can always win a fight based on what you've seen so far. Surely your teachers have told you to never let your guard down," Laysh whispered in his ear.

"D-Damn it!" Verto grumbled aloud. His aura came to life as he tried to power out of it, and his body suddenly froze in place due to a large buildup of ice around his legs and torso. Laysh pressured the back of his head and neck at the same time, cutting off blood supply to the brain.

"You might be able to get out of this against someone else, but with my ice in place, you lose power. By the time you're able to channel enough energy, you will pass out. Whether you go to sleep now or give up, same result. I win," Laysh declared. Verto's vision became blurry as he started to slump a bit, and Laysh deliberately lay on his shoulders to continue the pressure. Verto's arms dropped all the way down and hung loosely by his frozen hips.

"Wow, what a great maneuver by Laysh. She's locked on what appears to be a type of strangle hold on D, and she's literally putting him to sleep! It's a boring way to win, but it's effective!" Koto said over the airwaves. Laysh grinned slightly until a sudden painful shock caused her to shudder. Her grip loosened and she fell sideways off of Verto's shoulders and onto the ground. The entire crowd erupted in chaotic noise, trying to figure out what had happened. The ice around Verto cracked apart as he dropped to one knee and breathed heavily before he glanced over at her. The remaining Saiyans looked on in surprise as well as they saw Laysh's tail being squeezed in Verto's left hand.

"Dirty play by D, grabbing onto Laysh's tail! But this appears to be even more effective than one would think. She's down and not moving!" Koto shouted in surprise. Verto stood up uneasily, keeping a firm grip on Laysh's tail as she instinctively tried to get away.

"Let go!" she growled fiercely at him.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who shouldn't have let their guard down. I really didn't think any of you would have had this weakness still, but count me as surprised. Hey ref, time to count!" Verto barked at Juri. Juri ran over and began counting Laysh out, though nervously stepped away every time Laysh tried to claw her way out of the hold. Verto didn't let go until Juri said ten.

"And the winner is D!" Juri said. The remaining demons were unsure about the ending of the match, considering how many of their kind had been slaughtered during it. Verto finally let go of Laysh's tail and backed into his stance once she recovered. She was incredibly angry over the incident and looked very intent on continuing where she left off.

"You little bastard, I'm going to rip you apart for that!" she growled in an animalistic rage as her eyes briefly flashed with red. A hand clamped down on her shoulder and she stopped as Chal stood behind her.

"Take it easy, you lost the match fairly. He let his guard down, and then you did. You have no one to blame but yourself," Chal reminded her in a stern tone. Laysh blinked sharply as her eyes returned to the icy blue they normally were. She sighed heavily and appeared to calm down, though she was still clearly angry.

"Listen up you little brat. No matter how this turns out, I'm going to teach you some manners someday. Grabbing a lady's tail, what nerve!" Laysh grumbled.

"Maybe I'll pet it next time, would that be better?" Verto offered with a smug grin.

Laysh paused and turned her head slyly, "Oh you don't want to go there either, believe me! But you just gave me a few ideas for the ride home."

Verto's eyebrow shot into the air as Laysh left the ring, "I'm not sure if I should be threatened by that or not."

Chal watched her leave the ring as well, "Let's just say that she is a free spirit. The last time I tried to be the jealous one, I ended up on ice for three weeks while she played with whomever she wanted for awhile."

Verto turned his head slightly and changed the subject, "You seem awfully relaxed, considering what's about to go down."

Chal closed his eyes and smiled, "Appearances are quite deceiving today. For example, you think you have this won already, but I know that you can't use your ki here. I can barely sense any of it within you, therefore you won't be transforming to your higher form. You needed that last time to beat me if I recall, and now you're running low on power."

"As I recall, you gave up when you saw it. Even if getting captured was part of your plan, and you were kind of obvious about it, you still didn't know what to do when I transformed. The only reason I allowed that to happen is because I wasn't sure what you were going to do. I know better now," Verto retorted.

"Maybe, but that was then and this is now. I hope you're ready to join us per our agreement. Then again, I suppose it doesn't matter. Even if I lose, the result is the same," Chal claimed.

"Then why have this fight if it's meaningless? Give up and we can talk this out. Maybe form your alliance against Frost like you've suggested in the past. You're not wrong, I can help you guys, if you're willing," Verto offered.

"Oh this fight has plenty of meaning to it my friend, it bothers me that I can't tell you why just yet. After it's over, you will see," Chal said. His aura erupted with bright blue as his eyes developed the purple hue that Verto had seen before. Random lightning sparks bounced around the crater's perimeter, prompting Juri to jump out and onto the ground outside the ring's edge. Verto cautiously held his stance as his aura appeared. _He's going to go all out for this_.

Verto's blue aura matched the intensity of Chal's, "Alright, if it's going to be that way, then I won't hold anything back either. Let's do it!"

**Power levels**

**Verto: 312,000; Kaio-ken: 468,000; Double: 624,000**

**Selffur: 225,000; Berserker (full form): 530,000**

**Laysh: 250,000**

**A/n: It's all been building up to this. I'll try not to disappoint, though if it's just the one person that I 'disappointed', I'll just pretend he's not there. Oh, before we continue, I'll review some of the attack names that Laysh used in her fight with Verto. Shinsei Toukan (Frost Nova), Koori Kometoo (Ice Comet), Zotto Koutetsu (Shivering Armor), Kyuutai Tougetsu (Frozen Orb). Yes, I went against my own code of slightly mixing languages again, and I did that for a few reasons. Next chapter is going to be very, very violent.**


	86. Dark Tourney 8

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 85: Dark Tourney 8: The Bloody Rematch**

"It all comes down to this, D versus Chal. The winner punches his team into the finals against Team Urameshi. D has plowed his way through the other four members of Team Gorenja and now it's time to face its captain. I have no idea what's going to happen, but it's sure to be exciting. Whenever you're ready Juri!" Koto called out.

"Fighters ready, let the match begin!" Juri signaled. The crowd roared with approval, what was left of it.

Chal smiled, "They're expecting greatness from us, such cretins."

"Are you saying you won't have to try?" Verto asked.

Chal closed his eyes, "Not at all. I just find that it's a waste considering how this fight will turn out."

Verto snorted back, "Well let's just see what happens first."

Chal nodded, "Yes we will. Prepare yourself!"

Both fighters finished powering up, sending erratic energy crashing through the ceiling while the rest of the arena trembled. Verto wasted little time and fired a sizable blast at Chal. Chal dodged aside to avoid it, stopping cold when Verto's fist smashed into him from the left. Chal fell back into the blast, getting swallowed in its light. Verto covered his face as the explosion kicked up wind-driven debris. It slowly cleared, revealing that the rest of the ring had been destroyed entirely. Chal was on his back and his armor had been blown off in the blast. The replay video board played back what had happened, and the crowd continued their awestruck gasping.

"What an attack by D! Chal thought he could get away, but D's speed continues to amaze us all. Could this finale be over already?" Koto asked. A long stream of lightning arced off the ground and shot towards her, nearly taking her head off and hitting a board demon behind her instead. Koto ducked away in fear as the lightning completely fried the other demon.

Chal stood up with his finger pointed at Koto, "You're too loud. You will not say another word, or else I may not miss next time!" Koto nodded nervously and ducked down to hide herself. Juri glanced around from behind her own personal boulder, seeing that only a wide crater remained of the ring.

She held the microphone up and cleared her throat, "Ahem, before we continue, I must put rule thirty-four into play. It states that if the ring is completely destroyed during a match, then there will no longer be any ring-outs for the duration of said match. Fighters can only be declared the winner if their opponent is down for ten counts, gives up, or dies."

Chal smirked as he ignored the referee, "That was a very good misdirection play my friend, shall we go again?"

Verto remained deeply focused, "Any time." Chal fired off another wave of concentrated lightning, and Verto's Psi sword snap-hissed to life as he blocked it. Chal widened the stream of his Raiko-Arc, increasing its power enough that Verto was pushed backwards quickly. Verto glanced back just as he was about to hit the stadium wall, and he phased out within inches of it. That portion of the concrete was torn apart from left to right as Chal adjusted his aim. Verto began to use his speed to race around the arena, having only a split second before Chal zapped the spot he was in. Multiple holes in the ground were left behind as Chal's lightning tore through the dirt.

Chal shook his head slightly as he followed Verto's movements, "You're getting predictable my friend, you shouldn't follow through with that poor attack when you're so low on energy!"

Four flashing forms of Verto appeared around Chal, "You shouldn't assume when you don't know what I'm trying to do!"

"You're right about not assuming. However, I do know what you're about to try and it will not end well for you," Chal claimed.

"Let's just test that theory," Verto said as his afterimages vanished. He increased his pace, and Chal struggled to react fast enough, often making a new hole in the ground well after Verto had appeared elsewhere. Chal stopped firing soon after and instead charged up his energy while he waited for the right moment. Verto continued moving faster until he vanished altogether.

Chal grinned again, "Your speed really is something, but as I already said, you're too predictable." He turned and fired an even more powerful lightning wave just as Verto stopped in its path. Verto blocked against it with his energy blade, but was pushed around almost effortlessly. He struggled with it even as he was forced into the concrete wall. Once he was pinned in place, Chal walked closer as he maintained his energy output. Verto released more power into his sword to protect himself, and quickly grew short on breath as a result. Chal stopped a dozen feet away with a look of disappointment on his face.

"I told you not to do that. Oh well, I guess this will be over far sooner than I expected," Chal said as he sighed.

Verto cringed slightly as he continued to struggle, "That depends."

Chal scoffed, "Ha, on what? You're obviously not in any position to boast."

Verto smirked brightly, "It depends on how much energy you're about to give me!" Verto readjusted his grip and Chal's energy lightning was pulled into the sword before traveling directly into Verto's body. Verto's power level rose rapidly, generating a vivid and intense aura that skewered the wall further.

Chal smiled even as his attack was being absorbed, "Excellent decision, seeing as your energy was starting to get low."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "Then why are you still feeding it?" His answer was given when Chal's white lightning suddenly shifted into a random burst of red, purple and blue. Verto disengaged his sword immediately and ducked out of the way of the rest of it. He stopped once he noticed that Chal wasn't giving chase, and then noticed that his body was emitting a faint, colorful hue. _Shit!_

Chal chuckled, "Now we're getting somewhere aren't we? A few more seconds and you wouldn't have been able to take a single blow. Still, I wouldn't advise that now until it has worn off. Silly me, I forgot to mention that it won't wear off until I cause some damage. So, I suggest you unleash every bit of power you can muster right now, or else the result won't be good."

"I've already maxed out and you know it. That extra energy you provided won't last forever," Verto admitted.

"Oh Verto, don't be so ignorant to my words. You know exactly what I meant," Chal said as he shook his finger.

Verto grimaced, "I told you already to leave your stupid mental shit out of this. I'm not going to use that form just so you can be entertained."

"And I have kept my word on that. However, I wish to get this over with quickly, and if you do not attack me with hatred in your heart, then you cannot win. I am not the forgiving type, so don't force my hand if you wish to live past today. I will see that fabulous power of yours, otherwise you'll die!" Chal declared.

"No! Fight me as a Saiyan, not a mindless animal!" Verto shouted back.

"Even the most controlled intellectual has his primitive side. That is the price we pay for power. I shall do my best to avoid letting it consume me, at least until you give it your all!" Chal's aura brightened as it turned red along with his eyes. His power rose rapidly as the air temperature increased along with the wind. Verto cringed as he carefully considered how to approach. The ground splintered under the weight of Chal's corrupt energy, and the already damaged stadium soon followed. What demons remained were glued to their seats, deeply afraid of what they were sensing and unable to even move. Chal's aura died down soon after, but that didn't change the eerie red hue that had taken over everyone's vision. Chal's hand sparked with his deadly lightning just before he suddenly charged in. Verto narrowly dodged the punch attempt, and blocked the next with both forearms crossed in front of his face. He felt the sheer force of Chal's power, more so because he had been hit with the focusing technique. Verto's forearms stung from the impact, making him wonder if Chal had broken them. Chal no longer had a calm, relaxed expression, but rather one of fury. He aimed a kick for Verto's side, missing narrowly when Verto jumped back and into the air. Chal fired a thin but potent stream of red electricity at nearly point-blank range and Verto was unable to react. The shot went through Verto's lower left side, just under the vital organs. It did however tear a wide hole through the side of the ribcage and out his back. Verto paused in utter shock before the pain set in and he screamed in agony. Blood splattered out from the wound as he dropped to the ground and ceased to move for the moment.

"And Contestant D is down, what a brutal attack by Chal!" Koto announced.

Juri ran over to Verto's prone body, "If D does not get up by the count of ten, Chal wins! One….two…" Juri's count was interrupted at five when Chal suddenly phased out and stomped on Verto's back, driving his foot into the blood soaked hole he had made. Verto cried out in severe pain as a volley of blood spilled out of his mouth and onto the dirt, but Chal didn't let up as an evil grin appeared on his face. He continued stomping away as all of the onlookers watched in silence. After nearly a minute of this, Chal looked bored and kicked Verto's side, turning him over to face upwards.

Chal leaned down as Verto winced painfully, "Well, are you going to use your full power or not kid? Decide quickly, I don't have time for your hesitation!"

"Excuse me, I have to do my job and count to ten," Juri said as she bravely stepped in.

Chal glared at her in annoyance, "We don't need one of you ridiculous judges. The last one alive will win this fight, now don't interrupt us anymore!" Juri backed off in fear, ducking behind her own adopted boulder again. Verto's eyes snapped open suddenly and he launched off the ground. He swung his arm at the surprised Chal, and his blue sword shot out, clipping Chal's upper left arm as he tried to dodge. Verto breathed hard and dropped to his knee as he allowed his sword to fade while he held his wounded side. Chal clutched at his arm as he staggered backwards, holding back his own wail of pain. The Psi sword had cut through nearly all of his arm, effectively taking away any use it had. After a brief moment, a torrent of blood gushed out and dripped off his fingertips. Verto continued to pant hard as he nearly mirrored Chal's actions of protecting current vulnerabilities.

Chal bared his teeth a bit, "It seems you're incredibly lucky today kid. Everyone keeps dropping their guard and allowing you to strike. No matter, I only need one arm to do what needs to be done!" He held up his right hand as he charged a vivid red mass of lightning. It formed into a red-orange ball that sparked off smaller bolts all around it.

Chal grinned evilly, "You probably remember my Raiko-Ball from our fight before, though it's quite a bit more powerful now. But you don't need to worry, this one isn't for you."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "I don't care about all the demons here, but don't involve others in our fight! It's a gutless tactic!"

"I will do what I have to in order to force you into using all of your power! If others die due to your inaction, then so be it! Now come at me with all you've got, otherwise someone is going to die right now!" Chal demanded.

Verto's blue aura shot up around him and darkened, "Kaio-ken, times two!" The stadium shook violently as the force of Verto's sudden energy output floored most of the weaker occupants.

Chal pointed to his right, "Wrong answer." Verto gazed at the Raiko-Ball's destination for a split second before he phased out. Chal's crew panicked when they saw the attack rushing towards them in a thick, concentrated and twisted arrow-like shape. It stopped when it struck Verto's blue sword, which was nearly three to four times bigger than it usually was. Despite the incredible amount of energy lightning coming from the Raiko-Ball, Verto managed to hold his ground for the moment. The other Saiyans were very surprised, though it was difficult to tell if it was due to Chal or Verto's actions. Random smaller bolts of lightning streaked off the vast energy ball and struck Verto all over as he struggled to hold it back. He cringed and grunted as he pulled his sword back a bit, and then pushed the Raiko-Ball to the right. It sailed into a vacated section of the stands and detonated, leaving a large crater that continued to spark with residual energy.

"Why did you save us?" Laysh asked in a demanding tone as the light faded.

Verto turned as his uniform smoked in spots where the lightning had burnt through, "Are you complaining? Your leader just tried to kill you. Now get back!" Dorit tugged at Laysh's arm as he and Frit both backed away.

Chal's evil grin didn't waver, "Close one kid. I wasn't sure if you would even lift a finger. In a way, I'm happy you did that."

"Hmph, I doubt that," Verto retorted. Chal then charged up another intense lightning ball and turned his back completely. He looked up towards the rafters and pulled his arm back to launch his attack.

Verto scanned in that direction before his eyes widened, "Stop this!"

"You know what I want, so produce the results. Otherwise I'll keep targeting others until you cooperate!" Chal said as he fired. Verto shot into the air and intercepted the leading edge of lightning just before it reached its apparent target: Piccolo. Verto swung his sword into the ball in a reckless downward slash, and sent it tumbling into the stands. This time however, there were plenty of demons that were scrambling to get out of the way. Several of them were struck at random and literally disintegrated into nothing but dust by the lightning. The Raiko-Ball itself smashed into the area and wiped out anyone that was there, leaving another electrically charged crater behind. Verto growled a bit as he gasped for breath while the Kaio-ken boost wore off.

"Thanks kid, but you mustn't focus on protecting others this time, it's only going to wear you out even more at this rate! This Saiyan is obviously determined to get you to release your anger and rage on him. Let him see it, don't hold back," Piccolo suggested.

Verto turned with a look of despair, "No! I won't let that happen! If I lose control again, no one will be able to stop me!"

Piccolo's arm shot out and griped his shoulder, "It's okay to let go Verto. Your training will not be a complete waste. The fact that you've managed to keep a hold of yourself in this entire battle without even slipping shows that you're much closer to mastering your power than you may even realize. It's not wrong to fight for the right reason, surely I've told you that before. I have faith that you won't become any sort of evil being, you've been able to fight like that with nothing but your own instinct of right and wrong to steer you, so trust that. He wants to see the monster, so let him see it and regret it forever. Remember, he's the one who pushed it this far!" Piccolo reminded. Verto paused notably as Piccolo's words seemed to hit him.

"Go on kid, do what you do best. I'll keep everyone out of it," Piccolo said. Verto nodded uneasily and dropped to the ground to face Chal. Piccolo lowered his altitude to the first level, where Koto was bravely sticking her head out to see what was going on.

"Tell everyone to evacuate, if they value their lives they'll listen. This fight is about to get very rough," Piccolo suggested. Koto started to protest, but Piccolo had already left her broadcast station.

He landed next to the other Saiyans and motion with his finger, "I suggest you all get out of their way."

"A Namek? Why should we?" Dorit asked.

"I think you know why. Verto is about to unleash his rage, and I've seen what it can do to those who get too close. He cared enough to protect you from your own leader, so I will trust him enough to warn you," Piccolo replied.

"We don't take orders from Nameks!" Frit shouted back.

Piccolo snorted lightly, "Suit yourself. I prefer to live." Piccolo took off towards the open part of the stadium, where the demons were rushing out. Laysh, Dorit and Frit reluctantly followed, each of them taking a last look at both fighters.

Chal's evil expression shifted to slightly determined, "So, are you finally going to follow through?" Verto didn't answer as his eyes became as blood red as the hole in his side. The stadium shook along with the ground, and all light sources darkened briefly as the arena was overtaken with red. Verto's aura filled with the red energy and sparked relentlessly with lightning that set fire to some of the ground nearby.

Chal smiled eagerly, "Now that's more like it!" Verto's scream shattered all of the stadium lighting, though it had already become obsolete at this point. The holes that had been ripped out of the ceiling broke into larger gaps, showering the arena floor with twisted metal. One such chunk partially grazed Verto's wide aura and burned up instantly, sending hot metallic ash cherries flying around. Chal lowered into his fighting stance and waved Verto on. He was immediately smashed in the face by Verto's first punch. Chal stumbled backwards just before he was kicked harshly in the back, sending him flying up. He winced in pain as Verto went flying past him, preparing a double-arm attack next. Chal recovered first and fired another Raiko-Arc lightning stream, one that Verto narrowly avoided as it shot into the skies above the arena. Chal shifted around, but was unable to avoid another kick to the chest that sent him flying towards the open part of the stadium. Verto chased him down, eyes aglow with intense fury as he sped up.

Chal's eyes widened in pure surprise, _What incredible speed!_ He was clothes-lined out of flight control by Verto's forearm, and dropped towards the ground. Verto blazed a trail after Chal, grabbing his leg just before he was about to hit and swinging him back into the darker arena. Chal managed to regain his bearings and glided backwards, firing a twisted arc of lightning. Verto charged at him, phasing in and out multiple times on his warpath.

Chal paled slightly when Verto appeared above him, "Oh damn!" Chal had barely heard the snap-hiss of Verto's red Psi sword before his left shoulder was sliced open. His ruined arm was completely severed from the first swipe. The second left a long and deep cut that went from Chal's collar bone down the side and nearly to his waistline. The wounds smoked with burnt blood before the liquid finally gushed out and showered the ground and strained the dirt once Chal crash-landed. He was barely down when Verto landed on him, sending a generous burst of fluid out of his mouth. Verto took the full mount position and smashed Chal in the face. Bloodied teeth slipped out from the impact and landed in the smoking dirt. Chal turned his head back up with a smile of satisfaction, before Verto punched him again and caused his head to bend the other way. Chal's face lit up with painful shock as a large cut opened above his eye. Verto wailed on him again with precise blows to the side of his head, causing so much damage that Chal's entire face was covered in the crimson fluid. Verto stared at his bloodied fists for a moment before letting Chal have it one more time and standing up. Chal groaned with intense pain as Verto stood over him, as if waiting for him to get up just to beat him down again.

Chal managed a painful laugh, "Heh, now that's the kind of ruthlessness I've been looking for. My only question is why didn't you take the shot and kill me? You intentionally missed!"

Verto didn't answer directly, "Either get up or give up! I don't care which it is!" Chal stood up uneasily and was sent flying by another vicious forearm shot to his battered face. He crashed into empty seats and was buried under the rubble. Verto lifted off into the air until he was eye-level with Chal's position, and he waited. The rubble shook out of place shortly before it was shot into the air by Chal's intense aura. Verto bashed one such boulder away and Chal was suddenly right in his face. Verto was hit by a brutal front kick that damaged his wounded torso, and he fell back to create his own pile of rubble in the stands. Chal grinned wickedly as blood poured from both his face and body while he began charging a strong beam attack with his one hand.

"C'mon kid, let's see what you've got!"

Verto's power exploded again as he charged up an answer to Chal's challenge, "Super Galic Gun!" The two reddened beams collided and struggled against each other, producing an even bigger ball of energy. It swelled to nearly half the size of the stadium, and then moved towards Chal. The elder fighter dove towards the ground and watched as Verto's stronger beam took another fourth of the stadium out before heading into the skies. Chal tensed up and spun to fire another Raiko-Arc stream just as an energy blade hissed, hitting him in the chest. More blood splattered onto Chal's face from Verto's mouth as he dropped to the ground from the air, having been hit in the lower stomach region again. Chal smirked as he looked down, only to see a bright blue blade fading from right next to his heart. Chal's smile didn't waver even as he choked up another batch of red fluid and fell to the ground next to Verto. Both Saiyans ceased to move much at this point, drawing curious gazes from afar. Piccolo floated on the edge of the stadium, shaking from the amazing display he had just seen.

_Verto managed to reel himself back in just before his final attack so he wouldn't burn Chal's soul. He's starting to master his control, although it wasn't the best idea since it gave his opponent enough time to counter attack. Still, it doesn't seem like he was really the one holding back._

Koto, who was still in her place, jumped all over the microphone, "What an awesome ending to this fight, it's a shame so many of you demons out there ran away and missed it! Don't worry, we'll sell you the video copies! Both fighters are gushing blood all over the place and neither can even move at this point. Juri, who wins this?" Juri ran over as Verto staggered up to a knee, blood pouring from both his wounds and throat. Chal on the other hand, couldn't manage to even budge.

Juri counted him out quickly, "Nine…ten! The winner is D, Team Toguro advances to the finals!" Verto made it uneasily to his feet and stumbled over to Chal's fallen form. He could still sense a feint energy level, but it was fading fast.

Chal coughed, sending a generous gush of red into the air, "N-nice work Verto, but why did you suddenly hold back? That could have been the end of you."

Verto winced as he sat down on his knees, holding his wounded stomach, "Whether I killed you or not didn't matter to me. But had I followed through, I would have torched your soul and there wouldn't have even been a Hell left for you to go."

Chal chuckled weakly, "How thoughtful."

"Why didn't you aim for my vitals? You missed twice," Verto countered.

"Because I never intended to win this fight, only to look convincing," Chal admitted.

Verto went cold with shock, "What?"

"My mission, my real mission, wasn't to retrieve any artifacts once you showed up. That was someone else's doing and a cover for me to slip out and wait for you," Chal continued.

"Piccolo! Bring the Senzu beans!" Verto shouted.

Chal managed to grab a hold of Verto's arm, pulling his complete attention, "Don't bother. I didn't choose this for me, I chose it for my friends. T-Take care of them!" Verto sensed three presences suddenly arrive behind him, and turned to see the other Saiyans were very distraught.

"You three have your orders, now carry them out!" Chal ordered.

Dorit and Frit both bowed and saluted, "Understood sir!"

Laysh appeared to be fighting back tears and turned around to save face, "Fine!"

Chal smiled meekly, "Alright, lead them well, they're in your hands now. W-watch out for…him!" Chal slumped just as Piccolo landed and Verto stared at the ground in dismay. Chal's energy level completely died out in an instant and Verto knew that he didn't have a chance to save him.

"Why?" he asked.

Piccolo held out his hand, revealing a single Senzu bean, "Maybe you should ask them." Verto hesitated to eat the bean for a moment, but did so and stood up once his wounds were healed. The three Renegades cautiously bowed and saluted him.

Dorit turned his head upwards and was the only one to speak, "What are your orders, sir?"

**Power levels**

**Verto: 312,000; Kaioken(x2): 624,000; Berserker: 550,000**

**Chal: 305,000; Berserker: 530,000**

**A/n: Another chapter ends, and another one will begin. Don't assume anything at this point.**

**WDG: **Assume-assume-assume-assume-assume…

**VB: **You will lose!

**Next time on DBV: Verto learns the reason for Chal's sacrifice and prepares to return to the Z universe. Before he can though, a series of events unfold rapidly and force him to stay due to betrayals of trust. Plus, the leader of the Renegades steps onto the scene and he is not happy with his troops.**


	87. Dark Tourney 9

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 86: Dark Tourney 9: True Leader**

Verto said nothing as he, Piccolo and the three Renegade Saiyans made their way back to the hotel. An absolute swarm of thoughts were going through Verto's head however, as he tried to figure out what had just happened. He opened the door to their room first, grimacing when he saw empty wine bottles laying all over the place and what appeared to be a drunk and legless Frieza nearly passed out on the floor.

"Get out! I didn't order any more wine! Someone bring me my hover chair!" Frieza ordered. Piccolo growled slightly as he stomped over and dragged Frieza to the window by his arm.

He promptly threw him out hard enough that he went sailing into the distance, "Excuse me, I needed to take care of that disgrace. You may discuss things alone now."

Verto snorted lightly as Piccolo flew after Frieza, _Yeah, like you won't be listening._

"Where would you like to begin?" Dorit asked.

"I want to know why Chal just gave up his life for virtually no real reason. Not only could he have lived, but he also could have beaten me," Verto pointed out.

Dorit sighed, "His original intention was to bring you to us after your battle with Frost. Due to all of the chaos that occurred, that would have been difficult. So he came up with a new plan."

Verto frowned when Dorit paused, "I'm listening."

"He petitioned to our leaders to seek you out, though he did not have Earth's exact location at the time. The ruling council denied this request, as they did not want to get involved with what they deemed a dangerous scenario, which is Prince Vegeta. Not all of us would be willing to follow his rule you see, and that could mean civil war with our own people, we couldn't have that. I assure you though that we three have great respect for royalty, and seeing the prince return to his rightful place is one of our top priorities," Dorit explained.

"Okay, I can understand that, but don't blow smoke up my ass in order to gain favor. Vegeta and I differ on a lot of things as well. So what happened next?" Verto asked.

"Chal was given the mission to come here to find a certain artifact, this he told the Namek. What he didn't tell the council was his intention to come find you as soon as the mission was completed and of course join forces. Our only problem was that the Captain of the Guard is the strongest among us all, and he doesn't take well to insubordination. He was the one who battled Frost evenly before you did. He would instantly kill us just for speaking with you now if he knew," Dorit claimed.

"But that doesn't explain why Chal let himself die," Verto reminded.

"Chal has always had a tracking device implanted in his body, mostly because he took on solo missions quite often and would require transportation once he was finished. He did not want the captain to figure out where Earth was due to following the tracking device, and death was the only way to deactivate it. He wanted us to go with you but knew he couldn't go along or go back. So he chose to die in a battle with you from the start," Dorit continued.

Verto sighed heavily, "I wish I would have known that before."

"Chal was too proud and stubborn for that. He also had too much respect for you to try and handicap you in any way past what was already done. He believed in you all the way to his grave, and we will follow his wishes in that regard," Dorit said.

"Alright. So, the idea is that you would all essentially disappear for awhile. While that could work in theory, whose to say that no one would come looking for you? You can't tell me that they wouldn't know where to look first, and that is here. Even if Chal's tracking device clearly said that he was killed, that doesn't mean that you all were, despite what logic could be used there," Verto said.

Dorit nodded grimly, "It's a risk we three agreed to take in order to rid the universe of Frost and reunite the Saiyan people. Our plan entails joining you and anyone else to destroy that monstrosity. Then we will deal with the others. The captain is a ruthless man who should be removed by force. All of those who have tried though have met their end swiftly. He isn't on the ruling council, but he may as well be, given that all of them fear him."

"And this man didn't come here with you?" Verto asked.

Dorit shook his head, "No, only the five of us were assigned to this mission. Selffur worked directly under him however, so whether you killed him or we did, he would have had to be dealt with. You did us a favor there."

Verto paused notably, _Koenma said there were six and that the leader was stronger than anything they knew. I have to assume that it's the same person that they're talking about, but are they lying, or did the timeline shift again? Either is possible since there's a time discrepancy between our arrival times._

Verto decided to get off that particular subject, "What was this artifact you were looking for?"

Dorit shrugged, "Something that the captain was interested in for some reason. We aren't really sure there even was one here, and it has become a moot point. You were the goal."

"I guess I'm all yours, in a manner of speaking," Verto replied.

"I still think this is a waste of time. The kid is strong, but it isn't enough to defeat Frost. Maybe in a decade. I still say he looks like he's only been out of the nursery for a few years," Frit claimed.

Verto glared at him slightly, "Guess that says a lot about you doesn't it?"

"Easy brother, don't start problems when you clearly can't defend yourself right now. Do you require time to discuss the matter with your Namekian friend?" Dorit asked.

Verto nodded, "Give me a few hours. I have a few loose ends to tie up."

"We will leave you to it then, in the meantime we'll return to our ship. As you can see, my brother would like to visit a rejuvenation tank and get his hands back," Dorit pointed out.

Laysh finally broke her silence, "Hmph, how do we know he won't run away?"

Verto's eyebrow went up, slightly confounded, "I'm not a coward if that's what you mean."

"Whatever, you pulled my tail to win our fight! That is cowardice at its best. Clearly, Prince Vegeta has never taught you honor or respect of your opponent. I'll be happy to teach it to you in spades!" Laysh declared with a raised voice.

Dorit frowned, "Laysh, cut it out!"

"No, let her speak her mind. I admit that I took the shortcut so I could save my energy for Chal. After all, I was fighting all five of you in a row and I needed to get out of the round. I also didn't want to resort to killing anyone if I didn't have to. I understand why you're upset since I used to have a tail as well, and it was used against me more than once," Verto admitted.

All three Saiyans blinked sharply before Laysh straightened up, "Well, I guess I can accept that as an apology. I retract my opinion that you were a coward seeing as you were willing to do what it took to win."

Verto smiled back, "Yeah, I'm sure you would use every weapon in your arsenal to win if you had to, especially being a beautiful woman."

Laysh grinned slyly, "Maybe I'll let you see all of my weapons in a few years." She promptly allowed her hips to sway as she left the room, followed closely by Frit.

Verto shook his head slightly, "You know, I really need to just shut up more often rather than saying what a nice guy would. I know I'm going to be in trouble for that one."

Dorit looked thoughtful, "Oh I don't see any problems with complimenting a female, just be careful what you wish for. We will meet with you in a few hours."

* * *

Verto walked around the hotel grounds as he thought things over. He didn't have to tell Piccolo anything because the Namek had heard every word. For the time being, he was trying to decide how exactly to process. _Bringing them straight to Vegeta is probably the best option, no matter what his opinion of them may be. Although, Leira is going to protest how I handled this, knowing her. Well too bad, she only said to stop them, and I did._ Verto's thoughts were put on hold when he sensed a strong presence coming closer. Out of the trees came the impressive looking agent Ranot, who looked as if he had been waiting for Verto to turn up.

"That was an excellent display you put on out there. I have to say that even I wouldn't want to anger you much," Ranot claimed as he clapped a bit.

"It didn't turn out like I had hoped, but it did get the job done. I called a truce with them and I'm going to join them against a common foe. All that needs done now is to leave, the sooner the better," Verto replied.

"Oh, you're not going to stay for the finals?" Ranot asked.

"What for? There's no point, I did what I came here to do. Toguro will just have to accept that and do things himself. Personally, I kind of hope that Yusuke kid beats his ass," Verto admitted.

Ranot shrugged, "That's too bad. I was looking forward to possibly having a match with you, pity."

Verto grinned slightly, "Maybe the next time that Leira invents another crises to deal with, we can spar or something. You're not the first of her colleagues I've come across."

Ranot nodded, "Perhaps. I guess this is farewell, for now." Ranot then walked off in a different direction from Verto's own. Verto passed by several groups of humans and demons in their own little clusters. All gave him some sort of look, though most were of a nervous fear. Verto felt slightly unnerved, as if there was something amiss and he couldn't place it. He locked onto Piccolo's power signal and suddenly launched into the air. He found the green Namekian on the far side of the island, next to a battered and bruised Frieza. Verto landed just in time to witness Piccolo driving his foot into Frieza's back.

"Damn you Namek! I curse the day you were spit out of Guru's mouth!" Frieza shouted as he spit wet sand from his mouth.

"Yeah, well I'm sure he's smiling right now from heaven," Piccolo growled back.

"Am I interrupting, or do you two need some more time alone? Remember to use protection," Verto joked.

Piccolo glanced up, "So, what did you decide to do with the Saiyans?" Verto frowned at the fact that Piccolo didn't get his joke, but moved on.

"I say we take them back to Earth with us and go from there. They'll be a big help in beating Frost for good," Verto replied.

"Have you thought this through? I don't trust them and I don't think Vegeta will approve either. That is an incredibly enormous risk kid!" Piccolo declared.

"Kind of like leaving Frost alone because he may come to Earth, right? Seriously, which one do you prefer because now I'm confused," Verto retorted.

"I'm saying that you should stop reacting on impulse and think things out much more thoroughly," Piccolo said.

Verto grimaced, "Look, we have a common enemy and as you said before, Frost will probably come to Earth eventually. I wasn't sent here to kill them, only to stop them, and I did. Chal died to make sure they left with us and assisted in taking Frost down. So what part about this doesn't make sense again?"

"It's too sudden Verto, it may be a ploy to undermine us instead after gaining our trust. Leira will not approve to this either."

"Like I give a crap about what she thinks," Verto grumbled.

"You should, she has been looking out for your best interests. And you also should because she's standing right behind you," Piccolo pointed out. Verto turned to see Leira standing a mere ten feet away, completely clad in black leather as usual.

"Your mission isn't complete, the timeline hasn't shifted back yet. So before you make any long-term plans, I would make sure to cover all the bases," Leira suggested.

"What are you talking about? I beat Chal and called a truce with his crew, we'll be leaving soon," Verto summarized.

Leira shook her head, "No, you mustn't until I'm sure the problem is taken care of. Their leader is still here somewhere, hiding. You might have already seen him and didn't know it."

"It might help if you told us their leader's name and gave his appearance. The other Saiyans said specifically that he wasn't here. Although if they were lying, I couldn't detect it," Piccolo claimed.

"Me neither. Are you sure that the timeline isn't fixed? I mean, you said yourself that us being here caused a big disruption before," Verto added.

"Yes, I'm sure. Yusuke and his team are killed somewhere between now and three days from today. All of them are supposed to live. I haven't pinpointed the exact when and where yet, but I would call that rather certain wouldn't you?" Leira countered.

Verto frowned deeply, "Fine, I'll stick around. But don't be trying to get the other Saiyans killed just because they have the cursed blood lines."

"I don't care about them, as long as the leader doesn't leave here alive!" Leira shouted suddenly. Verto and Piccolo glanced at each other, slightly taken aback at her sudden outburst. Verto was about to say something when he felt a strong flare up of power coming from the other side of the island.

"What is that? There's one strong demon fighting someone a lot weaker," Piccolo noted.

"It feels like Toguro, I guess that explains where he's been. But who is he fighting?" Verto asked.

Piccolo's eyes widened, "It's the old woman, Yusuke's teacher."

Verto seemed confused, "I thought they were supposed to wait for the finals?"

"Looks like he isn't."

"I sense Yusuke heading there too," Verto said. He glanced at Leira long enough for her to nod slightly before his aura flashed on and he launched into the air. Both Leira and Piccolo watched him go before saying another word.

"Maybe you should have been involved from the start instead of sending another of your strange agents to keep an eye on things here. It probably would have been better than using this maniac as bait," Piccolo suggested as he gestured to Frieza.

Leira turned slightly, "What are you talking about? You three are the only ones I sent here."

"Then who sent the other one, surely you know who I'm talking about. He's the large fighter with a mostly bald head and a ponytail," Piccolo described.

Leira's eyes narrowed, "I assure you Piccolo, I didn't bring anyone else here. Nor have my superiors, who have not allowed anyone other than Etarb to interact with you."

"Then who is he? Who is this man Ranot?" Piccolo asked.

Leira froze, "Did you say Ranot?"

"Yes, what do you know of him?"

Leira seemed terribly troubled, "Go help Verto now. I'll take care of Frieza and send him back to King Yemma."

"But…" Piccolo started to argue."

Leira became incensed, "Just go!"

* * *

Verto landed between Yusuke's teacher Genkai and a pumped up Toguro. His upper body had swelled to nearly three to four times its original size, more so in the shoulders. He was giving Verto flashbacks of Dorit before he had overloaded, and of course, Frost.

"What the hell are you doing?" Verto asked.

"Stay out of this boy, this doesn't concern you. She and I have a score to settle," Toguro claimed. Verto glanced at a weary Genkai, who wasn't emitting near as much spirit energy as she had been before. It was clear to him that she had no chance of fighting Toguro and surviving.

"If picking on the elderly is your idea of exercise, I'll happily rip you apart instead," Verto offered.

"No, you can't!" Genkai shouted.

Verto grinned at her, "Relax, he knows what will happen." Toguro gritted his teeth slightly and darted to his right, circling Verto. He stopped and fired a red blast towards Genkai, only to see it knocked away when Verto intercepted it.

"Quit interfering! She will die!" Toguro roared.

"Not before you get through me she won't. And trust me, you'll have a hell of a time trying to do that!" Verto declared.

"So, eighty percent of my strength still doesn't impress you? How would you feel if I went full power instead?" Toguro asked.

"Based on your strength test earlier, do you honestly think such a tiny increase would mean anything?" Verto countered. Both of them tensed up as they felt another presence suddenly appear next to them in the forest. Out of the trees stepped Ranot, who looked small next to Toguro's current size, but still massive.

"He's right you know Toguro. Compared to him, your full power is at the level of a common house fly," Ranot said as he crossed his arms.

Toguro grinned slightly, "Then perhaps you'll show me what a real level of power is then?"

Ranot nodded, "Gladly."

Verto stared in confusion, "What are you still doing here? And by the way, I've got this under control if you didn't notice."

Ranot smiled, "Well, I have every intention of staying for the final round. But I can't fight unless one of their team dies. Since Toguro is going to take care of that little hag for me, I'll need to find a worthy opponent. You will do."

Verto cautiously lowered into his fighting stance, "What happened to not getting in the way? You can't tell me that Leira ordered this."

"That meddlesome woman doesn't have anything to do with this. Now will you accept my challenge or not?" Ranot asked.

"No."

Ranot snorted lightly, "I pegged you as the overly brave and headstrong type that rushes into battle. Perhaps I was wrong, or maybe you need the proper motivation."

Verto's expression became a stern glare, "Do the words, fuck off, mean anything to you?"

Ranot's smile didn't waver, "Afraid not, but this should mean something to you." Ranot suddenly vanished and Verto's world was turned upside down by one powerful punch into the side of his face. His body smashed through several trees and flew out of control through the forest.

Ranot glanced at Toguro briefly, "If you will excuse us, there's a little brat that needs to be taught a lesson." Ranot blasted off after Verto, leaving Toguro and Genkai alone.

"Where were we, Genkai?" Toguro asked with a deep evil grin.

* * *

Verto groaned as he held his broken face under a fallen tree. He had flown nearly a mile from the impact alone and was currently trying to regain his equilibrium. _Okay, that hurt._ He threw the tree that had fallen on him aside and sat up uneasily as a wave of dizziness coupled with double vision hit him. _Man, I should have just said yes. I don't have enough energy to be fighting someone that strong right now._ A pair of large boots landed on the ground in front of him, belonging to an equally large man. Verto glanced up as a fair amount of blood leaked from his nose and mouth.

"I guess we'll call that my formal introduction," Ranot said as he stood with his arms crossed.

Verto got back up and spat the blood from his mouth aside, "It would be rude of me not to answer that then."

Ranot nodded and uncrossed his arms, "Take your best shot kid."

Verto's blue aura exploded, ripping away nearby trees from the ground, "Kaio-ken!" He immediately dropped back and charged up a powerful energy beam, intent on ending the fight before it even began.

"Is that all?" Ranot asked.

"It's all I'll need to drop you! Galic Gun!" The blue wave of raw energy tore through the first layers of dirt as it blazed a path towards Ranot. The beam overwhelmed him in seconds and exploded, lighting up the skies all around. Verto covered his eyes from the close blast, standing up with a bright smirk when it cleared.

"I hope you lived through that. Fight me again and there will be more where that came from!" Verto boasted. The smoke finished clearing and Ranot was still on his feet, barely even blemished.

"More like that? I realize that you are rather tired from your fight with Chal, but you should have more impact than just that. How disappointing," Ranot scoffed. Verto's jaw slipped in surprise, and he never saw the next blow coming. Verto was floored from behind by Ranot's kick to his spine. He only flew about a dozen feet before Ranot phased out and kicked him in the chest, reversing the momentum. Ranot bounced Verto around in the same manner several more times before he grabbed him by the neck and applied a fair amount of pressure on his throat with one hand. Verto gagged as he struggled to breath, and his entire face was now bloodied enough to drop off and land on his uniform.

Ranot snorted, "You're pathetic! You don't deserve the title of Saiyan! Frost must have been crippled if he was beaten by a worm like you!"

Verto coughed hard as he was still low on breath, "You're the leader, the one who fought him before?"

Ranot grinned, "About time you figured that out. You'd think that stupid woman would've told you about me from the start. I guess she still hasn't gotten over it yet. I would've killed her long ago if it wasn't so much fun to see her suffer."

"W-what the hell are you going on about? If you're going to kill me, j-just get on with it!" Verto urged. Ranot squeezed Verto's neck harder, causing him to choke for air.

"You should know not to tempt fate you little insect. But what would be the use of killing you now without seeing you in despair first?" Ranot asked. Verto was pulled up a little farther before Ranot hammered his other fist into Verto's chest. Only a small set of red drops were able to escape Verto's mouth, but the cracking sound that came with them was unmistakable. Ranot dropped Verto to the ground and kicked him lightly in the same spot. Verto crashed through another tree before he landed, holding his right side.

"Don't pack it in yet little brat, I wouldn't want you to miss the show…" Ranot said just before a golden blast suddenly smashed into him and exploded as a long white cape blocked Verto's view.

"You alright kid?" Piccolo asked. Verto managed a painful nod as he struggled to get up.

Piccolo offered out his hand, "C'mon, let's go."

"Go?" a voice asked from the blast driven smoke.

"Oh great," Piccolo muttered as he spun around.

"And where do you think you can go Namek? The only place I will allow you to go is hell!" Ranot declared. Out of the smoke came a strong purple beam that had every intention of wiping out everything in its path. Verto sensed a very strong ki level channeling it, but almost no Psi at all. Piccolo yanked Verto up by the arm and threw him out of the way just before it hit. The blast made the entire island shudder violently as a small nuclear cloud formed around it. Upon clearing, Piccolo emerged in the crater, shaking as he remained standing. His weighted clothing had been wiped out along with most of his gi. His body was covered in bloodied cuts and charred skin. These apparent injuries were enough to cause him to fall face down and stop moving completely.

"Piccolo!" Verto shouted.

"One toasted Namek, ready to serve!" Ranot laughed. Verto's glare shifted towards him as his anger quickly took hold and smoky waves of red poured off him.

"Ah, a little upset now are we?" Ranot asked. Verto didn't answer as he was too busy screaming while he powered up.

Ranot shook his head, "You're too used up to even consider this course of action, but I welcome you to try. Either way, you're going to die!"

**A/n: And we're off!**

**WDG:** Whoosh!

**VB**: Yeah well, I'm sure all were waiting for the 'grand betrayal' anyway. Not sure you can call it that since he barely knew him. Whatever, its fight time again!


	88. Dark Tourney 10

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 87: Dark Tourney 10: Despair and Revelation**

Verto continued his blood-curdling scream as the entire land shook from his deep power spilling out. The ground became ablaze with fire, which quickly spread to the trees.

Ranot stood his ground with a confident smirk, "You're losing your focus kid, and that's the only thing that makes you even remotely dangerous. You don't have a prayer of beating me, no matter how much energy you are able to wield. Especially in your weakened state." Verto growled an answer and charged in, aiming a punch to Ranot's head. Ranot dodged easily and backhanded Verto, swatting him away like a bug. Verto bounced off the ground and came rushing back. He attacked with a flurry of reddened fists and kicks, all of which were dodged with little noticeable effort. Verto backed off momentarily before attempting to take his head off with a flying knee. Ranot blocked the blow and then caught both of Verto's next punches before spinning him around and locking in a tight bear hug maneuver. Verto scrambled to get out, but was held firm by Ranot's superior strength.

"I like your speed, but you're obviously too exhausted to even touch me now. Now settle down, I wouldn't want you to miss the show!" Ranot said.

Verto's eyes continued to flash with red intensity, "Let me go!"

Ranot laughed, "Make me!" Another bright burst of energy poured out of Verto as he tried to overpower the hold. Ranot struggled to hold on momentarily before he intentionally let go. Verto spun in the air as his red Psi sword came to life in his hands and he swung down at Ranot. The sword stopped short when Ranot literally blocked it with just his forearm. Verto's eyes widened in shock as he saw his sword clashing with a bright but thin layer of energy that covered Ranot's body all around.

"I'm sure you've cut through many foes with that sword technique of yours, but it isn't strong enough to work on me," Ranot pointed out.

Verto jumped back and stared in surprise; breathing heavily as he tried to figure out what to do. _You've got to be kidding me, this guy is on a whole different level and he's clearly not even trying yet. I know I'm worn out, but this is ridiculous!_

Ranot crossed his arms and chuckled, "While you're trying to figure your way out of this, I'm going to finish the Namek!"

Verto phased into his path to Piccolo with his arms out wide, "You aren't going to touch him!" A loud, sudden crack signaled the arrival of Ranot's knee into Verto's already damaged torso, and he dropped to his knees in pain.

"I'll do whatever I want, little boy. It shall remain that way until someone is strong enough to challenge me, and you are no threat as you are now," Ranot stated. He kicked Verto aside and strode towards the unmoving Piccolo. He prepared a purple finishing blast in his hand and held it high above his head.

"No!" Verto shouted. Ranot dropped his arm, only to see his blast dart off in a different direction and wipe out another section of woods. Ranot frowned slightly as he glanced behind him, where three new arrivals stood ready. One of them had his newly restored hands up, which had deflected the deadly blast away from the fallen Piccolo. Frit and Dorit stood together as Laysh cautiously checked on Verto, who was struggling to get to his feet.

"You alright kid?" she asked with real concern.

"Not really, I'll let you know after this is over," Verto admitted.

"Captain, please stand down," Dorit said first.

Ranot grinned smugly, "No, I don't think I will. What do you plan to do about it?"

Dorit swallowed the taste in his mouth, "He can help us sir. You and him together can eliminate Frost!"

Ranot phased out and instantly had Dorit by the throat, "And what makes you think I can't do that myself?"

Verto's eyes were wide open in shock, "Holy crap!"

Laysh glanced down, "What?"

"I couldn't see him move," Verto answered.

"Well Dorit?" Ranot asked with impatience.

"B-Because he overwhelmed you…sir!" Dorit gasped as he struggled to breathe.

Ranot tossed him aside, "Is that how you saw it? He merely surprised me with a technique I didn't expect him to have. The next time, Frost won't be so lucky." Verto staggered to his feet as he tried to catch his painful, short breath.

Ranot glanced behind his shoulder with his smug look intact, "Just a minute kid, I need to deal with insubordination."

Laysh's blue eyes shot open in terror, "No captain!" Ranot had already blasted off towards Frit, who panicked and held out his hands to try and stop his motion with telekinesis. Ranot barely even slowed down before he punched a hole right through his fellow Saiyan.

"Brother!" Dorit shouted. Ranot pulled his blood covered hand out of Frit's chest and fired a point-blank blast. Frit's body completely disintegrated in the explosion that followed, leaving behind only a fair amount of smoke.

Verto's face became a determined but heated glare, _This guy kills his own men for no reason. It's just like they said, he has to be stopped. I've only got enough power left for one blast at maximum level. I've got to wipe him out while I still can. He's not going to give me any choice at this rate, and it will be my only chance before he kills the others too._

"You, get back," Verto ordered Laysh.

"Huh?" Laysh asked. Verto's power erupted as he spread his arms out wide, sending powerful energy waves through the air around him and putting any anger Dorit had on hold. Laysh glided backwards and landed next to her partner in awe of the energy Verto was putting out. His aura expanded, igniting the land again and further scorching the forests. His feral cry shook the island and any animals that were still around quickly vacated. Ranot's eyes narrowed as Verto brought his hands together in the Final Flash pose, but it wasn't what he intended to do.

"If you really want a challenge, then I dare you to stay right where you are!" Verto declared. Ranot dropped his arms and stood ready for what was about to come his way. Verto's bright red blast formed quickly, taking on a slightly orange hue and a fiery outline as lightning danced around it.

"What's he doing? There's no way he can sustain that much power!" Laysh claimed.

"Get down!" Dorit answered as he dragged her arm down.

Verto didn't wait any long and released his attack, "Soul Blazer!" Dorit and Laysh covered their eyes as the vividly red and orange beam shout out at Ranot with frightening speed. The beam struck and detonated, blowing down all of the burning trees around and anyone who was still standing, including Verto himself. He sat up quickly when he saw the blast beginning to clear much faster than he expected. Then he saw why once the blast energy faded, and his hopes fell when Ranot emerged. His clothing was charred and flaking away, but there were no more than a few minor blemishes on his tough body. He looked slightly irritated, as if the blast had been strong enough to be considered annoying. Verto dropped to his knees as his fatigue and injuries began to catch up with his lack of energy.

"Look out!" Laysh cried out. Verto barely had a chance to look up before Ranot's knee slammed into his head. Verto fell back and his head bounced off the ground, causing his vision to get blurry. He felt the black of unconsciousness coming fast as he saw Ranot standing over him in triumph.

"I'll admit kid, that one hurt a little. But that's nothing compared to the pain I am going to make you and these two go through. I hope you are all ready for your own personal hell. Which one of you is next?" Ranot asked as Verto's eyes finally shut and he slumped.

* * *

Verto groaned slightly in his sleep as he suddenly felt icy hands touching his face. They seemed to sooth all of his pain, and for a moment, he felt as if he were about to die. Verto woke and sat up quickly, startling a young girl with icy blue hair and red eyes. She was wearing a blue kimono and was emitting a small amount of demon energy. Verto blinked sharply at her before his ribs began to protest his movement in the most painful way.

"Ugh, what happened? Who are you?" Verto asked.

"Stay still, my powers will heal you. They found you in the forest and brought you here," she said.

"They?"

"Kazuma and Kurama, they sensed an enormous battle and investigated. You were in such bad shape that I was asked to help you right away. My name is Yukina," she explained. Verto felt more relaxed as the girl spoke, as she had a very soft voice.

Verto also recognized the name, "Yukina, so that would make you Kuwabara's girlfriend?"

"That's right punk! So don't you even think about getting fresh with her!" a loud, rough voice shouted from across the room. Verto stared at Kuwabara, whose face was brave and stern, but still failing to make up for the amount of shaking his legs were doing.

"Whatever, where am I anyway?" Verto asked.

Kurama stepped up from the far end, "Our hotel room. You were in such terrible shape and barely hanging on due to numerous internal injuries. I managed to stabilize you with a healing plant, which will hold your ribcage together until Yukina can finish." Verto's eyes widened as he glanced down at all of the bandages covering his upper body, trying to locate any strange green roots.

"Don't worry, the plant will dissolve in your bloodstream once your bones are healed," Kurama said.

Verto shook his head slightly, "Not very reassuring, but I guess I can't complain if it works. Where are the others?" Silence covered the room, giving Verto his answer as everyone looked down to the ground.

Verto's fists cinched up, drawing blood from his own fingernails, "God damn it!"

"Truthfully, we didn't see any others out there, including your green friend. But the battle was still going on and we dared not get any closer to whoever was emitting such a horrible power," Kurama continued.

Verto didn't sense anything around them that warranted danger, "How long ago was that?"

"Three hours." Verto sat back up and groaned heavily as his insides felt like there were being ripped apart.

Yukina attempted to force him back down, "No, you mustn't move yet!"

"I agree, there's nothing you can do right now," Kurama added.

"I have to be sure, and then I'm going to tear that son of a bitch apart," Verto growled.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere," Kurama argued.

"It's a matter of honor to me! I can rest later once I know who survived and who didn't! It doesn't matter how injured I am, you don't want to get in my way!" Verto snapped back. Kurama still looked intent to protest, only to see Kuwabara offer his hand out to Verto.

"C'mon kid, I'll help you out. If it's a matter of honor, then I have to help, it's my code," Kuwabara claimed. Verto got out of the bed with Kuwabara's assistance, though his body burned with intense pain. Kurama had a look of disbelief plastered on his face at the fact that Verto was even able to stand.

Kuwabara dropped down to his knees and turned around, "Here, you can piggy back on my shoulders!"

Verto scowled, "No thanks. I'm able to walk just fine." Verto located half of a bloodied green shirt and grabbed it off a chair before limping towards the door.

"Wow, and I thought I was stubborn," Kuwabara said in slight amazement.

Verto turned briefly and snorted back, "You have no idea what stubborn is, let's go."

* * *

The trio slowly approached the decimated portion of the forests, which was now a smoking wasteland of ash and dirt.

"Holy crap, what happened here?" Kuwabara asked first.

"It got a little out of hand and I got a little pissed off. Sometimes I go overboard," Verto replied.

"You mean you lose control of your powers?" Kurama asked.

"More or less, it's more a matter of losing emotional control and turning into an uncaring killing machine if it goes far enough," Verto explained.

"So that day when you nearly slaughtered that Frieza guy for messing around with Keiko and my sister, you were like that then right? I remember you having really creepy red eyes and so much spirit energy that I felt like my head was going to explode," Kuwabara pointed out.

"That is one example. Had I known he was going to jump into the round before, I would have killed him off then. I despise him so much," Verto said.

Kuwabara backed up a step, "Uh yeah, well just please remember that he's not here!"

Verto became aware that he was giving off an elevated energy and calmed himself, "Sorry, you can relax. Where did you find me anyway? I blacked out in the middle of it all so I don't remember where I was."

Kurama pointed to his left, "We actually found you far into the forest in that direction, hidden under some brush."

"Well I definitely didn't hide anywhere while I was getting my face beat in, so someone must have intervened when Ranot wasn't looking," Verto guessed.

"Ranot? Our substitute is the one who did this to you?" Kurama asked in shock.

Verto nodded grimly, "Yeah, show me exactly where you found me, I want to check the area just in case." Kurama led them away from the battle zone and into a deep and thick brushy area where there was very little light. Verto smelled faint traces of blood in the air before he spotted red droplets on the various plants around them.

Kurama pulled up a pile of branches that had been stacked for cover, "You were lying under this brush. Whoever did that must be nearby somewhere." Verto eyed the smashed and stained grass where he had been lying, but then noticed something laying next to it. It was hard to see since it was also green, but it was thicker than the grass and pointed at one end. It was also partially covered with dried purple fluid on one side.

"Whoa, what is that?" Kuwabara asked as Verto picked it up.

Verto realized what it was quickly, "It's an ear."

"So then, it likely belonged to your green friend. Obviously Ranot got to him shortly after he hid you and that's all that's left of him, I'm sorry," Kurama said as he planted his hand on Verto's shoulder.

Verto's eyes narrowed as he noticed a slight contusion around the ear's lobe, "No, I don't think it was a message from the guy who attacked us. I think he's still alive somewhere, he ripped off his own ear to tell me this."

Kuwabara looked ill, "Uh, that's kinda sick."

"Why would he do that?" Kurama asked.

Verto tossed the clue aside, "Piccolo can regenerate his body as long as he isn't too damaged, it's his species' specialty. My only question is where did he go?"

"Piccolo, so that's his name?" Kurama asked.

Verto nodded, "And my real name is Verto and I…" Verto stopped when he sensed a faint power signal nearby and stormed off in that direction. Kurama and Kuwabara followed, slightly confused, as he led them back to the scorched earth area. Among many craters in the deserted area, Verto spotted Dorit, or rather, what was left of him. One of his arms had been totally ripped off, which contributed to the pool of blood it was swimming in. His chest and back were covered in gaping slashes like an animal had done him in.

Kuwabara's face filled with fear as soon as he walked up, "Oh man, is he even alive?"

Kurama answered before Verto could, "No, his body has been dead for at least an hour or two. Any residual energy around here is from the battle itself and not an accurate life sign." Verto bit his lip slightly and turned away in disdain. When he did, he spotted another body lying along the tree line. Verto recognized the female form of Laysh before he got to her, but wasn't quite prepared for the damage he was about to detect. She wasn't bleeding all that much, but Verto could see that one of her ankles was bent completely around. Her left elbow was in a similar condition, and judging by the way her breath was short, she likely had broken ribs as well. Her armor had been torn off and her jumpsuit ripped open in several places, which left her exposed.

"Kuwabara, your jacket please," Verto requested.

"Huh, why? Oh…" Kuwabara handed it over when he saw the problem. Despite the obviously inappropriate staring, Verto briefly glanced over Laysh's features, which didn't look quite as nice due to severe bruising around her upper body as he covered her with Kuwabara's blue jacket. When he did, she whimpered ever so slightly, signaling that she was still responsive at the very least.

"What happened to her?" Kuwabara asked.

"She was beaten, and then I'd guess it went a little further than that," Verto surmised.

"Yes, this looks to be evidence of sexual assault," Kurama added.

"Really? Alright, where is that punk? I've got a few fist sandwiches for him!" Kuwabara declared.

"Yeah, keep dreaming," Verto muttered. Laysh's eyes snapped open and she suddenly lashed out at Verto with a wide sweep of her right hand. Verto caught the blow and locked eyes with her as she quickly calmed herself.

"So, you're still alive, lucky me," Laysh grumbled as she brushed her messy up blue hair out of her face.

"We were both lucky," Verto said sternly.

"Well that depends on your point of view doesn't it?" Laysh asked bitterly. She groaned painfully as she turned her left elbow back around and popped it back into place, causing Kuwabara to feel even more nauseous. It didn't help matters when she did the same with her foot.

"Do you think you can stand?" Verto asked.

Laysh scowled back at him, "I'll manage." She ignored his helping hand and staggered to her feet, though favoring her left leg. She buttoned the borrowed jacket and began to hobble way.

"Hold on a sec," Verto called out.

She turned back angrily, "What do you want?"

Verto didn't answer until he caught up to her, "I want to help you."

"Hmph, no thanks. As you can see, you've helped enough already!" Laysh yelled back.

"B-But, you were assaulted!" Kuwabara argued as he came closer.

"It isn't the first time, though I was hoping it would be the last, silly me. I'm really not sure what is worse, being humiliated in battle by a child or being molested," Laysh claimed.

"That's a tough choice? I would think it would be kinda obvious," Kuwabara pointed out. Laysh's hair flew into a frenzy as she gave him a death glare he wished he hadn't seen.

"Not when it's a matter of pride. Back off, I'll handle this," Verto advised. Kuwabara did so, though he looked very concerned over it as he walked away with Kurama.

"Thank you for explaining to the simpleton, maybe if the captain lets us both live, you can be the crew's personal counselor. Ugh, I can't believe Chal put so much faith in someone so utterly worthless!" Laysh exclaimed.

Verto was a bit taken aback by her statement, "Well sorry that I haven't lived up to whatever expectations he put on me. I don't know if you noticed, but I was just as surprised as you. And how was I supposed to know that your leader was not only here, but masquerading as someone else? I certainly wasn't ready for his strength while I was all worn out. I'm sorry about what has happened and I'll do what I can to rectify it."

Laysh huffed slightly as she turned on her heel, "Oh please! What can you do?"

"I took down every member of your elite team by myself for one, so don't underestimate me anymore than you already have. We all get caught by surprise," Verto admitted.

Laysh bared her teeth at him, "Argh, don't remind me you little turd!"

Verto grimaced and decided to take a different tone, "If you want to be a mopey little bitch about it, that's fine. I'll take on your stupid leader by myself."

"Hmph, you're the stupid one, runt. There's a reason he's the captain of the guard and it's not just his power level. He is more ruthless and bloodthirsty than anyone I've ever seen or heard about. And he absolutely loves seeing his victims in total despair long before he finishes them off. You won't be fighting some power tripping Changeling, you'll be facing the worst that the Saiyan race has to offer," Laysh warned.

"I already gathered that he's a monster. But ask yourself this, if he lives for seeing others in pain and despair, why are you appeasing him right now?" Verto countered. Laysh paused for a moment and stared at the ground.

"I've met his kind before, and I've allowed myself to get down in the dumps about it more than once. And if there's one thing I've realized by now, it's that it doesn't do any good. Now if you want to give in and make him feel better about himself, go right ahead. Like I said, I'll fight him by myself if I have to," Verto proclaimed.

Laysh clapped slightly, "That's very brave, and very stupid. He'll destroy you in under a minute with that kind of attitude. You'd be better off running away like I expected you to."

"Then I guess I better destroy him in thirty seconds, because I'm not going to run. If I do, all these people, innocent or not, are dead. I'm not going to let that happen without at least trying," Verto replied with a stern gaze.

Laysh allowed a small gasp to slip as she felt Verto's raw determination pouring out of him. _I've never met anyone like him before. Chal was right, he very well could be the savior we've been waiting for all this time, the one who will lead us out of the dark shadow that's followed all of us since birth and beyond. He's still pretty wet behind the ears though, I really don't think he's ready for any of this, and the captain is sure to toy with him long enough that he might actually surprise him. I don't really see how, but I guess I'll see this through, it's better than just tucking tail and waiting to die._

"So, what's it going to be? Chal said for you to stick with me right? I don't care how you handle that order as long as you don't stab me in the back…what?" Verto asked when Laysh put up her finger to stop his speech.

"One condition, shut up before I strangle you. God you're long winded!" Laysh complained.

Verto smiled lightly, "Well that's a start. If you want I can find someone to heal your wounds, unless you actually want to risk going to your ship."

Laysh beamed at him, "Yeah, well unlike you I don't have a death wish, so lead on." Verto nodded and turned around towards the crater that Dorit's body resided in. Kuwabara and Kurama were standing next to it, the former looking the most confused about what Verto and Laysh had been discussing, even if he hadn't heard it.

"So what's the plan?" Kuwabara asked.

Verto briefly glanced up at him, "The plan is to fight, I'll figure out the rest when I get there." Verto then removed his ruined green shirt and tore a long piece out of it before climbing down into the crater. He bent down and used the torn cloth to soak up some of Dorit's blood.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Kuwabara asked.

"What does it look like?" Verto growled back. Verto then rung out the wet crimson cloth before tying it around his head.

"It's a way of honoring fallen comrades and vowing to avenge them," Kurama explained.

"I see you're well versed in Saiyan traditions," Laysh pointed out.

Verto shook his head a bit, "No actually. Whether it's by instinct or not, it's my way of reminding myself that this enemy has to go down in any way possible. He put us through hell and now he's going to get it back." Verto climbed out of the crater and held out his palm as he charged a minor blast into it and fired. The crater exploded, sending shrapnel flying in various directions before clearing and revealing nothing left behind.

"Funeral's over, now I'll deal with the injuries," Verto remarked as he walked off.

* * *

It took the better part of a whole day for Yukina to finish healing both Verto and Laysh, though that was mostly due to Laysh's irrational behavior and refusal to sit still. Verto awoke the next afternoon feeling more refreshed than he had in awhile, probably because he hadn't slept well with Frieza around. Due to the ruined state his clothes were now in, he opted for whatever Bulma had packed him in the capsule case. He expected another set of his green outfit, but also found two modified Saiyan armor kits and an assortment of jumpsuits inside.

There was also a note, "Just in case you need them." _Well at least she planned ahead, glad someone did. Wonder why she packed two? I guess that'll help now that there's someone else in need of clothing._ Verto elected to done his regular green outfit with the dark blue undershirt, but saved one of the armor suits for later. He also laid another one out for Laysh while she slept so she had something to change into. He considered going and confronting both Ranot and Toguro, but he knew he was still too drained to do that. Verto also wanted to find out what had happened to both Yusuke and his teacher Genkai. Judging by how Kurama and Kuwabara were the previous day, he had a fairly good idea, but wasn't completely sure. Verto scanned the island for human power signals and picked up a strong one around where Genkai had been before Verto's interference had been countered. Verto headed that way, leaving Laysh asleep at the hotel room. He found Yusuke sitting alone outside of a small cave, staring into it as if someone was going to come out.

"What do you want?" Yusuke asked without turning around.

Verto noted the tone in Yusuke's voice and stepped forward cautiously, "I guess I won't bother asking if. Is this where it happened?"

"No, try looking for a big crater over there," Yusuke said as he pointed to his right.

"Sorry I couldn't intervene like I had planned to. I made it in time to save her until I was picked off. I'd go slaughter that big bastard right now, except I think you have first dibs. I've got my own target in mind," Verto claimed.

"Can I ask you something? If you were here to prevent some big disaster, why fight on Toguro's team? I mean I understand why you did, but you don't seem all that bad to me. And who sent you here anyway?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes, I've been wondering that myself," a voice from behind said. Verto turned to see Koenma walking closer, but Verto could tell by his words that he was dealing with the present day version, not the one who had recruited him.

"It was your idea, not mine. Personally I thought joining your team from the start was a better idea, but we would have ended up facing the ones I was here for in the final match instead of Toguro. So blame yourself for that one, or should I say, your future self," Verto replied.

Koenma's eyes open wide at the statement before he sighed, "Well at least I know that I'll eventually learn how to use time travel. Did my future self say how he pulled that off?"

Verto looked at him a bit puzzled, "Do you really think he would have told me? And no by the way."

"Well shoot. How exactly are we going to handle this situation? Ranot is our designated substitute and you're on Toguro's team. Surely a team swap is in order, but I have no idea if that would even be legal with that corrupt committee running the show," Koenma claimed.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about any sort of ruling in favor or not," Verto muttered.

Yusuke stood up, "Who cares if it's legal? Fight for us, and tear that guy apart. They can score it however they want to!"

Verto nodded, "I'm kind of responsible for Toguro even getting to the final round. I basically did all of the fighting for their whole team."

"That goes both ways since you stepped in for us against Team Masho and managed to come across as Genkai the whole time. The Toguro Brothers are defending champions, it was expected for them to make the finals anyway," Koenma pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess we could be facing a worse situation," Verto admitted as he gazed at the trees. He spotted movement before a familiar figure appeared, motioning him in that direction.

"Who's that?" Yusuke asked.

Verto grimaced as he turned, "Someone with some answers hopefully. I'll talk with you later." Verto then flew into the trees, stopping when Leira stepped out from the brush, well out of earshot to anyone else.

She seemed relieved, "Well, you're no worse for wear."

Verto scowled, "Now isn't the time. Do you happen to know where Piccolo is?"

"Safe. I took him back to your world for now," Leira replied.

Verto looked stunned, "And you brought no one else back here?"

Leira shook her head, "Not you, you deserved another chance, this time at full strength."

Verto glanced at his hands, "So you're taking these stupid power binders off then, right?"

Leira shook her head again, "No, this is still part of your training to fully control your power. You're doing well."

Verto was flabbergasted, "You've got to be kidding me! No matter how well anyone thinks I'm doing, I'm not going to take this guy down without my Super Mystic form. My Soul Blazer wave didn't even touch him."

"I know all that, but you had also exhausted most of your energy at the time. As you know, Psi energy does not recover nearly as fast as Ki, so that Senzu bean you ate did nothing to help you in that regard. Now, do you remember your fight with their eldest team member? The one who overloaded?" Leira asked.

"Yeah, I remember that red transformation he had for a moment. He was emitting unstable Chi waves despite his energy balance being so far off, I thought I was seeing another demon coming out party," Verto explained.

"Yes, just like the girl's inner demon. He just didn't quite make it," Leira said with a beaming glance.

"Yeah…wait are you saying I should actually consider trying to push it that far?" Verto asked in shock.

Leira put up her hands, "No, don't go there. He was emitting purely demon-like Chi energy, but he had no idea how to focus and control it to a point where he didn't blow himself up. Now how do you suppose he was even able to reach that point despite this?"

Verto shrugged, "If he had no idea what he was doing at that point, then his energy must have been so strong that it automatically converted like Kaon's did."

Leira smiled, "Correct."

Verto blinked sharply at his own words, "Are you saying that can seriously happen?"

Leira nodded, "To anyone with enough of either source of energy, and of course any ability to focus and control it. It doesn't take quite as much Psi energy as it does Ki, but it still takes a substantial amount. Remember what Koenma told you, both energies are on different frequencies, thus why both are confused and labeled as spirit energy at times, despite being so similar and yet different at the same time. It also depends on the person's genetic makeup, so humans, Saiyans, demons and whatever else are all different in that regard."

Verto rubbed his chin in thought, "But I have yet to meet any Saiyan that can do that on their own, including Goku, Vegeta and Broly. Not counting Gohan since he does it the way I do."

"It's because none of them are quite there yet, however Ranot is very near that limit," Leira answered.

"Hold that thought, I'll get to him in a minute. Are you saying that the others are all capable of channeling Chi waves, not just me, Gohan and Lenz?" Verto asked.

Leira frowned slightly, "Yes, given enough time and training. However, before you go spouting that off, know that the 'Super Saiyans of Legend' often met their end if and when they reached that plateau. They were much too primitive to control such power and paid the ultimate price for it."

Verto still looked perplexed, "Does that limit apply to fusions as well? Because I know that Vegito and Gogeta were both stronger than this guy possibly is. I didn't see all of his power, but I know Frost's, and if he's around that level, then Goku and Vegeta are clearly stronger when fused."

Leira sighed, "It figures you'd think this out once I started explaining it. Bear in mind that it still takes concentration and a lot of focus to achieve the changeover even when there's enough power present. But if Goku and Vegeta were to fuse and try hard enough, it is very possible that they would break through. However…"

Verto grimaced when she paused, "Let me guess the next part."

"It's worth the warning that if a Gogeta were to attempt that and fail, given their combined level of energy, it would destroy the planet they're on, instantly," Leira warned.

"I had a feeling you would say something like that," Verto muttered.

"This is why the method you and Gohan use is better. It's more efficient, stable and quite frankly, safer. But I felt you should know that it's possible, just ill-advised," Leira said.

"Yeah, well thanks. Except that I won't have enough energy to try that without using the Berserker power," Verto argued.

Leira shook her head slightly, "You're denser than usual today, and yet you know exactly how to amplify your energy enough for it. You already have a few times."

Verto mimicked her head motion, "Kaio-ken is very temporary. I can't hold it for long here once I use a double. And I didn't feel any different using it either."

"No, you won't break through with a double. Try a triple next time and focus it instead of attacking. I won't guarantee success, nor how long it may last, but it should be enough to stand up to Ranot. You must kill him anyway you can," Leira suggested.

"He's the one you wanted me and Frost to fight against isn't he?" Verto asked.

Leira nodded grimly, "He and I also have some history together, but that doesn't have much to do with this. He's the greatest opponent currently that you could ever face, and I do not use that term loosely considering the ones you've encountered in just the past year."

Verto sighed heavily, "That's reassuring. I won't ask you about your history with him, but what can you tell me about him? Specifically any special abilities that I need to watch out for?"

"Nothing that you can't handle as far as I know. He's a very straight-forward type of fighter. If he has anything that could be considered abnormal for a Saiyan, I'm unaware of it. Among the upper tier of Renegades, he's sort of unique in that way," Leira said.

"Is that why I sensed almost no Psi energy at all?" Verto asked.

Leira shifted slightly, "Not all of them have much in the way of Psi energy. He has such a strong ki that he doesn't need hardly any Psi as it is. He might actually have some sort of ace-in-the-hole technique, but I've never seen it. What I can tell you is that his overall fighting experience is a fair amount more than any of your friends. He doesn't look it, but he is one of the oldest among the cursed Saiyans. Old enough to have been on Planet Vegita and remember the days when the Tuffles controlled the planet."

Verto snorted, "Hmph, maybe you should just go back in time far enough to kill him in his baby crib."

Leira smiled and shut her eyes, "Yeah, if it were only that simple."

"Why wouldn't it be? I seem to recall your presence in a number of places when I was investigating with the Pendulum Room," Verto pointed out.

Leira glared back, "Those were calculated incursions, ones that didn't actually have much in the way of immediate future impact but were necessary. Time traveling is a very tricky business, your friend Trunks knows that well."

"I assume that impacts dimensional tears too," Verto remarked, drawing Leira's gaze.

"What?"

"Oh come on, Koenma brought us here through that rift, I know that you know I saw that. And I'm very aware of the one that connected the other two universes together as well, which allowed Babidi, Dabura and the Zerg to come through and so on. That rift looked very unstable, and the Renegades said specifically that it wasn't there until they tried to come here. Not to mention that there is a time discrepancy to their arrival and ours, so that tells me that they shouldn't have been able to jump here, but they did. Technology or not, it happened much like the Future Trunks and Bulma have pulled off, am I wrong?" Verto asked with a stern tone.

Leira stared at the ground, "No, you're not wrong."

"Guess I won't bother stating the obvious about coming to this place as far as timelines go, nor anywhere else. I'm not stupid you know, I do notice these things, whether I choose to speak on them or not. These guys claimed that they were sent here to find some sort of artifact. Now that I've pieced some of that together, I'm guessing it isn't for any good reason, and I'm guessing that you might know why that is. But since this is usually the part of the conversation where you run off, and while it may not be any of my business, can I ask one last question?"

Leira took a moment to answer, "Go ahead."

"If this goes south, what do I do?" Verto asked.

Leira did not look at ease, "Hope for the best." She vanished before Verto could even say another word. _That's not very reassuring, typical._

**A/n: Twist and turn, twist and turn. Kinda like a knife in your back…**

**Next time on DBV: I'll just keep this one simple so not to spoil, the final round begins.**


	89. Dark Tourney 11

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 88: Dark Tourney 11: Final Round Begins**

Verto sat in the woods alone for several hours, meditating some in order to make sense of the situation. He also kept an eye on Yusuke's position as he appeared to be undergoing some sort of final preparations. Verto had sensed Yusuke's power go up and drop off regularly, but there was something strange about it.

_At his current level, I seriously doubt he'll beat Toguro. But something feels way off here. There is a truck load of potential within him, but it's almost as if his current state is in its way, holding it back like a river dam. If he could ever unlock it, he could go toe to toe with me. Even his current power seems suppressed, and it's a great deal more than it was the other day. It must have something to do with what his teacher put him through and why her power dropped off so much._ Verto silently wondered how the other members of Team Urameshi were going to handle their own fights. He didn't have a clue to what Bui and Karasu brought to the table, and they had yet to fight due to Verto running the gauntlet against the Saiyans. He had a fairly good idea what Elder Toguro would do against whoever he was matched with, and depending on their own abilities, they would have their hands full.

_I don't like Kuwabara's chance against any of them. Though Kurama and Hiei's matches are complete tossups too, I guess anything could happen now. I really should have watched their semi-final to know a little more._ That brought him to his own opponent, Ranot. His power was not unlike Frost's as far as the level of evil Verto had sensed, not to mention strength. Ranot had toyed with him without even trying, and Verto was certain that his Berserker power would not be enough to face him, even at full intensity.

_Even though I fought him while I was low on energy, I have to assume that he is just as strong as Frost if they had fought evenly before. He might be even stronger than that if he was able to break Frost's ultimate form. And even if he doesn't have some sort of special Psi technique, it's going to be hard enough to win, never mind kill him. He was so strong that my Psi sword didn't even touch him, energy barrier or not. Frost was like that too, but I at least cut into him a little, though that was with Super Mystic. Even if a triple Kaio-ken works, I can't imagine I'll be able to hold it for long, assuming it triggers a transformation like Leira claims it can. And whose to say that'll even be enough either? I need something else to surprise him._ Verto's thoughts were put on hold when he sensed a strong presence coming closer. He recognized the high amount of spirit energy almost immediately, though that wasn't a surprise considering he had fought against it the day before and he slept in the same room. Laysh landed nearby and stepped closer, causing the ground to freeze under her feet. She had changed into a dark blue jumpsuit that Verto had left out, but hadn't put the armor on, so her feminine features stood out a little more than usual.

"So this is where you've been hiding. Guess you're not going to run away after all," Laysh said, sounding disappointed.

"Nice to see you too," Verto muttered back.

"Does anyone eat around here? I don't wish to bump into the captain after all and the only thing I've seen you eat is one of those weird bean things. I'm starting to wonder if you're actually a Saiyan," Laysh pointed out.

On cue, Verto's stomach growled and shook the landscape, "You just had to ask it to say hello, didn't you? There goes any concentration I had."

Laysh smirked, "Well, perhaps I stand corrected."

Verto stood up, "Well, sorry about that. With all that's gone on, I must have forgotten about hunger. One of those beans is supposed to keep you full for awhile, but that's on the average person. We're not exactly average are we?"

Laysh shrugged, "It's understandable for you to forget hunger right now. After all, you may be dining in Hell tomorrow as it is."

"So nice to get a confidence boost. Do you charge a fee for any other favors?" Verto joked.

Laysh's expression changed, "Just show me where I can get some food, otherwise I'll rip off your leg and eat that!"

Verto put his hands up defensively, "Easy o' queen of the lions, we'll find something." The two walked back towards the hotel at a slow pace, though that was more Verto's doing as Laysh had to keep stopping and waiting for him to catch up.

"Any day now you little brat!" she snapped at him.

Verto glanced up at her and picked up his walking speed, _Geez, I'm so used to Lenz that I forgot how most Saiyan women can be. Only a matter of time before she starts unleashing violence just to hold a conversation._

"Not to divert you too much from your appetite, but what can you tell me about Ranot, specifically any special abilities he might have?" Verto asked. Laysh stared down at Verto, as if she were confused at the question.

"I take it that's a no? Guess that makes zero out of two," Verto grumbled.

"You don't actually think you can win do you? You clearly don't understand what kind of person you're dealing with. The captain once killed a cook just for being one second late with his meal," Laysh explained.

"You're not gonna do me in for that are you?" Verto asked.

Laysh pulled back as if she was going to deck him, "Don't tempt me!"

Verto waved it off, "I get that he's evil to the core, this isn't my first time fighting someone as cruel as he appears to be. At least he didn't kill you."

Laysh bared her teeth and let Verto have it in the face, knocking him down, "You think he couldn't have? That was the whole point runt! Stupid boy, death would have been preferable to endless humiliation! He let me live so I could watch my teammates suffer and die. The only reason there was anything left of Dorit was so you could see how terrible he actually is before he does the same to you!"

Verto wiped off his chin as he got back up in all seriousness, "I told you, I get it. If this bastard wants to psych me out, he better just stop because it won't work."

"Only because you're too dumb to fall for it!" Laysh glowered.

Verto's nostrils flared, "Alright, if that's how you see it, let me tell you a story. I was once forced to kill several of my friends because I couldn't completely control my power at the time, sometimes I still can't. The same creature that enslaved my body forced me into slaughtering thousands of its own mindless minions just to see if I could morally handle it. They cried out for help as they were being controlled and funneled to their deaths. And believe me, I gave everything I had and then some to kill that fucking thing. So don't talk about knowing cruelty, it's nothing new to me." Laysh was slightly taken aback by Verto's sudden change of tone and wisely backed off.

"I…I didn't realize it. You hide your troubles well. I was thinking you were just a brave compassionate fool," she claimed.

"Sometimes I let it show and sometimes I don't. At least I can feel and I'm not afraid to show those feelings. If I have to feel shitty or guilty about something, I'm all for it. I already feel bad when it comes to your teammates that didn't need to die. So unless you want another long-winded speech about what has happened, I suggest you drop it," Verto said in a low, threatening tone. Laysh stared at the ground while Verto walked ahead for the moment.

He turned on his heel when he didn't sense her moving, "Well, are you coming or not? You're the one who wanted food after all." Laysh snapped out of her stupor and quickly joined him as they neared the hotel.

* * *

Outside near the beach, they both sensed a fluctuating power level, to which Verto decided to investigate. There they found Yusuke, concentrating his power into an intense aura as Kuwabara looked on, stunned.

"Hmph, not bad for a lowly human," Laysh said.

"Don't knock humans, they can surprise you," Verto suggested.

Laysh looked down at him in clear and confident disbelief, "I'll take your word for that." Yusuke powered down and stared back at Kuwabara, who was carrying on about something when they got within listening range.

"…You gotta check out my totally fresh bad guy slicin' and dicin' mega awesome super sword!" Kuwabara boasted as he held out a strange hilt with no blade. Laysh and Verto both allowed their eyebrows to rise in confusion as they glanced at each other while someone else ruined his moment.

Hiei stepped out from the far cliff side as his red eyes faded from a glowing state, "Do you think it's possible that you could shut up?"

Yusuke looked unfazed by his sudden arrival, "Hey Hiei."

Kuwabara pushed it though, "Hey you better watch it! You really shouldn't sneak up on the guy who's holding the world's most powerful sword…ugh what the heck happened to your arm?"

Verto's eyes narrowed as he saw multiple slashes all over Hiei's right arm, as it was covered in blood and burns; _Was he training with that black dragon technique? _

"It wouldn't obey when I gave it a specific command so I decided it needed to be punished," Hiei replied coolly.

Verto's eyes darted to his right as he picked up a new presence while Kuwabara laughed nervously, "Okay, way too much information for me. So uh, where's Kurama?"

"Kuwabara, I've been standing next to you for some time now. A bit nervous are we?" Kurama answered from behind.

"Uh, so we just need to find the old lady. Has anyone seen her?" Kuwabara asked.

Yusuke frowned as he stared off at the sea, "She's not coming, she's not well. So he's going to fight in her place."

"Uh, who?" Kuwabara asked just before Verto jumped down next to him with Laysh in tow, "Geez, will you all quit sneaking around on me! Hey wait, I thought the big guy was the substitute?"

Yusuke turned around, "We're not using him, he's been in league with Toguro this whole time."

"But I thought this freaky kid was with Toguro? Will someone please tell me what's going on around here?" Kuwabara asked as he held his head.

"Is this one of the humans that could surprise me? He's got to be the biggest idiot I've ever seen," Laysh declared. Kuwabara shifted his confused and glazed over expression to her as Hiei laughed.

"I've been saying that for months now, you'd think it would sink in," Hiei said. Kuwabara was speechless upon looking at Laysh, which began to annoy her quickly.

"What, have you got a problem with what I said?" Laysh asked.

Kuwabara stumbled towards her, "Wow she's hot! You must be Yukina's older sister!" Yusuke and Hiei promptly face-faulted while Kurama kept things to a mild chuckle.

Laysh was confused enough that she turned to Verto, "Is that a compliment or an insult, it sounded like both?"

"I don't know, but you'd better decide before he..." Verto tried to say. Kuwabara tripped on his footing and fell forward, trying to grab anything to keep from falling. What he managed to grab was Laysh's right breast, which was only covered by the blue jumpsuit she was wearing. He never made it to the ground before he was kicked into the rocky cliff and embedded in it. He lay sideways with a shocked and painful expression on his face, unable to speak or move for the moment.

Laysh crossed her arms and turned around, "Serves you right for daring to put your hands on a Saiyan!"

Yusuke cringed, "Yikes, she's worse than Keiko! Don't tell me she's your girlfriend kid?" Laysh's death glare signaled that she was ready to pound Yusuke next before Verto cut her off.

"No she's not. And you take it easy, it was just an accident by, as you said, an idiot," Verto reminded.

"Hmph, I'm the daughter of one of our council members, he should be put to death for that!" Laysh claimed.

"Maybe, if we were in the presence of nothing but Saiyans. You got him back so I'd call it even. He should consider himself lucky for getting a feel and not getting too seriously injured or killed," Verto said in warning.

Kuwabara held his stomach painfully as he collapsed onto the ground, "Speak for yourself, owww that hurts!"

Kurama nervously looked towards Verto, "Are you two hungry? Our friends prepared too much food and we'd like to invite you to join us for dinner."

Verto chuckled, "Well that works since we're both hungry, but let me ask you something. How much is considered too much?"

"Well, there's enough to feed twelve people and there's only eight of us. And some of us eat very light so there should more than plenty for you two," Kurama said.

Verto smirked, "We accept, but you might want to order more, a lot more."

"Surely you can't eat that much before the match tomorrow," Kurama claimed.

Laysh and Verto glanced at each other before sheepishly grinning back, "You'll see."

* * *

The entire group of friends could only stand in awe as the two Saiyans ripped their meal apart. Verto had warned them to stay back before the feasting began, though that didn't stop Kuwabara from being the courageous one. He got the message when the chicken leg he had dared to touch was torn out of his hands by Laysh. He had to make sure his wrist wasn't broken and wisely stayed away afterwards. Once they slowed down, the others became brave enough to get closer to the table.

"I'll admit it kid, you certainly eat like a Saiyan!" Laysh laughed in between bites.

"Like that's hard to do," Verto replied.

Yusuke's girlfriend Keiko seemed disgusted and horrified at the same time, "Where do they put it all?"

Kuwabara's sister Shizuru was staying as far back as she could, "That's what I was wondering."

Botan, whose blue hair matched Laysh's own, decided to step in, "You really shouldn't eat so much the night before a fight. You could get stomach cramps and…" She held her scolding tongue when both Verto and Laysh gave her a deathly glare with pieces of meat hanging out of their mouths.

"Uh, never mind." The two Saiyans finished soon after, though there wasn't much left for anyone else at that point, nor did they want any afterwards.

"Sorry about the mess," Verto said as he caught their staring.

"It's not a problem, the hotel maids can handle it," Kurama replied.

The feeling of the room felt strangely awkward to Verto, though it was tough to tell who it was directed at for the moment. _I know those looks, better call it a night before someone says the wrong thing._

"Alright, thanks for the chow, we'll see you in the morning," Verto said as he tugged on Laysh's arm to get her to move. There wasn't another word as they left the room, though Laysh seemed confused about it.

"What was that all about?" Laysh asked.

"No big deal, they just aren't used to seeing the behavior of an alien species. Especially ours," Verto answered.

Laysh snorted, "Hmph, like I care what they think of me. They'll all be dead soon anyway."

"Hopefully you're wrong about that," Verto said casually.

Laysh stifled a laugh, "Kid, you'll be my mate for life if you manage to beat him."

Verto paled, "Let's not go there, and I won't hold you to it either."

Laysh laughed aloud this time, "Oh don't worry, the thought of you and I together is just as much of a joke as your chances tomorrow."

It was Verto's turn to snort back, "Well, joke all you want, I'm going to prove you wrong." Verto then walked off in a different direction from his room, drawing more confusion.

"Wait, where are you going?" Laysh asked.

"Last minute training to do," Verto replied as he didn't turn around.

Laysh flew through the hall after him, stopping him in his tracks by the arm, "Are you insane? You're going to exhaust yourself before the match?"

Verto glanced down at her grip, "Oh look, someone does care. Relax, I don't intend to do much more than meditate, but there is an attack I want to work on a little. Yours inspired it."

Laysh didn't let go, "In that case, I'll come with you."

"I'll be fine on my own, believe it or not," Verto replied as he pulled away.

"If you're serious about beating the captain, you'll need all the help you can get. Besides, I'm bored and I'm older than you. So shut up and nod your head like a good boy," Laysh said in a demanded tone.

Verto shrugged, "Alright, if you really want to."

Laysh grinned lightly as her nose seemed to rise into the air a little further, "Good. After all, if I've got to put up with a pain in the ass like you, we need to start somewhere."

Verto rolled his eyes, _Great, another Fasha. Although she is a bit better looking…okay stop right there! We're not letting that happen again!_

* * *

Both Saiyans awoke the next morning to a rather loud telephone ring. Laysh was about to blast the source of the noise before Verto ended it by answering the phone.

"Yes, thank you. Please send up enough breakfast for six people… I know there's only two in here, just do it!" Verto shouted into the receiver before hanging up. Laysh stared in sleepy confusion at the phone while Verto was getting ready, drawing his gaze. He shrugged it off and began to open one of Bulma's Saiyan armor kits and replace his current clothing.

Verto was most of the way into the process of changing before her confusion finally caught up to him, "It's a communication device, I asked them to give us a wake up call so we don't oversleep. I know it's primitive and annoying but just bear with it. If you couldn't tell, breakfast is on the way."

Laysh yawned, "I just have never seen such a device. Though I guess these humans need to start somewhere since they don't have scouters."

Verto finished slipping on the armor and put on the gloves, "That's about the only use I ever have for those."

Laysh looked impressed by Verto's outfit, "You look good in red."

Verto grimaced, "I like blue better, what I get for letting you choose."

"Considering your crazy fighting style when you lose it, I think it matches rather well. Throw in a scouter and it's just like the old days," Laysh added.

Verto held up his capsule case, "Well I do have one, but I don't see the point if it's just for looks. Kind of a waste that I even brought it along really."

Laysh launched off the bed suddenly and grabbed Verto by the shoulders, nearly knocking him over, "You have a scouter, and you didn't say anything?"

Verto stared at her urgency, though looking at her face directly was difficult, "As much as I like the view, what's the big deal?"

Laysh backed away, resisting the urge to smack Verto across the face for staring at her chest from such a close range, "Get it out!"

Verto sighed and dug out the capsule, tossing the device to her once he unlocked it, "Why exactly do you need it so badly?"

"I can use it to transmit to the others on our coded frequency! And it'll pick up on any communication from our ship here as well!" Laysh claimed excitedly.

"Maybe anything from here, but I doubt you'll get anything from anywhere else right now. And that isn't just because of distance," Verto pointed out.

"I told you before, I'm older than you. So shut up and do as you're told! Let me decide on the right thing to do, it'll save both our asses! Clearly your parents have been far too lenient," Laysh grumbled as she turned the scouter on. Verto bit his lip and didn't answer, though it irritated him immensely to be talked down to in that manner.

"Alright, I've got it! The captain is communicating with someone, I can hear them talking!" Laysh declared as she laid the scouter down for them both to hear.

"…_What is it you want Razil?_" Ranot's voice asked.

"Who is Razil?" Verto asked right away.

Laysh put a finger to her lips, "Shhh, I don't know, be quiet!"

"_Have you encountered the ones I told you about?_" another voice asked, presumably the voice of Razil.

"_Yes, it will be taken care of. That is provided that no one gets in my way this time_," Ranot replied.

"_It had better be. This is a chance to get dirt in Venestra's eye and get her banished from the council for good. Then the invasion can finally begin_," Razil declared in a confident voice. To Verto, he sounded like an elderly man that was losing his voice, along with his youth.

Ranot was clearly disinterested, "_I really don't care about your plans, so save me the speech._"

"_Very well, but remember that it was I that gave you the life you have now, and you are indebted to my will until I release you!"_ Razil rasped back.

"_I haven't forgotten._"

"_You had better not! Don't think that I'm not aware of what you're planning either, as foolish as it is!"_

"_I wasn't aware that eliminating any competition would hinder you,_" Ranot replied nonchalantly.

"_It won't, in fact it pleases me greatly since it distracts the others. I was referring to your little treasure hunt you've been on. It's very, noticeable_," Razil said with disdain.

Verto heard the distinct sound of held breath before Ranot continued, "_Why, whatever do you mean?_"

"_Even if you could find all of the crystal shards, you'll never be able to use them. I suggest you give up such a folly quest, as it is impossible,_" Razil claimed.

"_How about you let me worry about my own business and stay out of it. I'll do your little deed so you can have your fun. After that I have no interest_," Ranot said in a threatening manner.

Razil backed off, "_Very well then. I'll contact you after it is done. I have another agent I must speak with now_." When Verto heard nothing else, he assumed the conversation was over.

"What was all that about?" Verto whispered.

"I told you to be quiet! Don't you realize that anyone can be caught spying if they make any noise? Or are you that stupid?" Laysh shouted in his ear.

Verto winced, "You're the one shouting."

Laysh paused nervously, shutting the scouter off before she cleared her throat, "Ahem, as I was saying…"

"Save it. Now do you know anyone named Razil?" Verto asked.

Laysh shook her head, "No, and I don't know anyone named Venestra either. There's no one with those names on our ruling council."

"Then you probably don't know anything about this invasion they were talking about do you?"

"No, I know we're certainly in no condition to invade anyone," Laysh said.

Verto's eyebrow went up, "Except apparently this place."

Laysh scowled back, "I wouldn't call this an invasion. After all, four of our best soldiers were just beaten soundly by a little kid!"

Verto couldn't help but grin, "Don't you mean five?"

"Don't make me put you on ice you little crap! You didn't beat me, I beat myself when I dropped my guard!" Laysh argued.

"A loss is a loss, as they say," Verto replied.

"Are you always this annoying?" Laysh asked, exasperated.

"If there's something I'm always good at, it's verbally sparring. I can turn it up a few notches if you want," Verto offered.

"Argh, no! I can't believe I'm putting up with this. It's bad enough that I've gone from a second lieutenant on our best squad to a damned wet nurse! What's next, you need your diaper changed?" Laysh growled back. Verto just chuckled as he crossed his arms, enjoying what he could out of her gloomy mood. A knock came at the door, ending the spirited discussion when the food arrived and occupied both Saiyans' minds. Laysh kept staring at Verto though while he gobbled down his meal, looking troubled.

"Why are you so damned relaxed? You can't tell me that short training session last night has put your mind completely at ease!" Laysh claimed.

"I'll get serious soon enough, don't worry about it. It won't do any good to dwell on the fight so much that I lose myself before it starts," Verto replied.

"Hmph, well I hope you have a good game plan. You may have learned my attack, but it's not like the captain hasn't seen it. Your power levels are still too different for that half-assed surprise to matter," Laysh grumbled.

Verto huffed lightly, "I told you last night, I already had the basics of that one down, you just helped me understand it better. By the way, I'm not going to use it like you do. And I do have a plan, I just don't know if it'll work yet or not. I couldn't test it out prior to this so I'm not sure yet."

"What? Why not? You should always be certain about your battle strategies and techniques before the fight even starts!" Laysh screeched.

"I wanted to test it, but I was still too low on energy and as you said before, I would have exhausted myself. I'll test it out today, and if it works it'll make a decent impression, I promise you that," Verto reassured her.

"Argh, you're so carefree it's sickening!" Laysh growled back.

Verto rolled his eyes a bit, "I'm hardly like that. Now c'mon, it's about time." Laysh continued to mutter as they left the room.

* * *

Verto waited patiently outside the hotel entrance, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Laysh tapped her foot impatiently, and then started to pace a bit.

"If you want to go on ahead and find a good seat, you're more than welcome to," Verto suggested.

"I know that brat! I'm just making sure you don't stumble on the way to the arena. Wouldn't want you to quit because of a stubbed toe!" Laysh yelled back. Verto sensed the insecurity pouring out of her, though in the short time he had known her that wasn't anything new. The doors opened up a moment later, revealing Team Urameshi, headed by Yusuke himself.

"Are you ready for this?" Yusuke asked. Verto nodded surely as Laysh scoffed.

"Man, your girlfriend sure doesn't have a lot of confidence does she?" Kuwabara dared to say.

He regretted the words immediately when a long spike of ice formed in her hands and stopped an inch from his face, "How would you like to get killed now instead of in the ring?"

Verto stepped between the two and broke the long icicle with a knife hand chop, "Enough!"

"Are you sure you're not Yukina's sister? I mean you're an ice demon too right?" Kuwabara asked once Laysh didn't advance.

"Do us all a favor and stop talking for the rest of the day," Hiei advised.

"Okay, anytime shrimp man!" Kuwabara shouted back.

Yusuke took charge, "Save it you guys. Now let's go kick some ass!" The six of them walked silently towards the arena, which had been fully repaired in the short time since the semi-finals. Laysh left Verto once they were there, saying she would find a seat that 'wasn't contaminated by pond scum.' The rest of them waited in the bowels of the stadium tunnels for their name to be called.

Kuwabara kept glancing around as if he expected someone else to be there, "So Genkai still isn't here? I don't see why the old broad doesn't have to be here like the rest of us"

"She's sick, I told you that," Yusuke snapped back.

Kuwabara wasn't fazed, "Aha, well I know the perfect remedy! Let's see, first you hang upside down for awhile…"

"So tell me, what's it like living in a constant haze of stupidity?" Hiei interrupted.

"I've been wondering that myself," Verto added.

"I've had enough of your lip half-pint! Just give me a reason, both of you!" Kuwabara warned.

Verto snorted loudly, "Heh, I'll try to pretend like that was a threat."

"Yusuke, perhaps this would be a good time to tell him," Kurama whispered.

"Tell me what?" Kuwabara asked. The conversation ended when the ceiling plaster started to chip and fall away as the large tunnel doors slowly started to open and Juri's voice filled everyone's ears.

"Alright, the moment we've all been waiting for so let's begin! On my left, Team Urameshi!" Juri announced as the tunnel lit up. Massive amounts of boos rained in, making Kuwabara wince while the others were not affected. Yusuke and the others walked out single file as a few pieces of trash were thrown in their direction while Verto waited by the door. It was a planned move by himself and Yusuke that he didn't enter the arena until he was certainly needed.

"Ahem, your attention please! Now entering the arena, Team Toguro!" Juri pointed to her right. Utter silence followed as the other tunnel opened up, so much so that one could actually here the footfalls coming from it. Toguro emerged from the darkness first, with his smaller brother perched on his shoulder. Yusuke tensed up with Kuwabara shuddered nervously. Bui, the armored giant, followed close behind with little more than a deep breath. Karasu, the creepy masked man in black, also came into view, and the two teams stared each other down. It wasn't long though before everyone noticed the problem.

"What's the deal, there are only four fighters, each team should have five!"

"Without five fighters they shouldn't be allowed to fight!"

Juri pulled out a rule book, "Everyone please remain calm while I get to the bottom of this. Let's see, each of the ten players must engage in a one on one match assuming five fights are necessary. The first team to win three matches will be the champions. Sorry about that, since it is the final and neither side has used their substitution, you must have five or your team will forfeit!" This brought Verto to attention when he sensed a powerful ki coming from the other tunnel. It was suppressed, but it was enough to grab his stare down as he felt compelled to walk out onto the floor just as Ranot did. The crowd erupted into random chatter once this happened.

"Hey, look, it's that little kid from last round! What's he doing with Urameshi?"

"Who's the big guy with Toguro?"

"Excuse me, but contestant D is listed as Team Toguro's fifth man, why exactly aren't you with your team?" Juri asked as Verto stopped next to Yusuke.

"Why do you think? And by the way, my name is Verto, so you can stop calling me that," Verto retorted.

Juri paled at the stern glare he had given her, "Alright. And you, you are listed as Team Urameshi's substitute! Contestant Ranot, please explain."

Ranot closed his eyes, "Does such a thing really need to be discussed?"

Toguro smiled lightly, "It doesn't matter to us, we didn't consider that child a member of our team to begin with."

"You're just lucky I didn't decide to blow you away last time meathead," Verto shouted back.

"It's not like it matters. Your team won't make it to five fights so it's not like the little twerp will have any say in this," Karasu spoke up from the ringside.

"And you're lucky that I have bigger fish to fry," Verto countered.

"Well, no matter how you count them, all ten fighters have been accounted for. Teams please send forward your first fighters," Juri declared, giving up.

Karasu was the first to enter the ring, and Kurama stepped forward, "I will handle him."

* * *

"Ladies and gentleman, the first match of the finals is about to begin. On my right, representing Team Toguro, is Karasu!" Juri called out. A generous amount of cheers rained down, while jeers were being held ready for his opponent.

"And on my left for Team Urameshi, is Kurama!"

"This whole tournament has been an absolute roller coaster. But now finally, finally we're at the most loop-da-loop part of the ride!" Koto declared with excitement.

"You think the demons would have a problem if I blasted the speakers?" Verto grumbled.

"Go ahead, I'm more concerned about Keiko and Botan up there. I just know they're gonna start a riot in the stands and I'm not gonna be the one who saves 'em!" Yusuke claimed.

Kuwabara suddenly dashed forward to catch up to Kurama, "Hey, did you use that weird medicine stuff that Suzuka gave you?"

Kurama didn't even turn, "Actually I took some about two minutes ago."

"Medicine?" Verto asked with a confused glance.

"I ran a few experiments to test the compound and discovered that it takes a considerable amount of time to absorb into my body and change me," Kurama continued.

"Hey, clue me in, what exactly are they talking about?" Verto asked Yusuke, who only shrugged.

"So, what happened?" Kuwabara asked as he nervously kept both hands in their respective pockets.

"Suzuka was right that it would transform me, but there is a time limit. I can only sustain approximately fifteen minutes. I'm not worried though, as fifteen minutes is more than enough," Kurama finished as he jumped into the ring and walked forward. Verto crossed his arms and stared up at Kuwabara for an explanation, but the elder teen was too fixated on his teammate to notice.

_Guess I'll just wait and find out instead, might be faster than waiting for this dumbass to try and explain anything._ The action began to take shape in the ring, as Karasu's hand glowed bright green and Kurama tossed a pile of rose petals into the air. They swirled around him, creating a distinct smell.

"Kurama has created a whirlwind of rose petals, Karasu must stink!" Koto babbled on. More petals soared into the air as Kurama took a balanced defensive pose, guiding the swirl of flowers towards Karasu. One petal grazed the tall demon's face, and drew blood upon impact.

_Each of those petals is as sharp as a knife. It's not a bad defense, but against this opponent it may not matter._ Karasu was undaunted as he walked straight into the colorful display, not even bothering to guard himself. Kurama's flower parade suddenly went into overdrive and rushed towards Karasu all at once. The demon threw out his arms, and for a moment Verto through he saw something else flying through the air before Kurama's razor-sharp rose petals started exploding. The air became filled with small hot cherries that quickly died out, and Kurama was at a loss for words. Karasu continued his slow approach before he suddenly phased out, trying to grab Kurama from behind. Kurama ducked out of the way, avoiding whatever Karasu was trying to do as he gave chase. Kurama leapt into the air and summoned his Rose Whip to help keep Karasu at bay. He swung it at Karasu as he landed, only to see his whip detonate halfway there at Karasu's command, leaving only a small smoking vine in his hands.

Verto's eyes narrowed, _That wasn't a blast. Something came out of his hand and blew that up. But it was either too small or too fast for me to see it from this distance._ Karasu raced towards Kurama, striking with open hand claw attacks over and over, to which Kurama barely kept up with. After jumping aside, Karasu came in from the top, blocking out the stadium lights above Kurama. He jumped out of the way and Karasu's claw hit the ring and dug in momentarily. Kurama landed off balance, but Karasu didn't give chase this time. Kurama's left arm suddenly blew up with green light, and blood splattered out of it. Kurama panted heavily as he sunk to a knee and tried to recover.

"You okay?" Yusuke called out.

"Darn it, why doesn't he change? If that clown gave him bad juice I'll make him regret the day he was born!" Kuwabara shouted.

Everyone looked at him strange, "Listen to yourself," Yusuke said.

"What clown?" Verto asked. No one answered, causing Verto to grimace at being ignored, but he let it slide as Karasu lifted his left hand into the air. He leaped over Kurama and Verto saw a very small and hardly visible object leave his hand. It landed on Kurama's right leg and blew up, slowing his movement.

_If I can barely detect whatever these things are, Kurama might not be able to at all. That won't be good._ Both fighters remained motionless, though in Kurama's case it wasn't by choice. Karasu held out his hand and began charging his energy into it, dimming the stadium as Verto saw a larger object forming. It was long and dull-green in color, featuring three small skulls on either end of it. Karasu jumped up and threw it at the motionless Kurama, where it detonated and left a much stronger blast radius compared to the pop shots before. The wind blew around the arena, taking Juri out of the ring and making the rest of Team Urameshi block against the force of the blast. Karasu came out of the smoke cloud unscathed, but Kurama was no where to be seen.

"Can anyone see?" Yusuke asked. Verto sensed a sudden change in the energy field, but nothing definitive. Karasu glanced at his hand, which had been hit with a dagger-like rose that he yanked out in annoyance. _He at least survived, but in what condition?_ The smoke cloud expanded, and white wisps whipped around inside as Verto felt a new surge of power coming from it. Black lightning struck the rooftop and ground as the activity in the cloud increased exponentially.

"Where's all this energy coming from?" Yusuke asked.

"I've seen all this before, this fight is in for a heart-stopping facelift!" Koto cried out with joy. The stormy smoke cloud then suddenly cleared out, leaving a newcomer in the ring and Kurama no where in sight. This new fighter had silver hair and fox-like ears to go with a bushy tail under a white gi. His eyes were a creepy shade of yellow, and he had very sharp looking claws for hands. There were a few blemishes along his arms and legs, but nothing that looked serious at this point. The rest of him seemed human enough, but the energy signal Verto sensed said otherwise.

"And it looks like I was right! It's that foxy Yoko Kurama!" Koto declared.

"Alright!" Kuwabara cheered.

"You're telling me that's Kurama?" Yusuke asked nervously.

"Yeah, what he said," Verto added.

"He goes by many titles, but this is his true name, and form," Hiei replied.

"So this is what he was talking about earlier, though I'm not getting the clown reference," Verto said.

"He was referring to Suzuka, the team captain we faced in the semi-final round. He used an array of items and techniques to try and gain the upper hand, but ultimately failed. No doubt Kurama managed to get a hold of his age-reversal potion to revert to his pure demon form for this fight. And that is Yoko Kurama," Hiei explained.

"Interesting…" Verto muttered. He stole a glance at Ranot, who was staring back at him with amusement.

"_This is rather entertaining, isn't it boy? Enjoy it before I crush you,_" Ranot's voice said.

"_Telepathic, why am I not surprised? I won't consider that to be much though, I learned it a long time ago. Let's just see what happens before I start pushing up daisies_," Verto replied.

Ranot grinned, "_How is the girl? I've been meaning to have another, chat, with her_."

Verto's fist cinched up, "_You won't be chatting with anyone after I'm through._" Another explosion broke their silent conversation, as Karasu had launched two more of his miniature objects, but they had detonated prematurely when Kurama tossed two roses into them.

_He can see them now, that means he does have a chance. But he'll need something stronger than one of those tiny plants to do anything._ Karasu created an array of small bat-like explosives, each with a large orange eye before he sent them off. They all flew towards Kurama, missing when he dodged them. Each took off in a different angle before swinging around and coming back, make Kurama run a little farther and faster. As he did, Karasu began to position himself to launch dozens more of the dangerous critters, which surrounded Kurama within a few seconds, leaving him no legitimate direction to run. Kurama did not panic though, and released his energy in a broad burst as the ground beneath his feet shook apart. Long, bright vines soared into the air, brushing the explosive bats aside like flies. When the light faded, a huge, purple plant was writhing around Kurama. Each of the giant plant's vines were covered in large thorns, and each flower top resembled a Venus Fly-Trap, only much deadlier and with sharper teeth. Kurama's incredible plant lunged for Karasu with several of its vines, opening each of them up to reveal another set of teeth below the leaves. Karasu darted around the ring to avoid the onslaught, which only showed how the fight had turned completely around. Karasu was cornered within seconds, but didn't remain still as he leapt to avoid one of the huge vines. He tossed another one of his bombs, trying to eliminate the threat. The plant came alive with a painful screech as Karasu landed and gathered himself. The fire faded to reveal that the demon plant had only grown angrier at him for it. Karasu continued to run, but was soon caught by one of the plant's deadly flowers. He was pulled into it by its leaves, and then the other parts of the gigantic plant joined in. Each covered Karasu, completely enveloping him in the mass of deadly leaves and teeth. It soon became a ball of vegetation as it tried to eat him, and it was clear that the fight was about to end. The demon crowd was horrified at the display of Yoko Kurama, with the exception of their esteemed announcer.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! Kurama's plant just grabbed Karasu and juiced him like a fresh orange. I never knew botany could be so deliciously gruesome!" Koto declared.

Kuwabara promptly celebrated with some fist pumping, "Kurama sure showed that punk what was up! And he closed the deal in a measly five minutes! Take that Toguro!"

Yusuke nodded eagerly, "Just two more wins and it's done."

Verto shook his head slightly, _Yeah, right. Even if they manage to get three wins before I go out there, it won't be over. There's no way that Saiyan will let these guys decide anything without his say._ The ball of plant mass tightened its hold on its victim, and Kurama felt it was time to walk off the stage, passing by a dazed Juri who seemed to be in a stupor.

"Hey Juri, snap out of it. Tell us who won!" Koto called out.

Juri scrambled to her feet, "Well, I'd say that Karasu has been soundly defeated by Team Urameshi's Kurama." The plant mass suddenly stopped writhing and lowered itself to the ground, making Juri run away while Kurama stopped. Verto sensed another energy surge just before the plant blew up from within, showering the area with decapitated purple vines. Behind the black smoke was Karasu, who looked very ready to continue. Verto noticed a slight change in Karasu, but only that his mask had been removed at some point.

Juri panicked slightly at the sight of him, "Sorry, my mistake everyone! The match will continue!" Verto suddenly noticed most of Team Toguro suddenly take a step back, as if they were anticipating something hazardous. Then he felt it, Karasu's power rose quickly as his hair shifted color to bright gold.

_What the, don't tell me he's the demon equivalent to a Super Saiyan? No wait…it's only the appearance. His power didn't go up nearly enough to be considered that._

"Uh, can someone clue me in here, what's up with his hair?" Kuwabara asked.

"With the type of demon he is, I'd say it's an explicit sign that he's internalizing his power. The bombs he creates are now inside of him, virtually making him one giant explosive," Hiei explained.

"Are you serious?" Yusuke asked.

"Of course I am. My assumptions are correct, and he's about to detonate. If you're wise you'll take cover now," Hiei suggested. Verto guessed that Hiei was right as a bright green aura went up around Karasu as he clasped his hands together while he laughed slightly. Verto's eyes also widened as Karasu became engulfed in a mass of energy which soared into the air before coming back down, straight at Kurama. The target didn't budge an inch, and the ring was swallowed in the explosion that followed. Verto didn't move any from the blast, but Yusuke and the others were forced backwards. The bulk of the blast went the other way though, cutting a wide hole in the upper stadium wall and creating a skylight. Dozens of demons lay dead in the ripped bleachers, leaving the rest feeling lucky that they hadn't been hit. Yusuke shoved a boulder off of him as he and Kuwabara recovered while Hiei jumped down from the stadium wall.

"Is everyone alright?" Yusuke asked.

"Fine, but what's with the kid? He didn't even move!" Kuwabara pointed out. Verto didn't look back even though he was being stared at.

"Maybe now you'll realize how powerful he actually is, idiot. I suggest you focus on the match if you don't want to be blown to pieces," Hiei replied.

"I've had enough of you!" Kuwabara growled back. Verto scanned the ring, spotting Karasu quickly among the smoke. He barely sensed Kurama's presence at all due to the energy that had detonated, but it was there. A pile of rubble shifted off as Kurama stood up, but with one glaring difference that Koto was only to happy to explain.

"Oh my, that Kurama is like a nasty virus, you just can't get rid of him. However, it looks like that last explosion has taken its toll, as Kurama is back down to his original human form," she rattled off.

"Aw crap, the potion wore off. Now he's really going to have to wing it," Yusuke pointed out.

"Wha? I don't get it, there's no way it's been fifteen minutes!" Kuwabara claimed.

"He's right, it hasn't even been half of that yet. That explosion must have caused enough damage to make that transformation wear off early," Verto added. Karasu approached Kurama in a slow, confident manner as he likely noticed by now how weakened Kurama had become. Kurama pulled another rose out and attempted to manipulate it, only to have it shatter in his hands.

Verto shook his head, "He's too weak. The transformation only protected him from dying, but unless he's got another trick up his sleeve, he's not winning this one."

"Damn it," Yusuke muttered. Kurama jumped back into the ring suddenly and charged Karasu, attempting to kick him. Karasu dodged easily, but was surprised that Kurama continued to chase him down, attempting to strike in anyway he could. Karasu dodged each blow narrowly, but was kept from counter-attacking as well for the moment.

"He has a plan, it's obvious in the way that he moves," Hiei noted.

"It's risky, whatever it is. Being that close to someone that has a great deal more power to use is suicidal," Verto said. Kurama avoided a sudden blast attempt by Karasu and landed a two-palm strike to Karasu's midsection, knocking him backwards. Karasu got up quickly, and then pulled a very tiny object out of his bleeding chest.

_So that's it, Kurama tried to plant another one of his seeds in Karasu, but he saw it coming. He's not going to be able to outwit him easily._ A small object suddenly sprouted around Kurama's leg, holding it in place as another bomb came up with it. The following explosion tore a hole in the side of Kurama's leg, sending a red shower splattering to the ring as Kurama lay on the ground painfully. Karasu laughed as he held out his hands again while Kurama tried to get up. The unaware Kurama managed to make it to his feet, but he was surrounded by small balls of green light.

Yusuke ran towards the edge of the ring, "Don't move, you're surrounded by bombs!" Kurama froze in place as his eyes darted from left to right, eyeing what would certainly spell doom for him. Karasu walked closer, speaking in a soft manner that was likely putting Kurama down in some way. After a moment, Karasu lifted one hand back up, and one by one, each bomb struck Kurama's body, leaving bloodied pop marks upon each hit. Kurama sunk to his knees as his blood stained the ring from his limbs, and for a brief second, the onslaught halted so Karasu could speak again.

"He's toying with him," Verto said with a deep scowl. Kurama managed to stand once again in defiance, as if he still saw a chance to win. Verto sensed no additional energy within him at the moment, _He's got to be out of options by now, so what will he do if he's given another chance?_ Karasu seemed bored and directed the rest of his bombs to hit Kurama almost all at once. Kurama's screams echoed in the arena as his body became even more battered and bloody.

"No!" Yusuke shouted. Kurama dropped back to the ground and lay motionless while the demon crowd erupted with cheers. It seemed that as Kurama's life faded, it brought the once silent crowd back into play as they began to celebrate.

Juri ran over quickly, "Okay! If he stays down for ten, Karasu wins! One…Two…" The crowd began to shout for more brutality out of Karasu, who merely stood by and waited. At the count of six, Kurama barely managed to get to his hands and knees, which were likely so injured that he couldn't go further. Verto sensed another energy surge from both Kurama and Karasu, and he knew there was some sort of definitive conclusion coming. Karasu launched another blast as Kurama's body glowed with bright purple. A mass of blue plant vines came up out of the ground and rushed towards the unprepared Karasu. It struck him in the chest approximately where the seed had failed before, and began to suck a great deal of life energy out of Karasu. Kurama dropped to the ground, completely unconscious, while Karasu's skin turned pale white as his life force rapidly vanished from Verto's senses. Karasu fell backwards as the plant moved over him, presumably to finish what was left of the corpse. Verto's attention was drawn to Kurama, who was barely hanging on to his own life.

_Did he just sacrifice himself? _

"He's fading!" Kuwabara pointed out. The arena was drowned in silence for another minute and a half before Kurama started to show signs of movement again. Yusuke and Kuwabara gasped in disbelief as Kurama managed to get to both feet again. Verto sensed another slight variation within Kurama, but it wasn't one of concern by any means.

_That transformation must have strengthened him enough that he could survive such a strain on his body at this level. He got really lucky_.

"Yes, that's how we win this!" Yusuke declared.

"Man he sure got jacked up, but I'd say he won!" Kuwabara added.

Juri looked on with confusion, "Um, hold on."

"And the winner by total gross-out is Kurama and the folks of Team Urameshi!" Koto declared.

"You sure made a nice flower pot out of him Kurama!" Yusuke cheered. Verto nodded slightly until he saw the look of distaste on Hiei's face. He glanced over at Team Toguro, who didn't look all that disappointed.

"What is it?" Verto asked as Yusuke jumped into the ring to assist Kurama.

"They don't look like a team that just lost a man. What do they know that we don't?" Hiei pointed out. Kurama collapsed as Yusuke congratulated him, leaving Verto a reason to go help them.

He got close enough to hear what Kurama was saying, "I'm sorry Yusuke. If only I could have lifted myself a fraction of a second sooner."

"What are you talking about? Relax, you won," Yusuke reminded.

"It's unwise to be so confident before an official announcement," Kurama claimed.

Verto's eyes widened, "Are you saying you lost? Doesn't look like it to me." All eyes went to Juri, who had the microphone in hand.

"And the official announcement says, the winner of the match is Karasu!" she declared.

"WHAT?" Yusuke shouted. Verto's jaw dropped in sync with all of Team Urameshi and half of the crowd as Toguro only smiled.

"Huh? And now the fair and impartial Juri is saying that the winner is the late Karasu? I know we all saw Kurama destroy him!" Koto commented over the airwaves.

"It's not fair, these judges have had it out for us since the first day!" Kuwabara grumbled.

"Something definitely isn't right about this," Verto muttered as he glanced up at the video screen, showing the scoreboard.

Yusuke stomped towards Juri and grabbed her by the shoulder, "Hey, you with the big fish ears. You mind explaining to me how a dead guy wins?"

"Hold it, I'd like it if you removed your hand," Juri scolded.

"I'd like it if you removed your head from your ass, but I don't see that happening anytime soon!" Yusuke shouted at her face.

"I won't talk to you, until you can keep your grimy fingers to yourself," Juri retorted as she pulled away.

Yusuke held his fist just below her chin, "I'll put these grimy fingers through your face if you don't tell me how a breathing guy loses!"

Juri had enough of this, "Fine, your friend lost the dumb match because he was down for ten seconds after I started counting!"

Yusuke pulled back, "Oh, then why didn't you say so?"

"Jerk ass!"

Yusuke turned towards Kurama, "Hey, you know what she's talking about?"

Kurama groaned sluggishly as Verto helped him to his feet again, "Yes I'm afraid." The video screen shifted to a replay, which briefly displayed the bloodied ending to the match up until the point that Kurama had collapsed. A timer came up just as Juri started counting, and it slowly ran off ten seconds. Kurama's deadly plant came out of the ground at nearly the eight second mark, and didn't strike Karasu until just after ten seconds had passed.

"See, ten point two-eight seconds," Juri pointed out.

"Well, that's a first. Since Kurama's killing blow didn't come until the match was technically over, we have for the first time ever a winner that is dead and a loser that isn't," Koto finalized.

"He's not a loser!" Kuwabara shouted back.

Verto shook his head and helped Kurama hobble back to where the others were standing, _I can't even call that a moral victory._ The demons cheered briefly again before a 'two more to go' chant started, which only served to anger Yusuke.

"Oh shut up, that's not even a clever chant!" Kuwabara roared again, "Oh well, at least everyone on our team is still alive!"

"You just don't get it!" another soft voice said. The crowd silenced themselves as Elder Toguro jumped off his brother's shoulders and into the ring.

"Your observation is as usual short sighted and very incorrect," Elder Toguro said, drawing everyone's attention.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Kuwabara asked.

"Even if by some cruel cosmic joke you survive your matches, you forget that each of the champions is granted a wish. Once my team wins and my wish is awarded, I'll wish for the death of you and all your friends!" Elder Toguro declared. The crowd cheered with random shouts of agreement, which only agitated Kuwabara more.

"I've had it up to here with this moronic chanting!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Forget world peace, I'll just wish for muscles!" Yusuke declared before Hiei stepped up.

"Want to know what I'll wish for when we beat them? The bloody death of that entire corrupt tournament committee so I'll never be pulled into one of their charades again!" Hiei said.

Verto cocked an eyebrow, "That's, original."

Elder Toguro laughed, "Well, before my wish can be granted, I'll enjoy very much beginning the annihilation of you personally. Go ahead, pick your first martyr." Verto was tempted to enter the ring, but didn't have to react as the large Bui interrupted his teammate by stepping into the ring. Elder Toguro clearly hadn't expected this, but bowed out to make way for the armor-clad giant.

"I'll take the big guy. I've got some pretty big guns myself!" Kuwabara claimed.

"Ha, don't be ridiculous," Verto laughed.

"Oh, if only you were closer to my height I'd dare you to say it to my face!" Kuwabara shouted back. Verto was tempted to float up to meet that request, but when Kuwabara turned around and stayed quiet, he opted to not press the issue.

"Yusuke, I planned on taking the thug with the sunglasses for myself, but after what he did to Genkai I believe vengeance belongs to you," Hiei said just before he phased into the ring.

"Um, Hiei? I thought I had the big guy?" Kuwabara asked.

Hiei ignored him and walked forward, "This thug will do just as well." Verto stared past Bui at Ranot, who was only a little smaller by comparison.

"_This should be an interesting bout. That midget won't know what hit him, wouldn't you say boy?_" Ranot asked telepathically.

"_Are you trying to suggest he doesn't have any shot at beating that big goof? You really need to pay attention. These guys aren't as powerless as you and I might think. In our dimension, they would be a threat with the right training and technique. Especially that one,_" Verto replied.

Ranot huffed slightly, "_Ha, perhaps. Or perhaps your misguided arrogance causes you to be blind to what happens around you. How long would you like to wait before we have our match?_"

Verto turned his head slightly, "_I don't really care when it is. But just so you'll shut up, how about next? We could even start it off here and then move elsewhere while they finish up._"

Ranot grinned evilly, "_Oh no. All these peons are going to witness your complete and utter destruction, whether you like it or not. You're on, and your life ends as soon as this next match does!_"

**A/n: Tic tock, tic tock…  
**


	90. Dark Tourney 12

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 89: Dark Tourney 12: Grudge Match**

Verto looked on as an intense standoff between Bui and Hiei thickened the air around the arena. In terms of raw size and physical strength, there was no doubt about the advantage that Bui likely had. Verto couldn't sense much energy coming from the armored giant, but that didn't mean much at the moment. Hiei was also emitting a very low amount of energy despite the moment, though Verto expected that would be changing shortly. They both stood by as Juri formally introduced them in her own way.

"Measuring four foot ten without his hair, Hiei. At nine feet, Bui," Juri said as she gestured to both fighters.

"Wow, nine feet? That's tall, and certainly more than enough man to go around ladies! Then again, Hiei has proven that kick ass things come in short packages too! I have no earthly idea who is going to win this one, but I can say for sure that it's going to be exciting!" Koto declared as she tried to amp up the crowd again. Bui then held out his hand and gathered a ball of red energy into it. Verto sensed something strange about it initially until Bui held it up as it stretched outwards. It widened and lengthened at the same time until it became a brown handle. At the end of that handle was a large axe-like blade that materialized from thin air. The axe itself was nearly as big as Bui was himself, and it had the weight to back it up as the ring tiles beneath his feet cracked.

Verto grimaced at the ease that Bui has conjured this blade, _Material conversion technique, I really need to figure that one out other than clothes._

"Serves Hiei right, cocky punk doesn't have his sword after that Kuro guy broke it in the last round," Kuwabara grumbled.

Verto snorted, "Hmph, it's not like he has to have a metallic weapon to win you dolt." Kuwabara was about to answer when Hiei suddenly tore off his black cloak, revealing his right arm which was heavily wrapped in bandages and chains.

"No, he can't," Kuwabara claimed, "Look how tight he's got those bandages! His injuries must not be even close to healed."

Kurama cleared his throat, "No, you've misunderstood Hiei's true motives. This particular binding is not to repair."

"What the hell, is it just there to look pretty?" Yusuke asked.

"Not exactly," Kurama said vaguely.

"Why use a bandage if it doesn't make your hurting spots better?" Kuwabara asked.

Verto shook his head slightly, "Use your brain. He clearly stated last night that he was training what I assume is his pet dragon and he had torn up his arm because it wouldn't listen to his commands. He's obviously using that wrapping as a way to conceal it."

"Huh, how did you figure that out? And I have been using my brain, I just get confused sometimes!" Kuwabara retorted weakly.

"Yes I'm sure all of the facts get distorted on a minute by minute basis," Verto replied as Kuwabara shook his fist slightly.

Juri interrupted their short conversation, "And now, the second match of the final round. Ready, set, go!" Bui leaned forward before pulling his huge axe back and taking off into a dead sprint towards Hiei, his heavy armor clanging against the ground with every step. Just before he got there, Bui launched into the air with a big leap as he brought his axe upwards before swinging down. He timed it almost perfectly to crash into Hiei with all of his momentum behind it, almost. Hiei phased out just as the blade came down, and Bui's blade was stuck into one of the ring tiles instead.

Hiei was standing at fairly far distance from Bui, "Your aim is as broad as your axe! Could you at least try to hit me next time?" Bui answered by dragging the ring tile up with his axe and flinging it off the blade in Hiei's general direction. Hiei jumped up to avoid the large chunk of stone, which crashed and broke apart on the ring surface. Bui used his axe to drag up another heavy tile and threw it towards Hiei again. Hiei dodged easily and Bui continued the assault. Multiple ring tiles were dislodged and thrown by Bui, all of which were dodged by Hiei with ease. Several of the boulder-size tiles were flung into the audience, crushing several demons at once and causing others to scatter.

"No one can explain to me why the combatants keep attacking the audience. But it does make the pain more wide spread and I do love that!" Koto declared. Bui eventually narrowed his wide aim to a small section of the ring where Hiei was standing, looking bored.

"I may be a small target, but this is sad," Hiei said as his body began to glow. The wrapping he had around his head burned off, revealing his third eye while his hair stood up in a different manner.

"Prepare yourself for the Fist of the Mortal Flame!" Hiei shouted. Verto glanced at Kurama in question, but didn't bother asking as Hiei charged straight at the ring tiles. His fist became wrapped in flame-like orange energy and he smashed right through the first tile. Several more followed and Hiei destroyed each one with his continuous punch. Debris flew everywhere, blinding Hiei to Bui's next attack. Once again he leapt into the air as Hiei was dealing with the last tile, and came in just as it was shattered.

"Look out!" Kuwabara called out. Hiei saw the attack and didn't waver a bit, continuing his counter attack straight into Bui's blade. Fist met blade in a brief clash before the handle broke off completely, sending the axe portion flying past Juri's ears and into the stands. Bui grumbled before forming another huge blade with his single hand.

"At least you are consistent. Consistently foolish if you think this axe will have anymore impact than the last," Hiei pointed out as he stood his ground. Bui answered the challenge by chucking the entire axe at him with deadly accuracy. Hiei's whole body glowed orange just before he lifted his hand and caught the blade. A quick burst of energy followed before the axe evaporated in an instant, which hushed the crowd.

"That's amazing! Hiei not only caught the massive blade but he incinerated it to boot!" Koto cried out.

Kuwabara cringed slightly, "Uh, remind me never to let Hiei touch me again anytime soon, or like ever!"

"Impressive technique, but it doesn't seem like it hurts him as much as that dragon does. So why didn't he use it sooner?" Verto asked.

Kurama nodded knowingly, "His abilities have risen exponentially in this tournament out of need. In the previous round he made use of this technique before he was forced to use a variation the dragon. Up until now, he did not channel the flames of the living world with nearly this much ease. It's possible that he's attained a new mastery in a very short time."

Verto's eyebrow went up, _So he can channel energy of this world to his needs, in the form of flames. Must be similar to the Spirit Bomb in the way he gathers it. Although, the way that dragon comes around is something else altogether. _Hiei continued to look disappointed as he and Bui continued their standoff.

"I warned you that was a foolish maneuver. But you refuse to listen, much to your disadvantage and to my boredom. And that, is not forgivable!" Hiei declared.

A brief spark of energy came from Bui as his eyes glowed red beneath his helmet, "Sorry to bore you! I'll remove my armor!" His voice was so dark and intimidating that even Verto felt chills from it.

Bui first removed one of his wrist guards, "You should know two things, Hiei the swordsman. I was saving this for someone else, and this is the highest compliment I give."

Hiei grinned, "I'm honored, really I am. But are you sure you're strong enough to take a direct hit from me without any armor?"

"I'll handle it," Bui grumbled as he tossed the wrist guard aside. It sailed briefly through the air before it came down hard, landing neatly between Kuwabara and Verto. Neatly, aside from half of it being embedded by the sheer amount of weight.

"Whoa that's heavy, and that's just one of his arm things? How'd he manage to fight in all that, never mind stand up straight in it?" Kuwabara asked in shock. Verto bent down and attempted to lift the arm guard, though even he managed to struggle momentarily. He did pull it out of the ground, amazing Kuwabara in the process as he examined it briefly.

Verto whistled under his breath a bit, _Wow, that's got to be heavier than any wristband I've ever trained with, minus any gravity of course. _

"Oh, I guess it isn't that heavy," Kuwabara claimed.

Verto eyed him before dropping the armor piece, "Take it from someone who trains with heavy weights and with enhanced gravity, it's not light. Easily five hundred pounds."

"No way!" Kuwabara argued. Back in the ring, Bui had shed his shin guards, chest plate, and was in the process of removing his helmet.

"Most fighters wear armor to protect themselves from their opponent. But I'm the opposite," Bui said as he dropped his helmet and removed his mask, "I actually wear this armor to protect my opponent from myself." Bui revealed light green hair and a deep scar that ran from his forehead, between his eyes and back through both sides of his face under his eyes.

He raised his fist and gripped it tightly as a light green energy surrounded it, "You see, my powers are so great that I can't control them on my own!" His eyes flashed briefly before his power erupted from the depths, surrounding his body and much of the air around it in a bright green flame. It spread erratically around him at variable rates, becoming a powerful aura as he floated off the ground.

"Whoa, how did I not pick up on this guy's energy?" Kuwabara asked.

"Because of his armor, it contains his power," Kurama replied.

"If it contains it, then why the hell would he take it off then?" Yusuke asked.

"It keeps it under wraps like Hiei's bandage," Verto answered before Kurama could.

Bui hovered before Hiei with a confident smirk, "I call this my Battle Aura. I'd like to see you try and top it."

Hiei looked smug, "So would I, but I doubt I'll have to try." A smaller, red aura surrounded Hiei just before he jumped up towards Bui. He aimed a kick that was easily deflected by Bui's thick green aura. Hiei landed and fired a swirl of orange energy that enveloped Bui, shutting down his green aura for a moment. Bui crossed both arms and concentrated for a few seconds, bursting out of the apparent hold with another energy surge. Bui then fired a spiraling blast at Hiei, who answered with his own orange burst. The two blasts collided and cancelled each other out.

Bui channeled another one twice as big and fired, "Look out below!" Hiei dodged the blast, but it hooked away from the ring and into the air towards its target. Hiei phased out twice as soon as he discerned its path, and lured it back towards Bui. He briefly reappeared behind Bui, long enough to attract the homing attack into its owner. Bui was struck and forced back into the ring surface before his blast exploded, showering the arena with intense light.

"Not bad," Yusuke said.

"Getting beat by your own attack? Man, that's gotta be pretty gosh darn humiliating!" Kuwabara added. Smoke covered the ring for a moment before Verto sensed Hiei land not far from where Bui was. _This match isn't even close to over yet. That attack didn't do much._

"No…" Hiei whispered just before another bright green burst began to clear the air. Bui floated out of the crater that had formed, looking rather unscathed.

"I told you that you'd have to try and top me Hiei. Maybe now you'll take me more seriously and show me the respect I deserve!" Bui stated as he landed across from Hiei, "My attacks are designed to be only as strong as necessary to take out my opponent. As you can see, that's not even enough to put a dent in me. Take that any way you like!"

Hiei was not rattled in the least, "So it takes a lot more than that to bang you up. Here comes a lot more!" Hiei then began to unravel the wrappings around his arm with extreme eagerness.

"Hey, he's starting to take off that bandage thing you were talking about. The one that doesn't do what it's supposed to," Kuwabara pointed out.

Kurama sighed, "It seems you misunderstood. On the contrary Kuwabara, that binding has accomplished precisely what it was intended to do, which for Hiei is similar to Bui's armor. Though in Hiei's case, it's not just his own energy that's trapped in that arm." Blackened energy began to come out of Hiei's aura, and Verto eyed what looked to be a dragon-shaped tattoo that wrapped all the way around Hiei's upper arm down to his hand. Random flashes of feint light echoed the sounds of lightning crashes from around Hiei's black aura as his energy quickly started to build up.

"Time is wasting, let's hurry up and finish," Bui bellowed with impatience.

"Quiet fool, I don't need to be reminded to hurry, it's in my nature. Besides, it's been pulling at the bandages for sometime, I couldn't hold it for long," Hiei declared as the black flames around his arm crackled. The fiery creature seemed to leap off Hiei's arm and encircle him while it was drawing up its power, dancing around the arena randomly in the process.

"It's even more than before. Without control he could kill us all," Kurama warned.

"Well that's cool," Yusuke grumbled.

"Please no eat me, please no eat me!" Kuwabara prayed.

Verto grimaced, _Without control both fighters will destroy this place. I guess poor Ranot will have to do without a crowd while I try to leave him face down in the dirt._ Blackened streams of energy gathered above and poured more energy down into the ring, focusing in Hiei's right arm as he continued gathering the dragon's power. The ring debris began lifting into the air shortly before crackling apart in the wake of the black dragon's energy.

"Um, shouldn't we be hiding under a rock or something?" Kuwabara asked.

"Wait, give him his due time, it could be advantageous after all. It seems in his short training he may have learned to master it better," Kurama said.

"Oh better, that's reassuring," Yusuke mumbled. The arena began to pulse with eerie red waves of light, giving the crowd a bigger reason for concern.

"Take it from someone who was in the ring the first time. This is not the same attack, it's like a super, hyper, mega dragon!" Koto claimed. Lightning struck down into Hiei's arm from the skies, and his energy skyrocketed even more as he approached the end of his preparation.

"You ready?" Hiei asked. Bui looked content to take on the attack at its new, fuller form, and his own aura brightened.

Hiei stepped forward and wasted little more time, "Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" The creature roared out of Hiei's arm, enshrouded in black and red energy as it bore down on its target. Bui cried out as he reached to stop it, and was forced backwards by its power initially. Bui's power output increased and the dragon slowed to a halt.

"Damn, who is this Bui bastard?" Yusuke asked.

Kurama was equally amazed, "I didn't think it was possible, but he's actually stopped it!"

"I'm not scared, but we should at least find a rock to hide under!" Kuwabara shouted. Hiei was not impressed though, and his power surged even more.

"I hope you don't think that dragon is completed!" Hiei declared as he unleashed another wave of brighter blue. The energy infused into the dragon, and Bui was shoved backwards with ease. He attempted to fly backwards and change directions in order to avoid it, but the dragon stayed on Bui like he was its last dinner. They both flew around the arena, though Bui was obviously struggling. They sailed upwards at a wide arc almost in unison, and the stadium gave once they struck the previously blown up section. Demons evaporated from the close proximity to the dragon, as did a fair portion of the stadium as it crumbled apart.

Koto felt brave enough to speak despite how close the dragon was to her, "The stadium gave! Alright people, this is the mayhem you can only expect from the finals! The weaker ones in the crowd are being instantly incinerated! It's hell in a basket and I love it all!"

Verto scowled, _I wonder if anyone would notice if I just happened to send a small blast in her direction._ Bui and the dragon soared into the skies once freed from the confines of the domed arena, and Bui continued his struggle to hold off the beast. Hiei jumped out of the cracked ring and moved up towards the shattered rafters in order to watch more closely. The dragon was in the process of forcing Bui into one of the taller mountains when it stalled out again. Bui's green energy erupted at its peak as he threw the beast's head aside, sending it back down to earth at an awkward angle. The dragon bent slightly as it fell right towards a new target, Hiei. Everyone gasped as Hiei had almost no time to react to this, and he was literally swallowed into the dragon's huge form.

Verto stood wide-eyed as he hadn't expected that particular outcome, _Holy crap, talk about backfiring._ The black and blue energy began to fade as the dragon slowly fell apart in the skies, and Bui laughed as he landed in the ring.

"What a maneuver! Bui managed to deflect the Dragon of Darkness Flame away from himself and directly towards Hiei! The three-eyed warrior has been gobbled up by his own beast of destruction!" Koto announced. Demons cheered loudly as Bui stood tall in the ring, who was glancing strangely at Toguro instead of anyone else. Juri was slow to react before she finally got up and observed the crackling mass that used to be the dragon, hovering over the arena like a remnant cloud of a vanishing storm.

Juri blinked sharply before turning around, "Um, Hiei can't compete without a body…so the official winner, can only be…" Bui gasped as the mass of energy started shifting above, and Verto clearly sensed a renewed presence inside of it. The flames contracted and expanded randomly before condensing down into the very humanoid form of Hiei, who crashed into the ground with even more intensity than before.

Bui turned around in utter shock as Hiei stood up without so much as a scratch, "This brings up my next attack, it's a little different."

Yusuke relaxed a bit upon seeing his teammate unharmed, "Now that's cool!"

Bui was shaking in his boots just slightly, "Explain this!" Hiei didn't answer as he stepped forward, causing Bui to backpedal in fear.

"Hiei has consumed the darkness technique," Kurama pointed out.

"What? You mean he ate the dragon?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes, it seems that he has learned what no one else could do. The only way to master such a creature is to trap it within. Now the dragon is inside him, and at his full disposal. Even Bui must accept what that means," Kurama explained.

"So, uh, that means Hiei's gonna win, right?" Kuwabara asked meekly.

Verto stared at him, "Use that awareness of yours and you'll realize that he isn't just about to win. He's about to steamroll Bui." Bui seemed to shake off his fear and concentrate all of his energy at once as he charged in and landed a harsh punch. Hiei was barely even affected, and Bui went into a frenzy. He landed multiple kicks and punches all over Hiei, who barely even flinched at each one of them. Bui backed off, gasping in terror as he looked into Hiei's dark eyes. His desperation grew apparent when he rushed in again, flipping over Hiei, only to grab him by the head and fling him into the air. Bui shoved him into the stadium's ceiling and then threw him back to the ring, adding in a fierce kick for good measure. Hiei smashed into the collapsing ring, only to get up like nothing happened. Bui's Battle Aura filled the ring as he attacked again, and Hiei caught his fist as his own energy surged. Bui's aura vanished as his energy faded, and the victory was quickly sealed.

"Come now, can't you even test me?" Hiei asked in disappointment. Bui ran at him again, and Hiei fired a quick burst of energy into Bui, sending him crashing through the top of the stadium. Hiei launched into the air, soaring past Bui before landing a powerful blow that sent Bui into the stands. He landed over the taller fighter, who was barely moving.

"Both are outside the ring, I'll start the count!" Juri declared just before she tripped in the battered ring. Bui whispered something to Hiei that was too quiet for Verto to hear at that range, but whatever it was, Hiei didn't seem interested. He jumped backwards at the count of eight, landing neatly in the ring.

"Nine…Ten! The second fight is over, Hiei takes the point!" Juri called out.

"You hear that Toguro, we're looking at a tie ball game!" Yusuke shouted.

Hiei walked back to his team, causing Kuwabara to panic, "Hey, this is a no dragon area!"

"Really awesome Hiei," Yusuke said.

"Y-Yeah awesome, now why don't you go about twenty yards that way and fight the rest of t-them?" Kuwabara stuttered.

Hiei shook slightly in place, "That's against the rules now you cretin. Besides, my attack expired."

"Expired?" Kuwabara and Yusuke said in unison. Verto's eyes narrowed as he felt Hiei's energy fading fast.

"I don't know if your brains can imagine it but this attack drained a good deal of my energy," Hiei said just before he yawned, "I'll require some hibernation to get it back. Think you can manage to find a safe place for my body where it won't get stepped on?"

"Did you say hibernate?" Yusuke asked.

"Fancy word for being lazy," Kuwabara claimed.

Hiei pointed at Yusuke, Kuwabara and to a degree, Verto, "Listen as closely as you can. I'm trusting you against my instincts only because I have no other choice. You, take care of that abomination we called a substitute. And you two take care of the Toguro Brothers. If I wake up and find out we lost, I swear I'll kill all three of you…" Hiei trailed off just before he collapsed into sleep.

Kurama chuckled lightly along with Yusuke, "Ha, that's Hiei for you, he faints but still finds time for threats!" Verto snorted lightly as he cast his gaze in a different direction.

Ranot met it with eagerness, "_Are you ready to begin boy?_" Verto answered by stepping forward towards the ring.

* * *

"Well people, it seems we'll have to take a short break to get the ring replaced after that crazy fight…" Koto said before she paused upon seeing the two fighters coming towards what used to be the ring.

Ranot approached Juri, "If you don't mind, we would like to get the third match over with." Juri glanced over at Verto, who nodded with intense determination.

"It seems that contestants Ranot and D wish to fight despite the condition of the ring, the tournament committee…" Juri rattled off before Verto cleared his throat.

"Stop calling me D, my name is Verto," he snapped at her.

Juri blinked, "Excuse me, contestants Ranot and Verto. Anyway, the committee must approve this decision!"

Verto scowled, "Hey ref, I'll save you a lot of trouble without asking for permission from the rich snobs. Whatever is left of the ring will probably get blown up long before we're done, so we don't need a new one. You can also drop the ring-out rule like you did last round." Juri looked towards Ranot, who nodded eagerly.

"Both fighters agree on the terms, there will be no ring outs for the duration of this match. You may begin!" Juri declared as she scampered out of the way. Verto and Ranot stepped closer until there were within a dozen feet of each other, locked in a stare down. The cracked ring tiles began to dislodge as their power levels rose, scaring Juri away from the ring.

"So, are you going to give me any sort of challenge this time boy? Or was your failure before just a precursor to your death?" Ranot asked. Verto's answer was a deep blue Kaio-ken aura coming to life and enshrouding him as he sent the ring tiles flying upwards. _Alright, let's see how strong he really is before I try anything risky._

Ranot was unaffected, "Not bad, certainly more energy than you should be able to put out. But how well can you use it?"

Verto snorted lightly, "Guess you'll have to find out. Kaio-ken times two!" His aura intensified just before he rushed in and kicked towards Ranot's head. The blow was blocked, though Ranot clearly didn't expect the amount of force as he nearly gave into it. Verto phased out, catching Ranot off-guard with a quick punch to his other side. Ranot swung back wildly, and Verto ducked under the attempt and buried his glowing fist into Ranot's abdomen.

Ranot stumbled backwards, and Verto didn't hesitate to release the stored energy, "Final Shine!" A bright blue wave of light shot out at an expanding angle, shredding all in front of it in a wide swath. The roar of the blast drowned out all sounds, though Verto could tell that Ranot had not dodged the attack. It cleared quickly, revealing Ranot with his arms crossed defensively. Most of his brown Saiyan armor was still intact, aside from a few holes in the sides and the shoulder pads missing.

Verto lowered his palm, _Just as I thought, I'm going to have to go all out on him with the triple Kaio-ken. He was unprepared for that, but only because he wasn't powered up all the way. He was testing me first._

Ranot frowned as he lowered his arms, "Was that all?"

"That was all that I can safely put out in a battle at one time right now," Verto replied.

Ranot stood up straight and brushed off some of the dirt that had found its way onto his armor, "Then I suggest you prepare, for pain!" An eerie purple aura shot up around him as Verto sensed a big increase in his power level. The high amount of wind force blew everyone else down, and the already ruined ring crumbled. The ground trembled in tune with the tiles shaking apart, and Verto got a feel for what he was really dealing with.

_Ah hell, he's certainly strong enough to take on Frost. Maybe even beat him without his final form in play. But…he still feels like he's holding back. Frost himself admitted that his reverting technique was used against this guy, so he's got to be stronger._ Verto felt Ranot's power plateau a moment later just before he released a violent burst of energy that blinded all to its light. Verto blocked against its force, but was still flung backwards and into the stadium wall. Verto winced painfully as he stared back at Ranot, standing where the ring used to be.

"You okay?" Yusuke shouted from afar. Verto's response was his own rough burst of power that blew a hole in the wall as he floated out of it. Ranot stood still with his arms crossed as his tiny but solid gold and white barrier covered his body.

Verto grimaced, _Yeah, going Berserker will only burn up my energy faster. The Soul Blazer wave didn't work last time and definitely won't this time. I'll have to try the triple Kaio-ken now and hope to hell that it works like Leira said. I can't let him do any damage beforehand._ Verto cautiously walked towards Ranot, if only to put as much distance as he could between him and anyone else.

"I applaud you boy, not many would get a feel for my power and still be standing, or be brave enough to face it," Ranot claimed. Verto's eyes darted around the stadium as most of the demons were struggling to even breathe under the weight of Ranot's energy. Verto then glanced over to see that Yusuke and his friends had been joined by the present day Koenma, who appeared to have raised an energy barrier for protection.

Ranot chuckled as Verto turned back towards him, "So, how shall we play this? You can use that power amplifying technique again, but surely you know that it will be fruitless if all you can do is double your current strength. You might get in another lucky hit or two, but it will lack the power you need to defeat me and you know it!"

Verto brought his arms up and sighed heavily as he prepared himself, "When I said that was all the power I could safely put out, I meant it. But pay attention to the words, because it's about to get very _unsafe_." Verto's deep blue aura shot up around him, bringing back the wind and blown around dust. He grunted slightly as his body filled with energy, causing his muscles to swell.

Verto gritted his teeth, _C'mon, I can do this. I can bear it! Focus!_ Bright bursts of energy shot out of Verto in random directions, taking out seats and pillars alike.

Ranot laughed, "Are you trying so hard that you can't control yourself? Ha, you'll only end up like Selffur!" Verto's determination didn't waver as his wide, erratic aura suddenly slimed down into a more controlled flow.

"Kaio-ken, times three!" Verto's blue aura condensed further and began to kick up silvery-white clumps of energy throughout. Ranot's grin faded and shifted to slight concern and confusion. Verto's hair stood up sharply and shifted to silver-white as his energy filled with the same color. Green lightning sparked and flowed with the intense aura. He finished with a far less dramatic deep breath while most of the stadium did a double-take at the transformation.

_It worked, but I lost some of the energy I had from changing. I have what I need to beat him, but it won't last long. I better get to work._

Ranot chuckled, "So this is what you've been hiding. Very amusing, but not completely surprising. I can understand why Leira would want to recruit you so badly. After all, you're so much like the one she lost."

Verto's blue eyes narrowed, "The one she lost?"

"Oh, she didn't tell you that yet did she? I killed the only person that could ever crack her cold heart, so she's spun all of her actions off of revenge. She may work for some sort of superior beings in the great beyond, but she certainly doesn't follow their orders with any sort of consistency. I'm guessing she hasn't told you that either, has she?" Ranot asked.

Verto closed his eyes, "She has kept me in the dark about a lot of things, and I wish she wouldn't. It's difficult to put up with, but it also doesn't matter at the moment."

"It doesn't matter? And why do you think that?"

Verto's eyes opened back up, "Because I don't care about that right now, nor will I until it actually does concern me. So get ready, because I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Ranot lowered into a stance that nearly mirrored Verto's, "Then let's do it boy!" Both Saiyans charged each other and their initial clash made the stadium tremble. A great ball of white formed around them as they engaged in lightning-fast combat while nearly everyone watching gasped in awe.

"I can't follow their moves!" Yusuke declared.

"I haven't been able to for most of Verto's matches, but this is more intense than anything I've ever seen!" Kurama said.

"I'm not scared, I'm not scared!" Kuwabara repeated over and over.

"His transformation brought out so much spirit energy that I can't even measure it. I can't even be sure that it's spirit energy at all!" Kurama pointed out.

"It's not demon energy either," Yusuke added.

Kuwabara was confused, "Huh? If it's not spirit or demon, then what the heck kind of energy is it?"

Koenma answered for them from behind, "Sacred."

All three fighters turned around in surprise while Yusuke was the first to speak, "Nice to see you, pacifier breath. So what does this Sacred energy crap do, other than turn his hair colors?"

"I've been here for several moments, you're just too caught up in this mess to notice. Anyways, sacred energy is a power that very few can achieve easily. Normally it should take at least forty years of hard training alone to even know if one is capable of it. But that applies to those born of our world. He comes from another place and while it may seem difficult for us to fathom, it may not be so for him," Koenma explained.

Laysh suddenly dropped in next to them, startling all four, "No it isn't. He's the first of our kind that I've ever seen that's been able to wield it like this."

"It's that hot girlfriend of his!" Kuwabara pointed out. Laysh glared at him, but was drawn back to the fierce melee going on in front of here.

_Chal was right all along. I didn't want to believe it, but he can win. He is the savior we've been waiting for! Now I can safely put all my faith in him. Destroy him Verto, so that some day, you can eventually guide us into the light!_ The high powered scuffle continued between Verto and Ranot while everyone looked on in awe. Both fighters held their own against the other while keeping up their incredibly paced flurry. A break in the action occurred when they matched blows and glided backwards, landing long enough to stare each other down. Ranot still had a confident smile at this point, but it had waned quite a bit.

"Very good kid, you've done well to surprise me. This is the kind of challenge I wanted, and you've delivered quite nicely," Ranot claimed.

"Is that why you're holding back?" Verto asked spitefully. Ranot shut his eyes smugly,

"You could tell eh? Not bad for a tiny runt."

"You may have very good ki control, but I can always tell when someone has more to give that doesn't require any transformations, like Frost for example. If you hold back now, I'm going to make you pay," Verto retorted.

Ranot chuckled, "How amusing, the little savior gets a feel for real power and suddenly thinks he can play in the big leagues. I assure you that once I've had my fill, I will end this match so quickly that you won't know what happened. Until then, let's enjoy ourselves."

Verto shifted his stance as his hands filled with green energy, "I'm not in the mood for games." Verto rushed forward at blinding speed, and Ranot froze in surprise just before the glowing green fist arrived.

"Super Galic Fist!" Bright green light swallowed the stadium just before a loud crash followed. Ranot had smashed into a section full of demons, and was lying in a crater of crushed seats. His armor had barely provided any protection and was falling apart with every breath. Underneath, his muscular body had suffered the brunt of Verto's attack, and it now resembled a vat of mashed, uncooked beef.

"What an attack. That punch party makes me want to dance!" Koto declared. Most of the stadium then glanced at her awkwardly just before she ducked down in embarrassment. Verto kept his eyes locked on Ranot, who slowly recovered and hovered into the air as he examined the damage done. He remained surprisingly calm about it before aiming his hand towards the right. Verto followed his aim, seeing that he was actually aiming for Yusuke and the others. Verto phased out, reappearing in the supposed blast's path.

Ranot grinned, "That's fine, but I doubt you'll save everyone with this next attack. Bane Blaster!" A bright purple bolt of ki came out of his hand slowly, and Verto lifted his own in order to deflect it. Verto's hand struck the blast, and then it changed forms. The slow bolt suddenly exploded into a fast moving beam that skewered its way through a wide stadium section. Demons were vanquished by the hundreds through the precise attack, missing others by hair lengths on the edge of the torched and melted metal.

Verto stared at the result in utter disbelief, _What the hell was that?_ Ranot cast out both hands as they began to shimmer with light purple energy.

"So, how about we make this more interesting? How many of them will be left after this one? It's up to you, Bane Blaster!" Ranot roared. Multiple bolts launched down towards Verto at the same angle, but at a slow rate of fire. Verto bent his knees a bit and deflected the first few upwards. Two more beams erupted from the impact, shooting through the roof. Several more followed, which rapidly turned the arena top into Swiss cheese. Debris started crashing down as the dome began to cave in, drawing Verto's focus in-between blasts. He quickly held out his right hand, sparking his intense green Chi sword in the process. He swung down into the next blast on a gamble, and it merely cut straight through it, nullifying any lasting effects. Verto sighed in relief and turned upwards at the ready. Ranot fired several more shots, only to see Verto slice through each one easily, stopping them completely.

Verto allowed himself a breather once Ranot's assault ended, _That is one crazy technique, but at least it looks like I found an effective counter for it. It may only deter him for a moment, but it's better than letting everyone die through the random luck of a deflected blast. The question is, can I cut into him now? Doubtful unless I catch him off guard enough that he doesn't put up that barrier._ Ranot lowered to the ground, no longer showing much in the way of confidence.

"You're the first to ever counter my technique, enjoy that hollow victory while you can," he said. Verto's sword brightened as he suddenly heaved it like a javelin. Ranot held up a glowing forearm and swung with the back of his left hand, knocking the blade aside. Verto phased in, bringing another green blade to bear into Ranot's chest. It stopped an inch short when Ranot caught it, stopping the momentum.

"Ha, nice try kid," Ranot said. He kicked forward just as Verto moved out of range, clipping his jaw. Verto glided backwards for barely a split second before Ranot was already in his face. He grabbed Verto by the head and pulled him down into the dirt. Verto cringed at the pain until he put his hands down and fired a blast. Verto sailed backwards on the explosive wave and caught Ranot in the face with a fierce elbow. Verto quickly spun around clockwise, kicking Ranot's large arm with his opposite foot. Ranot winced noticeably, and Verto jumped at his chance, dropping down long enough to come up with a strong uppercut. Ranot shot through the roof from the impact, and Verto blasted off to give chase. Ranot glided backwards and fired several quick blasts at Verto, who turned and twisted his flight path to avoid them. Ranot glanced up just as Verto arrived, green sword in hand. Ranot's energy barrier came up around his blocking forearms, seemingly nullifying Verto's attack attempt. Verto swung with his right hand as he dropped down, and the sword stopped cold. Ranot grinned until he saw Verto dropping into melee range while his sword was still clashing with the barrier. Verto flew in with both feet, kicking Ranot in the chest with all his momentum. Ranot fell backwards a few feet as his barrier faded, and Verto reformed the sword into a bright green blast.

"Final Shine!" Ranot saw the attack at the very last second and attempted to block against it. Both Ranot and the Final Shine blast slowed, and he showed signs of being able to repel it. That was until Verto phased in below him and led with his shoulder as he rammed into Ranot's back. The blast detonated as Verto backed off for the moment. Ranot fell out of the blast cloud, his body smoking all over. Verto darted above him and came down with a hard double-arm smash to his torso, sending him back towards the ground. Verto's aura shined brightly as he flew after Ranot, catching up before he hit the arena. Verto sped up as he wrapped his arm around Ranot's thick neck, pulling him down harder. The demon crowd gasped as all they could see was two figures wrapped in bright white, coming towards the ground at an alarming speed. Verto saw the ground coming fast, but didn't let go until the last possible second. Ranot plunged into the dirt head first just as the impact sent it all flying in every direction. Verto circled around and landed on the outskirts of the new, large crater, panting slightly as he waited for his opponent to recover. _He felt that one, but I still can't be screwing around on this. I don't have much longer before my energy gives out. _

A fair amount of time passed before Koto felt brave enough to speak, "That was breathtaking, what a fight! Hey Juri, tell us who won!"

Juri scampered over and looked down, seeing Ranot's prone form in a crater that was nearly twenty feet deep, "Well he's definitely down, I'll start the count! One…Two…"

Verto put his arm up, "Don't bother, he isn't done yet. No way I beat him that easily."

"He still has to answer the count, five…six…" Verto slipped into his ready stance at the count of eight, and he sensed Ranot's energy bubble up ever so slightly.

"Nine…" Ranot looked up at Verto briefly with a smug expression, but did not move.

"Ten! The winner of the match is Verto!"

Verto's eyes widened as he realized what had just occurred, _You've got to be kidding me, he threw the match? But why?_

**Power levels**

**Verto: 312,000; Kaiokenx2: 624,000; Super Mystic (from Kaiokenx3): 825,000**

**Ranot: 750,000**

**A/N: Dun dun dun…**

**WDG: **One mindfuck, coming right up!

**VB**: Oh I imagine there will be more than one coming soon…


	91. Dark Tourney 13

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 90: Dark Tourney 13: Bargain**

Verto continued to breathe heavily as he recovered from his short fight with Ranot, who was slowly getting up from the final attack that seemed to decide the match.

"Way to go kid! You sure showed that dickhead!" Yusuke shouted from afar. Verto ignored Yusuke completely as he glared down at Ranot, who was in the process of peeling off the small shards of his burnt armor that remained. Verto slid down the crater wall and stood a few feet away, eyes ablaze with obvious anger.

"Good maneuver, I'll have to watch out for that when we fight again. You apparently already figured out that I can be a bit susceptible to multi-pronged attacks with my barrier up," Ranot declared.

Verto bared his teeth, "Why did you throw the fight?"

"That's easy. Think about it boy, what possible use would it be if the last of these rich, pompous humans loses? It would be quite difficult for Sakyo to make good on our agreement when he's dead. Even if he survives, he won't be so accommodating if his team loses the contest, so I'm helping him win. They are not the type to give in to any threats, so that would be a waste of my time. Don't worry, next time I won't be putting on a convincing show," Ranot explained. Verto stared at the ground in dismay just before Juri finished the rest of her official announcement.

"Team Toguro is now up two to one! We will have a break in the round as the replacement ring is brought in," Juri said to the crowd.

"What? He's with us!" Yusuke argued.

Juri scowled at him, "He is registered with Team Toguro while contestant Ranot is listed as your substitute. It doesn't matter what their personal views or agendas are, those are the rules."

Verto walked past Juri, giving her a rather sharp glare before looking Yusuke in the eye, "Sorry, I should have known that would happen. I just kept pushing so I could beat him without realizing what the repercussions may be. He baited me into having our match so that he could affect the other two and put more pressure on you guys to win."

Yusuke nodded, "Don't sweat it, that just means Kuwabara has to try harder." Kuwabara looked at Yusuke like he was crazy for a moment, before he figured out that he had just been insulted.

"Shut up Urameshi! I don't see you making any more effort! I'm gonna wipe out that little Toguro so fast it'll make your head spin!"

Verto sighed at the outburst as he powered down, and his hair faded back to black. As he did, he felt tremendous fatigue wash over him, enough that he nearly fell over. _Whoa, that wore me out worse than I thought it would. I shouldn't be trying that out once I go back home._

Kuwabara was concerned, "You alright?"

"Just tired, I used too much power like Hiei did," Verto replied as he dropped to one knee.

"Does that mean you're going to hibernate or whatever too?" Kuwabara asked.

Verto grimaced slightly as he stood back up, "No, just need food for now. I can't imagine the break will be very long."

Kuwabara grinned, "Ha, right. Well, I'm off for some fresh air, who's coming with me?"

Everyone gave him a strange look before Yusuke asked the question, "Um, what's wrong?"

Kuwabara hid it, "Nothin', it just stinks in here!" He walked off, though it was obvious what the issue was.

Verto shook his head a bit, "He's nervous about his fight isn't he?"

"Very likely," Kurama replied.

"Considering what fish girl up there just said, I'm betting I can't fight in his place either," Verto guessed.

"Even if you were considered part of our team you couldn't, not for the finals. I'm afraid that Kuwabara's fate is in his own hands right now. But he must win, or we're all finished," Kurama said.

Verto kicked a loose rock, which broke against the stadium wall, "I'll make this right, somehow."

"We've all had our own struggles in this tournament, you're certainly not alone in that regard. You've done all you can for now, so let's just see what happens," Kurama suggested. Verto nodded grimly and walked away, heading towards Laysh, who was patiently waiting for him near the tunnel.

"So does your captain often quit fights like that just for a laugh?" Verto asked bitterly.

"No, I think you really did surprise him with that silver transformation. Chal told us that you could do that, but none of us believed it, myself included," Laysh admitted.

"Hmph, it's not like it was enough anyway, he was holding back. Either that, or he's a huge liar and can't handle a challenge," Verto remarked.

Laysh sighed, "I've never known the captain to hold back, but if you say so then it must be right."

Verto's questioning eyebrow shot up, "What do you mean if I say so? What happened to the queen of the universe crap you were giving me earlier?"

Laysh smacked the side of his head suddenly, "Don't be getting such a big head, runt! You may be as strong as the captain, but you're still a brat that needs to listen! Just because you're not in a diaper anymore doesn't mean you're all grown up!"

Verto winced as he felt a fresh bruise forming, "Whether I still need to listen or not is beside the point, I'm not that strong. What I did was desperate and I was just lucky that it worked."

Laysh huffed slightly, "What are you, an idiot? The fact that you can rise up and go past your limits says a lot about your strength."

Verto blinked sharply, "I guess I never thought of it that way."

Laysh smirked, "Ha, that's obvious. Now go rest or something, I don't think I need to tell you that you'll face him again before this is all over. Whether your human friends win or not, you'll have to if you want to live."

Verto nodded back, "Yeah, I'm counting on it. First though, I'm gonna eat."

* * *

Verto ate quickly, and upon being informed that the delay in action would be much longer, he opted to take a nap. He really didn't feel like sleeping, but the extra fatigue he felt from using the triple Kaio-ken was telling him otherwise. Laysh decided to keep an eye on the arena for the time being, and left Verto up in the hotel room. Verto however, did not have a peaceful nap. He found himself in a vast, green and lush forest under a red sky. Only a small wooden hut stood out amongst the trees. The smoke coming from the nearest fire pit told Verto that someone was there. He walked up and knocked on the door just before it opened up quickly. The person inside looked out briefly, and then shut the door as if he hadn't seen anyone. Verto, however, had seen all of his features, and could have sworn that he had just seen Gohan. The only difference was that Gohan's hair always stood up and this man's hair was hanging down the back of his head, near his neckline. His clothing was brown and ragged for the most part, it was obvious that he hadn't been anywhere near a clothing store for a long time.

Verto knocked again, "Hey, look down next time!"

The door opened again, but this time he reacted to someone else's presence, "About time!"

Verto turned and saw Leira rushing towards him, or rather, towards the taller man in the doorway. They embraced with a certain passion before she entered the hut. _This is a dream, otherwise they would have noticed me by now. What am I seeing though?_

"What took you so long?" the man asked.

"You know how dangerous it is when the Guardians are trying to lock down all travel between realms. And it doesn't really help when all of the demons think you're a traitor either," Leira explained.

The man smirked slightly, "But you are a traitor, in their eyes anyway."

"As long as I'm not in yours," Leira replied slyly as she ran a hand down the side of his face. Verto's eyebrow went up at this information and he felt the need to listen in, despite what the scene was hinting at turning into.

"Did you locate him?" the man asked.

"No, but I have a few leads. Why is this so important?" Leira asked.

The man lifted up his shirt and revealed a deep scar that was glowing bright purple, "This would be why."

Leira's eyes went down, "You were attacked again weren't you? Let me guess, you went out to visit the Vegita family? You know you can't go and frolic with the other Saiyans anymore. If they sense your weakness, and they obviously have, they'll attack without mercy. You can't trust them anymore!"

The man put a hand on her shoulder, "I know that, and they didn't attack me, but I had to make one final visit before this ends. You know I chose to stay here, no matter what our family wanted. You're the one who is better suited for the work of the Guardians, not me. That's why I gave up my power to save the ones who were cursed. Even if that choice ends up killing me in the long run."

Leira shook her head in dismay, "God you're stubborn. I can't even go out and find our father without you running into the fire. You do realize that just about every normal Saiyan out there wants you dead for what you did. The cursed ones may have some renewed faith in you, but at what cost? I'm surprised the royal family would even speak to you."

"If you remember correctly, it was me that gave them that title. I may have lost my powers, but not my voice. Besides, being on an even playing field with other Saiyans is kind of refreshing. Having royal guards escort me back home was different though. I haven't felt this weak since I was a toddler," the man said with an odd satisfaction.

"Brother, you are hopeless. You know I can protect you better than any of those lousy guards," Leira suggested.

Verto's eyes widened, _Brother? And he was a Saiyan? That means she is too! Who is this guy?_

The man's face turned serious suddenly, "I know, but what you may face is a descendant who is very bitter with me."

"What the devil are you talking about?"

Leira's brother turned away from her for the moment, "In the final battle years ago, I went up against one of the strongest Saiyans I've ever seen. He could match me blow for blow and stood up to every technique I had, and you personally know how that came to be. Obviously I won the battle, but your favorite demonic teacher removed his soul from the battlefield and vowed that one day that I would meet my end at the hands of this particular Saiyan's descendant. I'm guessing that he was still angry at me about you switching sides."

"Whatever, that's his problem," Leira said as she stepped closer to hold onto him.

Verto's eyes narrowed, _This must be some sort of vision that happened in the past, similar to what I saw in the Pendulum Room. The Leira I know is never like this. Judging by the clothing, this is well before the Saiyans even acquired armor. Just how far back is this?_

Her brother scowled as he held her by the shoulders, "And his problem may become ours. I don't want you living your life for revenge if they manage to find me. That's why I wanted you to find our father."

Leira grimaced, "When that day comes, they'll have to go through me first. I've been damned once, and I'll go there again if it means keeping you alive. Our father hasn't been there for us since what, age ten? What makes you think he'd help us now?"

"His only crime was impregnating our Saiyan mother and he was banished for that. But I know he'll want to do the right thing and if the demons get their way again, our Saiyan race will doom themselves. I want to believe that Vegita won't have the cursed ones and their children hunted down, but he is a brute that will do what it takes to keep his namesake safe. I'm sure that brutality will remain for several generations after I'm gone. So I'm going to make myself very visible for those demons to take their shot," he said.

Leira's eyes went wide with horror, "Are you suicidal now? You won't last ten seconds against any of their agents, or any Saiyan that thinks of you poorly!"

The man put his hand up to silence her, "Hear me out, I chose this path for a reason." He then walked over to a section of the floor that looked offset before opening it like a trap door. He pulled out a glimmering ball of light and handed it to her, "Give this to our father and he'll take care of the rest."

Leira gasped, "But this is…how did you do this?"

"Your Shadow Hunter friend Vang stabbed me with his poisoned dagger to begin with, which started the slow decay of my powers years ago, this you remember. When the Guardians offered to cure me and I refused in order to save the Saiyans from their own fate, I received this from our grandmother Venestra. All I had to do was hold onto the ball and it did the rest. The bulk of my energy was pulled in before Vang's shadow poison could finish the job, that's why it's taken so long to affect me again and light me up like a beacon for any evil entity out there. Along with that energy went part of my soul. All that you need to do is give it to our father and he'll do the rest," the man explained.

_Vang? That demon was involved with Leira's brother? And this Venestra person is their grandmother? What the hell is going on? _ The answers didn't come for Verto though as the vision continued without him.

"Why? Why go through all this? You know that I love you like no one ever could. With my pass we could leave this world and go where no one could ever find us. You could live out the rest of your mortal life in peace. Why put yourself out there to be targeted?" Leira asked with a hint of tears forming in her eyes.

The man sighed, "To atone for my sins. You have to realize that I made a terrible mistake by releasing the dormant powers of every single Saiyan. I accelerated their evolution as a warrior race by teaching them how to become Super Saiyans. And then I took them further, releasing the extreme power they're all capable of. I myself invited the trouble that followed, foolishly believing that they couldn't be touched, and so many of them died because of it."

Leira's face darkened, "Are you saying that it was a mistake for us to be together too?"

The man paled, "That's not what I meant, you weren't even here at the time. Anyway, I may have given up my power to restore them to their natural states, but I unlocked the idea. Now they'll try to achieve it on their own. Can you imagine the chaos that could occur if they get off this planet and travel space? Think of how many civilizations they'll wipe out."

Leira backed away from him, "I can't believe I'm hearing this from you of all people. The one person who has had undying faith in the Saiyans since I can remember!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to think realistically. I seem to recall you having choice words about ever setting foot again on a planet with a bunch of monkeys," he countered.

Leira's head drooped as her eyes closed and she smiled, "Okay, I deserved that. Back to the point before I kill you myself. What do you think you can do about our people, hit them on the head at a young age and hope their personalities change?"

The man put a finger to his chin, "You think it would be that easy?"

Leira shook her head, "Don't mock me brother. If it means saving you, I will cripple you before you can blink. Now get to the point."

"I want you to give that to our father and tell him to select a descendant to inherit a portion of my powers. It'll be up to the two of you after that," he said.

Leira's fist tightened, "You really want me to cripple you right now? You and I can make a descendant, unless it was more than just your powers you lost."

The man put his hands up defensively, "That wasn't what I meant Leira. And any child we could have would inherit Vang's shadow poison that could weaken both you and the child. We can't risk that. Here's my request, I want the two of you to wait. The Saiyan people are going to have dark times ahead of them eventually, even if they think they are in their own golden age. And if that one cursed Saiyan comes back from the great beyond to finish what he started, who knows what may occur? When their very existence is on the line is the time for you two to act. You find a suitable person in all of the realms out there and give them a taste of my power. If that particular person shows promise and can save our people, give him or her the rest of that energy I just gave you. Just be sure it isn't a complete and utter pacifist that has no guts, otherwise I might have to wander out of whatever hell I end up going to just to kill it. Father can use his powers to fashion a new body for that person to use, all you would have to do then is transfer the soul."

Leira looked flustered, "And what then? Your great descendant will just rise up and defeat every demon out there that wants to come after you? With your energy, this descendant would be a magnet for every bit of trouble that comes around, just like you!"

"There's not just demons out there, all evil, even if it's from the lowest form of mortal. Even those Changelings could pose a galactic threat one day if they ever get off that ice block they call a planet. All it would take is one test for them to realize that they can breathe in space," the man scolded.

"Okay, now I know you're mocking me. How many broken ribs would you like?" Leira asked as she slammed her fist into her opposite palm.

"Laugh all you want, but it's possible. I may not be one for dimensional travel like you are, but I'm sure there's a place out there where even a human could control the masses of his own people with just his own words and conquer his own world before moving into the stars. He would probably have a weird square mustache too," the man pointed out.

"I think I should just give you a few dozen concussions until you're in a vegetable state. Then at least I wouldn't get all this crazy talk," Leira muttered.

The man sighed, "Well alright, if you think that will help. But can I ask you something? Has there been any word about that time-jumping demon that Etarb encountered?"

Leira looked at him strange, "Why are you asking me? Etarb is your friend, not mine."

"Except that he isn't allowed to contact me, that's why I asked you. I've given it a lot of thought, and I've realized that if I could easily affect the entire evolution of a species the way I did, imagine what someone could do if they saw into the future and chose to alter events," he said.

Leira relaxed slightly and pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his head, "I think you've been listening to your own voice for far too long. Time travel isn't possible, and you know that."

"Maybe not yet for mortals, but for the Guardians it's already been attempted. I can't imagine it's much different for the demon lords since they're basically locked in a cold war while trying to out-do the other," the man said.

Leira looked flustered, "Well, I don't think the demon lords can do anything like that. And being an agent for the Guardians, I think they would inform me about such recklessness and why never to consider it."

The man's eyes shifted at her words, "So what you're really saying is that you've experienced it?"

Leira looked down, "I really hate how you read me so fast, even without the ability to connect with my mind anymore."

"You always back yourself into a corner where either you lie or tell the truth. Passion is your favorite tool to avoid a subject," he replied.

"Two can play at that game brother. What you're saying is that even though you've been condemned to a mortal life, you believe that there will be some sort of interference far into the future that will require a power like you once had? And you want me and our father to put your power in the hands of a mortal that can end that threat? A mortal who wouldn't even be capable of half of the things you could do easily. Sounds like utter nonsense to me. Why not give your power to someone you trust instead?" she asked.

"People aren't always what you believe them to be, even in their highest and lowest moments. And I am trusting you and father, the only two I could ever trust with something like this. Etarb could probably fit into that role if he didn't work closely with the Guardians and hadn't been a student of Lord Razil. I've learned that those who you think you can trust can quite possibly be your greatest foe. Remember that the one Saiyan that could match me in battle was also the same one I personally trained because he did such a good job in fooling me completely. And I believe that he or his descendants will appear again at some point because of interference from somebody who has an agenda. The universe will need my power to keep him at bay and allow anyone that isn't already corrupted to see what a lie their cold war really is. Either that or they'll decide that both are too dangerous to live and away they go into some dark hole until the demons find them both. I don't think I really need to explain…" the man was suddenly cut off when Leira pulled him close and locked lips.

They kissed with intense passion for nearly ten seconds before she allowed him to breathe again, "Brother, do me a favor, shut up. I'll do your little deed if you give me silence for at least this moment." Her brother paused in surprise before bowing his head slightly, allowing her to capture his mouth with hers again. Verto wasn't completely sure what he was seeing, but at the rate it was flying through his mind, he didn't have time to stop and analyze it. A bright flash from the nearest opening in the hut drew their attention, and both Leira and her brother stood up.

"What was that?" Leira asked.

Her brother had a knowing look in his eye, "It's him. I hate being right all the time."

"Let me take care of this then, I'll show that monster who he's dealing with," Leira boasted.

Her brother held back by the arm, "No, he's come for me, and me alone. He will kill you, no matter how well you fight. Do as I asked Leira, please." The front of the hut exploded into splinters as a great wind blew into the remaining house. Verto squinted slightly and spotted a bald figure floating in the ruby sky. Leira and her brother were holding each other, but it appeared to be an embrace reserved for goodbyes.

"You know you were the greatest life partner I could ask for," the man said. Leira then turned on her heel and looked almost directly at Verto before closing her eyes and bowing slightly.

As the scene brightened from a blinding light, only her voice could be heard, "You know brother, you always were a pain in the ass."

* * *

"Kid, you're a pain in the ass!" Laysh shouted. Verto jumped up from the bed, completely startled as the Saiyan woman came towards him like she was out for blood.

"What did I do?" Verto asked as he glanced around. _Man, what the hell kind of dream was that? I've had visions before, but nothing like that. _

Laysh's eyes filled with venom as she realized that he was barely aware of her, "You slept for nearly seven hours! I said you should rest, not go into a coma! They've already started the final round, and once it's over, the captain is going to kill you and everyone here! Or would you prefer that I just let you sleep through your own death?"

"No, I'm coming," Verto said uneasily as he searched for the armor plate he had used in the fight against Ranot. In the process, he spotted a pile of green and blue sitting on the couch. He quickly walked over and saw that it was a set of his preferred clothes that had been left out, but it wasn't a torn up set.

"Where'd these come from?" Verto asked Laysh.

"I found them in that weird storage device, it was the only thing left in there. I figured you'd probably prefer those clothes over Saiyan armor since yours was all torn up. Maybe you should remember your own supplies," Laysh said, annoyed.

Verto glanced down at the red bodysuit that had seen better days, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Wouldn't want to meet the afterlife judge in crappy clothes." Laysh turned her nose up slightly and muttered something Verto couldn't quite catch. He began to take off the jumpsuit, but stopped after a moment and stared at Laysh.

"What?" she asked.

"Some privacy please," he said.

"Like you have anything I haven't seen before. Besides, I'm sure you got more than an eyeful when I was lying in the woods," Laysh said with a smirk. Verto bit his lip and turned around to change clothes, ignoring the snicker that came with the remark.

Once he tied the belt of his green gi, he made for the broken window and floated up, "Alright, let's go see what happens. Have they gotten through any of the matches yet?"

Laysh followed him, "Yeah, that big oaf in blue actually pulled one out of his ass. He had some sort of weird energy sword and ripped open that pale demon. He pulled himself back together a lot and seemed to be able to heal through any injury. The human still managed to beat him with some sort of modified attack that allowed him to hit every part of that freak at the same time. As usual, pathetically weak."

Verto rolled his eyes a bit as they flew over the forests towards the stadium. Just before they arrived, he spotted something strange on the ground and dropped down to investigate. There he found a human male lying dead up against a tree. The victim of an apparent accident had a blue and gray color to his skin, as if he had been struck enough to be bruised all over. There were no obvious signs of violence however, and Verto's eyes narrowed.

"What is it, you find something…oh," Laysh paused with surprised concern when she landed. Verto tested the man's vitals, but there were none at all, although his skin still felt warm to the touch.

"This happened recently. If I were to guess, I'd say that his energy was drained somehow. There's some residual energy here that isn't his, but I can't quite identify it," Verto said.

Laysh recovered from her surprise and looked away, "You sure it isn't just some random demon around here. They eat humans you know."

"Note the word eat. This guy's body has hardly been touched, his energy was the only thing taken. I've seen something similar to this a few times before, but the effects seem to be different, well depending on the attacker that is," Verto pointed out.

"As much as I enjoy a mystery, don't we have more important business than some weird killer on the loose?" Laysh asked.

Verto's piercing stare turned to her for a moment before it softened, "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Laysh snorted lightly, "You get distracted too easily. Maybe next time we fight I'll just expose myself before putting you on ice."

Verto smirked a bit, "I'll be sure to strike accordingly then."

* * *

The pair of Saiyans flew arrived at the stadium just as a large purple burst of energy shot out, darkening the entire area in its light. Verto sensed Toguro's power at the source of it, and knew he had to be using every bit of his power to fight Yusuke. Speaking of Yusuke, his power had also gone up by a fair amount compared to before, but with what Verto was sensing from Toguro, it wasn't enough. His assumption was proven correct when they landed on the arena floor among shattered ring shards. Yusuke was busily defending himself against a ranged attack from Toguro, a kind of barely visible bullet that he was shooting from the pressure created by just his thumb flicking the air. Verto felt a need to stare at Toguro now though, as his body had changed significantly.

"What the hell is that?" Laysh asked. Verto didn't answer as he took in Toguro's appearance. His skin had changed to a green color, and his size had doubled. His muscle structure had also increased by a fair amount from head to toe, highlighted by his oversized upper body. His neck line featured a few of the more bizarre changes, which were two small appendages that stuck up and bent towards his enlarged head. Verto couldn't even guess what those were for, but it was obvious that this was definitely Toguro's full blown demon form.

"Is that the big guy you were working with? Just what the hell is he?" Laysh asked.

"I'd say calling him a demon is a bit too obvious at this point. I'll go with freak," Verto replied. Verto then scanned the rest of the area, spotting Koenma standing with Yusuke's team on the opposite side, all of them in a state of shock and despair. To his left was Ranot, who had his arms folded and was grinning ear to ear. Verto quickly took note of the fact that Ranot's body was no longer blemished or bruised like it had been before, though his armor was still peeling off in places.

"How did he heal?" Verto asked Laysh.

Her eyes widened a bit when she realized the same thing, "I'm not sure, maybe he visited the ship and used one of the medical capsules."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "And didn't replace his armor?"

"I don't know!"

Toguro stopped his assault at the sudden shouting and glanced over, "What do you think of my full power now kid?"

Verto snorted slightly, "The only thing special is that you ripped off the Incredible Hulk. I suggest you concentrate on your fight."

Yusuke leapt towards him with his fist cranked back and glowing bright, "Take this!" Toguro turned in annoyance and blocked the attempted blow with only his thumb. Yusuke could barely realize the futility of his attack before Toguro's other huge fist slammed into his arm, breaking it on contact. Yusuke was flung backwards and landed on the same arm, clutching it in agony as Toguro stepped towards him. Toguro spoke softly enough that no one but Yusuke could hear him, but whatever he said seemed to entice his enemy. Yusuke began charging his Spirit Gun one-handed and aimed it right at Toguro's body. Verto sensed a great deal of Yusuke's energy go into the shot before he fired, striking Toguro dead on. The only problem was that it did almost nothing except evaporate as Toguro laughed evilly. Yusuke back stepped nervously just before Toguro grabbed him up by the throat and savagely laid into him, sending Yusuke flying into the upper levels with one blow. Verto gritted his teeth and took a single step forward. A quick shot of purple and gold ki flashed in front of him before barreling into the stadium wall, leaving only a smoking hole.

Ranot wagged his finger a bit as Verto gave him a vicious glare, "Naughty boy, you know they have to fight one on one. It's their world, so don't interfere. Wasn't that what Leira told you?"

Verto's fists shook in anger, "Yeah, she also said to do whatever it took to kill you."

"She sure dreams big doesn't she? Take this lesson to heart child, revenge will only blind you, much like it has blinded her. Then again, she knows she can't kill me herself, so she's trying to find the most reliable beings to do it for her. Frost was first, and I admit that he is a challenge. You however are not," Ranot said.

"So why all this then? If you're so damned powerful, why bother with this? Can't you get whatever you're after on your own?" Verto asked.

Ranot closed his eyes, "Touché kid. If only it were that simple to find what I'm after. What I'm looking for is many parts to the same puzzle, and these parts can literally be anywhere. Inside a volcano, on a dead planet, in a creature's stomach perhaps."

Verto's eyebrow went up, _Is he after the Dragonballs, or something like them?_ He elected to play ignorant, "And what does this puzzle do when you get all the parts?"

Ranot smiled, "Well I'm not sure what will happen. It's a very old legend, older than any of us and the Saiyan race. But I promise you this, the gods themselves will tremble in fear when I find them all. I will be able to transcend their power and break free of this miserable, mortal existence."

"And you said Leira dreamt big. Maybe you should just focus on staying alive long enough to do it, you're so good at that after all," Verto snickered.

Ranot took it in stride, "There's that bravado again. I've seen it many times, on fools that don't know when to quit even when they see the real me. I'll show you soon enough what I mean. For now, watch this human die. Then I will show you and everyone else here what full power really is."

Verto turned his head towards the battle, _Come on Yusuke._

"You're not doing your job Urameshi! I did not decide to use my full power just to beat you, I can do that easily right now with one punch. The skills of Genkai combined with your unnatural talent makes for the ultimate fight opponent for me. I've waited years for someone like that who could push me to my limits. Now get down here or I will take this further!" Toguro shouted towards the rafters.

"So this guy just wants a good fight, just like any Saiyan would," Laysh claimed.

"It's probably natural demon instinct and his own choices that follow through with it. Similar to a Saiyan I guess though, no matter how he acts upon it," Verto added. Toguro chose to act further when Yusuke didn't come down, and Verto sensed a dramatic shift in the way the energy flowed around the stadium. It suddenly felt as if there was a vacuum of spiritual energy, pulling towards where Toguro was. It wasn't strong enough to affect either him or Laysh, but the weaker demons in the crowd quickly noticed. Small balls of energy flew out of their bodies, as did larger swaths that were ghost like. This energy fed into Toguro through the appendages on his shoulders, answering the question of what they were for.

"Remaining at full power is quite demanding and my body requires nourishment. Needless to say, it gives me the urge to devour souls. In twenty minutes, everyone here will be gone, unless you stop me Urameshi!" Toguro claimed. His vacuum grew stronger, and more demons were sucked in. The stands began to clear out quickly as the crowds attempted escape. Verto eyed Sakyo when he pulled out a small device and activated it. The ground shook as a large and very thick wall sprang up around the arena, closing it off from anyone that couldn't fly over it. Some of the demons felt brave enough to charge Toguro once they were boxed in, and he responded by destroying them with the same thumb bullets that he attacked Yusuke with before. Their souls were quickly sucked into the large demon once they died. Yusuke jumped down from the upper deck in anger, charging Toguro and landing a powerful punch to his forehead. The ground beneath them scattered upon the energy release, but Toguro was unfazed. Yusuke began punching rapidly, striking Toguro's head over and over again. Toguro allowed the assault to continue while the crowd reversed their opinion and began to cheer for Yusuke instead.

"I thought all these things hated that kid?" Laysh asked.

"Funny what happens when their lives are threatened," Verto replied. Even with his broken arm, Yusuke found the strength to punch with all his might, though it really didn't do much good. Toguro sent him away with one blow, only to see him land on his feet and come back for more. His next attack was easily caught and Toguro hoisted him up, blasting him in the stomach. Many more blows followed, and blood flew out of Yusuke's mouth in random directions.

"He's not gonna win this you know," Laysh pointed out.

Verto grimaced, "We'll see." Yusuke was leveled by the last attack and left face down in the dirt. Toguro stepped over and stomped down hard with his boot, taunting him further. When Yusuke didn't respond, he fired a shot into the stands, landing very near where Yusuke's other friends were. Verto sensed a sudden eruption of energy out of Yusuke just before he jumped up and walloped Toguro's face. The burst lasted about that long before Toguro backhanded Yusuke and sent him crashing into the wall.

"He isn't going to last much longer," Laysh cut in again.

Verto didn't answer as he realized what was about to happen. _So that's what he's going to end up doing. He's so hard up for a fight that he's going to awaken whatever power is hidden in Yusuke through his anger, just like a Super Saiyan. Well pick your target well Toguro, I have a feeling you're going to regret that decision._ Toguro soon began weighing over this when he stared over at Yusuke's team, specifically towards Kuwabara. Toguro began walking towards him, completely ignoring Yusuke when he attacked from behind out of desperation. Toguro swatted him like a fly and continued his march. Yusuke attempted to charge up his Spirit Gun again when Toguro phased out and buried Yusuke's head in the dirt. He then walked forward again while Yusuke struggled to get to his feet. His target, Kuwabara, was coming closer with his Spirit Sword ready.

"Well, the idiot has guts at least. This should be a worthy death for him at least," Laysh commented.

"Shut up," Verto replied in a vicious tone.

Laysh's eyes widened when she saw bolts of Psionic lightning dancing around his body, and could clearly see that he was struggling to maintain control. She kept silent as they watched Kuwabara run in to get massacred. Yusuke screamed for him to stop, but it was far too late. Toguro struck with one hand into Kuwabara's chest and pulled out a vat of blood. Kuwabara collapsed in a heap as Kurama ran up to try and help him. Toguro turned back to Yusuke and taunted him some more. Verto abruptly sensed two things then. First of all, he felt Kuwabara's energy threatening to fade completely, but it didn't quite make it, which showed that he was still alive. Secondly though, was Yusuke's energy skyrocketing. He stood up as his body glowed from the increase, and began releasing his power in slow, rhythmic bursts. His new energy nullified Toguro's spirit vacuum, and the crowd had a collective sigh of relief. Yusuke looked miserable though, as if the supposed death of his friend had overwhelmed him emotionally and he could do nothing at the moment. Toguro seemed unimpressed, and turned to pick another target. Yusuke suddenly stood in his way as his power increased further. Toguro noticeably hesitated, as if he was fearful of what was standing before him. It didn't last though as he quickly prepared to fight again, this time against a stronger Yusuke than before. He charged in and leveled Yusuke with a single punch, sending him into the wall. Yusuke was up quickly, missing only his shirt.

Verto nodded slightly, _Their power is nearly equal now, a punch like that one would have done more damage earlier._

"Where is this kid's power coming from?" Laysh asked.

"It's dormant, or at least it was. This is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," Verto suggested.

Laysh snorted slightly and turned away, "Hmph, he's still a weakling."

Yusuke's power took fuller form as his focus came back, and he promptly knocked Toguro off his feet with one blow. Toguro barreled across the ground, leaving a trail of craters in his wake as he bounced. Yusuke didn't waste a moment and fired another Spirit Gun blast that arrived just as Toguro stopped. The blast ripped a large hole in the stadium and the reinforcing wall behind it before spiraling into the sky. Toguro was down in the midst of the rubble left behind, with his unnatural head tilted sideways from Yusuke's previous attack. Verto stole a glance at Ranot, who was no longer smiling about what was going on.

"Hey asshole, see what happens when you assume?" Verto taunted him.

Ranot gave him a truly evil expression and replied telepathically, "_Choose your words carefully boy, they may be your last!_"

"Get on your feet! I'm firing one last shot with all I've got and it's going to end this fight one way or another! So no more stupid surprises Toguro! You show me everything you've got right now! If I win this time, I don't ever want to see you back up!" Yusuke shouted as he challenged the larger man.

Toguro's response was to stand up and realign his head before hunching over slightly. His body shook as it strengthened again, and it began to transform further. His already absurd size increased as his body changed shape, with most of the change coming around his shoulders and neck. His muscles around this area bulged up and outward, creating three odd wing-like shoulder blades on each side that stuck out at least a foot or two off his body. The appendages on his neck expanded as well and soon his whole head was surrounded by their strange design. The transformation ended quickly, but its impact struck everyone who saw it.

"What the hell…" Verto muttered.

"Is that normal for a demon?" Laysh asked.

Verto stared at her, "How should I know?"

Yusuke probably had the best response of everyone, and that was to begin throwing all his power into his final attack. The arena brightened from his Spirit Gun blast as Toguro prepared to block against it. Yusuke's blast swelled just before he fired with a mighty shout. Toguro ran right at the blast and braced his legs as he caught the blast with his hands, but he struggled to hold it back. Yusuke's energy quickly died away as the last of it fed into the blast and he dropped to the ground. Toguro was forced to back up from the blast, and he literally bear hugged the immense energy, trying to cancel it out with his pure brute strength. He quickly crushed the blast as it literally vanished between his tree trunk arms. Verto grimaced for a moment as it seemed that the fight had been decided. It had been, but not in the way that he thought. Toguro managed to take a step or two forward before his body began to crack. His demonic body suddenly shattered, leaving a deformed mass of paler flesh underneath as he collapsed. Juri the referee came out of hiding and looked the situation over nervously as Toguro stopped moving. Yusuke stood up and sighed with relief as Toguro's energy completely faded out.

"Wow, he did it," Laysh exclaimed.

"Don't act so surprised," Verto said smugly.

Koto joined her counterpart on the ground as they announced the final required statement together, "Winners of the tournament, Team Urameshi!"

The crowd roared with approval at the announcement, and almost everyone was smiling. Yusuke was treated to his own delight when he saw that Kuwabara wasn't dead and stood up long enough to punch him in the face. Other than that it was a sign of good things to come, if they weren't about to come crashing to a halt. Verto glanced back over at Ranot and felt a distinct cold shiver crawl up his spine. The elder Saiyan was seething in anger and his power was quickly building up to a boiling point. Anyone that was still celebrating Yusuke's victory quickly stopped in awe of this new threat. Beams of purple and gold shot into the sky as the ground began to shake, and Verto felt the true depths of Ranot's power this time. _Oh shit. This is really gonna suck._

* * *

The remaining arena continued to tremble, slowly shaking apart the rooftop and walls as Ranot's fury erupted.

"What the heck is he going on about? We won, so doesn't that mean he did too?" Kuwabara asked as he held his wounded chest.

"It didn't happen the way he wanted it, and since Sakyo bet his life on Toguro's victory, there's no one left to grant his request," Kurama replied.

"He's going to kill everyone, get out of here. Get as far as possible!" Verto shouted.

"But you said he was holding back before, you can't defeat him alone now that you're weakened!" Kurama pointed out.

Verto glared over at him, "Let me worry about that." Ranot finished his power up and stepped towards Yusuke, who seemed to be frozen in place.

Verto rapidly released his energy to grab Ranot's attention, "Where do you think you're going?"

Ranot paused long enough to stare back, "Just a minute boy. I'm cleaning up the trash!"

Verto hunched down as he concentrated hard, "Kaio-ken times three!" His dense blue aura shot up first before quickly shifting to bright silver and white along with his hair. Verto gritted his teeth a bit with signs of struggle, but managed to hold the Super Mystic form.

Ranot grinned lightly at this, "Well, since you're so eager to continue, I'll oblige and make this quick!" Ranot aimed his palm at Verto and began charging his potent finishing move while Verto prepared his Chi sword.

Ranot didn't wait much longer and fired, "Bane Blaster!" Verto's eyes narrowed as he felt that the blast was a diversion, but he knew he'd have to deal with it. Verto held his sword low so he could watch his opponent's movement until the blast was too close. He slashed upwards, slicing the blast in half. As it was dissipating, Ranot phased out in full attack mode. Verto's blue eyes widened when he realized that he wasn't the target though. Time seemed to slow to a halt as Yusuke was struck hard in the head, which turned enough to its side to be considered out of place. Yusuke fell to the ground, where Ranot smashed his ribcage with the next blow.

Yusuke slumped completely as Verto felt his life force fading rapidly, _No._

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted. He and the others ran in once Ranot phased out to confront Verto. Just as they reached him however, Verto felt the distinct energy disruption hit the air, and he knew it was too late. Yusuke died in that brief moment, and Verto knew his mission had failed, despite everything that had happened.

He clenched his fists as his aura swelled with an angry renewal of power, "Alright you son of a bitch, let's go!" Ranot was amused by this, and waved Verto on with obvious confidence. Verto rushed in, recklessly punching towards Ranot's face.

Ranot caught the blow with one hand as he chuckled, "As I told you before, once I've had my fill, I'll end it. And I've had my fill!" Ranot yanked Verto forward and smashed his knee into Verto's smaller body. Verto was stunned by the sheer power of the blow and became unresponsive before the pain could even set in. Ranot dragged him into the air and punched hard enough into Verto's abdomen for the fist's imprint to strike next to his spine. Blood erupted from Verto's mouth, dripping steadily like a faucet.

"You take a punch well, but I'm afraid you don't possess nearly enough power to stand up to me. That little demonstration you put on was impressive, but it's obvious you can't keep up that effort for very long. Pity, you would've made a valuable soldier, but in the long run, you would have also been a hindrance. And I despise those," Ranot said. Verto coughed painfully, which sent a generous splatter of blood across Ranot's face.

He scowled, "Say goodbye!" Ranot's other hand filled with purple ki shortly before a blue blast struck it. As it did, Ranot's attack died out and his forearm became covered in ice instead. He flexed his arm a bit and the ice broke apart before glaring over to his left. Laysh stood there with her palm outstretched, slightly flustered at the ineffectiveness of her technique.

"I see you've come to terms with your fate my dear. After all, I wouldn't want to kill you before you lose your regrets," Ranot said with a sadistic grin.

Laysh's hands filled with sparkling blue, "Shut up! You put him down now, captain!" Ranot released Verto, who fell to the ground in a painful heap.

He stepped towards Laysh with his hands up, "Alright, now what?"

"Leave, or feel my wrath!"

Ranot feigned fear, "Oh, so scary! Must I point out that your chances of beating me fall into the negative percentile?" Laysh cringed slightly as his mere presence made her step back.

"You are one of our more gifted fighters in terms of technique and energy control, but that won't matter against me and you know it!" Ranot reminded her.

Laysh swallowed hard and began to quickly prepare her energy orb, "I don't care if I die, but you're not going to kill him! I'll stop you even if it's the last thing I do!"

Ranot crossed his arms, "Oh don't worry, it will be. Take your best shot woman."

"Kyuutai Tougetsu!" Ranot stood still as Laysh's Frozen Orb technique soared through the air before heading towards his position. His body became covered in his white-gold energy barrier just before Laysh's attack began to spin. Numerous Psionic needles flew at him, stabbing into everything they touched. Unfortunately for Laysh, the only part of Ranot they could touch was his barrier, and it stopped every single one dead in their tracks. Despite being surrounded by deadly energy spikes that were barely two inches from his body, Ranot grinned evilly. His energy barrier flashed with a quick burst and Laysh's attack literally evaporated. Ranot walked forward, very relaxed despite the sheer bloodlust that was coming off his ki signal. Laysh crouched down and crossed both arms as she prepared a different technique.

Ranot paused, but was still unwavering in his approach, "Pointless, and you know it."

Laysh released her stored energy regardless, "Shinsei Toukan!" The cold sphere of blue expanded out from her quickly until it reached its maximum radius and vanished. Laysh remained still with uncertainty as she stared at the large block of blue ice surrounding where Ranot had been. The ice quickly broke apart as Ranot freed himself easily before continuing his slow approach. Laysh glided back another dozen feet and crossed her arms again in the same pose. Ranot's palm went up as he gathered ki for his Bane Blaster attack. Laysh stood up and refocused her energy for her Ice Comet technique to counter.

Ranot smirked, "If you think your pathetic little ice ball is going to do anything to block my attack, you're sadly mistaken. But you're welcome to try!" Laysh fired anyway, and Ranot responded in kind. The two attacks collided briefly before Laysh's Ice Comet was literally brushed aside easily. It had managed to hold off the Bane Blaster long enough to trigger its special attribute though, which quickly raced towards her. She froze in surprised fear as bright purple filled her field of vision. She was painfully hit from the side just as the blast arrived and was driven into the dirt by something else. Once the blast cleared, Laysh's eyes opened in surprise as she moved to get up. She blushed when she felt someone holding onto her body rather tightly. She was about to throw that person off when she saw it was Verto, collapsed on top of her with his whole back smoldering. He had flown in front of the blast at the very last second and had saved her life.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?" Laysh asked angrily. Verto's silver hair barely even flinched as he couldn't even respond.

Laysh heard Ranot laughing from a short distance away, "Hahaha, so the brat went and saved me the trouble of killing him. How sporting."

Laysh felt a rush of panic, "Verto, wake up! You can't be dead already!" She heard him mumble something back, but gritted her teeth in anger when the vibration of his voice went straight into her chest. She roughly pulled him up for air, ready to deck him when she stopped and saw how out of it he appeared to be.

Laysh shook his body furiously, "Snap out of it kid! You can't leave me like this!"

Verto's eyes slowly opened as he grinned, "Well, nice to see you care after all, but I thought you and I would never happen?" Laysh threw him off in disgust, causing him to land painfully next to her.

"Easy, that hurts you know," he said in a weak voice.

"Hmph, like I give a shit. If you're just going to sit there and keel over, get it over with! I'm sick of babysitting!" she shouted in his ear. Verto smiled lightly as he tried to get to his feet, but his aching back prevented him from reaching past his knees. His uniform had melted to his sides, adding to the pain when he stripped the shirt off as best he could. He shivered a bit from the cold feeling of his back, but he knew it certainly wasn't due to wind chill.

_Man, I can't take another hit like that one and expect to live._ Laysh found herself staring at Verto's back now that she had a better look at it. Multiple layers of skin had been seared off, leaving a red and burnt fleshy surface behind from just above his waist to his shoulders. Laysh was amazed that he was even alive, never mind conscious. He winced sharply as the pain seemed to increase with each heartbeat.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Laysh asked.

Verto stared at her like she was crazy, "What gave you the first clue, the blood or the burnt skin? But if you must know it's not that bad, because he torched the nerve endings. It'll hurt more later, if we get out of this that is."

"If we get out of this? You've got to be the most stubborn person I've ever met! Face it, this is hopeless!"

Verto made it to his feet, though his legs shook slightly before his aura flashed on, "Listen to yourself. You seem to have this idea that Saiyans are allowed to give up and come back another day, where's your pride? I'm not giving up until either he kills me or I kill him! If there's something you don't understand about that, too bad!" Laysh's eyes widened as she backed off a few steps, slightly in awe. Verto's aura intensified as he turned towards Ranot, who was rather amused by the whole thing.

"Good speech kid. Now come here so I can put an end to this misplaced bravery that you have!" Ranot declared. Verto's response was to drop back a step and pull his arms together as green Chi sparked between his hands.

Ranot snorted lightly and crossed his arms, "Well at least you have enough guts to make this entertaining. I would hate for you to die without giving your all first." Verto's blast swelled and shimmered, darkening all other light with its power.

"If it's my time to go, then fine, it'll happen. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna roll over for the likes of you! Super Galic Gun!" Verto's great green blast shot out of his hands and barreled towards Ranot, who put his hands out to catch it. The blast smashed into its target and pushed him back initially before he was able to drive his feet into place. A brief struggle ensued as Verto put forth any remaining energy he had to defeat Ranot once and for all. His beam increased in size and potency as it ripped up the surface of the ground while the remnant stadium started to crumble from the clash. The few demons that were left scampered away as fast as they could, though several were crushed by falling debris. Yusuke's friends had gathered around his corpse, though they were far enough out of the way to stay safe at the moment. As Verto's Galic Gun topped out, Ranot began to step forward against the current.

Verto's eyes widened in shock, _That's impossible!_ Ranot grinned with evil intent as his energy barrier came to life and he literally grabbed the beam of destructive light. With a mighty surge of power, he literally flung Verto's most powerful attack into the sky, where it tore a path into space and vanished. Verto dropped to the ground, panting hard as his hair faded to black. Each breath brought waves of pain from his wounds, and he soon felt extremely heavy from exhaustion. Ranot brushed his hands off like nothing had happened, though they were noticeably burnt and blemished from the struggle.

"I suppose that's that. You made a decent effort and I honor you for that. But you're still years away from being able to stand on equal ground with me!" Ranot declared. Verto didn't answer as he felt very feint, closing in on the point of passing out quickly. Ranot phased out abruptly and planted a fierce knee into Verto's stomach. More blood poured out of Verto's mouth as he dropped to his hands and knees. He was forced into a prone position by Ranot's boot coming down hard on his scorched back. Verto screamed in pain as Ranot's boot left a large imprint on his horrible burns.

Laysh dared to step closer until Ranot eyed her with threatening eyes, "You really don't want to do that my dear. Otherwise who will I turn to for personal pleasure?" Laysh didn't answer as her nervous legs kept her from advancing out of fear. Ranot drilled Verto in the back several times in succession, getting a few more painful whimpers out of the weaker Saiyan for his efforts. From the side of the ruined arena, Kurama and the others looked on, horrified at the scene.

"He's killing him slowly, what a cruel monster," Kurama said. Yusuke's girlfriend Keiko was frozen as she couldn't take her eyes off the dead body before her.

"Someone has to do something!" Botan shouted.

Hiei scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, we can't get anywhere near someone like that and expect to survive. If you want to go and kill yourself, be my guest!"

"Hiei, he's going to come after us next and you know it," Kurama reminded.

"Maybe you've forgotten your past Kurama, but I haven't forgotten mine. Only the lords of Demon World can generate power like that, and I suspect that they would have significant trouble with this one. In fact I seriously doubt they would defeat him now that we've seen his power," Hiei suggested.

Kuwabara stood up and stepped forward, "I'll go."

"Don't be crazy, you won't last ten seconds!" Kurama argued.

"Then I'll try and last nine! That kid has risked his life to help us when he didn't have to. As a man, I will not stand by and do nothing!" Kuwabara proclaimed.

Hiei snorted, "You truly are a hopeless fool."

"Well at least I'm keeping my death nice and manly!" Kuwabara said as he started forward. He didn't make it far before they all sensed something coming.

Hiei's three eyes widened as he stared up into the sky, "What is that power I sense?"

Kurama was just as confused, "It's very strong, whatever it is, and it's coming straight here!"

Kuwabara looked dumbfounded, "Hey Koenma, is this one of your guys?"

The young judge of the afterlife looked just as surprised as the rest of them, "I have no idea!" A bright white flash went off above before a silver ball of light raced down towards them. The silver light bore down on Ranot, who didn't turn in time to notice it. Ranot was thrown back as the light landed next to Verto before fading.

"Get away from my friend!" Ranot picked himself off the ground and eyed the newcomer, who wore an red-orange gi with a blue undershirt.

Ranot scowled at the interference, "And just who the hell are you?"

Verto's eyes slowly opened and spotted the thick weighted boots in front of him. He strained to painfully look up, only to stutter in realization, "G-Gohan?"

**Power levels**

**Verto (weakened): 225,000; Super Mystic (from Kaio-kenx3): 625,000**

**Ranot (full power): 900,000**

**Toguro (full power): 29,000**

**Yusuke (full power): 24,000; awakened: 32,000**

**A/n: I'd give you a preview of the next one, but ya'll have had enough treats this go around. You probably have a general idea anyway.**

**WDG:** Preview: copious amounts of pain and suffering.

**VB**: Quite possibly, but for who?


	92. Dark Tourney 14

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 91: Dark Tourney 14: Glimpse of Potential**

Verto stared up at Gohan in surprise as he was offered a hand up. "What are you doing here?" Verto asked.

Gohan smiled lightly, "What's wrong, you sound like I shouldn't be? Last time I checked, we're friends, and friends don't act alone against overwhelming odds."

Verto grunted a bit as Gohan helped him up to his knees, "Spare me the lecture, I didn't know he was this strong. How'd you get here anyway?"

"Same way you did I think, Leira brought me up to speed when she brought Piccolo back. Why did you face this alone?" Gohan asked.

"The favor for saving Lenz like she did. But I figured Vegeta would have told you guys all about it. Hell I'm surprised she didn't bring everyone since she wants this guy dead so badly," Verto pointed out.

Gohan glanced away, "You've been gone for a month bro. I came to get you because there's trouble at home too, I'll fill you in after we deal with this guy."

Verto stared at him, "A month?"

"I know, but we have to get this guy first," Gohan said as he turned. He met Ranot's gaze, which was filled with intrigue to Gohan's arrival.

"I can see that you're at least part Saiyan, but I don't know you," Ranot said.

Gohan grinned slightly as he posed, "I'm son of Goku, guardian of all that is good, Gohan."

Ranot snorted at the pose, "I hope you have another ridiculous dance in mind for when you meet the residents of the afterlife."

"Well aren't you going to tell me your name? I'd hate to beat someone I don't know the name of," Gohan said.

Ranot smiled back evilly, "I'm Ranot, your newly appointed executioner!"

Gohan pulled his arms up, "We'll see about that!" Gohan's aura fluctuated briefly as his eyes shifted to bright blue while his hair changed to silver.

Ranot's smile vanished as he quickly recognized the transformation, "Interesting..."

Laysh, who was making her way over to Verto, stiffened in pure shock, "Him too?" Gohan's Super Mystic transformation cracked the ground and scattered the dirt with strong winds, but remained calm. Once the air settled, Laysh felt brave enough to approach Verto, who was watching the power display with serious intent.

_Gohan's power is stronger than before. Is that a result of this place, or has he been training like crazy?_ Verto winced sharply as he tried to stand up, only to have his back give out from the intense pain it was under.

"Stay down! You're in no condition to even move. I can't believe you're even alive at this point!" Laysh scolded.

Verto's nostrils flared in annoyance, "If you want to keel over, be my guest. I've been hurt worse."

"And lived?"

Verto closed his eyes and grinned, "Sort of."

"So who the hell is this guy? He's as strong as you!" Laysh exclaimed.

"My best friend Gohan, and for the record, he's stronger than me. He's Goku's son, you might know him as Kakarot," Verto replied.

"No, but the name Goku seems familiar, I can't quite place it though," Laysh said confused.

"The one who first defeated Frieza," Verto reminded.

Her confusion grew, "He looked alive when he and that Namek were hanging around you."

"Frieza has been dead for years. That business earlier is a little complicated to get into right now, but know that we have friends in high places," Verto said.

Laysh snorted lightly, "With you, I would expect nothing less than complicated." Verto ignored her rebuttal and focused on the ensuing battle between Gohan and Ranot.

Verto's brow filled with wrinkled worry, _Gohan definitely is stronger than before, but I don't think it's enough to beat this guy. If I wasn't so torn up, we could do it together._ Both Saiyans stared each other down with confidence, though it was fairly obvious that neither knew what to expect from the other. Both silver and purple auras were flowing with anticipation, clashing occasionally in between Gohan and Ranot. Gohan made the first move by charging in with a punch aimed at Ranot's head. Ranot moved to block with his left arm, prompting Gohan to phase out before the contact. Ranot swung his left fist counter-clockwise, grazing Gohan's face as he ducked away. Ranot continued his spin, coming around again with his right foot. Gohan blocked it, taking the whole blow in his upper arm. Gohan winced slightly as he got a feel for what he was up against and backed off cautiously. Ranot allowed the brief reprieve as he crossed his arms and smirked.

"I see why Verto had so much trouble, you're good, not just strong," Gohan admitted.

"I've been alive much longer than the two of you combined, it's only natural," Ranot said smugly.

Gohan matched his smirk, "In that case, I can't hold anything back can I?"

Ranot's grin deepened, "Not if you want to live." Gohan suddenly phased out, instantly smashing Ranot in the back of his head with a single knife hand strike. Ranot stumbled before turning back, only hitting air when Gohan vanished again. He kicked Ranot in the side this time, sending the larger Saiyan flying towards one of the few walls remaining, crashing into it a moment later.

"I couldn't see that move! It's like his energy just vanished and reappeared at once!" Laysh pointed out.

Verto smiled lightly, "That's to be expected, your captain probably didn't expect to see Instant Transmission either." The resulting rubble pile blew apart as Ranot floated out of it and came back towards the middle of the arena.

His smirk had been effectively wiped off and replaced with dirt, "You use the same Instantaneous Movement technique that Frost does. I warn you now that I dislike him and everything he stands for. I don't normally let hatred rule my fighting, but that Frost is certainly worthy of it. To see you employ his technique makes fighting you problematic, and utterly annoying. My rage just might get the better of me and I'll end this fight much faster than had previously I wanted to."

Gohan grinned as he dropped back into his stance, "Well thanks, I guess I should be honored."

Ranot held his palm up and charged his next attack with vicious purple ki, "Like I said though, problematic, but not impossible. Bane Blaster!" The blast flew towards Gohan, who looked ready to deflect it.

"_Gohan, don't try to block or deflect that one. Use the sword technique to try and alter its direction!_" Verto called out telepathically. Gohan heard the advice, but didn't heed it, knocking the blast towards his right. He seemed to get the message through when it shifted into a fast moving beam that seared across the island before detonating in the ocean.

"_Whoa, I see what you mean. Doesn't really help that it takes some of your energy at the same time. I'll bet that's what causes that attack to shift forms like that,_" Gohan pointed out.

Verto's eyes widened, "_It does?_" Ranot fired off another blast, and Gohan deflected it in the same direction. Verto felt a small amount of Gohan's energy go with it this time, confirming what the teenaged Saiyan had told him.

"_No wonder it takes off like that. I probably couldn't tell before due to the strain that the triple Kaio-ken caused. He must use it for both bystanders and to wear down opponents. The sword technique nullified it really well earlier, probably because it can't take energy directly from you then,_" Verto suggested. He barely needed to remind Gohan, as he formed his own Chi sword just in time to stop the next two attacks by slicing through them.

Ranot stopped the short assault once he saw this, looking rather perplexed, _Very interesting. They've had similar training as well._ Ranot floated down as Gohan stood ready with his energy sword held defensively.

"I couldn't help but notice that the two of you use some of the same techniques and your powers are nearly the same. How are you two related?" Ranot asked.

Gohan shook his head, "We're not related, just friends. I'm sure you don't have many of those. And yes, some of our training is the same. He's better at energy control, counter moves and specialized techniques though. I'm a bit different in that regard."

Ranot grinned, "Good."

Both Saiyans charged each other, and the melee was on again. Fists and kicks were flying at ridiculous speeds, most of which did not connect. That stopped when Ranot ducked out of one of Gohan's punches and elbowed him in the face. Gohan flew back before spinning, catching Ranot in the side with a hooking kick. Gohan rushed the momentary advantage and smashed Ranot across the back with both hands. Ranot plunged into the dirt, but came up so fast that Gohan couldn't react. Ranot landed a stiff uppercut that walloped Gohan's abdomen. He grabbed the side of Gohan's head and smacked his own against it. The head-butt sent Gohan flying backwards, and Ranot gave chase. Gohan's eyes snapped open as he fired a quick Chi blast, one that Ranot barely avoided. Both fighters landed, and both were wary of what the other would do. Gohan took the chance to wipe a slight trickle of blood from his cheek where Ranot's blows had connected. Ranot still seemed confident, while Gohan wasn't as much as he had been.

_I can't beat this guy in a head on fight, he's too strong and too good. I'll just have to use instant transmission more, otherwise he'll just wear me down. I have to be careful though, if someone as young as Verto can counter it, there's no telling how fast this guy might adapt._ Ranot lifted a single finger and pointed at Gohan as he charged purple ki into it.

Gohan's eyes widened, _That's Frieza's move!_

"Dread Spike!" Ranot shouted as he fired. Gohan dodged the potent beam by hair lengths and turned to see it puncture part of the wrecked stadium. Another shot was fired low, which Gohan jumped to avoid. On the third, Gohan instantly moved, smashing Ranot's face with his fist. Ranot fell to the ground, where Gohan buried a kick into his side to send him tumbling. Ranot flipped out of his roll long enough to fire another Dread Spike, but Gohan was already gone again. Ranot's eyes darted sideways just before he was nailed again by Gohan's boot. Ranot skidded to a stop and stood up to wipe his face off, smirking slightly. Gohan's eyes narrowed a bit, given the misleading advantage he currently had.

Ranot chuckled, "Your instantaneous movement is trouble, even if I figure out your attack pattern. You still move too fast for me to counter it."

"Then why are you so confident?" Gohan asked. Ranot rose into the air as his energy spilled out into his aura. His answer came as he prepared a similar pose to his one handed Bane Blaster move, but the blast became much, much bigger. Gohan's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen, and he quickly dropped his hands back behind him to answer the challenge.

Ranot laughed, "As I thought, now let's see what you've got! Bane Maelstrom!"

Gohan's answering beam took form just as he fired it, "Kamehame….HAAA!" The two huge beams collided, which churned out a massive onslaught of wind that quickly ripped apart what was left of the stadium. Any demon that was still alive was sent barreling away. Yusuke's friends barely managed to stay on the ground as they fled the scene with Yusuke's body in tow. A sizable ball of unstable, multi-colored energy formed between their beams, and it swelled in size quickly.

Verto's eyes widened with fear, "We have to go, now!" Laysh didn't have to be told twice and draped Verto's arm over her shoulder in order to assist. Verto gritted his teeth to try and block out the pain of her arm around his charred back. Laysh flew them both away just as the explosive ball began to destabilize. Gohan pushed back with all his energy, and the collision ball moved back towards Ranot before it stopped cold. Ranot grinned wickedly as he released another surge of power before phasing out. Gohan's power flared as his beam doubled in size, but it was already too late. All light on the island was instantly overtaken by the incredibly massive explosion that followed. Trees were either blown down, ripped out, or completely disintegrated, depending on how close they were to the epicenter of the blast. The few mountains left on the island were blown away, leaving only rocky stumps behind. Once the explosive blast's light was gone, the island was covered in a smoke that was shaped like a nuclear cloud. The smoke slowly cleared up, revealing Gohan and Ranot in defensive postures while the land around them sizzled from the heat their blasts had produced. Ranot's confidence was still present, despite his body being blemished, bruised and bleeding slightly from the explosion. Gohan was breathing heavily now though, as he had tried to overpower Ranot's attack. The result had pushed the explosive ball further into the air and saved anyone still left, but at a heavy price. Gohan's power level had fallen off by quite a bit, and they both knew it.

Gohan glared at Ranot, who was stepping towards him slowly, "That was a dirty trick."

Ranot snorted, "A true warrior will do whatever it takes to win. You elected to try and save whoever's left on this island and it cost you."

"And if I hadn't?" Gohan asked.

"You know the answer to that as well as I do. This planet would be well on its way to blowing up. That would have been a bit inconvenient for me, but I knew you'd try and stop it before I had to," Ranot replied. Gohan's silver aura came back to life in anger, as he tried to power up with anything he had left.

Ranot smirked at the struggle, "You don't honestly think you can defeat me now do you? Your power has dropped too far to even be a threat, and your instantaneous movement will use too much energy for your resources to last very long. Meanwhile, I can keep this up all day. So go ahead and try boy, you'll only hasten your death!" Gohan growled a bit before phasing out, hammering Ranot's face as hard as he could. Ranot's head turned slightly from the impact, but he just grinned back like nothing had happened. Gohan could barely blink before a heavy blow floored him.

* * *

Far away, Verto's eyes snapped open as he leaned on Laysh for support, "Shit."

"What is it?" Laysh asked.

"Gohan's power has dropped too far, we have to go back."

"Now I know I didn't hear that right. Leave him, you know full well we won't survive now," Laysh suggested.

Verto's eyes glowed bright red, "I don't leave my friends. You will turn around and take us back, now!" Laysh blinked sharply with concern at Verto's outburst, but shrugged it off.

"Your devotion is honorable kid, it really is. But for your own good, let me decide what's best for us," she advised. Laysh was knocked away suddenly when Verto got his arm loose and pushed off roughly.

He fell to the ground painfully while Laysh got back up a bit agitated, "I'd kill you for that if you hadn't saved my ass before, so I'll let that one slide. Now quit so damned stubborn, you won't do anything in your condition and you know it!"

"Then let me deal with him," a voice said from behind. Laysh spun and Verto's eyes snapped open at the sound of the British, feminine voice.

"Leira?" he asked as he stumbled around to meet the newcomer. His eyes faded back to blue quickly and he groaned as the brief burst of energy had made his pain worse.

Laysh had a much different reaction, "It's you, how dare you show up here?"

"What took you so long?" Verto asked instead.

Leira smiled a bit as she ignored Laysh, "A few loose ends to tie up, you look like hell."

"Gee, thanks. I don't suppose you can heal me so I can help Gohan, can you?" Verto asked.

"I'll do better than that," Leira offered.

Laysh stepped between them, as if to shield Verto from Leira, "Don't trust this bitch if you know what's good for you kid. She'll stab you in the back the first chance she gets!"

Leira tossed one of her small brown candies towards Verto, "He doesn't have to be told that, girl. He hasn't trusted me completely since…well, ever."

Verto grimaced as his wounds quickly began to heal, "Don't sound so disappointed." He stood up straight as a brief burst of power rushed through him, signaling the return of his energy.

"Thanks, I gotta go," Verto said with a nod.

"Hold on, give me your hands," Leira ordered. Verto's eyebrows lifted before he did what she asked. Her hands glowed for a moment before two bright collars appeared on Verto's hands just before they snapped apart.

Verto instantly felt his ki returning and smiled, "That's much better."

Laysh paused in amazement, "You've been fighting this whole time with your power sealed up?"

"Suppressed is a better word, and only his ki. However, you're not going to easily defeat him now either. You'll be limited to a single level of Kaio-ken again since you have your full power back. Ranot is a much better fighter than Frost and his energy reserves are just as deep. Any power you can achieve that matches his won't last long enough to do much," Leira warned.

"I get it, he's tough. So what do you suggest?" Verto asked. Leira pulled a small jar from her back, which contained a strange red fluid.

Verto stared at it, "What is that?"

"Something that will give you a temporary boost, if it works," Leira answered vaguely.

Verto frowned, "Okay, what's the risk? What happens if it doesn't do whatever it's supposed to?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly. No reason that it won't work on someone like you though. It's been tested and it worked perfectly. It will wear off within fifteen to twenty minutes though, so you mustn't waste any time once it kicks in. Don't worry, I have faith that it will work fine," Leira said with encouragement.

"You still haven't told me exactly what it is and what it might do. I don't just ingest shit without knowing if it's going to poison me or something," Verto said with slight distain.

Leira sighed, "Verto, please, just this once, trust what I say. If it works, we will all know exactly what you're capable of, for better or worse." Verto's eyes narrowed at the shift of her vocal tone, and reached for the jar.

"Don't be stupid kid, it's a trick!" Laysh warned.

Verto glanced at her, "Thanks, but if she wanted me dead, she's had plenty of opportunities." Verto then popped the cork and downed nearly half of the jar's fluid before Leira took it back. Verto didn't feel any different initially, aside from the bittersweet taste in his mouth.

"Ugh, so how long does this take to kick in?" he asked.

"With your metabolism, probably just a minute or two. Be warned, the onset can be a little unsettling and you might pass out until it brings out the full effect," Leira said.

"Oh that's just great. You're trying to poison him and get him drunk. Such a winning combination. Next time, feed him something that will make him grow up faster!" Laysh shouted back.

Leira grinned as she closed her eyes, "Amusing, when you put it that way." Verto shook his head slightly before he felt a distinct change within his body. He doubled over in extreme pain as his stomach appeared to be having a violent reaction. He dropped to his knees and screaming in agony as he felt as if his body was being ripped apart. As his lungs emptied, he suddenly felt constricted and couldn't breathe. He was on the ground a second later as his breath barely registered a wheeze.

Laysh moved to try and help him, but Leira blocked her way with a single arm, "Relax, he's fine, you'll see." Verto's eyes closed as he slumped, causing Laysh to grab Leira by the red shirt collar under her black leather outfit.

"I hope you're happy you bitch! You just killed the one person that could have saved us!" Laysh spat in her face.

Leira ripped Laysh's hand off her and threw her to the ground, "I told you to relax. He'll be up in a minute."

"If he isn't, or is damaged in any way, I'm putting you on ice!" Laysh growled.

Leira smiled as she shut her eyes again, "Fair enough."

Laysh was about to add to this when Verto's body started glowing bright white. Laysh's eyes grew wide at this, and grew wider when this light expanded in size.

* * *

Gohan spit the dirt from his mouth as he recovered from being forced to eat it. He made it back to his feet long enough to see Ranot rush towards him. Gohan instantly phased out, appearing behind Ranot with a hard punch ready. Ranot ducked down just in time, allowing Gohan to strike at only air. Ranot spun and came up fast, ramming his mostly bald head into Gohan's wide open jaw. Gohan's stunned body drifted upward from the harsh impact, more than long enough for Ranot to decide where the next attack would land. He chose the stomach, and Gohan fell forwards as Ranot lined up his next move like he had planned it all out. Ranot gave Gohan's bloodied face more of a pounding with a hard knee or two before he threw him aside. Gohan's hair shifted back to black upon landing, and Ranot frowned slightly.

"So that's it huh? I suppose I got a little excited and rushed that fight. It's too bad we didn't meet in our own dimension, you would have lasted a lot longer, pity," Ranot said.

Gohan stood up shakily, "This fight isn't over yet!"

Ranot grinned, "For you it is." He held up his palm and charged a different finishing technique while Gohan gasped for breath. A large and deep red ball formed above Ranot's head, which had a stark similarity to the Death Ball that Frieza and Cell had produced before.

"Prepare yourself, Gohan. I truly enjoyed the short fight we had, but like all good things, they must come to an end!" Ranot declared.

"For someone who supposedly hates Frost, you sure do fight like him," Gohan muttered. He held out both of his hands and a blue Psi sword formed in front of him.

Ranot frowned, "I respect and make use of powerful techniques, where you obviously don't. Stupid fool, you won't be deflecting this one! Bane Bomber!"

Gohan returned the expression, "You're right about that!" The huge red ball of death came down slowly, and Gohan held up his Psi sword to stall it. There was a very brief clash before Gohan adjusted his hands, and the Bane Bomber was quickly sucked away. Gohan's aura filled with gold as he absorbed the attack, which gave Ranot pause for concern. His Bane Bomber completely vanished before Gohan stood up with some erratic energy flowing off him.

Ranot's concern seemed to melt off though, "I see, I should have expected that. After all, the boy used that technique on one of my former soldiers as well. Good, this may get interesting yet."

Gohan frowned slightly, _He won't make that mistake again, and that boost may not be enough to win either. I've got to be careful, going to that enhanced Super Saiyan level is risky since I'm not used to it yet._ Gohan's thoughts were put on hold when he sensed a disturbance nearby. It was a strong power level that was coming towards them fast. Ranot glanced over, seeing a bright ball of light coming closer.

Gohan smirked, _Looks like Verto's back in the fight. Together we can find a way to beat this guy._

Ranot snorted lightly, "So that kid wants some more. I'll be happy to bury him again!" The bright silver light tore through the skies before rushing head on into Ranot, knocking him out of the air. Ranot landed on his feet, agitated that the newcomer had the nerve to attack him.

When he looked up, his eyes shot open in pure shock, "You?" Gohan stared at Ranot's surprised before he followed the stare and felt his own flush of puzzlement. The person in the sky was similar to Verto, except he had to have been at least ten to fifteen years older. He wore an all black martial arts outfit with a blue cummerbund, similar to Piccolo. His eyes were dark blue like Verto's were normally, but his hair was now a messy black mop that hung down instead of standing straight up.

Gohan was amazed, _That's definitely Verto's power signal, but it's his adult form that he had before the Zerg showed up. How did this happen?_ Adult Verto had an intense death glare directed at Ranot, whose lip was quivering like he had seen a ghost.

"How? I killed you!" Ranot shouted.

Gohan wasn't sure what to make of this either, _He thinks it's someone else. Sure it seems like it, but even he should be able to tell._ Verto dropped to the ground between the two, keeping his eyes locked on the enemy.

"How did you do that?" Gohan asked.

Verto barely turned and spoke telepathically, _"Leira gave me a potion from this place that can temporarily cause age regression. In my case though, it restored what I had prior to the Zerg invasion. Obviously the biggest difference is that I know how to use my full power now, unlike then."_

"_Well good, let's take him down_," Gohan said.

Verto scowled, "_No offense, but I want to do this alone. I can handle it from here_."

"_Are you absolutely sure?_"

"_I have to know what I'm capable of Gohan, you understand how that feels._ _And I can't do that unless I fight him alone. I'm not exactly sure if I'm going to maintain control either, so let's just call it 'making sure'. Don't worry, you might get another crack at him if I can't win_."

Gohan took note of Verto's extremely serious words and backed away, "Alright, give him hell!" Verto nodded knowingly and faced Ranot, who still looked shocked beyond belief.

"So, are you going to explain this one? Did some higher being think you deserved a second chance just to make sure you got revenge? Did Leira dig you up and reanimate your body somehow?" Ranot demanded.

Verto's eyebrow went up before dropping back down, "You've obviously gotten me confused with someone else."

"Oh I don't think so, maybe your memory is just as dead as your body was. I killed you, so unless that little redheaded bitch used time travel to bring you here, you should still be in a grave somewhere," Ranot claimed.

Verto shook his head slightly, "Whatever you say, I lost any interest in your view awhile ago. As I said before, I don't care!" Verto phased out and Ranot was hit hard from behind by a strong knife hand blow to the back of his head. Ranot swung back around wildly, only grazing an after-image. Verto buried his fist into Ranot's back, sending the larger Saiyan tumbling away for the moment.

Gohan did a double-take at what he had just seen, _His speed just now, I could barely see the movement! And he isn't even transformed!_ Verto kept a vicious stare on Ranot, who quickly got back up, lacking the confidence he had earlier.

"Well, your speed is certainly at the level I would expect. The strength behind those punches isn't anything to be concerned with however. I don't think I need to remind you that you'll need to take things up a few notches to defeat me!" Ranot declared. He charged in, missing on a punch attempt when Verto sidestepped him. Ranot attacked again with a flying elbow that Verto narrowly ducked under. He met Ranot's next punch with one of his own. Ranot quickly grew flustered and picked up the pace with dozens of rapid punches, all of which Verto matched with little difficulty. On his last try, Ranot threw an unexpected spin kick that appeared to catch Verto by surprise. With a lightning quick reflex, he caught Ranot's ankle and blocked the blow completely. Verto dragged Ranot by the leg and heaved him into the air. Ranot somersaulted a few times before recovering, looking angrier at what had just transpired.

Gohan stood by, amazed at the display, _It's like Verto isn't even trying! He needs to beat this guy while he can, this isn't the type of fighter that he can just play around with._

Ranot's purple aura crackled to life as he held out one hand and charged up a small by potent energy blast, "Now we'll see your true colors! Bane Blaster!" Verto remained undaunted as a more intense version of his Psi shield came up around him, flowing with a thicker and more vivid blue hue. Ranot's Bane Blaster struck the shield at an angle before it went roaring right back the other way due to reflection. Ranot's eyes widened before he ducked out of the way and watched his own attack rocket into space. He gritted his teeth in anger and turned back, right into Verto's rising knee lift that drilled him in the jaw. Ranot fell backwards, stunned from the attack enough that he couldn't avoid the next one. Verto dropped in at terminal speed and planted both feet into Ranot's abdomen, sending him falling out of control. Above, Verto's aura erupted back to life as his hair stood on end before it changed to silver while his blue eyes glowed. His hair in the Super Mystic state also looked different from before, but only that his hair was standing up at a spiky angle from front to back.

Gohan shifted nervously when he felt Verto's full power level, _Wow, how did we miss this kind of power before? Is this what he's fully capable of? He's stronger than all of us!_ Gohan didn't have time to ponder this though, as Ranot was free falling towards him with Verto chasing him down at top speed. Ranot managed to snap out of it long enough to glide aside as Verto came roaring through and passed by. Ranot raised both arms and funneled a huge amount of ki into his large Bane Bomber technique. It expanded exponentially, easily spanning nearly half the size of the island. Verto landed next to Gohan and held his hands out, forming an intense Chi sword, which sparked with brief lightning.

"Don't be crazy, you won't be able to absorb that much!" Gohan claimed.

Verto's glare darkened as he briefly looked over before he refocused his attention, "I said I can handle this, don't assume that you know what I'm going to do and don't tell me how to fight!" Gohan felt a cold shiver run through him from Verto's biting words, as if he had assumed his Berserker state and was ready to lash out.

Above, Ranot laughed victoriously, "Say goodbye!" Just as Ranot directed his Bane Bomber Death Ball downwards, Verto adjusted his arm and threw his sword as a high speed javelin. Ranot saw this, but didn't panic, assuming it was a poor attempt to counter attack. He found out otherwise when his huge ball of ki destabilized too early and exploded, blinding anyone within a thirty mile radius. Both Verto and Gohan shield their eyes to the intense blast. On the other end of the island, Yusuke's friends were taking cover behind a large boulder. Laysh and Leira were close by, holding position far easier.

"That was the captain's ultimate technique, we should all be dead! What happened?" Laysh asked in astonishment.

"Verto probably caused it to detonate early. At this level, he's stronger than Ranot by a fair margin," Leira replied with a deep smile.

"So, is this what he'll be like when he's grown up?" Laysh asked.

Leira glanced at her, "Perhaps, but there's always bigger fish in the sea."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Leira scowled, "Forget it. We should make sure Yusuke and his friends are alright."

Laysh scoffed, "What, those humans? You may have missed it, but they were carting the kid's corpse off for a reason."

Leira paused, "Yusuke's dead? Are you sure?"

Laysh nodded, "Positive, the captain broke his neck and all of his ribs with two hits. His energy signal died out awhile ago."

Leira turned her head slightly, "But his body is still intact, correct?"

Laysh looked confused, "Yeah, more or less. But why should that matter? Dead is still dead."

"You'll understand soon enough that just because someone has died, doesn't mean that they can't be brought back," Leira explained.

Laysh scoffed, "You're full of it."

Back at the battlefield, Verto and Gohan searched for Ranot's power signal, but were having trouble finding it.

"Alright, I'm pretty sure that wasn't enough to beat him, so where is he?" Gohan asked as he looked around.

"A guy like him, I seriously doubt it. He's probably just pulling a Buu and stalling to consider his options. As soon as he shows his ugly face, I'm gonna turn it into goo," Verto said in a cold tone.

"I've never seen you this intense, well, unless you've snapped again. And I don't think you have," Gohan noted.

"I felt it before during those few months that I was grown up before. It could be that my deepest power just brings it along for the ride," Verto guessed.

Gohan's eyes narrowed, "That might be it, but your energy signal seems especially strange right now."

"How so?"

"I sense trace amounts of human and what I think is demon type of energy in there as well. There's another type in there that I don't know, but I've felt it from the Kais before, and Leira too. It's all mixed together so it's difficult to pinpoint, but you're honestly starting to remind me of Cell," Gohan admitted.

Verto gave him a confused expression, "I don't feel any different, and it's not like I can absorb things like that freak could. But it's true I used to be human and I've been wondering how I can have the same energy as the Renegades if I'm supposedly not one of them."

"Yeah, good question. Maybe you should ask Leira or Old Kai," Gohan suggested.

Verto snorted, "Yeah right, since when have they ever been that forthcoming about anything? I'm more likely to be told that it's none of my…" Verto's serious face came back to life as his head snapped to his left.

"I feel it too, he's coming back," Gohan said. Verto lifted off into the air a few feet, but didn't need to fly off to meet Ranot, who came screeching to a halt a dozen feet away. His body was fairly beat up all over and bleeding in multiple places, but he was still clearly ready for another round.

"So, did you honestly think you would get rid of me that easily? In our dimension, we would fight for hours, and being here won't be very different," Ranot claimed. Verto didn't answer, keeping his intense death glare locked on his enemy.

"Aren't you going to answer with some sort of witty response, you were so talkative before. Or has the thought of revenge simply overwhelmed you over the last several millennia?"

"I don't have all day to listen to whatever or whoever you're referring to, so just get on with it instead of stalling," Verto replied.

Ranot's eyes narrowed, "If you're telling the truth…that means you really are that kid! I get it now, you ingested some of that age reversal fluid that one of those humans had. No wonder I was so confused, I honestly thought you were someone I killed long ago. Makes perfect sense now though, you're clearly related to him somehow. You know who I'm referring to now don't you?"

Verto's head turned slightly at the question, "No, and I don't care."

Ranot sighed, "Now that's a lie if I ever heard one. Don't want to know the truth eh? That's too bad, you seem like the type that prefers all the facts before you decide how to handle things, but I guess I was wrong."

Verto scowled deeply, "No, you weren't."

He phased out, landing a solid right hook on Ranot's jaw, sending the elder Saiyan flying away. Verto stood still for the next few seconds before Ranot came roaring back towards him, a bit more encouraged to continue. Verto easily dodged Ranot's large fist by just moving his neck, and then buried his shin into Ranot's stomach. Ranot stopped dead in his tracks and doubled over painfully. Verto jumped up and smashed his opponent's shoulders with a hard elbow, putting Ranot into the ground. He held out his right hand as his Chi sword sparked back to life and then held it over the back of Ranot's neck.

"It ends, now!" Verto growled as he swung down. Ranot's eyes flew open in realization and he quickly concentrated his energy, which brought his energy barrier back around his body. Verto's sword stopped an inch above the skin accordingly, sparing Ranot's fate for at least a little longer.

Verto bared his teeth as Ranot chuckled, "Did you forget already? You can't cut me with your sword, and that will never change!" Verto's sword faded and he clenched his fists tight. He suddenly kicked Ranot in the side hard, sending him tumbling for a moment. Verto dashed after him, leaping past long enough to stomp down on his face. Ranot's legs came up into the air as his head was forced further into the dirt. Ranot's hands went down to support himself as he followed through the motion, catching Verto's neck between his shins. Verto struggled to get free, but was unable to shake off Ranot's hold.

Verto's eyes narrowed as Ranot grinned just above the ground, "Now this is more like it. Have any last words before I snap your neck?" Verto's eyes glowed bright blue just before his hands flashed with green. All at once, Ranot's body became covered in various waves of green Chi lightning. Ranot shouted out in pain and eventually released Verto's neck as he fell completely to the ground in a smoking heap. His body was dotted with black burn marks where the Chi storm had hit hardest with his barrier down. Verto stood up straight and glared down at Ranot, who was beginning to breathe heavily.

"So, are you going to take this seriously yet? Or do I have to keep kicking the shit out of you first?" Verto asked bitterly.

Gohan's eyes widened from a short distance away, "You mean he's still not at his maximum?"

Verto turned to glance at him, "No he definitely is, he's just not fighting back hard enough."

Ranot's evil eyes snapped open as he got to his feet, "Be careful what you wish for kid."

Ranot was floored by a sudden charge by Verto, knocking him back down. Verto grabbed Ranot by the leg, swinging him up and over his shoulder, creating another crater from the force of the impact. Ranot had no time to register much from the move before Verto's Chi sword suddenly snapped to life and stabbed him through the leg. He screamed in painful agony as his leg began to bleed out while the sword vanished. Verto seemed to grow angrier from the noise and dropped a heavy elbow shot to the back of Ranot's head to silence him. He then flipped him up into the air before rushing up to meet him with an uppercut. Ranot was stunned and freefalling back to the ground, but Verto wasn't going to let him recover just yet. He raced to Ranot's position and aided the fall with a double-arm smash. The moment Ranot landed, Verto jumped onto the mount position and began punching Ranot's unguarded head over and over again. Blood splattered from all over Ranot's face as multiple gashes opened up around his eyes, nose and mouth. Verto kept hammering away with a look of intense rage in his eyes, eerily similar to what he had done to Chal.

Gohan stared at the violent scene with concern, _Don't tell me Verto is going to end up being a ruthless killer? I can't let him fight like that!_

"Hey, take it easy! You don't need to sink to his level. Don't let your power go to your head, finish him off as fast as possible!" Gohan shouted. Verto paused as he glared back at Gohan, before smashing Ranot's face one last time.

Broken teeth flew out before Ranot lay still, and Verto stood up, "He likes to see others suffer, I figure it's his turn."

Gohan grimaced slightly as Verto stepped away for the moment, "I just don't want to see you go down a dark path."

Verto's head snapped towards him, "It's not like that hasn't happened before. But I do agree with you, there's no good reason to take my time with this piece of shit."

Verto held up his palm as he charged up his Final Shine technique, darkening the area from its bright green light. Ranot's bloodied eyes opened up slowly, widening when the green blast came barreling towards him. Ranot suddenly launched into the air at the very last moment, barely avoiding the blast as it blew up beneath him. Verto glared upwards as he followed Ranot's trail.

He turned his palm up and powered a spinning ball of green Chi that crackled with lightning, "Spirit Orb!" He then threw the spinning ball at Ranot, who moved to avoid it. To his surprise however, Verto's orb arced towards him. He glanced down to see Verto guiding the ball, and he moved away. Ranot fired a series of blasts to try and disrupt it, but Verto maneuvered his orb brilliantly around each diversion.

Ranot stopped and appeared ready to catch it instead, causing Verto to smirk, "Just what I wanted you to do!" Right as Ranot's hands made contact, several thick and erratic streams of lightning burst out of Verto's Spirit Orb, striking Ranot in multiple places. During the onslaught, Ranot's energy barrier fluctuated on and off as he tried to protect himself. It finally brightened and deflected the rest of the lightning orb, but the damage had been done. Long, thick and bloody gashes had been ripped into Ranot's body, most notable a deep wound in his torso and shoulder just above the heart. The area around his left shin was also hit, in conjunction with the sword wound Verto had put in it earlier.

"Nice one, but I thought you couldn't throw that technique?" Gohan asked.

Verto glanced at him, "If I want the lightning to be precise, no. I learned a new variation while I was here, fighting with his troops. I knew he would probably try to overpower it with his barrier if I used any lightning techniques straight away from a distance. He seems to rely on it for any focused energy techniques, like the sword. How much time has passed since I came back?"

Gohan put a finger to his chin, "Well, I'm not sure, maybe eight or nine minutes. Ten at the very most, why?"

Verto frowned as his aura shot up around him, "That long already? I need to hurry then." Verto blasted off towards the battered Ranot, who was floating in place. His eyes widened upon seeing Verto coming and he began powering up a large ball of ki, aimed for Verto. He stopped in midair and stayed ready, unsure what his enemy was going to do.

Ranot grinned slightly, "Alright kid, let's see how you deal with this. I have my doubt that you will be able to take it head on."

Verto's blood boiled at the challenge, "We won't know until you do something."

Gohan gasped from below, "No Verto! He's going for broke and pouring most of his energy into that! You can't seriously think you can survive that one, no matter how strong you've become!"

Verto ignored him, "I haven't got all day, get on with it!"

The huge ball nearly tripled in size and shifted to purple and black, "Super Bane Bomber!"

Verto held steady in midair while the gigantic mass of purple energy came towards him. At the very last second he pulled his right hand back and charged up another Final Shine to answer. He threw it forward just as the Super Bane Bomber arrived, causing a short clash inches away from his hand. Initially it didn't bode well for the younger Saiyan, but he eventually pushed the huge ball back with his green energy beam. Ranot's eyes lit up in surprise as his own attack came back at him. Verto grinned slightly just before he released a burst of energy that made Ranot's attack look small. Ranot caught his blast and attempted to push back, but found it was impossible with all of Verto's added energy coming towards him. Within moments, Verto's beam overwhelmed the Super Bane Bomber and destabilized it. An incredible bright explosion followed that made the previous rounds seem like fireworks. The entire island trembled as many parts of its shoreline crumbled into the sea. Whatever was left of the local plant life was quickly eliminated, making the island completely desolate. Due to the altitude and direction of the blast, any remaining demons and humans all survived. All of them were stunned though at what they had been witness to. Yusuke's friends all had to pull themselves out of the sand that had blown across the area. Gohan himself was amazed that Verto had not only countered such an immense attack, but had overpowered it with relative ease. He only saw Verto in the skies above him, and he was hunched over slightly, breathing heavily.

Gohan sighed slightly, _He's maxed out, he must have gone all out to overpower that blast. I hope it worked, he could have wiped out our Earth a hundred times over if he used that kind of power back home!_ There was no clear sign of Ranot, but Verto kept his focus despite the fatigue he was feeling.

Verto's eyes darted from left to right as he tried to locate Ranot, _I couldn't sense him move with all that energy going at once, but I can't believe he would just sit there and die in an explosion like that. I doubt he could have survived it either, so he's got to be masking his ki and hiding somewhere._ Verto's thoughts were put on hold when he sensed a sudden energy spike nearby. His aura sprang back to life as he raced to where he had sensed it. On the ground he spotted the battered mass that was Ranot, holding a darker haired human up by the throat. When Verto landed, he realized that it was Sakyo being strangled.

"Let him go, your fight is with me!" Verto shouted as he landed.

Ranot barely turned his head and bared his teeth, which included what looked like short fangs, "Just a minute boy, I'm busy!"

Gohan dropped in next to Verto, "What's he doing?"

"Not sure," Verto replied, curious himself. Their answer came when Ranot's energy barrier erupted, only it was blue and broad rather than gold and thin. Sakyo's body also glowed blue before the energy was pulled into Ranot's body. Sakyo's skin paled into a blue and gray hue and he stopped breathing completely. Ranot glowed with a more intense blue momentarily before it shifted back to a white-gold. Gohan's eyes were wide with surprise while Verto scowled heavily. He had sensed what had just happened, which was further evident when Ranot's wounds rapidly closed up and healed, leaving only a trail of steam behind in each place.

"So that's your special ability, I was wondering how you healed earlier. Now I see why I found that human in a similar state earlier," Verto said.

"Did he just take that poor man's soul?" Gohan asked.

"Something like that," Ranot replied with a smirk.

"He drained it, it's kind of what we've seen before with androids, demons and whenever someone is overloaded with Psi or Chi energy. I can barely detect it now, but the low amount of energy that guy had was definitely absorbed. It not only heals him, but makes him a bit stronger too," Verto explained.

"You're mostly correct kid, unfortunately this pitiful being doesn't have the kind of energy I would need to overpower you at your best. Even if he did, it doesn't quite work that way as I merely recover from injuries much faster and gain some of his memories in the process. I would have to drain a thousand souls like his before you could even notice a real power increase. Though you may not feel the same about that since my body is now healed. Frost would have been in the same position as you if he didn't have that regression technique to fall back on," Ranot said.

"Hmph, if you wanted more power, why not take someone stronger like other Saiyans?" Verto asked.

"I could, but you see, I have to be very careful about that. I cannot absorb too much from another soul at once. Otherwise it will cause, as you said, a Psionic overload and I will weaken instead. Call it an unfortunate coincidence that I have all this ki and barely an ounce of Psionic energy to use. So you two are safe for now, I'll settle for a more conventional slaughtering," Ranot claimed.

"Well, it does explain why you're so strong without being a Super Saiyan. And also how you've lived so long," Verto replied, ignoring the threat.

"Wait, how old is he?" Gohan asked.

"Probably several hundred years or more. That also explains your dealings with Leira, since she's also a Saiyan," Verto answered.

Gohan was stunned, "What?"

Ranot's grin grew, "So, you are starting to figure it out, I thought you didn't care?"

Verto's glaring eyes shifted, "I really don't, but some of the details were sent to me in some sort of dream vision. I didn't really piece it together until you yourself admitted that you killed the only one she ever cared about shortly before I got to see it for myself."

"Well done boy, but you are missing a few key points," Ranot said.

Verto shuffled his feet into his stance, "Like you said, I don't care."

"A shame, but I suppose it doesn't really matter right now. How shall we end this epic struggle?" Ranot asked. Verto phased out and smashed Ranot's face with a ferocious punch that restored some of the bruising that had been there before.

"How about we end it with I'll kill you and ask questions later?" Verto suggested.

Ranot wiped off his face with a sneer, "Perhaps, but can you? I can sense your impressive power has dropped off considerably, time is running out."

"So has yours," Verto pointed out.

"This is true, but it is of no concern. What do you say we just go all out and see what happens?"

Verto tilted his head a bit, "Your move." Ranot phased out and hammered Verto across his unguarded face, mimicking the action of the moment prior. Verto glided back, seemingly stunned as Ranot charged in with a follow-up knee. Verto caught the attempt with both hands, but failed to avoid another blow to his face.

Gohan filled with worry, _Oh no, he's lost his speed advantage!_

Ranot backed off for only a moment to let things sink in, "Not so confident now are you?"

Verto spat the blood from his mouth as he got back up, "Is that all you've got?"

Ranot's eyes widened, "What?"

Gohan held the same expression, _He can't possibly…_ Verto's bright aura exploded outward erratically with enough force to knock Gohan off his feet. Ranot was forced to shield himself against it as well, but far from easily. Verto leapt into the air and rushed in, eyes glowing bright blue. Ranot ducked his punch attempt, only to turn into a harsh back fist. Fresh blood oozed over Ranot's eyes from his forehead, blinding him to the flying kick coming in. Ranot went down from the sheer force of Verto's momentum, and painfully clutched his head. Verto phased in above him and began dropping punch after punch in rapid succession, pounding Ranot's unguarded body. Verto's aura dropped off as this happened, and Gohan could feel his power fading with every excursion while Ranot's barely fluctuated.

Gohan frowned, _Verto's energy is fading too fast, something is wrong!_ Ranot grinned slightly as he peeked out at Verto's desperate slugging, which were barely being felt now.

He laughed, "Looks like you're at your limit boy!"

Verto shouted in anger and backed off long enough to fire a large, point blank blast that shredded the ground and blinded all. Ranot's body lay in the deep crater that it left, smoldering slightly. Verto, however, came out of the blast with a different appearance. His body had shrunk back to its child form, and he was back in his tattered green uniform.

Verto dropped to his knees and panted hard as he stared at his own hands, "Damn it!" Ranot slowly climbed to his feet as he stared up at the once again adolescent Verto, grinning wickedly.

"It's time for payback kid, sit still and I might make it quick," he declared. Verto's silver hair faded as he tried to catch his breath and didn't respond.

Ranot strode up the crater wall, taking his sweet time, "That was certainly clever of Leira to give you such a boost. Too bad you let your emotions get in the way and couldn't get the job done. Oh well, only yourself to blame."

Verto continued to breath heavily, "Let me have…another crack at it and we'll see what happens."

Ranot laughed again, "Such a grand idea. Yes I think it is very tempting, but only in your dream world. This is reality, and there are no second chances!"

"After our fourth fight, you come out and say that? You're so full of shit," Verto retorted.

"You've only lived this long because I've allowed it. Rest assured, you won't be living a moment longer. You and that other kid die here and now!" Ranot claimed.

Verto smirked, "If you say so, there's just one problem with that."

"And what would that be?"

"If my hunch is right, 'that other kid' is about to put your claim to the test," Verto boasted. The area was suddenly showered in golden light as the wind increased, kicking up waves of dust. Verto's smirk held as they both turned to see a bright column of gold shooting into the sky. At its base was Gohan, sporting spiky blonde hair and an electric intensity as he powered up.

"What is this?" Ranot asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"You should know, but I'm happy to give a history lesson. That is a Super Saiyan, which used to be our main transformation state until we gained access to Psi energy," Verto explained.

"I know what a Super Saiyan is you little brat, and that kind of power is too much to be a mere Super Saiyan," Ranot said spitefully.

"You obviously don't know it that well, since it has several different states. Gohan is an ascended Super Saiyan, or just Super Saiyan two for short. With his Psi abilities, he can recharge his ki enough and use that form to exceed the silver haired state we both use," Verto pointed out.

Ranot looked slightly impressed, "Really? This should be fun then. Now that my power has dropped a bit, he should pose a decent challenge if that is true."

Verto laughed as his hair blew sideways, "Oh yeah, you should enjoy this, especially since you gave him all that energy to absorb through the energy sword before I got back here." Ranot's eyes widened just before Gohan rushed in and leveled Ranot's face with the initial blow.

Verto grimaced a bit as the next round in the battle began, _Alright, I did everything I could given the situation. Finish him Gohan, we can't let him leave here alive!_

**Power levels**

**Verto (severely injured): 35,000**

**Ranot: 900,000**

**Gohan (Super Mystic): 760,000; weakened: 550,000; SS2: ?**

**Adult Verto: 500,000; Super Mystic: 1,000,000**

**A/n: And obviously if you want the true Z-style power levels, add a few zeros to those numbers.**


	93. Dark Tourney 15

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 92: Dark Tourney 15: The Final Blow**

Verto watched on as Ranot and Gohan traded furious blows that expelled random bursts of purple and gold. For the initial minute or two of the renewed fight, Gohan had been all over Ranot with a clear cut advantage. He was hammering him with lightning quick strikes that would have leveled mountains with ease and Ranot could do almost nothing about it. That quickly faded though when Verto sensed a swift drop in Gohan's Super Saiyan ki right after Ranot started fighting back. The fight then broke down into what seemed like a barrage of sparring with the intensity cranked up. No blasts were being thrown, and both fighters looked like they were trying to block more hits than execute.

Verto frowned, _Damn it, he's still not used to this, or that energy he absorbed wasn't enough. I guess I expected too much, but he should still be able to last longer than I did despite that._ The island shook violently from the brawl, and Gohan was barely making any headway against Ranot. For every minor blow he landed, he received one as well. Had their power been even from the start, Gohan wouldn't have had to worry as much about it. Now he was on desperate reserves with essentially borrowed time. Ranot was wearing down too, shown by the fact that he was breathing just as hard after all that Verto had done to him, healed or not. The battle heated up again when Gohan suddenly used instant transmission to catch Ranot off balance with a kick to his side. Ranot responded with a hard spinning back fist that nearly took Gohan's head off. Blood leaked out of his mouth as Gohan drifted backwards, completely stunned by one unblocked shot of Ranot's physicality. Ranot didn't waste a moment in pressing the advantage and grabbing Gohan by the neck before relentlessly smashing his body with punch after punch. It went on until Gohan was able to deflect one and kick towards Ranot's midsection. He missed as Ranot glided back and let him go, allowing him a brief moment of reprieve. That moment didn't last long as Ranot's Dread Spike technique hurled towards Gohan at point blank range. Gohan was able to knock it aside and fire a return blast that Ranot also deflected.

Verto grimaced at what he was sensing, _Leira was right, his energy reserves are absurd. He's not wearing down fast enough. Gohan can't rely on instant transmission to out maneuver him when it takes a bigger toll on his energy than Ranot's, even if it works. We're going to have to think of something else._ His head turned slightly as Laysh dropped in next to him.

"So you couldn't beat him after all?" she asked.

Verto rolled his eyes at her greeting, "It's not like I didn't try. Did you know he could absorb energy from others directly?"

Laysh stammered noticeably, "Um…no. Why are you asking me?"

Verto caught the hesitation and gave her a mean stare, "Because I would think you might know. It's how he healed after I almost had him crippled. Can any of the others do this too?"

Laysh put her hands up in defense, "No! Not that I know of, I've never even heard of any technique like that."

"I've seen it before out of creatures that I'd rather forget. And if he's capable of it, you all are! So you have better not be lying to me!" Verto said sternly.

Laysh took it like an insult, "I'm not! Good god, you sure don't give anyone the benefit of the doubt do you?"

Verto turned back to see Ranot and Gohan still firing blasts at each other, "I used to. Speaking of which, where's Leira?"

"She went to check on that human kid that got killed. I swear she's nuts, she actually tried to tell me that he wasn't dead!" Laysh claimed.

Verto's eyebrow went up, "Who, Yusuke?"

"Whatever his name is."

Verto's lip twitched in thought, "She might know something about him that we don't, wouldn't be the first time."

"Can I ask you something? How did your clothes change back?"

Verto glanced down at what was left of his green uniform, "How should I know? Probably some kind of crazy magic in that weird shit she gave me."

"Oh," Laysh said, sounding disappointed. Verto then attempted to return his attention to the fight before him, though it wasn't long until Laysh interrupted that again.

"So, what did it feel like?" she asked.

"What?"

"What did it feel like to have all that power?"

Verto sighed heavily, "Nothing out of the ordinary, just a bit more to use really. Back home it might have felt weird, but nothing I couldn't handle."

"No, you were different, I could sense it. The way you moved, the way you acted. Something in that stuff changed you, because even now you don't feel the same either. I mean just look at this," Laysh claimed as she ran her hand through Verto's longer hair at the back of his head.

Verto gave her a warning glare that seemed to remove her hand automatically, "Doesn't matter now though, does it? Let's focus on taking him down first before we worry about cosmetic details." Above, Gohan panted heavily as he and Ranot mirrored each other's stare down. Ranot also appeared to be very winded from their short return bout.

Gohan felt defeat coming, _I've got to end this as fast as possible, but this guy is so strong that it may not matter what I do. And I don't see him giving up any more large blasts of energy for me to absorb._ _He's just taking his time, conserving his energy while waiting for me to get too tired to fight back and then he's going to come at me hard._

Ranot smirked, "What's wrong, getting a little tired?" Gohan didn't answer as his breath continued to be short.

Ranot snorted at his silence, "It's not all that surprising really, there aren't many that can stand in the same vicinity with me, never mind survive a fight for this long. You both should be proud. Once you're all out of energy though, I will finish this promptly."

Gohan scowled, _If only I hadn't used so much Psi energy before the recharge technique, I could have finished this already. Instant transmission with ki is too draining to use more than a few times. I guess it doesn't matter since I barely even have enough Psi for an energy sword now!_

Ranot suddenly charged him, spearing Gohan's exhausted body to the ground with a full on tackle. Gohan took the full blow as he threw his arms out and fired a blast that struck Ranot immediately once he hit the ground, sending Ranot flying backwards into the air. Gohan got up quickly and despite the shortness of his breath, readied himself for another assault. He raised his hands above his forehead and crossed them as he charged golden ki into them.

"Masenko-HA!" he shouted as he fired.

The golden beam that followed raced towards Ranot, who didn't react until the very last moment. He quickly dove out of the way, but still got clipped by the deadly blast in the side of his face. The beam tore into the sky, while a noticeable gash wound had opened up on Ranot's left cheek. He wiped the blood that leaked out and stared at it on his hand. The sight of it seemed to anger him, despite how the battle had gone so far. He slowly turned as his whole face reddened with rage. Gohan stood his ground as Ranot raced towards him from above, ready to fight again. Ranot landed before him and rushed forward, punching straight into Gohan's blocking hands with all his might. Ranot's energy output increased as the two clashed with each other, causing his fist to glow the same purple hue as his aura. Gohan's arms buckled from the stress of the force behind the attack, and Ranot pushed through his guard. Gohan attempted to dodge aside, and Ranot's fist struck his shoulder. Gohan's body spun out of control as he dropped to the ground from the attack, and Ranot jumped into the air, coming down hard with both of his feet. He stepped on Gohan's legs to prevent him from getting up and then quickly grabbed a hold of both of Gohan's arms and pulled backwards, bending his back as well as his shoulders into a painful position while Gohan cried out.

Ranot laughed as he kept the pressure on Gohan, "Looks like I get to take you apart a piece at a time boy. Let's start with your left arm."

Ranot then turned and pulled hard until there was a distinct pop and the arm went limp. Gohan's scream of agony found new volume as Ranot let his dislocated arm fall to the ground and stomped on it. Gohan barely felt it break from the pain he already had in his shoulder, but it didn't stop his painful groaning any. Held up by only his right arm, Gohan cringed as he tried to figure a way out of the situation. Ranot was about to do the same with the other arm when Gohan suddenly got his legs loose underneath him. Almost instantly he came up strong with just his head, smacking into Ranot's in the process. Ranot fell backwards, stunned by the desperate counter attack. Gohan painfully worked his broken arm back into the correct position and made a few fists to make sure it was somewhat useable. Ranot held his bleeding forehead a bit as he glared daggers at Gohan, and both of them were gasping for air. Ranot's purple aura came back to life as he appeared to be powering up for a final assault while Gohan remained still.

Gohan held his injured arm, _Great, he can take everything I throw at him and just come back mad. He's taking me apart slowly and all I've done is cut him a few times._

Verto picked up on Gohan's dilemma quickly, "_You don't have enough to beat him do you?_"

"_Nope, I don't suppose you've got anything left_?"

Verto let out another sigh, "_Not enough to matter right now. I'll need at least a few minutes to even conjure up what's left. That weird transformation really took it out of me. If I thought I could use the Feedback technique, I would have awhile ago, but I haven't quite gotten my emotions under full control yet._"

Gohan's eyes widened, "_Oh of course! I completely forgot about that!_"

"_Well don't celebrate yet, I just told you it wouldn't work. I figured Piccolo would have explained that before. Plus you were there the night Lenz's demon came out and…_" Verto reminded before he was cut off.

"_No, that's not what I mean!_" Gohan took a deep breath to relax himself before turning his palm up and filling it with white energy, donating every last ounce of Psi he had.

Verto's eyes went wide, _Don't tell me he's gonna try it? Ah hell, never mind that, when did he learn it? I definitely never taught him!_

"What's he doing? That level of attack is nothing!" Laysh pointed out.

"You'll see if it works," Verto replied. Ranot seemed intrigued as Gohan held the sparkling white blast in his hand.

"And just what is that pathetic attempt supposed to be?" Ranot asked.

"Feedback!" Gohan answered as he threw it. Ranot snorted as the white blast came at him quickly, and his energy barrier shot up to block it. The feedback ball struck the barrier and exploded in size before ripping through and covering Ranot in intense white lightning. Ranot cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees.

"What the hell? How'd he do that?" Laysh asked in shock.

"I'll explain it later. Gohan, finish him!" Verto called out. Gohan was already powering up an incredibly big and blue Kamehameha wave as he lowered to the ground, making the island tremble well before it was ready to fire. Ranot's aura became randomly charged with purple, white and gold as he managed to get back to one knee.

Verto's eyes widened, _Damn, just how strong is this guy? He's overcoming the Feedback technique even faster than Frost did!_ Gohan saw this and hurried his blast, making it fairly erratic at first before he regained control. Ranot's aura intensified just before all of the white Feedback energy was ejected from it, leaving Ranot breathing heavily. Gohan didn't wait another moment and fired his massive blue beam, which shredded the ground between them. Ranot growled slightly and held up his palm to fire his Bane Maelstrom to counter. Blue and purple beams met and struggled with each other for several moments before the purple one began to gain on the blue. The ground crumbled around the area as Verto and Laysh shielded themselves against the force of the clash. Verto scowled as Ranot's beam was slowly pushing Gohan's Kamehameha backwards.

"He's losing it!" Laysh shouted over the noise.

"Then we have to make sure he wins! I don't have much to help him directly, so it'll have to be you," Verto said as he stood up completely.

"What? I don't have nearly as much ki as you guys, and certainly not enough overall power to go up against the captain!" she argued.

"I know that, so here's what I want you to do. Go to Gohan and try your best to match his power output with your Psi energy when it gets low enough, and then combine energy waves with him. He'll know what you're trying to do even if you don't, so he can coach you if needs be. They're going to wear each other down this way, and the sudden boost will probably be enough to beat him once and for all," Verto explained briefly.

"Why can't I just donate my energy to you? I've seen you absorb it with your sword," Laysh suggested.

"I considered that, but we also need someone to get in the line of fire and distract Ranot if this is going to work. I'll do that, now go!" Verto ordered. His aura came to life as he took off towards Ranot's position, leaving Laysh bewildered.

She finally shrugged, "What the hell, might as well try it." As she flew around the battlefield, she spotted Verto flying straight at Ranot with his Psi sword held back.

_What a crazy, dumb kid. There's no way he should be able to even get near the captain right now. Sure is brave though for trying._ She landed next to Gohan, having to shield herself against the power he was putting out.

"Who are you? It's not safe here!" he claimed.

"Verto told me to help you with my Psionic energy, something about combining energy beams when you start dragging your feet. So is right now good?" Laysh asked.

Gohan looked perplexed at this until he got a good feel for her power signal, "Ah, I get it. Alright, get ready to push all of your energy into the blast. We'll know quickly if it works!"

On the other side of the huge ball of ki, Ranot grinned slightly as he enhanced his beam further. His eyes darted sideways just as Verto flew in and swung his sword. It clashed with Ranot's barrier immediately, pulling some of his attention.

"So you still have some power left? I think you should run away while you can," Ranot suggested.

Verto scoffed, "Since when do I do what you suggest?"

Ranot grabbed Verto's sword with his free, glowing hand, "You'll learn eventually!" Ranot then forced him away with his brute strength, and Verto landed dozens of feet away, still breathing heavily as he held his sword steady. Ranot's barrier use had taken some of his beam away, but not enough to have much impact just yet.

_Damn it, there's got to be another way through that barrier of his. Body blows won't mean anything now, and I've lost too much strength to even consider it. My sword can't even cut through it at full power, unless…_ Verto glanced down at his blade and grinned slightly before he charged in again. Ranot was almost waiting for him, catching his blade swing without even looking.

"You're a pest, can't you see I'm busy here? Come back when you can stay out of your crib for longer than a few minutes!" Ranot said in annoyance.

Verto's hands turned slightly, "I thought I'd let you know that I found a way through this stupid barrier of yours, wanna see?" Just as he finished speaking, Ranot's golden barrier began draining into the blue sword, making it swell and sparkle with renewed energy. Ranot's eyes widened and he immediately stopped channeling his barrier, which was an equally big mistake. Verto pulled back, slashing through the middle of his bare hand. Ranot cringed in pain and released a large and broad burst of energy, blowing Verto backwards and further powering his beam. Verto fell back, barely managed to hold onto the extra energy he had stolen. He looked over and sensed Gohan weakening quickly while Laysh was powering up.

_Shit, that wasn't enough to even deter him and I'm almost out of time. I'll have to fly in close and misdirect this one…unless I can sneak in. No, that won't work, there's too much energy around here to use stealth, and he'd probably expect it anyway. Screw it, I'm going for the win, one way or another!_ Verto rushed towards Ranot for the third time, but directly from behind instead of from the side. Ranot made no immediate move, nor did his barrier come back up. Verto's wasn't sure what to make of this, but felt he had to press the advantage now. He tilted his sword to stab Ranot directly in the chest from behind. At the very last second, Ranot turned, which threw off Verto's aim. When he did, he released his Dread Spike beam from his bleeding index finger. The blast ripped through Verto's right side, obliterating his whole arm in the process. Ranot grinned wickedly at the dismemberment, but quickly realized that he had his own pain to deal with. His potent blast had completely missed Verto's sword, which was now stuck a foot deep into his body before it faded. Both fighters coughed up blood, but only one was able to scamper away as Verto landed badly after being pushed back by the Dread Spike beam. He groaned loudly as he forced himself to ignore the pain and get to his feet in order to run.

Gohan's eyes widened as he sensed what happened, "Now!" Laysh hurried and pushed her power into Gohan's beam, barely hanging on when it changed to a vivid green and began to work. The Super Kamehameha re-intensified and smashed right through whatever was left of Ranot's counter push. Verto dove out of the way as it became clear that Ranot wasn't going to be able to stop the beam. Ranot himself froze in place as he watched the killer beam rush at him. Only the sounds of his screaming could be heard over the blast wave before it shot over the horizon and into space. Gohan and Laysh were both breathing hard, though in the formers' case it was much worse. His hair faded to black as he dropped to both knees, bracing himself with his hands to the ground.

"Is it over?" Laysh dared to ask as the smoke cleared.

"H-Hope so. Go check on Verto please, I didn't see what happened, but it wasn't good," Gohan rasped. Laysh nodded and flew over towards the body lying on the ground. She paused in surprise when she saw the pool of blood he was in, all of which was coming from his right side. Ranot's Dread Spike had only clipped his torso and shoulder, but his whole arm was gone. The shock of the attack, the explosion, and exhaustion had apparently knocked him out, but he was still breathing clearly. Laysh stripped off the arm sleeves of her jumpsuit and held them against Verto's large wound, which was spitting out more blood with every heartbeat.

"Damn it, come on kid. Stay with me!" she growled at him.

Gohan slowly limped up behind here, "I should have brought Senzu beans."

Laysh narrowed her eyes, "Those weird bean things that heal you, I remember him using those before. If we get him to our ship quickly, we can use the medical capsules!" Gohan nodded grimly before he noticed a cluster of new presences coming towards him. It was Yusuke's team running in, minus Yusuke for obvious reasons.

Kuwabara got their first, "Whoa, what happened to the kid?"

Hiei scowled as he came to a stop, "Fool, his arm got blown off!"

Kuwabara growled back, "I know that, shorty! I was asking how it happened!"

"It doesn't matter how, idiot!" Hiei snapped back.

Kurama interrupted both of them, "What does matter is that he gets treatment now, otherwise he could bleed out with that wound!" Kurama held out a small seed to Verto's shoulder, which sprouted into a vine mesh that covered the entire wound in conjunction with Laysh's attempt at bandages. The bleeding stopped almost immediately as the plant soaked up the red, and within a moment Verto's eyes opened to the cluster around him. He winced as he managed to look at the bloody stump where his arm had been.

He then glared at Gohan, "That better have worked, I don't get hazard pay for this!"

Gohan laughed, "Hehehe, you don't get paid at all. Maybe we should get Bulma to change that, you've earned it." Verto was helped to his feet by Laysh and Gohan, but he could barely stand upright.

"I'm afraid that there isn't much we can do about lost limbs," Kurama said in an apologetic tone.

"We've got that covered, what about your friend over there?" Gohan asked. All three of them looked down, answering the question before Verto did.

"He got killed right before you got here, and I don't think they have anything like the Dragonballs here," he said.

Kuwabara suddenly had a thought though, "Wait a sec, Urameshi died once before and Koenma let him come back to life! That's when he became Spirit Detective! Maybe he'll do it again this time!"

"What are you idiots talking about? He's dead, get over it!" Laysh said in frustration.

"Way to break the mood, Ice Queen," Verto muttered.

"I'm not an idiot! I aced all my tests!" Kuwabara declared.

Laysh snorted, "You are still an idiot. Knowledge without common sense is meaningless."

"Agreed!" Hiei added.

"Just shut up, all of you!" Kuwabara glowered.

Verto chuckled slightly, albeit painfully before glancing at Gohan, "So, what was the trouble at home you mentioned?"

"Well it's kinda hard to explain," Gohan said.

Verto sighed, "I'm in another dimension, fighting against other Saiyans while surrounded by demons. Try me."

"Good point, but we should wait till you're in better condition. It won't do any good if you pass out halfway through," Gohan stated.

Verto gave in to that logic, "Fine, let's go soak in the stupid tank." Just as he finished, a strong breeze suddenly blew through, nearly knocking them all over. With it came a noticeable power signal that the Saiyans picked up on quickly, though the two demons weren't far behind.

"Aw, hell," Verto muttered as soon as he recognized it.

"You're kidding me! That didn't work either?" Gohan asked.

Laysh stifled a laugh, "Figures, there's a reason he's never been beaten before now. Not to discredit you guys, but he's just too strong."

"Great, anyone got an idea for this?" Verto asked as he stumbled slightly to turn around.

Kuwabara was the first to step up, "I'll fight him, I ain't afraid!"

"This is no time to be stupid, fool. All of the bravado in the world won't mean anything against a power like that!" Hiei argued.

"A man doesn't stand by while a kid does all the fighting for him! It's against my code!" Kuwabara proclaimed. A distant golden light got closer and slowed before coming down to the ground. It was indeed Ranot, though he was badly torn up, covering in many cuts and bruises. The hand and forearm Verto had slashed through had been blown off completely, leaving only a bloodied stump. His whole right side was a different story, as a large crimson hole under his rubs squirted hello when he landed.

Verto's nostrils flared, _He's weakened considerably, but with all of us too low on power, it doesn't matter. He could blow us all away and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it._

Ranot grinned a bloody smile as he panted hard, "So, surprised to see me?"

"No, the stench hasn't faded," Verto retorted quickly.

"Funny." Ranot flashed forward, driving his knee straight into Verto's face, knocking him flat. Gohan was quick to interject, only to receive an elbow that sent him flying. A sudden blast smashed into Ranot's wounded side, making him wince. Laysh shuddered in fear when he merely looked annoyed by it.

"Just for that, you go first my sweet," he said angrily. He stepped towards her, only to stop abruptly when a very long, orange energy sword blocked his path. Ranot scowled at Kuwabara, who looked defiant enough to remain in place despite the way his legs were trembling.

Ranot turned and spoke with an eerily calm tone, "Kuwabara, I suggest you get out of my way. Otherwise your funeral will start a few minutes early."

"No way, punk! It's against my honor as a man to allow you to hurt a lady! You've gotta beat me first!" he claimed.

Ranot's tone didn't change, "Is that so?" His barrier flashed on as he snatched Kuwabara's sword and pulled hard. This action flung the tall teenager in the other direction, putting him in the dirt.

"Pathetic. Are there any other objections, or can I just finish this?" Ranot asked. A long green vine hooked onto his remaining wrist, only to burn up into ash upon touching his barrier. Kurama's face fell before Hiei ran by him, holding the hilt of his broken metal sword.

A long, green and black flame extended out from it as he swung towards Ranot, "Sword of the Darkness Flame!" Ranot grinned and released a quick burst from just his aura, enough to send Hiei flying backwards instead.

Hiei landed near where he had been, flustered as his flowing sword faded, "Damn!"

Ranot laughed, "Did you three honestly think you could make any difference? You're all bugs for me to step on, nothing more!" Verto gritted his teeth slightly as he tried to stand up, only making it to his knees.

_I can't even stand up, never mind gather enough strength to face him. Kaio-ken is out of the question too._ _Gohan is also too exhausted at this point, and Laysh doesn't have nearly enough energy to fight him alone. We're screwed._ Just as Verto's thought finished, he sensed something strange coming their way. It felt like a demon's energy, but was far stronger than any he had met there thus far. Red light came from a short distance away until a figure appeared beneath it. As this person got closer, Verto began to feel slightly unnerved, mostly due to not knowing who it was, nor their intentions. Ranot quickly noticed this as well, but took it in stride.

"Is there another lamb I get to slaughter?" he asked in an oddly sweet tone. Dust and dirt started to blow around, obscuring their view.

"Who is that? Feels like a crazy strong demon!" Kuwabara pointed out.

"There can't be anyone with demon energy this strong in the Human World. They wouldn't be able to cross over from Demon World!" Hiei claimed. The figure emitting all of the red energy emerged from the dust clouds, wearing only his ripped blue pants and sneakers.

Everyone's eyes widened, but only Kuwabara was able to say anything initially, "Urameshi?"

Verto couldn't believe it either, _Yusuke? How? I watched him die._

"He's still alive? How can that be, kid? Answer me!" Laysh shouted in Verto's ear.

Verto stared at her, "How should I know?"

Laysh looked annoyed and crossed her arms, "Maybe that woman did it. She's the one that told me that he was still breathing somehow, she must have done this!"

"Maybe, but I'm not so sure," Verto said.

"Urameshi! How can you still be standing? You were definitely dead! Your heart stopped, I double-checked!" Kuwabara stammered.

Yusuke looked rather unsure himself, "Yeah, I can't explain that. In fact my ticker still ain't ticking, guess I should be worried?" Hiei and Kurama promptly broke into uncharacteristic but hysterical laughter while Kuwabara remained stumped.

"You'll get used to that, demon hearts have a much different make up than a conventional human one," Kurama explained.

"Demon?" Kuwabara cried out.

"Yeah, Koenma explained it to me. I guess my ancestor was some Mazuku guy, a hybrid. So when I died, I could come back, but like him," Yusuke said vaguely.

"So you really are a demon? But you don't look any different!" Kuwabara pointed out.

Verto finally felt the need to interject, "It might all be below the surface. Example, I really don't look much different despite being partially alien now do I? Nor do your friends."

Hiei immediately took exception, "Whoever said I was _his_ friend?"

Verto rolled his eyes, "Whichever."

"Ha, well I at least had no idea you were one of us, Detective. How does it feel to be so superior?" Hiei asked.

"I really don't feel any different, but I do have the sudden urge to tear this guy to pieces," Yusuke claimed as he smirked up at Ranot.

They locked eyes as Ranot returned the smirk, "Well if your skull session is over, I'd like to get this all over with. I can't say I've killed someone twice very often. It is all very intriguing, but ultimately, it still won't matter. Just for the hell of it, I'll fight you without any recuperation, and you'll see why you also should have run when you had the chance!"

"Ha, no way. I'm the hero of this gig, and I'm definitely not gonna let these guys or anyone else steal my thunder. A violent death or a few drops of demon blood mixed in doesn't change the fact that it's my job to kick the bad guy's ass! So I hope you're ready to feed some worms!" Yusuke declared.

Ranot's grin faded, "You'll regret those words in a few seconds." Ranot's purple aura filled the air, matching the erratic red mass that had engulfed Yusuke. Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara backed away, but Verto remained.

"You sure you can do this alone?" he asked.

Yusuke grinned back, "Dunno, but it's better than sitting on my ass. You, that chick and your brother over there have done your share. Besides, I'm not about to go up to the afterlife and listen to that old hag bitch at me about failure."

"First, he's my friend, not brother. Second, I'm sure she's extremely proud. Third, go kick his ass," Verto said. Yusuke nodded and returned his focus to Ranot as his demon energy surged around him. It became so intense that it literally lifted Yusuke right off the ground and propelled him towards his opponent. Ranot waited for him and the ground around them broke apart from the instability. Both fighters broke into a rapid pace of punching, much more than Yusuke could produce prior to this. Verto sensed that despite not being mentally able to fly, Yusuke's focus allowed his new energy to direct his moments, as if he were on autopilot. Within seconds, Verto detected Yusuke's unstable power starting to build up further, though this didn't appear to be due to any of his doing. It did however begin to randomly spark small, multi-colored bursts as it clashed with Ranot's aura. _Yusuke can't control his new power. It's going to mix with Ranot's power and rip this place apart_.

"Everyone give them some space, this will be a bit dicey!" Verto called out. The group didn't need to be told twice, though they strayed a bit away when Gohan and Laysh stood next to Verto after moving away.

"So who is this Yusuke guy? He's just as strong as Goten and Trunks, well, if he were in our dimension," Gohan pointed out.

"Stronger now I think. It's gotta be this demon blood that was hiding it all along. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Though I can't say I would have expected an increase like this. He's probably five or six times stronger now than he was an hour ago and much more than that when all this started. Just absurd potential," Verto commented.

Gohan chuckled, "Sounds more like you."

Verto grimaced, "Okay, why don't you go ape shit on Frieza if he's ever multiple times stronger than you again in the future?"

Gohan's eyebrow went up, "I take it Vegeta told you all about that?"

Verto quickly cleared his throat when he realized what he had just said, "It doesn't matter who did, back to the point. As strong as Yusuke is, I'm having serious doubts here. We need some sort of plan since this is a golden opportunity."

"So are you thinking a Spirit Bomb? I mean you said yourself that you were having problems with your control and all," Gohan reminded.

"No, actually I was thinking something more drastic if it comes to that. The only problem is that I'm too drained to use it right now, no matter how much this bastard deserves it. Maybe we'll get lucky and Leira will show up with another power boost from who knows where," Verto said.

"Hmph, relying on that woman won't get us anywhere," Laysh muttered.

"She's helped us a lot in the past few months," Gohan claimed.

"Ha, doesn't seem like it to me. I can't count the number of times we've caught her sabotaging our equipment. I don't see how you can trust her kid," Laysh said.

"In your position, I probably wouldn't at all," Verto replied.

Gohan grimaced slightly and changed the subject by sticking out his hand formally to Laysh, "By the way, I'm Gohan."

Laysh scowled as she looked him up and down, "Yeah, I heard your name earlier. I'm Laysh, and I see that you have an easy going attitude also. Are you as much of a pain as this brat is?"

"Get acquainted later, if we make it through this," Verto suggested. They both followed his lead and watched the battle in silence for the next few moments. The hyper-melee persisted during their talk, though it quickly slowed once Ranot got in a few solid hits. Yusuke was flung backwards from a few of these, skidding to a stop by shoving his feet down into the ground. Ranot charged in after him, prompting Yusuke to lift his right hand, bracing it with his left. An immense red blast burst forth, enough to give Ranot pause for effect. He barely dodged aside, merely grazing the blast before it sailed off into the sky.

Ranot allowed himself to smirk slightly, _This kid really does have potential. If that would have hit me directly, this battle might have ended just now. I see now why Razil wanted him and the other brat out of the way._ Yusuke was slightly stumped that he had missed, but shrugged it off.

"He's not used to his new power yet," Gohan noted.

"Relax, he's the type that learns on the fly. I doubt he'll miss again if there's another chance to hit that big bastard."

"Hmph, he better, or we're all dead," Laysh grumbled.

Gohan leaned over Verto's ear, "She's not much on optimism is she?"

Laysh's head snapped to her left, "I heard that!"

A loud crack drew their attention as Ranot had smashed Yusuke's face. Yusuke plowed into the ground and lay still momentarily before getting back up and wiping his bloodied mouth. Ranot landed in front of him with an evil smirk, but waited for the younger fighter to make another move. Yusuke rushed at him, missing on a wild swing. He spun around to kick instead, only to have it blocked by Ranot's injured stump of an arm.

Ranot kept his smirk, "Not good enough!"

"No one asked you!" Yusuke shouted back. Verto suddenly sensed Yusuke's energy fluctuating and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked.

"He's got the power currently needed, but he just can't sustain it. Even if he had only one day of training with it, he could do this. And even if he could figure it all out in the next five minutes, Ranot is going to bury him at this rate. He's already conserving his remaining energy and not really trying. This may not work," Verto said.

"But we're too low on energy to make any real difference," Gohan pointed out.

"Yeah I know. Let's give Yusuke his chance though. With the way his energy is bouncing around inside him, we might get lucky. Only thing left we can do anyway is channel all our power together and hope he sits still. Give me a few more minutes and I'll be ready to try that," Verto said.

"Might get lucky? Are you seriously relying on that human to get it right?" Laysh asked in a raised tone.

Verto frowned, "Let me know when you have a better plan that doesn't involve running away or giving up. Until then, shut up!"

"Why you little…" Laysh threatened.

Gohan cut them both off, "Hey, something's wrong with him!" Verto then noticed that Yusuke was frozen in place, as if something or someone had a hold of him. Ranot was standing nearby with his arm cocked like he was ready to fire a blast, but looked just as confused.

The entire battlefield became silent, so much that Verto could hear Yusuke whispering, "Who are you?"

Ranot laughed once he heard it, "Now I know I didn't hit you that hard. Have you already reached your limit and started talking to ghosts? How utterly dull, I shouldn't have expected anything more out of a mere human, part demon or not!" Yusuke's body was visibly trembling for a moment afterwards until he suddenly screamed and released a violent burst of bright blue energy. The light blinded everyone to what was happening, but Yusuke's constant screaming provided a hint. Due to the close proximity, even Ranot was forced to shield himself from the force of this new predicament.

"What the hell is going on?" Laysh asked first.

"Don't know, might be some sort of overload. Although, it could be something else we haven't seen yet," Verto replied. Small twisters formed around the ball of light for a few seconds before the screaming abruptly stopped. The bright light faded as a new figure stepped out from it. It was Yusuke, but he looked much different. His torso had tightened up with slightly larger muscles, but also featured strange tribal-like markings scattered about his upper body and arms. His face also had similar markings just below his eyes, which were now a pale yellow. The most noticeable change though was his hair, which had grown out just past his waist line. It was also a silver-gray shade and frizzed out like it had been too close to an electrical socket.

"He transformed, it must be his demon blood coming out in full," Verto stated in amazement.

Gohan looked grim, "It's not just that, get a feel for his energy."

Verto's eyes widened, "Chi waves, and his power has gone up by quite a bit."

"But there was so little ki, how did he manage to convert it?" Gohan asked.

"I'll tell you later," Verto said quickly.

"So what does this mean now?" Laysh asked.

"It means your captain is going to get his face bashed in. Yusuke's power is now higher than his weakened state," Verto pointed out.

"But something seems off, it doesn't seem like him at all. I can barely sense it, but there's another presence coming from his energy signal. It's like when you were in North City when you have the Over…I mean Chemical Z in you," Gohan said, catching himself mid-speech.

Verto's eyes narrowed in suspicion momentarily, "So, he's possessed now too, great." When Verto wasn't looking, Gohan sighed a bit with apparent relief. Behind them, Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara and Koenma walked up, each amazed by Yusuke's new form.

"That confirms it then, Yusuke really does have a demon ancestor. Oh boy, my father won't like this one bit," Koenma said as he fretted.

"Yes, this is obviously a sign that Yusuke's body has accepted the transformation into the Mazuku. Only a select few of Demon World's denizens can generate a power like this," Kurama added. Verto eyed Ranot's reactions as he stared down the demonized Yusuke, ignoring the conversation behind him. Ranot didn't appear to be in a panic, nor even concerned. Verto wasn't sure if it was just a brave front he was putting up, or if he had another ace up his sleeve. Ranot turned briefly to glance at the group and grinned slightly before turning back. Verto's eyes shot wide when he realized what was on the elder Saiyan's mind.

"Gohan, do me a favor," Verto started as he held out his hand.

Gohan looked down, puzzled, "Sure, what is it?"

Verto's energy leaked out erratically, making his palm glow in random shades of gold, white and blue, "Take the rest of my energy and be ready to put it to good use."

Gohan nervously stared at Verto's glowing left hand as he offered his power, "Can I ask you what your plan is?"

"It's not my plan, it's his. Remember how he healed himself? He'll do it again if he has to, and he'll pick the weakest target, which could be anyone here given the situation. You need to stop him when he tries it. I'm in no condition to do that, so take my power and boost your own," Verto ordered.

"Alright, but you shouldn't stay here and make yourself a target."

Verto gestured to Laysh by jolting his head in her direction, "That's what she's for."

"And what am I supposed to do? Haul your lazy ass around again?" she asked spitefully.

Verto grinned, "Something like that. But there is a point to this, and it's called take me to your ship cause I want my damn arm back."

Laysh looked exasperated, "About time you made some sense brat." Ranot briefly glanced over and locked eyes with Verto, curious as to what was going on. Verto gave him a knowing smirk before grabbing onto Gohan's hand. His body jerked slightly as he powered up, sending every ounce of energy he had into Gohan's grip.

"Do me a favor, don't hesitate. If he forces you to step in for any reason or gives you the opening, finish him off. You'll probably only have one good shot to do it. Blast him to pieces, teleport, cut his head off, I don't care, just end this. I'd rather not wake up and have to fight him again," Verto said.

Gohan nodded, "You got it." Both of them glowed blue and gold randomly before Verto promptly collapsed.

Gohan stared at his hands as he felt refreshed from the energy given to him, "Wow, he had this much left?"

Laysh scoffed as she tossed Verto's unconscious body over her shoulder, "Probably sandbagging again, maybe thought he didn't have enough time in the spotlight playing hero!"

Gohan shook his head, "No, Verto isn't quite like that, he's too impulsive for it. Reminds me of my dad actually, except if Verto sees a chance to end the fight quickly, he usually takes it. This guy was just too good and strong for him to do that. He probably used what time he's had to slowly build it up again, even though he was on fumes," Laysh was speechless for a moment before nodding and flying away with Verto in tow. Ranot turned and lifted off the ground, preparing to give chase. He didn't make it far before Yusuke suddenly plowed into him from the side.

Ranot landed, looking furious at the interference, "Out of my way, you little shit! I'll play with you in a few minutes!"

Yusuke clenched his fists tightly, "Play time is over!" Yusuke's yellow eyes glowed just before a dense blue aura erupted around him, sending his long hair into a frenzy above his head. Ranot cautiously backed into his stance, wary of the power he was sensing. With a mighty shout, Yusuke rushed at him with a fierce punch drawn back. Ranot blocked the attack with both arms, but was still forced back from the impact. Yusuke stayed on him, punching wildly enough that Ranot couldn't predict where each blow would land. Yusuke's fists broke open every bruise and wound with frightening accuracy, which gave much of Ranot's body a crimson mask. Yusuke then yanked Ranot by the leg and heaved him up into the air before following swiftly. Yusuke soared above him and came down with both feet, driving the Saiyan back down to the ground. Ranot landed on his stomach painfully, seemingly unaware of Yusuke falling right towards him. His eyes darted upwards and he managed to jump forward, causing Yusuke to only hit dirt. Yusuke snarled a bit as he tore his glowing fist out of the ground and gave chase. Ranot used his good hand to push and flip off the ground, preparing his bright purple finishing move as he did so.

"Bane Blaster!" Yusuke bull-rushed the blast, leaping over it by mere inches and continuing his charge. Ranot scowled and fired off his Dread Spike finger beam next. The attack struck Yusuke right on the jaw and stopped him in his tracks. Ranot however saw that it was only successful in stunning him, and he rushed in to press the advantage. He came in and slammed Yusuke with an over the head punch, driving the demon into the dirt. Ranot kicked Yusuke in the torso next, sending him into the air.

Ranot then held his palm up and charged up a huge ball of red ki as he grinned, "Say good night! Bane Bomber!" Yusuke recovered just in time to see the massive red ball racing towards him. Instead of dodging however, he lifted his right index finger and charged up his Spirit Gun to counter it. He fire quickly, forcing Ranot's attack to a halt as it clashed with pure blue Chi. Both attacks destabilized soon after and detonated, blinding everyone nearby. Once it cleared, Ranot was seen, clearly breathing harder at this point. Yusuke landed a dozen feet away, unaffected.

His dark, cryptic voice filled the air a moment later, "So, do you still think you can easily defeat me now?"

"Ha, do you think you can honestly last any longer than last time?" Ranot asked.

Yusuke smirked evilly, "There's no point in bluffing. Time has a funny way of running out when you least expect it." Yusuke flashed forward, driving a knee into Ranot's stomach, causing him to double over. He followed up by grabbing Ranot's head with both hands and ramming it into his own skull repeatedly. This brutal action nearly knocked Ranot completely out, but Yusuke wasn't finished. Both of his fists glowed blue as he began rapidly punching Ranot's body dozens and dozens of times. Nearby, Gohan and the others were quite astonished.

"His ancestor must have been a particularly strong and brutal warrior. A god of fighting skill. Ranot doesn't have a chance at this point," Kurama said.

Gohan's eyes narrowed a bit as he kept a close eye on Ranot's lack of movement, _He's definitely weaker than before, but he should still be capable of fighting back even now. He must be waiting for some sort of opening._ Yusuke hoisted Ranot's limp body up by the throat, starting the larger man eye to eye.

"Am I enough of a challenge for you yet?"

Ranot's pain filled face twisted back into his evil grin, "Nope." Yusuke scowled and lifted Ranot up higher in order to deliver more punishment. Ranot's eyes snapped open and he flung his good arm at Yusuke's face. Out of his hand came a cloud of dust and dirt, landing directly in Yusuke's open eyes. Yusuke's hands went to his face instinctively, releasing Ranot. He immediately phased out, reappearing next to Kuwabara and grabbing him by the face.

"You will do nicely," Ranot laughed. Kuwabara tried to struggle out of the hold, but Ranot held him firm. Kuwabara's body glowed blue along with Ranot's for a brief moment before a long, thick and green energy sword pierced Ranot's chest from behind. Blood erupted and Kuwabara fell backwards as he was freed from Ranot's grip.

Ranot coughed as he tried to tilt his head sideways, "You!"

There stood Super Mystic Gohan, his aura filled with sparking intensity, "That's enough of that, you're done!" Ranot snarled as he tried to spin around and counter attack, and Gohan swung the blade. Everything above Gohan's Chi sword was severed in a finely cut line. Ranot gasped as everything below that line went completely limp before it all fell away. The soon to be corpse quickly bled out, staining the dirt and filling the air with the smell of blood.

Ranot managed to cough and sputter despite this, "D-Damn you to hell boy! I'll g-get you for this, I'll get a-all of you! D-Death won't s-stop me…." His last breath hung in the mouth for a moment before he lost it. Ranot's remaining energy faded rapidly, and Gohan sighed heavily as his sword vanished.

Kuwabara walked up cautiously and nudged Ranot's body with his foot, "Is he gone? Or can he pull himself together too?"

"Fool, of course he's gone! You should feel thankful that someone else saved your poor excuse of a life again!" Hiei scolded. Gohan still felt uneasy as he glared down at the dead villain and powered down. Ranot's head, neck and shoulders had been sliced away from the rest of his body, there wasn't much else that could have been done at that point. Gohan held his broken arm protectively as he walked away.

* * *

Laysh finished stripping off Verto's shredding clothing and loaded his unconscious body into the rejuvenation tank around fifteen minutes later. It was a standard looking medical pod, 'borrowed' from the Kold Empire of course. Laysh strapped on the breath mask, pausing as she examined where Verto's right arm had been before being blown off. She ran a hand through his bloodied hair, feeling a rush of emotion run through her. She had already sensed the final power surge from Ranot die out and felt very relieved. At the same time, she felt an odd cloud of dread, as if the unknown horizon was now a threat.

_I should be happy about this. The captain is finally gone from my life. And it's all thanks to this kid, who seems more fragile than an infant, and yet stronger than any Saiyan. I'm not sure how the others are going to take this, will they accept him or not?_ A footfall behind Laysh startled her and she whipped around like an angry mother protecting her young.

Gohan held his hands up, "Easy, we're still on the same side here." Laysh calmed herself and closed the large tank lid before pressing a few buttons. They both watched the synthetic fluid fill the tank before another word was said.

"So, how long do you think he needs to be in there?"

"Not sure, probably a full day or maybe more. He's just lucky that the injuries are fresh enough that he can be fixed up. You may not know this, but these treatment pods can't do much about dismemberment if the patient has been missing limbs for much more than a few days. By then it will treat any scar tissue as the injury and it won't grow back," Laysh explained.

"I've had to use one before myself, but I did not actually know that," Gohan admitted.

Laysh eyed his busted arm, "Well your injury won't take as long, but we only have one capsule to use."

Gohan waved it off, "It's okay, I'm going to get a fresh Senzu bean when we get home. I'll bear this until then."

Laysh shrugged, "Suit yourself."

"Thank you," Gohan said.

"For what?"

"For looking after him."

Laysh laughed, "It's me who should do all the thanking. You two helped get rid of someone who has terrorized everyone around him just for the fun of it. As Saiyans, we tend to get carried away with our own fun, but he was the worst of us. And as far as the kid goes, he can stand on his own two feet."

"True, but he's still at a point where he needs assistance from time to time. I suppose it doesn't help much when there's some sort of crisis every other day. What are you going to do?" Gohan asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean regarding the other Saiyans and wherever they all are. We need Verto on Earth right now, but you're welcome to stay there until things have settled down," Gohan offered.

"I'll have to return soon to give a report since no one else survived, but I'm not sure how they will react to all this. Some might even seek revenge for the captain…as fruitless as that will be with you two around," Laysh joked slightly.

"Tell you what, we'll discuss this with Vegeta and the others…as soon as we are able to," Gohan suggested.

"I suppose that's acceptable, I was ordered to return with him to your planet to begin with. I'm surprised though…" Laysh claimed.

"Why's that?" Gohan asked.

"Well, you didn't ask where the rest of us are located. And where we've all been since before Planet Vegita was destroyed. Chal said that he told Verto some of that when he was a prisoner at Frost's home base. But that doesn't mean he told any of you," Laysh said.

"Oh, well I wasn't the one who went to rescue him from that place, so I didn't know. He might have told Vegeta and he might not have. Verto wasn't home long before there were other…problems that required his attention. I figure you'll tell us when you're good and ready to," Gohan said nonchalantly.

Laysh shrugged and started to walk away, "Alright then, I'll prep the ship for launch. After we get through the rift, I'll need Earth's location on the star charts so I can plot a course."

Gohan paled, "Actually, we have a different mode of transportation waiting. And it's a lot faster, we'll leave as soon as he's healed."

Laysh turned around in surprise, "Unless you can somehow teleport through dimensions, what can be faster than one of these ships?"

"Funny you should ask…" Gohan started.

Laysh threw her hands up, "Forget I asked! I'm gonna clean up and get some sleep. All you weird people are driving me crazy!" She then walked off while Gohan watched, confused.

"_As always, you're like your dad when it comes to explaining things._"

Gohan turned towards the tank and leaned on it, "_Aren't you supposed to be nearly dead?_" Gohan spotted a tiny smirk work its way onto Verto's face under the breath mask.

"_Nearly, but still here. Did you get him?_" Verto asked.

"_Yeah, you were right that he would try and heal off someone else again. I stopped him before he could do much, and it was the final blow. He's gone_," Gohan thought back with reassurance. A burst of bubbles flooded out of the mask, though it was more of a sigh of relief than anything else.

"_Well there's the good news. Now what's the bad news?_"

"_Pardon_?"

Verto's hint of frustration carried over through his thoughts, "_The mess we get to clean up at home._"

"_Oh that. We should probably wait until you're healed,_" Gohan suggested.

"_Nice try, but I'm well on my way now. You could manage our time better and get it over with by explaining it all during the healing process. She said it would take a full day or more, so we obviously have the time,_" Verto said.

Gohan gave in, "_Alright, if you insist. But this may be hard to explain_."

Another burst of air bubbles blew out of the mask, followed by an agitated glare, "_Don't even start with me, just because we won doesn't mean I'm in the mood for it. Begin from the day I left please_."

Gohan managed a chuckle, "_Right, I'll do my best. Before I do though, know that I had to hear about most of this once Bulma told us what had been going on. First off…_"

**PL**

**Gohan (SS2): 780,000 (drops quickly); Weakened Super Mystic (boosted by Verto's remaining power): 250,000**

**Ranot (slightly weakened): 760,000 (drops slowly); severely weakened: 350,000**

**Laysh: 250,000**

**Verto (weakened): 200,000**

**Yusuke (demon): 180,000; Transformed: 400,000**

**A/n: Some of you YYH fans probably saw some of that coming before that battle even got going, or at least wondered if I would incorporate the demon transformation from the very start. It was also set as an example of how timelines can change with one single action, which in this case was Ranot killing Yusuke before the final battle got going. I had the finish planned out in probably ten different ways before I settled on that one. As always, everything I do is for a reason. And since there's going to be a bit of a break here, I'll even leave a preview to start off the next arc since I left you all hanging.**

**Next Time on DBV: An ominous cloud hangs over Capsule Corporation in the wake of Verto's departure. Odd sounds and sights begin to happen all around. Lenz awakens from her ordeal and leaves with Bulma for personal needs while Vegeta and Trunks visit the Son household. Upon return, they discover that someone has broken in and torn the place apart, possibly looking for something…except nothing has been stolen. Who or what could be behind this, they're not sure. One thing is for certain, it is unnatural…**

**WDG: **The end of Ranot…?

**VB**: Depends on if he was infected by a zombie or not…


	94. Unwelcome Guest

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 93: Unwelcome Guest**

It was early morning in West City, a few hours before sunrise. The skies were cloudy, slightly illuminated by the high rise buildings. All was quiet for the time being, but as we all know, things have a tendency to change at the drop of a pin. A small patch of air was distorted high above the ground. To the naked eye, it wouldn't have even been seen. Even if it was, most wouldn't have given it much more thought than to rub their own eyes to clear their vision. This distortion wasn't ordinary by any means. It had a presence, it had thought and to some extent it had form. The only thing it was really lacking was purpose. It didn't know why it was here, only that it was supposed to be. It felt shunned and hurt from its previous existence.

Why was the master so cruel to it? It didn't know. Why did the master take its body, its power, and the majority of its memory? There was no clear reason. It only knew that the master wanted it to come here, but why? There must have been a reason or a motive. It didn't know. What it did know was that no one was able to see it or hear it anymore. That hurt it more than physical pain ever could, to not be known. It only wanted to be known, to satisfy its own existence. Nobody noticed, no matter what it did, which wasn't much. Those that it got close to treated it with the kind of neglect that ones uses to identify something as minor as a light breeze. They could barely hear it no matter how loud it spoke. They could barely see it no matter how it moved. With its lack of substance, there wasn't enough to touch to be considered anything more than a minor disruption. To be loved or hated, it didn't care which. It just wanted to be known, was that asking too much?

Once in awhile, it could grab someone's attention by moving an object or speaking very loudly. It could only produce a minor whisper of a voice, but it was audible if it was close enough. That typically wasn't enough to get noticed though; human beings were very ignorant to their surroundings. Even if it could get them to react, it was either brushed aside as nothing, or feared enough that humans would avoid it completely. It would have sighed if it could do so, it was so sad. So if drifted for awhile, going in and out of human dwellings, trying to be noticed. The master promised one day that he would return, but that was so long ago that it seemed like an empty promise. It was more than long enough to forget its name, although that wasn't too difficult when the master had taken it to begin with. It had also forgotten its sense of time and lost track of the number of times the bright ball in the sky passed over.

As it drifted, it felt some sort of presence ahead. It knew this area from previous visits; the large dome building was familiar enough. It also sensed the powerful beings inside. The first few times it felt excitement in believing that the master was here. It had long since learned that the most fearsome energy around this place belonged to the cranky man with spiky hair. It didn't want the cranky man to know it, for it knew what that would mean. It may not have had much of an existence, but it understood who it should not trifle with. The son of the cranky man, the lavender haired boy, wasn't one to mess around with either, but it felt much less threatened by him. The other regular denizens of the home were much less impressive in human terms as far as it was concerned.

It was about to move on past when it noticed two new presences. That was fairly typical here with people coming and going, some of them much more powerful than others. Neither of them seemed very familiar to it though, so it felt the need to investigate against all logic. Just to be safe however, it chose to visit the weaker being first. It long enjoyed being able to move though solid objects and easily bypassed whatever these humans used to build their structures. In the corner of the room was a decorated crib with a small baby human girl inside, sleeping soundly. This was no surprise; it had seen the baby before. What was surprising was that the baby appeared to have a dormant energy that was coming out on its own. It wasn't very strong, but it was definitely noticeable considering the age of the child. It would have smiled if it could; it liked the younger humans because at times they would see it. Their more ignorant parental units had long lost any real ability to notice things out of the ordinary. This baby girl had the spitting image of her mother, who it knew well. She was the one that played with metallic machines and tended to scream a lot around the cranky man. Both the mother and the baby slept the same way though, and it liked watching them sleep. It would have continued to watch the baby, but it had that other presence to investigate.

It floated through a few walls before arriving in a larger bedroom featuring two beds, though only one of them was full. It stopped and took in the view, but the image it received was entirely different. Anyone else would have concluded that there was a beautiful girl in her latter teenage years that was sleeping there. It didn't see that, not at all. It saw beneath the surface, revealing instead a much darker and sinister being that was shrouded in fire. It felt excited, for it knew that the master would hide in a human form like this. Despite the danger of being near the cranky man, it knew now that it had to stay here and try to contact the master, assuming that's who it had seen. The question was how? Surely the master would sense its presence, but even if he did, he may not be able to discern who or what would make it. It pondered over this possibility for a time before drifting closer. Upon first glance it was unable to tell what was below the surface of this particular human. Once it was close enough to touch her, it could see a little more clearly. It was not the master, not at all. The dark energy it sensed was similar to him, but too different to be a match. This one also felt trapped, as if this human was not a shell, but a prison. Surely this dark being would be able to help it find the master again. However, it would need to contact her through the flesh of this human. That wasn't going to be easy in its present state. It was going to have to get stronger and reclaim its spiritual presence. It wasn't completely sure of how it was going to do that yet. For now, it would wait in solitude and try to reach out to this one. The odds of success were slim, but it really didn't have much other choice. It drifted closer, enough to move the girl's purple hair aside from her ear. It gathered what strength it could and spoke as loud and as clear as it could.

"Hello?"

* * *

Lenz awoke with a sudden jolt, looking around frantically. She could have sworn that something was there and had spoken to her, but there was nothing. It took her a moment to realize that she was in her and Verto's room, back at Capsule Corp. The last thing she remembered though was chasing down Doctor Cash in the underground lab.

_What happened, how did I get here?_ She slowly got out of bed and stood up. She quickly became aware of several things all at once, including the fact that she wasn't wearing anything other than her blue necklace. The entire room looked off to her, as if it had become smaller by a fair amount. That answer presented itself when she noticed her feet were bigger and that the bed's height was only to her knees rather than past them. There was also a large brown patch next to the window, as if part of the wall had been taken down and then partially rebuilt. The other thing was more obvious when a splitting headache made itself known. She blocked that out as best as possible and stepped over to the full length mirror in the room. Her eyes widened a bit at her reflection. As best as she could tell, she was now about eight to nine inches taller than before. Her body was also a bit thicker and much more proportional than it had been, as if she had just gone through several years of training on top of a growth spurt. She flexed her arms briefly, feeling significantly stronger than before. As confusing as all this was to her though, something else bothered her more at the moment.

_Where is Verto? I can't sense him._ She scanned all around, trying to sense his position in areas he would normally be. She picked up the other Saiyans easily enough, and the stronger humans as well. There was no Verto as far as she could tell, nor was there any sign of Piccolo.

Lenz grimaced, _Maybe they're in that time chamber place again. Oh wait, little brother said that the door was broke and they couldn't use it. Damn, where is he?_ As she was sensing all the other power levels, she became increasingly aware of a weak Psionic presence nearby, almost in the same room with her. It wasn't strong enough to be a threat, but it still grabbed her attention. She looked around the room, and saw a slightly visible distortion floating near the ceiling. The light of dawn obscured it a bit, but there was definitely something similar to a shadow there. She stared at it, trying to figure out what it was as it seemed to churn randomly in the air. The longer she looked at it, the darker it seemed to become, like a reversed tunnel vision. She felt a hint of dread and fear wash over her, like this was a dark creature she needed to avoid. The disturbance became darker, and Lenz could hear a buildup of sound that resembled a train approaching. Her heart raced as it increased its pace in tune with the train sound. She raised her arms to guard against this ominous being as it seemed to come closer. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door, and the train sound abruptly stopped. Lenz turned at the knock before quickly looking back for the shadowy disturbance. Whatever was there was gone, and she sensed nothing else unusual.

Lenz sighed and calmed down as there was another knock on the door, "I'm coming, hold on." As she opened the door, there was a sharp gasp as Trunks quickly shut his eyes and turned his head away.

"M-Mom said to give these to y-you!" he stammered. Lenz grinned a bit as she took a larger set of clothes from the younger Saiyan, and then decided to have some fun with her current lack of modesty.

"So, why do you have your eyes closed?" she asked in a sweet tone.

Trunks sweated nervously, "W-Well, you don't have any clothes on!" Lenz tossed the fresh clothes aside and kneeled down to take a hold of his gloved hand.

"Come on, don't you want to feel them?" she asked. Trunks tried to pull back and shook his head vigorously.

Lenz frowned, "What are you, a man, or a coward? What would your father say?" Trunks dared to open his eyes, which then became as wide as dinner plates and his next few words couldn't be deciphered.

Lenz tugged his hand towards her chest and gave off a very suggestive moan, "Come here Trunks. I'm in desperate need of your help!" Once Trunks' glove made contact, she finally let him go so he could enjoy the experience. The result was him bolting for the nearest exit, causing Lenz to laugh as she shut the door. She looked over the clothes that Bulma had sent her and struggled to get into them initially. The shirt was only large enough to cover her chest, which had already been a tight fit before. Now only her stomach was left bare, though that didn't bother her. The pants fit quite snugly, until there was a quick rip in both of the legs when she finally got them on all the way. As she was fumbling with this problem, there was another knock on the door.

Lenz struggled to straighten her half a shift, "Come in."

Bulma poked her head in cautiously before entering fully, "I see why my son was looking for the hand sanitizer now. Guess I got a size too small."

Lenz blushed a bit, "Actually these weren't on yet when he came by."

Bulma didn't falter, "Yeah, sorry about that. Verto brought you back here that way and I learned long ago not to try and force clothes onto a sleeping Saiyan. There isn't a guarantee that you'll walk away with all limbs attached before said Saiyan realizes what is going on and completely wakes up. I'll take you shopping in a bit to solve the clothing problem so my son isn't traumatized for the rest of the day."

"I would think he'd be at least a little interested in girls by now," Lenz muttered.

Bulma closed her eyes and smirked, "Well, it'll happen eventually."

Lenz nodded with a slight look of concern, "So what happened? The last thing I remember is helping Verto chase down that creepy Doctor Cash guy. Well he called him Doctor Wheel, or something like that…"

"You may want to sit down Lenz, there's plenty of explaining and there is no short and easy version to this," Bulma began. She then explained things as best she could, while Lenz's range of emotions shifted around wildly. She intentionally left out some of the more heart wrenching details of what had happened in order to spare Lenz some anguish, but that didn't appear to do much good. Towards the end of it all though, there was only one thing Lenz could feel: shame.

"…So as a return favor for saving you and resealing that demon, Verto went on some mission to save a world from annihilation," Bulma finished.

"Alone?" Lenz gasped.

"No, I heard Piccolo went with him too, so don't worry. Kibito was saying they should only be gone for a few days, maybe a week at most," Bulma replied.

Lenz looked down, "And he couldn't wait to say goodbye to me or anything?"

Bulma frowned, "It's been two days since he left, and he didn't want to go at all. Just so you know, he was trying to collect the Dragon balls so he could help you and your people. He only went because he was keeping his word. Try putting yourself in his shoes after what happened."

Lenz scoffed, "He should have just killed me if it was that bad. That way the demon would be gone and I wouldn't be in his way anymore."

Bulma resisted the urge to slap her, "If you must know, he did try to kill you after the demon forced his hand. I was able to monitor the rest of the battle from Flandal's lab, and it looked like he had killed you. He was holding your corpse in his arms and was absolutely torn up about it. Leira showed up in order to destroy what was left, but he wouldn't let you go, even as your body's unique makeup at the time was slowly burning his arms. I'm not sure what was said, but Leira struck a bargain with him and healed you. He obviously accepted her terms in order to both seal the demon and keep you alive. He probably had no idea what might have been coming next by doing so, but he did it anyway because he loves you so much. He may not show or admit it all the time, but it's true. Everyone can see it, except maybe you."

Lenz felt even more ashamed at this point as a few salty tears slipped out, "Yeah, stubborn brat…"

Bulma crossed her arms and stepped back, "True, he's worse than Vegeta sometimes. Anyway, let's take you shopping before the weekend rush hits. I know the store owner personally and he'll let us in early. That is unless you don't mind wearing clothes fit for a teenager."

Lenz looked at her funny, "But I am a teenager."

Bulma rolled her eyes, "Whichever, you know what I meant. It's not like you're the first one around here whose age is a bit off of where their body is."

Lenz looked herself over again, "How did this happen anyway?"

"I'm not completely sure myself since I didn't see it, but I ran a few tests and as best I can tell, you're in perfect condition…for a Saiyan in her early twenties. Somehow that demon was able to accelerate your growth to mere moments, probably to suit its needs for a fight, or to fully assume its form. Maybe it's just a side effect," Bulma said.

"Yeah, but what if it isn't just a side effect? What if it happens again?" Lenz asked.

Bulma sighed, "It's probably best not to worry about it if you can. I'll admit that I'm not all that comfortable knowing that there's a ruthless beast sleeping under that beautiful skin of yours, but then I remember who I'm married to. I think you should try not to fret too much about this. It will only slow the mental healing process and you'll start seeing things that aren't there."

Lenz let our her own sigh, "I guess you're right, seems like I'm already doing that."

Bulma clasped her hands, "Well for the next several hours, the only thing I want you looking at is your own reflection while you try on new outfits. Sky is the limit!" The floor suddenly creaked slightly on the far side of the room, drawing Lenz's attention.

"What was that?" she asked.

Bulma looked intrigued as well, but quickly had an answer, "Oh the floor probably isn't used to the new you yet. Needs redone anyway after Vegeta blew up the wall. C'mon, let's go, you'll be blowing all the boys away in no time!" Lenz nodded and left the room first. Bulma followed her, but stole another glance towards where the sound came from. She suddenly had a very unnerving feeling wash over here and she hurriedly shut the door.

* * *

When the door closed, the invisible presence felt rejected again. It had taken a lot of its energy to grab the girl's attention, and quite a bit more to weigh down the floor. The wife of the cranky man had noticed it though, that was a positive. So far it had managed to at least keep some sort of hope alive by trying to get their attention. It now had a dilemma though. The beautiful girl was more than powerful enough to sense its presence, and she could end its miserable existence just as quickly. It was more than just a powerful Psionic presence; there was something truly dark under that girl's skin. If the being inside her wanted to find and eliminate it, she could. It had to discover its purpose before that happened. So it decided that it needed to try and contact someone else instead. The mother was the next ideal choice, whether the cranky man was around or not. The other option was one of the younger children, but the boy with purple hair wasn't an 'ideal candidate.' Add to that the fact that the baby was not yet old enough to properly respond. It knew it could wait and stay hidden for the mother to return.

And so it did, using most of the time to drift around the large building, familiarizing itself with the home. It found itself watching the baby girl the most, it liked when she would stare back at its floating form. She even squawked a few times and nearly pointed straight at it for others to see. The ditzy blonde woman looked right at it, but obviously didn't see it when she didn't react to much more than the ceiling color. That was a bit disappointed to it, as humans often reacted in some way to the unknown, but someone completely oblivious would not. By mid morning, the baby had been removed from the building by the ditzy blonde, and it found itself drifting alone once again. It didn't like being alone, and it felt daring enough to investigate the strong presence remaining, even if it was extremely dangerous to do so. It found the cranky man fighting with the air around him inside a large metal room. It was thankful that it didn't have to worry about gravity, otherwise there would have only been an invisible pancake for people to step on. It was intrigued by the fact that the cranky man's hair was now golden rather than its usual jet black. It also had to remain still, because when it didn't, the cranky man's demeanor changed.

"Who's there?" It didn't attempt to answer, only watch. The cranky man would eventually go back into his routine; he was very predictable even if his attention was drawn away. It knew he would likely stay in there for hours at a time and only leave when he required nourishment. It would use that time to move safely to a different position, or so it thought. The cranky man seemed unusually agitated however, there was much more vigor in his intense training. It could feel his anger filling the gravity chamber, washing over it like a tsunami wave of rage. This caused a much different experience than it had expected. It felt stronger, and more energized from this anger. It was as if the negative energy this man produced was in turn powering it like a generator does a building. This did not go unnoticed however.

"This is not a time to be playing games with me! If you don't come out now, I will kill you!" It normally would have attempted to hide its presence as much as possible, but the inflow of negative energy clouded its own judgment. It decided that it didn't like being told what to do, and the lights flickered suddenly. The cranky man halted his training motions and stared up at the lights as his fists tightened.

"Last chance fool! Come out now or else!" It didn't like that; the cranky man was threatening it personally now. Extinction be damned, it was going to show the cranky man that is wasn't going to take it anymore. The lights continued to flicker as a loud buzzing sound filled the room. The walls began to vibrate, shaking the chamber. The cranky man grinned as a bright golden aura sprang up around him.

"Or we could do it that way, bad choice cretin!" Another insult, this made it feel angrier and the lights suddenly shattered, darkening the room. Everything stopped in that instant as the chamber powered down, leaving the cranky man even more irritated than before.

"Blast it all!" It paused, realizing that the cranky man was no longer noticing it. It felt slightly relieved in that sense, and once again worked to hide its presence now that the overwhelming anger wasn't directed at it. Using the light that his glowing body provided, the cranky man found the door and opened it.

"Woman! The damned chamber is broken again! WOMAN! Where are you?" The cranky man left the area and it was alone again. It didn't understand where it had gotten such energy from though. It felt alive, more alive than ever. It recalled the events and quickly realized that it had gotten stronger by getting angry. It had stemmed off of the cranky man's usual mood and that had made it stronger by way of the rich, negative energy it felt. It had never been able to do much to a light before, never mind break one. This opened a wide door of new things to come. After expelling that much energy though, it was tired and needed a place to rest for now. It would return soon though, and test this new discovery. After all, if it could continue to get stronger with just negative energy, it had the best place on the planet to do it. It would get stronger and stronger until it discovered its purpose. Even if it didn't, there was something about bothering the cranky man that it liked. As if it was…fun.

* * *

Trunks was quietly eating a bowl of cereal when he heard his father's rampage coming closer. _Ah hell, here we go again. Mom's gonna be mad that he broke it again for the third time this month._

"WOMAN! Where the hell are you?" Vegeta shouted. Trunks attempted to hide in the chair, but the sight of the television gave him away as Vegeta stormed by and came back.

"Trunks, where is your mother?" he asked.

Trunks swallowed carefully, "She took Lenz shopping I think."

The reaction was much milder than he expected, "Damn, that means it won't be repaired until tomorrow."

Trunks sighed with slight relief, until he realized that his father was still standing there. _Uh oh, I was hoping to take it easy today, but looks like Dad is gonna pull one of his surprises._

"Son, turn off that trash. We're leaving shortly," Vegeta ordered.

"Aww, but I was going to just…I mean I was going to play with Goten today," Trunks claimed, catching himself mid-phrase. Knowing his father like he did, he knew he couldn't say anything about 'taking it easy'. However, he knew he could reduce whatever he was about to get into with the lie that he just told, as it would throw Vegeta completely off. After all, visiting Goten would most likely mean running into Goku as well.

"Oh really? Good, I was getting the urge to put a few bruises on Kakarot's face. Now hurry up!" Vegeta barked.

Trunks grimaced, "Can't I finish watching this first?"

He quickly regretted that question, "Trunks…don't make me tell you twice!" Trunks obeyed and quickly shut off the TV before rushing up the stairs to change into clothing better suited for training. When he finished, he thought he heard footsteps in the hallway.

"I'm almost done Dad," he said without much other thought. When there wasn't an angry response or even a grunt, it struck him as odd. He pulled his gloves on tight and peered out the door, catching a glimpse of a shadow in his sister's room before the door creaked shut. Trunks was slightly stumped by this, since Bulla was with their grandmother and no one else appeared to be around.

Trunks approached and opened the door, "Dad?" Inside was a quiet room with no one in it. Trunks' eyes narrowed as he looked around, but he didn't see or sense anything unusual. He left and went downstairs, bewildered at what he thought he had seen.

Vegeta was waiting with a small storm cloud threatening to form around his head, "About time!"

Trunks was unfazed, "Dad, were you just in Bulla's room?"

"Don't be ridiculous! What reason would I have to go into that child's trash heap?" Vegeta growled back.

"Well I thought I heard you in the hallway and when I looked, I saw someone go in there and shut the door. When I went in, there was no one there," Trunks explained.

"Quit chasing ghosts that aren't there boy. There are much more important things to concern yourself with," Vegeta scolded.

"Like what?"

Vegeta grinned, "Like wiping those smug smirks off of Kakarot and his brat!"

* * *

"Goku, how many times have I told you this month? No more of your rough training sessions around here! The wedding is in less than six weeks now, can't you wait that long or at least go somewhere else?" Chichi squawked as she held up her skillet in a threatening manner.

A battered and bruised Goku rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry Chichi, but you know that Vegeta wants to go at it anytime and anywhere. I can't turn him down!"

"Don't try to pin this on someone else Goku! I know that Vegeta will fight anytime and anywhere, but even he understands the need for a little civility around one's property!" Chichi claimed.

Goku was puzzled as he glanced back at an equally battered Vegeta amongst the smoldering front lawn, "He does?"

"Well, he is a prince, so I'm sure he has been taught a sliver of proper etiquette, however small it may have been. Now at least clean yourself up before Hercule and Videl get here for dinner. I will not have your Karate nonsense getting in the way of Gohan's wedding. Do you understand me?"

Goku bowed his head slightly, "Yes."

Vegeta chuckled, "That's two losses today Kakarot, you're on a losing streak."

"Nah, you just got a lucky hit in. If I would have used Instant Transmission, there would have been no way for you to catch me off guard like that!" Goku claimed.

"It's what you get for celebrating too soon when your spawn was able to get his lucky hit on Trunks. I'll have to make sure that Trunks doesn't fall for that stupid misdirection trick again," Vegeta grumbled as Trunks cringed from behind a tree.

"All he did was get him to look the other way when there wasn't anything there. Trunks does it to him all the time," Goku argued.

"That's not the point Kakarot! It's the fact that he allowed himself to be baited into it and didn't use his own awareness to sniff out the ploy. It's a ridiculously simple trick that should be far below the two of them now!" Vegeta claimed.

"Okay, I'll work with Goten on it. I guess with Gohan and Videl's wedding coming up I've been a little distracted," Goku admitted.

"Ha, I find that hard to believe," Vegeta grunted.

"Yeah Daddy, I've never seen you lose a match to Uncle Vegeta that easily! Actually, I can't remember you ever losing to him!" Goten pointed out, causing Vegeta to frown.

"It hardly counts as a real match son," Goku said humbly.

"But to him it's always all or nothing right? He's always wanted to beat you!" Goten reminded.

"Well, it doesn't matter that much Goten. Your brother's wedding it is something important. It represents a change, and we can't let an opportunity like that pass us by," Goku said in an odd tone. Vegeta's eyes narrowed just before the phone inside began to ring and Chichi picked it up.

She listened for a moment before calling out the door, "Vegeta, it's Bulma. She says it's urgent."

Vegeta rolled his eyes, "Tell the woman that I'll be there shortly."

"Well she said she came home and the entire compound has been torn apart like someone broke in. But nothing appears to have been stolen. She wants to know if it was you since the gravity room is broken again," Chichi relayed.

"That blasted living space was in acceptable condition when we left! Tell her to check her damned security systems and see what happened herself!" Vegeta shouted.

Chichi passed the message and then looked over again, "She said that none of the internal cameras are online yet, only external ones. She wants you home to explain yourself."

"Argh," Vegeta grumbled.

"Looks like you lost a battle today too Vegeta," Goku laughed.

"Shut up Kakarot!"

* * *

"Well Vegeta, what do you have to say for yourself?" Bulma asked with her hands on her hips.

"I did not make this trash heap any more cluttered than it already was. How many times do I have to explain it before you listen woman?" Vegeta grumbled back.

Bulma grimaced, "Mother said that when she left with Bulla, everything was fine. You and Trunks were the only two here. And I know you Vegeta, you've blasted holes in the walls to kill houseflies for goodness sake!"

"So, by knowing that, why would you then assume I'm lying when I clearly had better things to do? If I wanted to tear this place apart, you would know it because I would wipe it off the map!" Vegeta countered.

Bulma blinked sharply in hesitation before shaking her head slightly, "Alright then. Trunks, what were you and your father up to before you went to Goku's house? Don't worry, you won't get in trouble."

"Oh I see how it is now, getting the child to lie instead. You'd better choose your next words carefully son, otherwise tomorrow will _not_ be an easy day," Vegeta warned as he crossed his arms.

Trunks cringed in fear of both of his parents, "Actually, I was just watching TV and I heard Dad shouting for you to fix the gravity room. Then he asked me where you were, then we left."

"Nothing else?" Bulma asked as she bent down a bit to look him in the eye.

"No, nothing."

Vegeta snorted with a slight hint of satisfaction, "You see woman, don't just assume anything when you don't know the facts!"

"Well that's funny coming from you Mister high and mighty! You don't have all the facts on an hourly basis you damned hypocrite!" Bulma shouted back.

Vegeta was incensed, "What did you call me woman?"

"You heard me fine, but I'll repeat it until it sinks in! Hypocrite! Hypocrite! Hypocrite!"

"Shut up you ungrateful shrew!"

As the spat evolved, Trunks began making a discreet exit to the sanctuary of his room while they continued to bicker. He picked up a few of his misplaced toys along the way that had somehow found their way into the hallway. His room looked like a tornado had come through, with most of his closet space currently used as trip hazards. Whoever had trashed their home had an odd sense of humor as most of the closet had been dumped on the bed and floor, though his bedding was now in the closet. Trunks couldn't begin to imagine what this person wanted since nothing had been stolen. The most obvious thing was the Dragon balls of course, but they had been stashed in a safe place and were accounted for. Nor was anything expensive gone, which was equally odd considering the family that lived there. Not that anyone in their right mind would steal from a house full of Saiyans, but this didn't appear to be an ordinary burglar either. Trunks sighed as he began maneuvering his shelves back into place. He could have finished most of the cleanup job in a few seconds, but he didn't feel like giving his parents any more assistance considering they'd likely use it as a reason to argue more. As he was about halfway done, he heard a knock at his door.

"Yeah? Come in." he said. No one came through, nor did the door open. Trunks didn't sense anyone out there either, so he walked over to open it. No one was there, and Trunks immediately thought he had imagined it. He went back to cleaning and was about thirty seconds into the process when there was another knock. Trunks opened the door himself and peered out, seeing no one again.

_Okay, I know I didn't imagine that a second time. Maybe Lenz is bored and playing some stupid game with me or something._ Seeing as her and Verto's room was right next to his, he took the liberty of going there and finding out. She opened the door and Trunks' eyes locked onto her blue V-neck shirt and the view it provided.

"What's up?" she asked as she looked down at him.

Trunks stuttered a bit, "Uh, I was just, uh, wondering what you wanted."

Lenz was confused, "What do you mean?"

"You knocked on my door just a minute ago didn't you?" he asked.

"No, I've been putting away all the stuff Bulma got me today," Lenz claimed. Trunks glanced past her, noting the piles of new clothing on her bed.

Something seemed off though, "This room isn't a mess like the others?"

Lenz shrugged, "No, I don't think anyone came in here. Little brother doesn't have very much to throw around does he?"

"That's really weird, why would they leave this room alone and trash the rest of the place?" Trunks pondered.

Lenz smirked, "Well they obviously knew there was a beautiful girl staying in this one. Don't you agree?" Lenz intentionally tugged the gap of her shirt down a bit as she teased Trunks some more, causing him to blush.

He looked away, "Could you please not do that? I'm not into it."

Lenz's smirk grew, "You will be, but that's alright. I'll stop teasing you as much. That is if you tell me why you've been wearing gloves all the time lately. It's not something you used to do, and I personally prefer actual hands to touch me."

Trunks cringed slightly, "I…I just don't like getting my hands dirty!" Rather he meant it literally or as the quick lie that it was, it produced a very unexpected reaction from Lenz. Almost immediately she grabbed a hold of him by the throat and squeezed. Her eyes filled with red fury as she bared her teeth in his face.

"You wanna say that again you little bastard?" she growled. Trunks tried to fight out of the hold, but she held him firm.

"L-Lenz, s-stop!" he stammered. Just as quickly as it started, her mood shifted back as she gasped in horror. She let go and Trunks fell to the ground, choking for air.

"What was that for?" he asked angrily.

Lenz's eyes had shifted back to their original color and tears threatened to flow out of them, "I don't know, I'm so sorry!" Trunks took the moment to catch his breath again as Lenz back away nervously. She let out an exasperated sigh as she opened her dresser drawer and pulled out a necklace with a thin blue stone.

She didn't waste any time in putting it back on, "I guess I should've known that could happen. Can you forgive me Trunks?"

Trunks examined his neck where her fingers had left a red imprint, "Yeah, Dad's done worse in training. But why didn't you have that thing on before? Aren't you supposed to?"

"I thought I could handle the everyday activity that doesn't involve training, but it seems like every little thing can make me mad for no reason. Little brother said I should never take it off since it holds that awful power back," she explained.

"You mean that thing inside you that almost killed him?" Trunks asked.

Lenz looked away, "Yeah, that."

Trunks felt slightly confused, "I thought that one lady sealed it or something?"

Lenz sighed sadly, "She did, but there's only one real way to get rid of it, I think you know which one that is."

"Oh, _that_ way. Sorry I asked," Trunks said. The remained silent for a moment before there was a few distant shouts that echoed in the hallway.

"Your parents are at it again I see. That was one good thing about staying out in the woods, it was quiet," Lenz admitted.

"I think Dad was already mad at her for making another visit to that underground lab before they buried it all. I helped her get through and nothing happened, but he was still upset about it. Then when Verto said he couldn't go to that other place and fight with him, he tried to blow up that Kibito guy. He's been really angry lately," Trunks explained.

Lenz was unfazed, "Sounds about right for him on a daily basis. What did your mom want down in that place anyway?"

"That guy Cash, I guess he took his daughter's body or something. The one that could shape-shift. Her brain was in this big jar and mom wanted to try and help her, if she's even technically alive. She still isn't sure if she can yet," Trunks replied. As he finished, Trunks suddenly heard his baby sister crying from down the hall. It was nearly drowned out by the on-going argument from his parents, and he sighed.

"I guess I'd better see what's wrong with Bulla since they can't seem to stop. I swear we need a babysitter just for when they do this," Trunks grumbled.

"Well, if you can't handle changing a diaper yet, I can help," Lenz offered. Trunks nodded and they both walked two rooms over to the wailing child. She was standing up in her crib, holding onto the railing for support as she cried.

"What is it Bulla?" Trunks asked. She continued to scream into the air, not even noticing that her brother was there.

She also wasn't looking at him, but towards the other side of the room. Lenz reached into the crib and picked her up, "Shhh, what's wrong? You don't need changed. Maybe she's hungry?"

Bulla's crying began to calm itself, but it was very slow as Trunks held his ears, "Mom usually feeds her by now, but it's hard to tell with how today has gone. Guess we can try that." Lenz started to walk out with Bulla and Trunks followed before stopping.

"You feel something weird in here?" he asked.

Lenz also paused, "Now that you mention it, yeah, a little bit. Like I'm being watched or something."

"I feel that too. Mom said once that she had a shorted wire in her walls that produced a high EMF that would give her headaches for months before she found it," Trunks claimed.

"EMF?" Lenz asked.

"Electromagnetic Field. Maybe that's what is making her cry so bad, but the only thing electronic close enough is the light, and it works fine," Trunks said as he looked up.

"Well she's still probably hungry, let's help her out with that part first," Lenz suggested. Trunks nodded and they proceeded out the door. Before they got far, a very loud bang went off suddenly, scaring both of them with its volume. They both turned and saw that the glass of the window was severely cracked, but not yet broken.

"What the hell was that?" Trunks asked, stunned.

"I have no idea," Lenz answered. Bulla had quieted down by now and was starting towards the window with a peculiar expression, as if she were trying to figure it out too.

"Ga, ga!" she called out. They both glanced at the baby as she tried to sound out whatever she was trying to say.

"Go, goes."

"What is she trying to say?" Lenz wondered.

"Beats me," Trunks said.

"Ghos, Ghos!" Bulla finally said.

Trunks and Lenz both looked at each other wide-eyed, "Ghost?"

Vegeta came up from behind with Bulma, "What is going on here? What trouble are you two causing?"

"Why is the window broken?" Bulma asked. Trunks and Lenz again glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Mom, Dad, I think we have a ghost."

**A/N: Welcome to Mind-fuck City.**

**WDG: **Who you gonna call? Ghost Nappa!

**VB**: Omg, don't even tempt me.


	95. Bump in the Night

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 94: Bump in the Night**

"A ghost broke your sister's window? You actually expect me to believe that?" Vegeta asked.

Trunks shrugged, "I dunno Dad, you tell me what you think."

"You lie worse than Kakarot, that's what I think! I'll get to the bottom of this!" Vegeta bellowed. He then stormed off for the moment, though a clearly more agitated Bulma stayed behind. She attempted to remain calm, but the stress lines were showing in her expression.

"So you say a ghost did this? Alright, let's hear from the other witness to the crime, Lenz?" Bulma asked as she gave the younger girl an eyeful.

Lenz fumbled with her words for a moment, but not in a bogus manner, "Well I really don't know what happened. But the window was fine when we came in to see what the baby was crying about. We felt something weird in the room and Trunks thought it was EM…something."

"EMF," Trunks said quickly.

"Right, that. Anyways, we both turned to leave and that loud noise happened out of the blue. Now the window is broke and neither of us touched it," Lenz summarized.

"Okay, and you automatically came up with a ghost?" Bulma asked again, clearly not believing it.

Lenz's eyes darted to the side, "Actually…"

"Actually Bulla did," Trunks interrupted.

Bulma looked confused instantly, "Bulla did? And how did a baby that isn't even a year old come up with this genius explanation?"

"I don't know Mom, she said the word ghost right before you and Dad came up here. I've never heard her talk until just now," Trunks claimed.

Bulma quickly glared at Lenz, who nodded, "Yeah, she did."

Bulma held her head in exasperation, "Argh! So let me get this right. First, Vegeta breaks the gravity room again. Then some mystery person breaks in, trashed the place, and doesn't steal anything. Then Bulla's window just happened to break completely on its own while you two were in here. And now, you tell me that the cause of _all_ this and my baby's first word is a ghost?"

"Well, I don't know about all that other stuff, but sure, sounds good to me," Trunks said in agreement. Neither Lenz nor Trunks thought Bulma's face could get any redder than it was at that point. Her wrath was put on hold by Vegeta when he came back.

He held up what appeared to be a dead crow, "Here's your ghost." He promptly dropped it on the floor and turned around to leave.

"So that bird crashed into the window and broke it just now?" Trunks asked.

"What gave it away? I found it on the ground directly below and it was still warm. No other logical explanation for it," Vegeta replied.

"But it just randomly happened right as we left the room?" Trunks pressed on.

"I didn't time it boy, you did."

"And you don't find that to be a little strange?"

"Quit making something out of nothing. The grand mystery of the broken window is solved," Vegeta growled back. That did pull the heat off of Trunks, but not off of the Saiyan prince.

"And what about the mess of our house mystery? Did you get that one solved yet?" Bulma shouted at him.

"For the last time, I wasn't here foolish woman! If you want to know so badly, then use at least a tenth of your brain and check your god damned security cameras!" Vegeta roared.

"Yeah, well I already told you that they're only online outside, and those couldn't see what happened!" Bulma pointed out.

"Then maybe you should've finished installing them inside as well!" Vegeta countered.

"Maybe I will!" They both glared at each other and snorted a bit before walking off in different directions.

"Well that was…odd," Lenz said once the air was clear.

"No, very typical. I really hope I don't turn out like that when I'm a grownup," Trunks glowered as he folded his arms.

Lenz smirked, "Well, you could always use those Dragon Ball things and wish yourself young again. Then you could be like Verto!"

Trunks scoffed, "No thanks, it wouldn't be any fun. I'd just be stuck-up and stubborn all the time."

"Which last I checked is one hundred percent natural for a Saiyan. Anyways, let's get her fed," Lenz said as she gestured to Bulla. Trunks nodded and they both left the area. Inside the room, the crib moved over a few inches, closer to the window.

* * *

Once the girl and the boy left with the baby, it felt angry. The baby was giving it all the attention it desired, and was trying to communicate, it was certain of this. It had witnessed so many young children try to do that through their cries. It didn't want the baby to leave, and its anger towards this was strong enough to send that flying animal barreling into the clear material that humans used in their wall openings. It liked being angry now though since it had experienced it, especially since the negative emotions and energy seemed to make it stronger. It felt even more bolstered by the displays it was provided with. It had taken the alone time during the day to try out its new strength by moving many of the objects that these humans appeared to covet. Before, it could barely get a curtain to move, and now it was moving heavier objects with relative ease. The only trouble it had was maintaining this energy level when no one else was around or at rest. Energy levels tended to fall off that way when humans left the immediate area or were asleep. That wouldn't be a huge problem for it, but it would prove to be a hindrance as it would limit how long it could remain active.

When the mother and the girl returned however, the negative energy level in the area rose exponentially. This happened again when the cranky man returned. It swelled with energy and stamina as a result. So did its ability to focus on an object or on what it was trying to do specifically. Everything it had struggled with before was now child's play by comparison. It was also enjoying its new found hobby of tormenting the humans, even if they didn't know the direct cause yet. They all ran around this planet in the center of their own little worlds anyway. Doctors, lawyers, prisoners, it didn't matter who they were. All of them were corrupt and would only further corrupt the planet like a plague. It appreciated the planet called Earth, with the exception of the humans. It would make them pay for harming this beautiful world, one at a time if it must, until the master returns. Only the youngest of children were free of this disease called humanity. Only they could be saved.

It had another thought though, was that its purpose? It wasn't sure, but it always felt a connection with the youngest of children. Maybe that was the answer, maybe it was sent here to save the children from this world. It made sense from its point of view, especially if all that the human parents would teach is how to be utterly full of themselves. Why force them to be miserable if they didn't have to be? That settled it once and for all. It would create its own purpose for now if it couldn't find out what the original one was. And if felt this to be necessary. It was going to save this particular child for the torment that her parents would most likely bring about. The mother would teach her own corrupt ways of manipulation, while the father would teach violence. It had seen this on more than one occasion out of these two.

At the same time, it would payback these horrible parents tenfold with a just punishment. Make them live like scared little children until their primitive brains finally wither down enough that they eat each other. In the meantime, it would grant the innocent child salvation from the horror of this life. It was going to use the humans' own fear of anger against them, make itself stronger, and cleanse the world one place at a time. After all, it was a better use of eternity than just floating around, trying to be noticed. The mother would be first, she was the weakest of the group. It would play with the others too, but she was definitely the primary target.

At this point, it didn't care if the cranky man was there or not. He would eventually feel its wrath, but it would not be on his terms. It had quickly learned to control its energy output enough that he would not notice its movements or location, unlike before. That gave it an advantage it intended to exploit. It quickly mapped out areas of the household it could hide if and when it needed to rest and recover. That was easy enough with the cranky man's usual movement patterns. It decided that he would be second.

The others' time would come eventually, although it certainly didn't want to anger the sleeping spirit within the teenaged girl. It realized that there was more than a distinct possibility that the girl would notice its presence. The fact that the others already had despite not being very in tune spiritually spoke volumes about that. As long as it left her alone for the most part, it felt somewhat safe. It still needed to reach out at some point to try and communicate, as if to assure that dark spirit that it did not intend her any harm. For now, it was going to retreat to a lonely corner in order to rest and prepare. It now had plenty to do between now and whenever the master returned.

* * *

Lenz gasped as she sat up in bed, drenched in sweat. She had just finished a fresh nightmare, one that disturbed her sleep at around the three o'clock mark. Dawn was still hours away, and she sat back and stared at the ceiling. The details of her dream replayed in her head, most of them involving a lot of fire and her friends being killed. She held her necklace up and turned it slowly in her hands. _I've got to learn to control this dark power, like little brother did. But the only way to do that is to take this off, and I'm not supposed to at all. This is so confusing, what should I do?_

"_Follow your instincts girl, they can never let you down,_" a voice answered. Lenz's eyes widened as she jumped out of the bed and landed in her stance, looking around as she did.

She neither sensed nor saw anything there, but she knew better, "Who's there?"

The voice laughed as a slightly older and deeper feminine voice filled her head, "_You're looking in the wrong place. Try looking at your stomach and you'll figure it out._" Lenz did just that, getting an eyeful of the strange black marking that seemed to fade into view.

"What is that?" she cried out.

"_Don't remember eh? I'll give you a hint, I'm inside you._"

Lenz suddenly felt a cold shiver run up her spine, "So you're the one who did all this?"

"_I had a little help. If you don't remember, my name is Kaon, and you should be thanking me you know. Your figure, or should I say our figure, has developed quite nicely. It's only missing some color, but besides that I think I can live with it. It beats that bloated and top-heavy body you were used to,_" Kaon replied.

Lenz cringed as she eyed the mirror, "There was nothing wrong with my body before! Do you know how many would kill to be that natural?"

"_Maybe in your opinion, doesn't matter now does it? You were born for fighting and killing, not a beauty contest. Looks don't tell the whole story, especially when the monster within is so much more…natural_," Kaon laughed.

Lenz crossed her arms and glared at the mirror, "Hmph, well it doesn't matter. I'm gonna find a way to get rid of you!"

"_Oh are you now? Considering that you get the bulk of your energy from me, it will be quite difficult._" The image in the mirror suddenly seemed to shift. Lenz's reflection turned blue as her clothing faded into the scantily clad black outfit she had worn before, and her hair stood up. Lenz double-checked her own body, but saw no such change.

"Why am I seeing this?" Lenz asked.

"_Naturally because it is our true form. You will learn to accept this in time,_" Kaon said smoothly.

"I'll never accept you!" Lenz snapped back.

"_You say that now, but soon you'll see that you have no such choice. Our personalities may be separate now, but they'll come together eventually. You are not like the other worthless half-breeds, you are special. At one time you may have been born to be my host body, but now that I am awake I can tell you that isn't the case. You and I are more than just a failed afterthought my dear, and we will show them all why. I will help you to realize that, it has already begun!_" Kaon stated. Lenz touched the black marking on her stomach and noticed that a small portion of it had blurred a bit just before it vanished.

"_If you can't figure it out yet, I'll spell it out. The life you know is on borrowed time, which means you are on borrowed time. If you think your friends aren't paranoid about what you and I possess, then you're an incredible fool. They might allow your prolonged existence for now, but only under the misconception that they are safe. We will prove them wrong eventually, when they least expect it!_" Kaon declared.

"This is that thing that woman put on me to keep you sealed up isn't it? Why isn't it working, and why isn't this working?" Lenz asked as she fondled her necklace crystal.

The image of Kaon hissed at it from the mirror, "_That seal won't last stupid girl, Leira knows it won't either. She gave in at a weak moment and spared us. I suppose I should be thankful. And as far as that pathetic piece of jewelry goes, it can only do so much. The fact that I can speak to you like this and your recent outburst should be enough proof._"

Lenz shuddered as she grasped the truth, "That was because of you?"

"_Of course it was. A soft heart like yours doesn't just lash out randomly, even when insulted. But we can work on that. We can show that kid what a woman you really are when you burn him into cinders!_" Kaon laughed. Lenz flushed with anger and punched the mirror, shattering it on impact.

Kaon's laughter continued, "_If only that had actually worked, pity._"

"Get out of my head!" Lenz screamed. The door suddenly launched open from a very minor shove of Vegeta's hand, and he looked about as cheerful as usual.

"What the hell is going on in here girl? Who the blazes are you talking to?" he growled. Lenz paused, quickly realizing how much noise she had been making.

"_I don't suggest saying anything girl. First of all, it's not like you will be able to hide anything from me. And secondly, it's the fallen prince himself girl, be smart. Do you honestly think he won't take action if you say something stupid?_" Kaon asked.

Lenz looked down, "Oh, no one. There's nothing going on."

Vegeta eyed the broken mirror, "That's an awfully loud nothing."

Lenz bowed slightly, "Sorry." Vegeta grunted and left, but not before casting an extremely suspicious glance in her direction.

"_That was a scary look. I don't think the fallen prince trusts you. Maybe we should roast him first, what do you think?_" Kaon asked.

"_Oh shut up!_" Lenz mentally shouted back.

"_Well look who finally realized how stupid she sounded talking to herself. And by the way, I'll shut up when I damn well please little girl. You need proper guidance anyway, who better than me to teach you? Yes, I can even train you in your sleep once you're willing,"_ Kaon suggested. Lenz grumbled slightly and didn't answer as she trudged back to her bed. The flooring across the room suddenly made a creaking sound, drawing her attention. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, but her sense of danger built up regardless.

Kaon noticed it as well, "_Looks like I'm not the only unwelcome guest in this house._"

"_Can you tell me what that is?_" Lenz asked.

"_It's a nuisance. Probably sent here for a subtle revenge by a coward. I don't honestly know or care at this point_," Kaon replied.

"_Okay, how do I get rid of it?_"

Kaon laughed again, "_Compromise my dear. Take off the crystal and I'll not only tell you, I'll show you._" Lenz scowled and lay back in her bed. There were no more interruptions in her attempts to sleep for the next several hours, but there didn't need to be. Kaon had already provided her enough feelings of sleepless dread for several weeks to come.

* * *

Two days later, Bulma summoned Vegeta and Trunks to her lab with a certain urgency that she didn't bring out for just any situation.

"What is it now woman? I'm busy," Vegeta growled.

"With what? You're obviously not training since the gravity room is broken," Bulma pointed out.

Vegeta bared his teeth, "My business is my own, now what do you want?" There was silence for a moment as the two glared at each other, enough to make Trunks nervous as he sneaked in the door behind his father.

Bulma relaxed though and smiled a bit, "Well it appears I owe you both an apology."

Vegeta stood up straight and stuck out his chest slightly, "About time you realized how idiotic you've been lately." Bulma's nostrils flared above the strained smile, but she let it slide as she typed in a few commands at her computer. A video display came up, showing a few different camera angles throughout Capsule Corp. Most notably though were the cameras set up in Bulla's room, the lobby, and the main hallways both upstairs and downstairs. There were also three others set up in the master bedroom, the kitchen and just outside the gravity room.

"These have all been running non-stop for thirty six hours straight. All of them have motion detection programs entered in to tag the time of when anything that moves in range of the camera and it logs each motion frame into the computer. Now watch what happened late last night after I put Bulla down for bed," Bulma said as she pointed to the video screen on the right. The feed changed and showed Bulma laying the baby girl in her crib, adjusting the blankets and then leaving the room with the door closed. The recording jumped ahead about fifteen minutes according to the time display when the door suddenly opened fully by itself and then closed again after two minutes of no activity.

"Hmph, it's just a change in air pressure woman," Vegeta claimed.

"Vegeta, the door was latched shut. So unless either of you felt like practicing telekinesis or something, it opened and shut all on its own. Explain that one O' Great Prince of Logic!" Bulma countered.

Vegeta rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

"Well, I'm not sure what to call that Mom, but it was kinda strange to be a change in air pressure. And I don't think any windows were open," Trunks said.

"Thank you, at least someone gets it," Bulma replied as she shot a glare at Vegeta.

He took it in stride, "Is that all of your meaningless evidence?"

Bulma smirked a bit, "Nope. Maybe this next clip will grab your attention a little better." The kitchen video screen then moved onto the main display, showing Vegeta digging through the fridge just after midnight. Directly behind Vegeta on the wall was a shadow, but it wasn't being cast by the light of the fridge, nor anything else. It moved towards the prince before suddenly darting across the room right as he spun around. Vegeta glanced around a bit before returning to food rummaging.

Bulma stopped the recording to glanced at her husband, "Well, even you noticed something that time huh?"

"Whoa! What was that?" Trunks asked. Vegeta was flabbergasted and wide-eyed at what he had seen, but he hid it almost as quickly while he grunted a silent answer and looked away.

"Trunks, I'd say there's something to this ghost theory of yours, whether your father believes it or not is another story," Bulma said as she gave Vegeta a hard stare.

"Ridiculous! Two isolated incidents and we suddenly jump right into a full blown haunting! I have a better explanation: You're slowly losing your mind in your work woman!" Vegeta proclaimed.

"Maybe, but at least we are figuring out what's been going on around here. I've been through every other possible explanation for what could have caused that, and I'm coming up blank. Unless of course you want to take the blame for tearing our home apart a few days ago…" Bulma hinted. Vegeta muttered something under his breath and leaned against the wall.

Trunks had much more interest though, "So cool! I can't wait to tell Goten!" Trunks was about to bounce off towards the nearest phone when Vegeta snatched his arm and stopped him dead in his tracks.

"You will not say anything about this nonsense to anyone else, understand?" Vegeta ordered.

"Aww, but why?"

"We will deal with this…supposed ghost, ourselves. No one else needs to know about it. Once the blasted thing shows itself, I will destroy it!" Vegeta declared.

Bulma stifled a laugh, "And how are you going to do that? Punch it to death?"

"I'll vaporize it, naturally that's the only thing that will work on something that slithers around with no obvious form," Vegeta said.

"You'll have to wipe out the whole house to be sure and I have my doubts that'll even work. And I would prefer not to have to build this place up again," Bulma reminded.

Vegeta grimaced, "I don't care what it takes. No pathetic spirit gets the best of the prince of all Saiyans!"

"Is it really that bad? I mean, it was probably human once or something right? Shouldn't we just try to catch it?" Trunks asked.

Bulma smiled at her son's optimism, "Well, we don't know if it's bad or good yet Trunks. We don't even know what it wants since we probably can't talk to it directly. And I don't think we'll have much luck trying to set a ghost trap or anything."

"Hmph, pointless. Who would you call for a job like that?" Vegeta asked.

"Well, I think I'd try to do it myself first…" Bulma started to say.

Vegeta snorted as he seemed to know what she was going to say ahead of time, "Well good, maybe you should get on it. Meanwhile, I'm going to search this place thoroughly until I find that thing and send it to hell where it belongs!" Vegeta then stormed off as Bulma and Trunks looked at each other in confusion.

"I guess that's his way of agreeing with us this time," Bulma surmised.

"So other than blowing up half the house, how else could we get rid of it? I mean it hasn't hurt anyone yet," Trunks pointed out.

"Vegeta probably thinks it broke the gravity room or something and is taking this as a personal challenge. I'd prefer to try and contact it first. You never know, it might be somewhat friendly," Bulma said reassuringly.

"Could we use one of them weird spirit board things?" Trunks asked.

Bulma's eyebrow raised up, "A Ouija Board?"

"Yeah, that."

"I've heard some bad things about those Trunks, so let's avoid that idea. It might invite even more trouble," Bulma suggested.

Trunks slumped his head a bit, "Okay, what do we do to try and contact it then?"

"Let's try an experiment with a digital voice recorder and try to talk to it and then play back the results. There's a good chance that it will pick up things that we can't hear ourselves."

* * *

Around four hours later, Bulma and Trunks headed up to Bulla's room and sat on the floor with a large device that featured a small satellite dish on its top. Bulla squealed a bit as she sat in her crib, looking at her toys as if they had suddenly become the most interesting things in the room. "I know it's not all that quiet in here with your sister, but we should at least use a familiar setting to what happened before. This should capture any sound, even if it's outside out listening range," Bulma explained as she turned on the device. The small satellite dish spun quietly as the lights turned from red to green, prompting Bulma to speak again.

"EVP experiment number one, Bulla's room, two-thirty PM. Is there anyone here with us?" Trunks looked around, expecting to hear or see something right away, but there was nothing.

Bulma paused for about fifteen seconds before continuing, "We mean you no harm, well most of us anyway. Can you come out and talk to us? This device will allow us to hear anything you have to say, don't be afraid." Bulma paused again, and Trunks shifted a bit with anticipation. There was still nothing, other than the sounds of Bulla rustling around a bit in her crib.

"If you don't want to talk to us, we'll leave and come back later," Bulma claimed. Trunks frowned at the lack of action and quickly became bored.

"Well maybe we'll get lucky. Let's go listen to the results in the lab," Bulma suggested.

"I hope there's something, this is boring," Trunks complained.

"It's also the middle of the day Trunks. I did some research and it is said that most paranormal activity occurs at night, sometimes very late when everyone is normally asleep. Well, this is based on observed activity. We can try again later after dinner and see what turns up," Bulma pointed out.

Trunks snorted in disappointment, "Okay." Bulma shut the recorder off and left the room as Trunks followed. They were about ten paces into the hallway when Bulla started crying.

"Oh shoot, Trunks hold this while I see what's wrong," Bulma said as she handed the device to him. She approached the doorway, only to have the door suddenly slam shut in her face.

"What the hell?" she asked. She turned the knob and pushed, but the door wouldn't budge an inch. It was as if someone much stronger than her was on the other side.

"Damn it, it won't open!" Bulma called out. Bulla's screaming got louder and sounded more desperate within a few seconds, causing her mother to fill with terror.

"Trunks!" Trunks set the recorder down and rushed over, plowing through the door easily. It ripped off its hinges and sailed into the far wall, breaking apart. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a shadow fly out of the way and vanish into the wall before he could lock onto it. Bulma ran in to get Bulla, who was well into her fearful tantrum. Trunks remained on guard as he scanned every bit of the room, seeing and sensing nothing. Bulma attempted to calm her daughter, who was understandably frightened with what had just happened.

"Mom, I think we should review that tape and maybe the video camera too. That thing clearly didn't want us coming back in," Trunks suggested.

"But why is the question," Bulma pondered. Bulla turned her head slightly and grabbed onto Bulma's shirt with as strong a grip as she could produce. Bulma and Trunks both stared at this strange behavior. It was as if Bulla was trying to hide from the thing that had made her cry.

* * *

It was an hour later when Vegeta finally noticed the broken door in Bulla's room. He had been searching in every dark nook and cranny he could find around the compound, but had found nothing. Seeing the splintered door made him rethink his strategy, and he proceeded back to the lab where his family was. He walked in to see a few disturbed looks plastered on the faces of his wife and son.

"What the devil is it now? Why is the brat's door off its hinges?" Vegeta asked. Bulma pointed to the screen, where she was reviewing what had happened. It drew Vegeta's attention when the door had slammed shut and there was a dark mass getting very close to Bulla's crib, causing her to scream. It seemed to flee when Trunks broke the door down, but there was no tracing its path once it vanished.

Vegeta scowled once it did, "What is that blasted thing?"

"I don't know, but it clearly isn't friendly. Listen to the audio we captured just before that," Bulma said as she clicked a button marked 'play'.

"_Is there anyone here with us…YES…"_ Vegeta's eyes narrowed sharply at the deep but shallow voice that followed Bulma's.

"That's really creepy," Trunks added.

"Hmph, is that all it said?" Vegeta asked.

"Actually, no," Bulma said nervously.

"_If you don't want to talk to us, we'll leave and come back later…LEAVE…"_ Vegeta scowled as Bulma let the tape play, eventually bringing Bulma and Trunks' voices back in.

"_…I hope there's something, this is boring!…It's also the middle of the day Trunks…GET OUT…It is said that most paranormal…"_ Bulma stopped the playback as she shook her head while Vegeta's eyes had widened by quite a bit.

"And neither of you even heard that?" he asked.

Trunks stared at the ground, "Not even a whisper."

"To be fair, the odds of us picking up a sound like that were slim to begin with. It's why I ran that experiment in the first place to see if it was trying to communicate. Obviously we have that answer," Bulma said.

Vegeta grunted a bit and stomped out of the lab, "Coward! Come out!"

Bulma rolled her eyes, "Typical."

"So what do we do?" Trunks asked.

Bulma sighed slightly, "I don't know yet."

* * *

Four days later, Lenz was sitting on her bed, staring blankly at the ground. It had been relatively quiet since the incident involving Bulla's bedroom door. They had noticed a few things out of place and a footstep or two, but nothing past that. Either the entity had calmed down completely, or it was avoiding Vegeta's nighttime patrol. As much as Lenz wanted to try and help, she didn't want to risk lashing out at anyone. She kept to herself most of the time, though to say she was alone would be incorrect.

"_So, the other guest has been quiet eh? I'll bet that'll change quickly_," Kaon whispered through her brain.

Lenz snapped out of her blank mood immediately, "_What do you mean by that?_"

"_It's the type of creature that lives off fear and anger. So this is essentially the perfect environment for it. However…_" Kaon suddenly stopped.

Lenz frowned at the pause, "_What?_"

She literally felt Kaon grinning, "_Not telling!_"

Lenz growled and pushed back the urge to smash something, "_I hate you!_"

"_Somehow I'll get over that_."

"_Don't you have anything better to do than bug me?_"

"_Afraid not, but pestering you is fun, so I'll do that. Don't you have anything better to do than sitting on your sulking ass all day and avoiding others? What's wrong little girl? Are you scared that you'll accidentally snap one of their necks?_" Lenz scowled and didn't answer.

"_It's just as well, these humans have such short life spans. You may as well put them all out of their misery now_," Kaon continued.

"_Leave them out of this!_"

"_My my, has someone developed a soft spot for these weak little beings? Sparing them is not an act of mercy my dear. Look at them, they do nothing but consume!"_

"_And what makes demons any better?_" Lenz asked.

Kaon snorted at this, "_Ha!_ _For starters, we're not ignorant to our own surroundings. I've noticed you've started to pick up that particular trait. Maybe that's just what happens during a peaceful time period. Apparently that doesn't only affect humans though, all races have that problem it seems. And they'll claw and clutch at their fragile peace until it finally shatters and they die!_"

"_What are you getting at?_"

"_A very simple notion that even a Saiyan can understand. If you want peace, prepare for war_," Kaon declared.

"_If you mean train, I do that enough_," Lenz claimed.

"_Ha, in your own mind maybe. But you have to learn what you're capable of as well. You haven't done that. Nor have they forced you. Though considering that they're all afraid of you, I guess I can't blame them,_" Kaon said.

"_They're afraid of you, not me_," Lenz countered.

Kaon chuckled, "_Maybe so, but let me ask you this, what is worse? An amazingly powerful child that can't control her own actions on a regular basis? Or a strong being that can think rationally at all times and will not let emotions determine how to even breathe? I would think that choice is clear_."

"_Funny, coming from a heartless demon like you_."

"_Oh my heart works fine as it is. It's yours that is skewed. But we can work on that. In fact, I have the perfect little remedy for it_."

"_Not interested_."

"_You say that now, but what if I were to show you how to control your deep power?_"

"_And let you back out? Forget it_," Lenz said immediately.

"_Hmph, it's not like I am much more than an extra voice in your head at the moment. And as much as I hate to admit it, all it would take is you going off the handle and blowing up and I'm gone. So it's mutually beneficial. It will be quite some time before that seal erodes on its own unfortunately, so you really have nothing to worry about_," Kaon offered. Lenz paused, as it made sense logically, but it seemed a bit off.

"_And how do I know it isn't just some trick?_"

"_I'm part of you, so you should be able to tell the difference between truth and lies, no matter our separate opinions. I will be much more open with you than anyone else. Especially the fallen prince and his merry little band_," Kaon claimed.

"_I don't believe you_," Lenz said plainly.

"_You don't have to, the truth will be revealed to you in time. Why do you think that brat went off on that mission without you? He couldn't trust you to remain in control. Nor could he trust his own feelings on the matter. Smart kid, I would have left your pitiful ass behind as well. He should have given up on you long ago though,_" Kaon suggested.

Lenz snarled silently, "_Shut up! Little brother isn't like that!_"

Kaon grinned, "_Silly girl, people are not always what they seem. Take that kid for example. He's supposed to teach you how to control your power, but all he does is hold you back!_"

"_Yeah, I used to think that too, and he was right. I've screwed that up enough times already. You're not going to push me back down that road!_" Lenz declared.

"_Ha! No need to guide your path, you've been on it for quite some time. You may not be the same little whore that was dumped into his lap, but you still have much to learn. It's obvious that whatever you've gained in terms of power and skills has been offset by your softness. Maybe you should go back to Frost, at least you had an edge then. Even if all you could do was be a pleasure doll for his soldiers!_"

"_Shut up!_"

"_Aw, does the truth hurt? Well no matter how much you don't want to face it, the facts remain the same. Someday, someone much stronger than you is going to come along and destroy everything you hold dear. And you will be helpless to stop it because of your softness. Even 'little brother' will fall someday, and there will be nothing you can do about it except pray for a painless death!_"

Lenz's energy sparked out of anger, "_You're wrong!_"

"_Am I? Then why is it that every time you get in over your head, he has to come bail you out? You have all the power you need, but not the control and resolve to use it. Even if you could function without someone holding your hand, you still can't get very far. Any way you look at it, you're nothing but a waste with a pretty face!_"

"_Leave me alone!_" A brief burst of Psi lightning came off her body and struck the carpeting, leaving a burn mark. Lenz tried to calm herself immediately, but the damage had already been done. Within seconds her door flew open and Vegeta rushed in, more than ready for a fight.

"Where is it girl?" he bellowed. Lenz blinked sharply, quickly forgetting any realistic excuse she could think up.

"Where's what?" she asked.

"Don't play stupid, I sense another energy disturbance coming from this room. You had to have noticed it as well!" Vegeta pointed out. Lenz cringed as she realized that she had just pulled his complete attention with her brief touch of anger.

Kaon laughed from within, "_Looks like he's catching on girl, you should kill him now. Once he figures out that I'm here, he'll kill you for sure. I say don't let him have the chance!_"

Lenz gritted her teeth a bit as she did her best to ignore her inner demon, "Sorry, I didn't."

"Nonsense! You can sense Psionic energy much easier than I can! Now tell me where that thing went!" Vegeta ordered.

"_Fool of a prince. He doesn't even realize that all of his anger is feeding it. It won't be long now_," Kaon said. Just as Kaon's thought had finished, a loud and wretched scream hit the air. Both Vegeta and Lenz looked towards the hallway, but neither recognized the sound as anything remotely human. When it ended, a loud thump went off, followed promptly by Bulla crying and Bulma calling for help. Both Vegeta and Lenz ran down to the master bedroom, quickly joined by a half awake Trunks. Upon reaching the room, they spotted a terrified Bulma holding her baby close. A shadow quickly vanished from the window before Vegeta could lock onto it. Below the window, Bulla's crib was in pieces.

"What happened?" Vegeta asked.

"All I did was take Bulla out of her crib when she started coughing. It made that horrible sound and all of a sudden the crib was flying through the air and crashed into the wall!" Bulma explained.

"I see. Come on cretin! Come pester me and see what happens!" Vegeta dared the entity.

"Vegeta, I don't think pissing it off is such a great idea. Look what it just did while you were out of the room," Bulma pointed out.

"Is that the best you can do?" Vegeta shouted at the air. Bulma shook her head slightly and worked on calming her daughter down. Lenz sighed and went back to her own room once the air seemed to clear.

"_It's getting stronger, it won't be long now,_" Kaon whispered.

Lenz froze mid-step, "_Won't be long until what?_"

Kaon laughed, "_You'll see. And then my dear, you'll want to do things my way…_" Lenz shivered nervously as a very cold chill went up her spine.

**A/N: ROAR!**


	96. Paranormal

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 95: Paranormal **

The number of incidents increased during the following week, most of the time at night. Vegeta primarily patrolled the main hallway and didn't sleep, trying to catch things as they happened. This didn't appear to do much though when Bulma and Bulla constantly woke up from some sort of nightmare. In Bulma's case, she was often seeing the shadow figure at the foot of her bed and in the window. She would call for Vegeta immediately and watch the shadow scamper off just as he arrived. Even with the use of video surveillance, they were unable to trace its path. Vegeta was near the point of blasting holes in the walls just to see if he'd get lucky and hit it. The dark spirit also had a habit of creating some sort of noise to pull his attention before slamming the doors behind him. Within two nights, the only door still on its hinges was Verto and Lenz's. That also appeared to be the only room that was unaffected during those many nights, though it was apparent that Lenz wasn't getting anymore sleep than the rest of them.

One night the entity literally pulled toys from Trunks' room and sent them flying at Vegeta in the dark. None of them did anything except annoy the Saiyan prince, but that didn't stop it from being any less unsettling. Nor did it stop Vegeta from blowing them all up, leaving scattered smoldering holes in the walls and floor. Despite all of this, none were as disturbing as the event late on a Tuesday night. Vegeta was leaning against the hallway wall with his eyes closed, sensing everything around him. It was strangely quiet and still that night, which was ominous in and of itself. That quiet quickly ended around three in the morning when Bulla started to cry. Vegeta was down there in a flash, but saw nothing this time.

"Woman, the brat needs changed," Vegeta grumbled as he turned around. When there was no response, Vegeta glared at the bed. To his utter surprise, there was nobody there.

Vegeta felt a hint of fear, "That's not possible!"

Trunks stumbled into the room a moment later, rubbing sleep from his eyes, "What is it Dad? Where's Mom?"

"That's what I would like to know. I can't even sense her presence," Vegeta claimed.

Trunks woke up quickly, "But…if she left you would have known right? I mean you've been standing guard in the hallway all this time. There's no way she could have gotten by you."

"No, unless…" Both of them stared at the window, but it was locked shut.

"Then where could she have…" Trunks started to ask. He was interrupted when they both heard a distant sounding scream. It sounded very human and feminine, and a loud bang followed it.

"Watch your sister," Vegeta quickly ordered. He was gone in a flash, leaving his children alone. Vegeta quickly traced the sound to the lower end of Capsule Corp, to a common area for him. A very light and muffled screaming sound was coming from inside the gravity room, where he could also hear light tapping sounds. Vegeta wasted no time in unlocking the chamber, revealing a distraught Bulma inside.

"What the? How the devil did you get in here?" Vegeta demanded.

"I-I don't know! I just woke up and the door slammed on me!" Bulma stuttered as she was clearly frightened.

"What? An hour ago you were in your bed when I checked. I never saw you leave, nor did I fall asleep and miss you going by. Even if I didn't sense you, I would have noticed your footsteps!" Vegeta declared.

Bulma's eyes unloaded two rivers, "I don't know!" She hugged him tight for support, which Vegeta slowly accepted.

* * *

Bulma sipped a large cup of coffee the next morning as she went over the security footage from the previous night. It was becoming a very routine thing for her now, not to mention tiresome since everyone was struggling to sleep. She zeroed in on the hours of two to three in the morning and watched closely. The only thing she noticed initially was Vegeta's beast-like figure patrolling and glaring holes in every wall that he could. When he finally stopped moving around and stayed in one place, things got a bit strange. First Bulma observed herself getting out of bed and standing over Bulla's new crib. This probably wouldn't have seemed all that strange if it hadn't have gone on for nearly forty-five minutes. Then the even creepier part of it came as she slowly left the room and stepped right by Vegeta, who didn't even react. Bulma knew well enough that Vegeta never actually slept standing up.

The rest of the internal cameras caught her walking straight into the gravity chamber. When she got there, the door swung open on its own and she stepped in and disappeared into the darkness. The door didn't shut again until the part she actually started screaming, in which it slammed shut and locked itself. Bulma's hands shook nervously as she set down her cup, rattled by the evidence. The phone suddenly rang, further startling her for a moment.

"Hello?"

"Bulma, Goku just said that Piccolo's back. They're all meeting up at the lookout, so could you send Vegeta and Lenz up there as well?" Chichi asked from the other end.

Bulma felt slight relief, "Oh sure, do you know what's going on? Wouldn't that mean that Verto is back as well?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm guessing he isn't," Chichi replied.

Bulma frowned with disappointment, "That can't be good then, I'll let them know."

She had barely hung up the phone before Vegeta marched in, "I'll leave Trunks here with you, we need to meet with the Namek immediately!" Bulma nodded and watched the mad rush of Vegeta and Lenz flying off on her outdoor monitors. She reviewed the surveillance footage a few more times and held her head a bit, deep in thought. She then glanced down at Bulla and felt an awful sense of dread wash over her. She scooped up the baby and left the room, heading straight for where she knew Trunks would be. She startled her son a bit as he was half asleep in the armchair.

"What's up Mom?" Trunks yawned.

"Trunks, sweetie. Could you please take Bulla over to Goku's place?" Bulma requested.

"Um, okay. But why? Dad told me to stay here with you in case something happened," Trunks pointed out.

"Trust me Trunks, it's for the best. I'll call ahead and let her know you're coming. She is to stay there until this…problem of ours is resolved," Bulma said sternly. Trunks nodded grimly and took a hold of his baby sister before leaving. Bulma sighed with slight relief before going back to her lab.

_I've got to find a way to get rid of this thing. It's time to take my paranormal research a bit further, before it decides to drive us all insane._ As she was walking away, the hallway lights behind her flickered.

* * *

"Alright Namek, explain yourself!" Vegeta demanded once he landed. Piccolo had just finished eating a Senzu bean to heal after regenerating what he could on his own. He didn't feel overly ready to deal with the Saiyan prince yet, but with most of the immediate group before him, he didn't have much choice.

"It's quite simple actually, the leader of the Renegade Saiyans is stronger than all of us," Piccolo replied. There was a momentary pause as the Z fighters all glanced at each other.

"You mean the one he fought with when he and Lenz were taken to Frost's base?" Gohan asked.

Piccolo shook his head, "No, that one is dead. I saw Verto kill him myself. This leader posed as another agent involved with Leira in order to fool us. They appear to have some history, but I have very little information regarding that."

"So, is he some sort of really powerful Super Saiyan, like Broly?" Krillin asked.

"If he is in fact an actual Super Saiyan, I didn't sense it. But he is stronger than any Saiyan I have ever seen before. If we were able to accurately gauge his power here, I believe he would make Majin Buu look pathetic by comparison," Piccolo claimed.

"Majin Buu was pathetic," Vegeta grumbled.

Goku was becoming excited at this turn of events however, "So when do we get to fight him Piccolo?" Everyone stared at Goku like he was crazy for a moment before they let out a collective sigh.

Krillin shrugged, "Typical Goku."

"Leira said that Verto is going to be fighting him in this tournament of theirs and pending the outcome of that match, she would return with one of us to go help him if needed," Piccolo explained.

"What?" Vegeta and Gohan shouted.

Dende nervously spoke next despite the outburst, "Would it not be prudent to send everyone available to assist?"

Piccolo shook his head, "Normally yes, but there are apparently restrictions as to how many of us can travel realms like this. It's her call, not ours. Also there was a large time discrepancy in place."

"Say that again?" Krillin asked.

"I mean that Verto and I only experienced five days thus far. Here, fifteen have passed. If all of us left to go help him, no one would be here to defend the Earth against any attackers. That's why only the strongest of us should go, and that is Gohan," Piccolo suggested.

"Right, I'm ready now," Gohan pledged.

"Yes of course. But this will probably happen in five to six days, so be on standby until then, no heavy training," Piccolo instructed.

"Oh come on Piccolo, we'll be back before you know it. The Earth will be safe for a few days," Goku claimed.

Vegeta's eyes flashed with attentiveness, "As much as I hate to agree with the Namek, he at least has a brain, unlike you Kakarot!"

"What do you mean?" Goku asked in bewilderment.

"You fool, Frost may or may not be on his way here now, but he will certainly be keeping an eye on the planet's various high power levels. The instant we all left, he would know and would take advantage. The last thing even a clown like you would want is to come back barely alive and have to fight him again. It would be your end Kakarot!" Vegeta growled.

"I don't know about that, I'm pretty sure I could defeat him. We won't know until we try right?" Goku said. Everyone stared at him again, this time with a little more concern.

"Goku, at the risk of siding with Vegeta here, he's right. We don't want anyone related to Frieza getting an advantage like that, no matter how short it is. Who knows, the Earth could get completely destroyed while you were gone because of that time shift thing," Krillin said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Goku said as he frowned with disappointment while Vegeta looked away in annoyance.

Lenz finally felt the need to speak once everyone was silent for more than a few seconds, "So, is Verto okay?"

Piccolo smiled with some reassurance, "He'll be fine for the time being. He's slowly gaining better control over that deep power of his. That Saiyan attacked at a weak moment after he had fought the other five in a row and was exhausted. There are experienced healers there to help him with any injuries. If nothing else, this mission has been very beneficial with regards to his training."

Vegeta smirked, "Ha, I find it hard to believe that he could regain his edge that quickly. His softness and his rage were trying to co-mingle, thus making him confused and rash. He would nHHot be able to reign himself back in without some sort of anger outlet to release aggression on."

Piccolo returned the smirk, "As it turns out, he had a very effective…training partner in that regard. One that is no longer living I might add."

Goku was the first to overreact, "He killed his training partner?"

"That's not what I meant," Piccolo tried to say.

"We should gather the Dragon balls and wish that poor soul back to life right away! Shame on Verto for taking things too far!" Goku claimed.

Piccolo smacked his head slightly, "No, it was not someone worth wishing back, and for the record Verto didn't kill him so forget about it!"

Goku's apparent distress cleared up quickly, "Oh, never mind then."

"Well, now I'm curious Namek. Who was it that went with you that was more worthy than the prince of all Saiyans? Especially if this person was the boy's training partner?" Vegeta asked.

Piccolo rolled his eyes a bit, "If you had gone instead of me, this person wouldn't have lasted nearly as long. In fact, I don't think he would have ever made it there."

"Sounds like a job for Frieza," Krillin muttered.

"Exactly."

Vegeta's fist shook momentarily, "I swear I'm going to rip that woman to pieces."

"At least it makes sense. Little brother hates Frieza," Lenz pointed out.

"Be quiet girl!" Vegeta roared back.

Piccolo shook his head in exasperation, "That aside, I think Gohan should stand by up here until we hear form Leira."

"With the wedding this close? Mom and Videl will kill me!" Gohan argued.

"Ha, if the harpies can't understand that you have other priorities, they'll just have to learn their place again. Even that dime-store mannequin that baldy married gets it!" Vegeta said.

"I'm standing right here," Eighteen said from behind Krillin.

Piccolo ignored them both, "It would be best in a time-saving sense to stay here Gohan, but since you know Instant Transmission, I can just contact you telepathically. But you'll have to be ready at anytime, even if you're at school."

Gohan nodded, "Right, I understand."

"Why didn't you say that to begin with Namek? Were you beaten so badly that your halfway decent brain has finally begun to turn to goo?" Vegeta taunted. Everyone stared at Piccolo for the expected reaction to Vegeta's insult, but there wasn't one.

"That's all for now," Piccolo said as he turned around.

Vegeta snorted at the lack of reaction, "Fine. Come on girl, we are needed elsewhere." Both Vegeta and Lenz's auras came to life as they prepared to take off.

"Something wrong Vegeta? You seem like you're in a hurry to leave," Goku pointed out.

Vegeta's dangerous eyes filled with more venom than any of them had seen in some time, "None of your business, Kakarot!"

* * *

Vegeta and Lenz arrived back at Capsule Corp to an eerie quiet settling over the large dome.

"Where is everyone?" Lenz asked first. Vegeta's eyes narrowed as he realized that he couldn't sense anyone there. When he finally felt his son's presence, he quickly noticed that he was nowhere near there. He was however returning from wherever he had gone.

"Damn it all! I told Trunks to stay here! Where the hell is Bulma?" Vegeta roared.

"I'm not sure, but something feels really strange in there. Like there was a lot of energy bouncing around in here awhile ago," Lenz pointed out. Vegeta felt a distinct chill run down his back and took off running down the hallway. He nearly ripped the door off the gravity room and ran inside. When Lenz got there, she couldn't believe what she saw. There was Bulma, with an expressionless face, laying on the floor. Her hands were covered in scrapes, as were her legs. Most notably, there was a reddened area on her leg that looked as if some kind of animal had bitten here. Vegeta checked her vitals first, noting a slightly elevated heart rate but otherwise she was alright.

"Woman, wake up! Who did this?" Vegeta asked. Bulma didn't budge initially, prompting Vegeta to shake her a bit. She slowly opened her eyes, giving off a stone cold stare towards her husband.

Vegeta didn't have to be told something was off, "What the devil is wrong with you?"

"Everything is fine. Let me go to sleep," Bulma replied, completely monotone.

Lenz's eyes widened, "I sense something inside her. Like another presence!"

Vegeta's lip twitched in anger, "Creature, if you don't get out of my woman this instant, you will regret it!" Bulma offered a brief grin before she slumped over into a deep sleep. Vegeta growled and suddenly slammed his fist into the floor, breaking the tile easily. Lenz heard footsteps coming up behind her and spun to see Trunks running in.

"What happened to Mom?" he said as he came to a stop.

Vegeta's wrath turned to him instantly, "I told you to stay here boy, why did you disobey me?"

Trunks turned pale, "Mom told me to take Bulla to Goten's house. Maybe she knew something would happen? Did she get possessed?"

Vegeta was taken aback as he stared down at his motionless wife, "What?"

"I think she was researching what paranormal stuff is like during a haunting. Maybe something happened while we were gone?" Trunks suggested. Vegeta didn't answer initially and lifted Bulma off the floor before carrying her out.

He was almost around the corner before he finally turned to his son, "Find out what happened Trunks, use the new surveillance equipment. We need to figure out how to put an end to this. Girl, help him!" Lenz nodded and followed Trunks towards the lab. During the slow walk, another voice decided to join in on the fun.

"_I see that thing has finally gotten serious. Poor little prince doesn't have a clue how to fight it, does he?_" Kaon asked from the depths of Lenz's mind.

Lenz scowled, "_Go away._"

"_I think not, little girl. You don't know what that is, nor how to deal with it. Trust me, you will need my advice and likely my skills. I'll put it back in its place,_" Kaon claimed.

"_No thanks._"

"_You'll change your mind, very soon…_" Lenz rolled her eyes as Kaon's voice faded, only to walk right into Trunks and nearly knock him over.

Lenz caught him by his shirt and steadied her own feet, "Sorry."

"So does it?" he asked.

"Pardon me?"

Trunks grimaced, "I asked if that demon inside you has anything to do with this. You looked like you spaced out for a moment."

"I don't think so," Lenz replied. Trunks seemed to accept that answer as they approached the lab. Inside was a mess of paperwork, shelving and a few chairs tipped over on the floor.

"What happened here?" Lenz asked.

Trunks eyed the camera in the corner, "Let's find out." He sat down at Bulma's desk and quickly got to work bringing up the video feed. He played back the last two hours, stopping and slowing when he himself had left with Bulla. It clearly showed Bulma sitting at her desk, doing research when the dreaded shadow entered the room. All it once, it yanked Bulma out of her chair and physically dragged her from the room. The struggle resulted in the other chairs and shelves to get knocked down in the process, sending all the paperwork flying.

"Oh my god," Lenz gasped. Trunks couldn't find any words as he watched the replay of his mother scratching and clawing to escape the shadow's grip. Even though there were no obvious hands or arms, it pulled her with relative ease towards the gravity room. She somehow managed to get loose once and ran back towards her lab. She made it about a dozen steps before her feet were yanked backwards into the air, putting her on the ground. The shadow pulled her again, and this time it never let go as she was taken all the way into the gravity room before its door slammed shut and locked on its own. There was no sound to hear, but there was little doubt about her distressed screaming as Trunks played the tape back a few times.

"That explains it then. Looks like Mom left some notes here," Trunks said somewhat nonchalantly as he picked a few up.

Lenz became concerned at the lack of emotion in Trunks' voice, "Aren't you worried about her condition or at least a little angry?"

Trunks' eyes flashed with teal as his head snapped towards her, "Of course I'm angry! How wouldn't I be? But if I just get mad and overreact like Dad does all the time, we won't get anything figured out! He's counting on me to do this without blowing anything up and so is my mother!"

Lenz held her hands up, "Sorry." Trunks gave her an intense glare before calming down and looking over the mess of paperwork Bulma had left behind. Most of it didn't have anything to do with their problem and he skipped over that. He paused when he came across a particular set of papers that described different types of haunting. Most of the events were minor for those marked under 'Residual', and Trunks new quickly that it didn't match. Under 'Intelligent', the symptoms were much closer, though still minor. He skimmed through until he came across a type of severe haunt that was split up as 'Poltergeist' and 'Demonic'. The differences between the two were still large, and that a poltergeist haunt was generally a practical joker type of ghost. A demonic one was not, and Trunks felt very strongly that it was definitely the latter that was causing all the trouble. The only thing that seemed off was the timing. The fact that this thing had came in so suddenly and caused trouble instead of gradually getting worse was different from the research. That question answered itself when he read that demons literally fed on negative emotions and energy. Fear, anger, despair, all of them tied into this creature's apparent nourishment. Add to that the fact that his father emitted negative energy all the time on a scale that far surpassed humans. On the side of the page, he noticed that Bulma had written down a note.

Trunks was a bit confused at this, "Fortuneteller Baba?"

"Who is that?" Lenz asked.

"I've only seen her once before. She's a little old woman that rides around on a crystal ball. I think she can travel between here and the afterlife regularly or something. Maybe Mom thought she could help somehow," Trunks said.

Lenz tilted her head a bit, "Oh, okay. Where can we find her?"

Trunks paused, "I actually don't know. Dad might, but I doubt it. I'll go ask him." Just as he turned to leave, he nearly ran over the same old woman he was looking for.

"Watch where you're going!" Baba shouted as her crystal ball floated next to her.

"Sorry Baba…wait. How did you know…" Trunks started to ask.

Baba smirked, "Do you really need to ask? It's what I do after all."

"Oh, right. Hold on, isn't there a fee you charge to help others? Mom told me about it once," Trunks said.

Baba closed her eyes, "Yes, I normally charge ten million zeni for preferred customers, and that's the discounted rate. If they can't pay up, then they can choose the alternate payment method of fighting each of my warriors one by one. If all are defeated, I will attempt to solve your mystery for free."

"Okay, where do we go for that?" Trunks asked in slight excitement.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Goku's friends are free of charge. It's a bit of a rip off for me to give out free service, but it's a bigger pain to find worthy warriors after they've been wiped out. I seriously doubt Vegeta will endure any patience as things are. Now show me to Bulma, I want to see her condition with my own eyes."

* * *

Baba didn't need but a short minute to determine what was wrong, "You've got a demon alright. A fairly strong one by the looks of it."

"I don't care what it is old woman. How do we get rid of it?" Vegeta growled back.

"There isn't much we will be able to do at this point. I don't expect we will be able to coax it out, nor force it out without killing her. This is a bit outside my area of expertise I'm afraid. That is unless…" Baba suddenly paused and glanced over at Lenz.

The taller girl stared back in confusion, "What?"

"Still hearing voices in your head?" Baba asked.

Lenz was more than a little taken aback, "How did you…"

Baba closed her eyes, "Please, we covered that already."

Vegeta's dark glare shifted targets, "Explain girl, right now!"

Lenz cringed a bit, "Well ever since that night that I…well you know which one, Kaon's been in my head."

"K-what?" Vegeta asked.

"Kaon, that's her name," Lenz replied.

"Been in your head? As in communicating with you, or you dwelling on it?" Vegeta questioned further.

Lenz gritted her teeth nervously, "Um…talking to me whenever she wants."

Vegeta straightened up, "So, what you're saying is that the reason you've been talking to yourself and randomly getting agitated is that demon's voice? Good to know, now what good does that do us?"

Baba floated between them on her crystal ball, "It means that she may know how to pull the demon out of Bulma and deal with it, or should I say, Kaon does."

"That's what she claims, but I don't want to let her out again," Lenz said.

"I understand dear, but she may be the only one who can help at this point. That is unless anyone else has a better idea," Baba said as she panned the room. They all glanced at each other, but there were no such words.

Baba gave off a smug snort, "I thought so. Go ahead dear, I doubt she will be able to do much with that seal on you."

Lenz held her necklace up and stared at it, "You're sure this is the right decision?"

Vegeta grunted as he shook his head, "Yes of course it is, since no one here has a brain. Argh, it's that fat tub of lard all over again!"

Baba nodded her head, "Proceed." Lenz hesitated before pulling off the sparkling blue gem and handed it to Trunks.

"Alright, now what do I do? It's not like I know how to…" Lenz suddenly stopped. All at once, her body stiffened as her eyes filled in with black. After taking a deep breath, she was strangely relaxed, yet incredibly ominous.

"Much better," Kaon said aloud.

**A/N: Dun dun dun… times three!**

**WDG:** Yes, let's let the inner demon out! What could possibly go wrong?

**VB**: Right?


	97. The Demon's Return

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 96: The Demon's Return**

Trunks, Vegeta and Baba all watched carefully as Kaon seemed more interested in stretching and looking herself over than helping anyone. Aside from the darkened eyes, there was no obvious physical change. Knowing that however was not a comfort, as they all had an idea of what this particular being was capable of.

"Ugh, you have no idea how cramped that girl's head is. Considering her below average intelligence, you'd think there'd be a lot more room up there," Kaon grumbled.

"You were let out for a reason, I suggest you get on with it," Vegeta said with a deep scowl.

Kaon dared to glare back, "Yes, I know that fallen prince. You Saiyans, always placing more value in your existence than there actually is."

Vegeta became incensed almost instantly, "What was that?"

"Your ears work fine. Here's some more, if it weren't for beings like myself, Saiyans would be nothing!" Kaon claimed.

Vegeta's fists shook as he gritted his teeth, "Is that so? And what would stop me from ripping you apart a piece at a time?"

Baba dared to step in-between them, "Now now, no need to start a war."

Kaon glanced down and frowned, "And you humans _are_ nothing!"

Baba grimaced but didn't respond directly to the insult, "Can you tell us what we're dealing with or not?"

"I recognize the type of creature he is, it's a low level Shadow Dweller. Since you probably don't know what that is, I'll enlighten you. It is a weak specter-like demon that wonders around undetected and preys on equally weak beings. Humans would probably consider it to be a wandering spirit or undead ghost, but trust me, it is as alive as the rest of you. Its appearance and form also changes depending on its energy level. You've already seen for yourself what it can do while it's still in shadow form. Eventually, it will require a host to live off of until it can evolve into something more sentient, and that is where the attacks will begin," Kaon explained.

"Wait, so why would it need a human to evolve?" Trunks asked suddenly.

Kaon almost looked insulted but took it in stride, "It's less about needing a human rather than a host in general. It would need a host to possess while that evolution is taking place, otherwise it would die quickly in the process due to both environmental issues and potential predators. It's no different from any other animal, survival of the fittest. What it turns into can vary however."

"I read that these demon-ghost things feed off fear and anger, which makes them stronger and more dangerous. If that's the case, how long would it need to evolve?" Trunks asked.

Kaon nodded, "Correct on the feeding part, half-breed. How long it requires to change form will depend on both the host and the environment around it. More to the point though, it feeds off negatively charged energies. Around the cranky Saiyan prince, that is in abundance. So it may not take more than a week after possession."

Vegeta's temper very nearly exploded, "What? Are you trying to say that this is my fault?"

Kaon grinned, "Partially, but it could be considered the girl's fault as well since she cannot control my power yet. Like a magnet to metal as they say. On the other hand, it's possible that this Shadow Dweller was sent here specifically to antagonize you."

"By who?" Vegeta asked.

"I have an idea who, but how about we find out for sure while we still can? I doubt you all want to wait around for this thing to emerge from her after all. How it does that is usually not pretty," Kaon claimed.

"What happens then?" Trunks asked.

"For the benefit of your human emotions, it's probably best if you didn't try to imagine it right now. But to give you an idea as to what may occur, death would seem pleasant by comparison," Kaon explained.

Trunks stared at the ground, "Who would send something like this to anyone?"

"Who indeed," Kaon smirked.

"Okay, I get that it was probably someone who hates us, but why did it possess my mother?"

"It likely decided that it didn't like her. These Shadow Dwellers don't have much in the way of reasoning or even memory. They usually don't even know their own purpose until their master appears before them again. Once we find out who the master is, we will have a much better idea of what it wants and how to deal with said master," Kaon went on.

"Alright, and how do you suggest we do this, woman?" Vegeta growled.

Kaon's smirk grew slightly, "I'll handle that. I recommend that you don't interfere."

"As long as my woman is not harmed," Vegeta threatened.

Kaon closed her eyes, "That will be up to the creature inside her, but you have my word."

"Ha, like your word has any weight to it," Vegeta sneered.

Kaon grinned, "Well, I won't lie to you. I really don't care what happens to any of you. If I had my way, this entire planet would have been my own personal barbeque. A shame really, I was hungry at the time. But I've waited this long, I suppose a little longer won't be so bad. As long as I get another crack at that kid."

"You mean Verto? Why?" Trunks asked.

"I don't like to lose. Maybe that's the Saiyan part of me talking," Kaon replied.

"You may be inside the girl, but you are no Saiyan. I don't care if you've been in there since she was born or just implanted along the way by that woman, you will never be a Saiyan!" Vegeta claimed.

Kaon scuffed, "How little you know about your own people, but I suppose you're partially right in this case, for now. I'm slightly impressed that you knew what Leira did."

"Not in such intimate detail, but I recognized that something was done to the girl at some point after her arrival here on Earth. That woman is not as subtle as she thinks," Vegeta said.

"What are you talking about Dad?" Trunks asked.

"Not important right now Trunks. Proceed, woman," Vegeta ordered. Kaon moved towards Bulma's prone body, which began breathing very hard as she got closer.

Trunks was naturally concerned, "Why is Mom doing that?"

"It's the Shadow Dweller feeling my presence. It has known I was here for a long while, haven't you cretin?" Kaon asked.

Bulma shuddered and spoke in a weak whisper with a deep masculine tone, "Y-Yes!"

Kaon pressed the contact immediately, "What is your name? Try hard to remember it."

"Wen…Wentha!"

"Wentha, what kind of name is that?" Trunks interrupted.

"Quiet boy, don't interfere!" Vegeta shouted.

Kaon held her hand over Bulma's arm, "Ignore them Wentha, your focus is on me and only me. What is your purpose?"

Bulma again spoke with a voice that wasn't her own, "I do not know. Are you the master?"

"I am not your master, but together we will figure out who it is. I promise you that," Kaon claimed.

"Thank you," Wentha said.

Kaon stifled a laugh, "You're such a polite little minion, your master must've trained you well before he sent you here. Tell me, what were you doing before you came here?"

"Trying to exist," Wentha whispered.

"Ah, so your master sent you to this world in your base form, with barely a memory of his orders? That may complicate things a bit. Tell me Wentha, what did you conclude about this world?" Kaon asked.

"Humans should be exterminated. They make this beautiful world rot," Wentha replied. Trunks and Vegeta could hardly believe that all these words were coming from Bulma's mouth, even if it wasn't under her control at the moment.

Kaon shut her eyes again while grinning, "Well, you and I agree on that issue. But more to the point Wentha, why did you come here first?"

"It felt right. Wanted to protect child from evil humans," Wentha claimed.

Kaon's purple eyebrow went up at this, "Interesting theory, but rather naïve. Tell me about your master, anything you can remember."

Bulma's body shifted nervously, "My apologies my mistress, Wentha does not yet remember the master's form. Only his final words."

"And those were?"

"When he comes, the worlds will tear asunder with shadow and flame," Wentha replied. Kaon turned her head slightly as she seemed to process this for a moment. Her eyes filled with anger and she suddenly grabbed Bulma by the throat. Trunks moved to stop this, but was held back by his father. Kaon's body glowed blue for a moment before she removed her hand. As she did, a wisp-like figure rose up from Bulma's body, quickly taking shape once it was out. Kaon's energy died off and the creature's form solidified. It was a very small black beast with a single horn on its head and a slightly deformed face with very few teeth. It flailed its tiny arms and legs as Kaon held it tight in her grip, pulling it up to look it in the eye.

"Alright you poor excuse for an imp, tell this to your master. This is my mud ball to play with, not his. So he can go find another bottomless pit to hide in for all I care. If you or him ever turn up here again, I will personally incinerate both of you. Now here's a parting gift," Kaon grinned wickedly. Her hand became covered in fire that quickly passed onto Wentha. He screeched and fell to the ground once she released him, running around in a panic and leaving small batches of flame behind in his wake. He eventually ran under Baba's crystal ball and escaped the room. He bounced through the hallway in his attempt to find the nearest exit, but he never got to the stairs. A golden blast smashed into him from behind, erasing his small body completely.

Vegeta snorted as he lowered his palm, "Good riddance!"

Kaon frowned and shook her head, "I see you're just as hot headed and idiotic as ever. I should have expected this, such a wasted effort to help you."

"Oh really? How about I just send you to hell now while I'm at it? Your efforts could hardly be considered help," Vegeta proclaimed.

"Ha, well I did pull that pitiful beast from your wife's body, at the cost of a significant amount of my energy I might add. I'm fairly certain I know who's behind this attack, but to know that we would have had to find him. If it's who I think it is, he would have come out of hiding to answer my challenge once that little cretin reported back. But since you didn't want to play smart and wait, I guess we may never know," Kaon said.

"I said it from the start that I was going to obliterate that thing at the earliest possible moment. It's done, now go back to whatever you were doing and let the girl back out," Vegeta growled back.

Kaon's fist clenched, "You've got a lot of nerve, fallen prince. No wonder the girl is so hesitant to tell you anything. You'll never understand her, nor could you ever comprehend Verto. I'll oblige you for now, but heed my warning: That dweller's master will come looking for it, and you will die without my assistance."

It was Vegeta's turn to smirk, "Don't underestimate me demon. It will be the last thing you ever do."

Kaon returned the expression, "There's that misplaced arrogance again, which is quite funny coming from a walking corpse. Word to the wise Trunks, don't follow in your father's footsteps. You can only meet the same end as him." Kaon then suddenly collapsed to the floor, out cold.

There were several moments of silence before the long-quiet Baba finally spoke up, "Well, that could have gone better."

"Is Mom gonna be okay?" Trunks asked.

Baba nodded, "She'll need some time to rest after that ordeal, but she should recover just fine. Albeit with a splitting headache and a slight touch of memory loss due to the trauma I expect."

"And the girl?" Vegeta asked.

"I would say just one night of sleep will do. Now if you'll excuse me, I imagine I have quite a line of customers by now," Baba said as she floated her way out of the room.

Trunks felt uneasy as Vegeta checked his mother over, "Dad, is it just me, or did that seem way too easy?"

Vegeta snorted, "Deal with it later son. For now take the girl to her room so your mother can rest."

Trunks nodded, "Okay, what about Bulla?"

Vegeta took a moment to ponder that, "Leave her with Kakarot's woman for the time being. This may not be over yet."

"But that demon is dead isn't it? And I don't sense anything weird anymore."

"That's what bothers me. It's far too quiet. Now get to bed!" Vegeta barked at him.

* * *

Three days had passed since the incident and Vegeta was still on edge. Bulma had woken up the day prior, missing about half a day worth of memory and had slept through the rest. She respected Vegeta's wishes to leave Bulla in what he deemed 'a safer place' at the time. Lenz also appeared to recover just fine, though she didn't seem to cheer up any. Trunks watched everyone carefully considering how each of them had been affected during the ordeal. Though he didn't worry too much about his parents, he knew them well enough to know they would be alright. It was Lenz he was most concerned for. She remained a bit isolated, though did at least show her face for meals. The only problem was that she didn't eat like normal. He was pretty sure his non-Saiyan mother was eating more than Lenz was. Everyone knew what was bothering her of course; it was like a giant elephant in the room that no one wanted to point out. She was dreading what was to come, whether it was tomorrow or twenty years away. Trunks himself also felt an ominous aura all around, as if the Earth itself was trying to sound a silent alarm. He hadn't noticed it as quickly as Vegeta did. He tried not to even let it bother him, but it was everywhere, even in the air he breathed. His worries escalated throughout the morning and into lunch, when he literally felt sick to his stomach and could barely eat himself. _What am I sensing?_ Vegeta stormed in suddenly, looking just like he had for the past month, angry.

"Trunks, quit moping around here and go associate with Goten or something. I don't care what you do, just get out of here!" Vegeta ordered. Trunks noticed a very odd and low key tone in that order. It wasn't out of anger as much as it was urgency.

"Are you sure everything is alright Dad? You've been acting strange even with that demon-spirit thing gone," Trunks pointed out.

"Get a move on boy, and I had better not sense your presence within a hundred miles of here for the rest of the day!" Vegeta shouted back. Trunks obeyed and rushed out of the door before flying away from West City quickly. Vegeta watched him go from the window before walking back towards the gravity chamber. It was still broken, but at the very least the lights were fixed. He began to spar with his shadow without the extra gravity, which didn't even warm him up.

He scowled heavily a few minutes into the session when he sensed another presence, "What do you want clown?"

Goku paused as he poked his head in, "How did you…"

Vegeta grunted, "I could smell you coming Kakarot!"

Goku sniffed his shirt, "But I'm not even sweaty yet."

Vegeta rolled his eyes, "Forget it. Now state your business!"

"Well I saw Trunks leaving here in a big hurry and was wondering if everything was alright?"

"Everything here is fine," Vegeta said as he turned around to face his rival.

Goku glanced around at some of the gravity room damage, "Are you sure?"

"Do you want me to pound you to a pulp?"

"Well, not really. Chichi will be mad if I train today. We're supposed to be fitted for our wedding day suits this evening. After all, she really doesn't want anything to go wrong on Gohan's big day," Goku replied.

Vegeta smirked, "Well, I could just give you the business end of my Final Shine technique instead. That should solve all your harpy's problems."

Goku turned his head in confusion, "Final Shine? Is that a new technique? When did you learn that one?"

Vegeta's smirk faded, "Not too long ago. It wasn't complete until after we returned from the Protoss home world. I figure even an idiot like you could remember all that. Too bad you weren't really there, imposter!" Vegeta jumped at Goku, trying to take his head off with a fierce punch.

Goku ducked under and cautiously slide into his stance as Vegeta landed a dozen feet away, "Are you sure you're alright Vegeta? You're not making much sense and I'm really worried about you." Vegeta's hair flashed gold as he held up his right palm, already charged with green ki.

"I will not warn you again, demon! Reveal yourself to me now, or suffer the wrath of the Saiyan prince!" Vegeta roared.

Goku's expression suddenly changed, "That's too bad then, I was just getting used to the role."

Vegeta sensed a dramatic shift in his energy and recognized the dark and shadowy feel to it, "So you've returned, Vang."

Goku displayed a very non-Goku grin, "You could tell? I'm most impressed. How long have you known I was here?"

"Since shortly after the boy returned from Frost's base. It wasn't really Kakarot that fought him was it?" Vegeta asked.

The now revealed Vang snorted, "Close, but not quite. Actually I didn't fight the being known as Frost, but the result of that battle allowed me to…take advantage of the situation. I was there the night you fought that large robot however, so the timing was fairly precise."

"Hmph, well no matter when it happened. I could tell afterwards, even if the others couldn't. You play the part of the fool well, a little too well. I may not have been able to sense your power, but I know Kakarot's personality far better than you. Not to mention that Kakarot would not lose to me that easily no matter how hard we fight each other. Nor is he very intellectual or for that matter even concerned about matters outside of fighting," Vegeta explained.

"Very good deduction Vegeta. I admit, I'm surprised that the boy didn't notice. But I suppose he's been rather distracted lately. I feel that he would have seen right through my disguise had we been in close proximity. How convenient that we never were," Vang said smugly.

"What is it you want?" Vegeta asked.

"I came for the girl," Vang said simply.

Vegeta rushed him, throwing Vang up against the gravity chamber wall, "You lie! You sent that pitiful imp here to try and kill us!"

Vang's grin didn't waver, "No, I sent poor little Wentha here to distract you enough that you wouldn't notice she was gone until it was too late. But you kept her close by because you felt that she might be the cause of your woman's suffering. Not many would have done that."

Vegeta's smirk reemerged momentarily, "Well you failed, and now you're going to fail again. If you think taking Kakarot's body is going to help you, you're sadly mistaken!"

Vang chuckled, "I think not!" His borrowed body also flashed with gold as he pushed Vegeta backwards. His advance didn't last though when Vegeta's aura came to life and further strengthened him.

Vang paused, "Hmm, you're just as strong as the other one, that's a bit unexpected."

"What?" Vegeta exclaimed. Vang took the chance and kneed him in the stomach before throwing him aside.

"I meant what I said. If you're just as strong as your counterpart, that means the others are as well. Looks like I don't have time to play around," Vang said.

Vegeta roared with rage as he conjured his green blast again, "Play around with this! Final Shine!" Vang barely had any time to see the blast before it blew right over him and expanded. The building shook as the attack had smashed right though every wall, eventually detonating in the streets. Vegeta's palm shook as he saw no sign of Vang. An abrupt and sharp pain stabbed into the back of his shoulder, telling him otherwise. He glanced over to see a large and jagged metal dagger sticking out of his shoulder. It was flowing with purple energy coming from Vang's hand.

"It seems you forgot that I can teleport through shadows, too bad," Vang chuckled. Vegeta tried to power up, but only succeeded in reverting to his normal form as his hair faded.

Vegeta's body shook as he stared at his hands, "What? What is this?"

"It's a special attack I developed long ago. Using my own power, I can infect you with a spectral poison that will drain your strength and energy away from you. The potency and duration of which is dependent on how much I put into it, but I can safely say that you will not enjoy it. I estimate that within a day a human will be able to kill you with any of their conventional weapons or even their bare hands. Enjoy Vegeta, I certainly have," Vang explained. He pulled his dagger out before roughly throwing a helpless Vegeta into the wall again. Blood poured out of both his shoulder and head as he collapsed.

Vang brushed off his hands, "Well, maybe less than a day, perhaps I overdid it. That's that I suppose."

"Stop right there!" a voice said. Vang looked up to see Lenz standing in the ruined doorway, holding a powerful blast with his name on it.

"Hello my dear, so thoughtful of you to come to me. Saves me the trouble of looking for you," he replied coolly.

"Goku, what are you doing?" Lenz asked.

Vang smirked, "Use your senses, and you'll be able to tell that I'm not Goku despite my appearance." Lenz's eyes went wide and she literally saw a deep purple aura briefly surround him before she felt it.

Her blast faded as she felt a shiver of fear wash through her, "Who are you?"

"Someone who has a much higher interest in your potential," Vang replied. Lenz slipped into her stance, but she still couldn't stop shaking.

"_You're scared. Let me out, I'll handle the likes of him!"_ Kaon whispered from within.

Lenz's eyes went blank for a moment as she appeared to look away, "_Huh? You know who he is?_"

"_Yes, I know him very well. He most likely sent that little imp cretin here. He may be in your friend's body, but trust me, the Goku inside has zero control! He will kill us if you don't let me out right now!_" Kaon claimed.

"Cat got your tongue my dear? Or are you having a troublesome mental debate?" Vang asked. Lenz hesitated before taking a hold of her necklace chain and tugging it off.

Vang turned his head slightly, "I don't think you want to do that. Otherwise I won't be able to help you."

Lenz paused again, her grip threatening to drop the jewel, "Help me? How would you do that?"

Vang smiled, "Let me show you." He suddenly vanished in a puff of shadowy purple smoke and reappeared right in Lenz's face. Before she could react, he grabbed a hold of her skull and clenched tightly.

Lenz squirmed painfully, "Let go!"

"This may feel a bit unpleasant, but it will be over soon. Now let's have a look," Vang said as he closed his eyes. Lenz cried out as Vang tightened his grip and a small cloud of purple came off his fingertips. Vang then began to search Lenz's mind, materializing as a dense, flowing cloud with slightly brighter purple eyes. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for when his vision filled with random colors of hot fire. At the center of the varied hues of inferno was a tall feminine figure wearing only the bare black essentials on top of her blue skin. Her eyes were as black as night under her wild purple hair.

"_What do you want?_" Kaon asked, annoyed.

Vang smiled, "_It's been awhile my dear. I've already run into your better half, so I'll make this brief. Will you join me or not?_"

Kaon laughed, "_Ha! You know the answer to that. It will be a cold day in hell before I join up with you, a wretched excuse of a demon!_"

Vang snorted lightly, "_I should remind you that I hold the cards right now, you'd be wise to accept._"

"_This body is mine, this world is mine! Now get out!_" Kaon claimed.

"_So says the trapped witch. Neither of your claims can currently hold any weight. I suppose I don't actually need you, just your power. In fact, I think you are better off right where you are. So here is where you will stay_," Vang said as he began to back away.

Kaon smirked as flames rose up around her, "_Wanna bet?_"

Vang remained calm, "_I don't need to, because your prison sentence is about to get much longer_." As he finished speaking, two thick and dark squares formed around Kaon's flaming form. Long bars of nearly solid energy connected them, trapping Kaon in an instant.

Kaon roared with rage, "_Argh! You're going to fry Vang! The moment I get loose, I will turn you into ash!"_

Vang's voice chuckled as she lost sight of him while the prison box filled in and her flames vanished, "_Good luck with that threat. In the meantime, I'm going to put your powers to good use. Farewell._"

Lenz's eyes snapped open just as Vang removed his host's hand from her head, "What did you do?"

"I put little Kaon back in her place, she won't be bothering you anymore. But this time it is a more permanent solution than this silly sealing spell," Vang replied. Vang held his purple glowing hand up to Lenz's stomach and concentrated before pulling back. To her astonishment, the black lettering came off like a loose cobweb before evaporating into the air. She felt a drastic rush of energy flow through her immediately and she nearly fell over as a result.

"I'm sure that feels better. I've released all of your potential, including that which you gained from Kaon's power," Vang explained.

"Why?"

"Because I want you to come with me. I will teach you how to properly control your hidden powers, as the boy could not. That way you won't have to rely on that ancient witch to use it. You might be Saiyan, but you inherited demon powers as well and I wish to put them to good use. After that will be up to you," Vang said.

"And why would you want me in particular? Why should I trust you?" Lenz asked.

"You've been living here as a byproduct of a crime, and have been forced into a destiny that is not your own. It will only lead to your imminent destruction as those who mettle with your life will decide you are no longer useful. You don't have to follow that path, instead make your own," Vang explained vaguely.

Lenz became a bit more curious, "What crime?"

"Since you apparently don't know, I can tell you what I basically know. Leira did something she wasn't supposed to you see, and the result was you. Or should I say, you _and_ your fiery counterpart. Both of you were created and cast aside so Leira could complete her mission requirements you see. You were never meant to exist!" Vang claimed.

"What?" Lenz gasped.

"It's true, whether you want to believe me or not. You and your lost race of Saiyan hybrids were among a number of mistakes created when Leira mettles with the timeline here. Haven't you ever wondered why she wanted you to be killed so badly?" Vang asked.

Lenz gasped from the shock of the explanation, "No, that can't be it!"

"Oh it is, just think about it carefully girl. Even the worthless Saiyan prince here knows about it," Vang pointed out.

Lenz glanced at Vegeta's barely flinching form, "If that's true, then why am I still here?"

"You're still here because the boy doesn't know all of this yet and the prince doesn't want to burden him with your death just yet. Once he realizes the truth, he will change his view of you and everything you value here will turn on you. Come with me my dear, I will give you purpose and a reason to live," Vang offered.

Lenz looked like she was considering it, but something felt off to her, "I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want to girl, but even you have to admit that I'm right about this. You know that Leira wants you dead, and your race has already been eliminated," Vang pointed out again.

Lenz sighed as she felt despair strike hard, "And if I say no?"

Vang grinned, "Well the alternative isn't nearly as rewarding. But if you must know, I will kill every last thing on this puny world. And I will do it slowly while you are forced to watch. That includes that boy you are so fond of. If you don't think I can, I suggest you take a closer look at Vegeta. My special poison robs any energy user of their strength over time, depending on how strong I make it. Only I have the knowledge to cure it. As you can see, it is quite effective."

Vegeta growled as he struggled to move, "Just you wait demon, I'll tear you out of Kakarot's body in no time!"

Vang chuckled, "It's not the first time I've heard that one. Even if you could, you would find that this isn't the Goku you know either."

"What?" Vegeta gasped.

Vang nodded a bit before turning towards Lenz, "Well girl?"

The information of his previous statement rapidly flew through Lenz's head, "You're from that place that the black stuff is from aren't you? That Chemical Z or whatever it's called."

Vang smirked, "Well, you have a better mind than you let on with. I wouldn't say I'm from there, but this body is. I haven't heard the term Chemical Z before, but there are oceans worth of the black and volatile substance you're probably speaking of."

"What the devil are you talking about?" Vegeta demanded.

"Very simple, Saiyan Prince. It is a parallel timeline that was created due to all of the interference by Leira and those like her. Well, I suppose it would be more correct to say that this timeline actually spurned from it, but you know what I mean I trust. After all you and specifically your son are well versed with this kind of activity. Anyway, your planet wasn't as…fortunate during your war with the being known as the Overmind. True that your side won, but the planet was so devastated that is has become a nearly lifeless shell of its former self. Other beings there struggle to survive on a daily basis, and that is where we are going girl," Vang finished.

Lenz dropped back into her stance with much more courage, "No way!"

Vang folded his arms, "Let me remind you girl, you have a very potent power within you that isn't easily controlled. Even with Kaon silenced, you are still very capable of inadvertently unleashing it with the slightest level of agitation. Not to mention my other condition where you and specifically your friends die anyway."

Lenz took a moment to consider, "Give him the antidote to your weird poison and I'll go."

Vang smiled, "I'll consider it, but you'll have to earn it. Honestly though, I don't think he deserves it. After all, he's hiding the truth from you. Go ahead and ask him to see if I'm lying."

Lenz stared at Vegeta, who was still struggling to even reach his knees, "Is what he said true?"

Vegeta gritted his teeth slightly, "Yes, she does want you dead. I won't allow it until..."

Lenz's eyes filled with anger, "You won't allow it until what? When it's fucking convenient?"

Vegeta bit his lip slightly at his mistake, "No, you don't understand girl…"

Lenz stopped listening immediately and turned her back to him, "Just shut up!"

This drew Vegeta's ire, "Don't you dare leave here girl!"

Vang phased out and smashed Vegeta's head with a short front kick, "That's enough out of you I think." Vegeta fell unconscious and slumped to the floor completely as it stained with his blood. Lenz fumed as she stared into the distance through the opening in the wall. Small sparks of energy flew off her faint aura and set the crumbling walls on fire.

Vang smirked slightly as he walked towards her, "Well?"

Lenz sighed as her shoulders drooped, "Fine, I'll do it. Lead the way."

"Excellent. Follow me," Vang replied as he started forward. Behind him, he failed to notice the brief slippage of tears coming from her eyes as she followed him into the air. _Forgive me, Verto._

**A/n: This is your train operator speaking. As you can see, we have reached the end of the tunnel and the sun is now staring you in the face. We will reach the next tunnel soon, have a nice day.**

**WDG:** It's a trap!

**VB**: Nah, I'm sure he's got good intentions...


	98. Alternate Reality

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 97: Alternate Reality**

Trunks knew something was up long before he got home with Gohan and Goten. He had waited until early evening before sunset to even consider flying back with Goten tagging along for the ride. They had met up with Gohan near Satan City once classes were done for the day. Gohan had elected to come along, mostly to ask Vegeta if he had heard anything new about Verto since he hadn't at the time. That, and he wanted to avoid his house at the moment since the combined forces of his mother's wedding fever and Bulla's constant crying were driving him nuts. Before long though, he sensed something wrong in the air and Trunks indirectly confirmed it. They were within a hundred miles of West City when Trunks suddenly picked up the pace by turning Super Saiyan. Gohan and Goten glanced at each other before catching up with Trunks' sudden urgency.

"What's wrong Trunks?" Gohan asked first.

Trunks sweated a bit as he kept his eyes forward, "I can't sense my father's energy." Gohan scanned ahead, picking up very low power signals in place of what he would normally expect to find.

"That's strange, I've never known Vegeta to even try to keep his power suppressed this much. There's only been a few times I've even felt it this low and that's been when…" Gohan paused in realization before taking the lead in flight as they approached the city limits.

Goten remained confused, "What is it big brother?"

"I don't know, but it's something bad. I can't feel Dad's energy anywhere on the whole planet. That can't be a coincidence either," Gohan replied.

"But, he can keep his energy really low too can't he? I can't feel it from far away unless he's powered up," Goten pointed out.

"Except I can sense things much further away than you can Goten. Also, I can pick up the Psi energy of anyone on the planet that can't control it, and I don't sense Dad at all. Before we panic, let's see what is what here first. It's possible that Kibito or King Kai called him away suddenly," Gohan said. All three landed at Capsule Corp a moment later, and Trunks rushed inside. Nothing was out of the ordinary at first, but he heard plenty of commotion from both his parents upstairs. Gohan eyed the distant battle damage at the far end as Trunks bolted towards his parents. He found his mother attempting to bandage his father as he sat in bed, bleeding slightly from the head.

"Damn that demon! I'm going to rip him apart!" Vegeta roared.

"The only thing you're going to be able to rip is this bandage is you don't sit still!" Bulma shouted in his ear. Vegeta grumbled a bit before glaring at the door just as his son turned the corner.

"What's going on? What happened Dad?" Trunks asked.

"I thought I told you not to be around for the rest of the day?" Vegeta growled in a truly threatening tone.

"The sun just went down Dad," Trunks said. Vegeta scowled and cursed under his breath, which increased once Gohan pushed past his son a second later.

"Tell us what happened Vegeta," Gohan said sternly.

Vegeta gave him a hard glare, "Vang happened. You remember the demon that possessed the immortal human we fought not long ago? Well it's back."

Gohan was more than a little taken aback, "What? How? Piccolo trapped that thing in that magical jar that nothing can get out of!"

"I don't know how, but he appears to be inside your father's body this time, and has been for quite some time. I should have seen it sooner…" Vegeta admitted before Gohan's full blown panic struck.

"How can that be? I haven't noticed anything strange from Dad at all!" he claimed.

Vegeta closed his eyes for a moment, "Vang played us for fools, simple as that. It may not actually be your father's body though so you may take solace in that. Add to that the stupid little ghost imp he sicked on us!"

Gohan paused, "Ghost imp?"

"I'm confused," Goten added. Vegeta bit his lip and didn't answer directly as he realized he had slipped in a detail he didn't wish to share. The next question didn't help matters, even though it was somewhat related.

"Where's Lenz?" Trunks asked.

Bulma sighed heavily once Vegeta went silent, "She went with Vang, to that place I told you about before, Gohan."

Gohan bit his lip nervously, "You mean where the Over…I mean Chemical Z comes from?"

"It's alright to say it, Vegeta knows about it now. I think though that we need to fully explain this from when the ghost that you asked about showed up," Bulma suggested.

"It wasn't a ghost, that thing is gone and it's none of their concern," Vegeta grumbled.

Bulma's eyes filled with fury, "Vegeta, set all your damn pride aside for one minute and shut the hell up for once!"

"How dare you?"

"Or I could have one of them knock you out right now. Shouldn't be too difficult," Bulma added.

"Fine." Bulma then told the three boys everything regarding what went on with the demon Wentha, Vang's sudden appearance, and Lenz's departure with him. Trunks was able to fill in some of the memory gaps regarding Wentha's possession of her. The rest of which was provided via security cameras, leading up to when Vang and Lenz had left. Once all the explanations were finished, Trunks looked eager to go.

"We're going after them now, right?" he asked.

"We don't even know where to start Trunks," Gohan reminded him.

"The smart choice is to regroup. For all we know, that wasn't the real Kakarot I saw, at least not the one we know. While I don't believe much of what that demon said, it isn't that unbelievable," Vegeta said.

"That's right. You said that Vang told you himself that you were as strong as your counterpart. That means there's a good chance that he actually possessed the other Goku's body. So then, where's our Goku?" Bulma pondered.

"Well he can't be dead, otherwise we would have known by now. So he's either too weakened like Vegeta to contact us, or…" Gohan started to say.

"Watch it boy. Be mindful of who you're calling weak," Vegeta snapped back at him.

Gohan ignored him after a moment though, "Or he's also in that other dimension, as a captive."

"I'm still confused," Goten said. Everyone glanced at the smallest boy in the room, and most of them realized that this was still beyond him.

Gohan sighed and dropped down to his knees, "It's like this Goten: You remember how we fought the Zerg? Well in this other place, other versions of us did that too. There was another Goku just like our Dad, there was another Vegeta, another me, another you. But when they fought the Zerg, things didn't go as well as they did here, they didn't win so easily."

"What happened then?" Goten asked.

"We don't exactly know. I think they still beat the Zerg, but their Earth is in bad shape. A very evil demon went into that place and took our Dad's body, or rather the other Dad. You remember when that happened to me not long ago right? It's the same thing. But this time, he took our Dad with him and then took his place. Then he attacked Vegeta and convinced Lenz to go with him to that place where Earth is in bad shape. Do you understand now?" Gohan asked his younger brother.

Goten didn't look like he did, but nodded anyway, "I think so, shouldn't we go after him now?"

Gohan closed his eyes and stood up, "Goten, we don't know how to get there yet. And if we don't know how to get there, it does us no good to leave yet."

"We might be able to gain assistance from Leira, however we need Verto back here first," a voice said from behind. All of them turned to see Piccolo stepping in, his cape billowing through the hallway.

"Namek, are you telling me that we have to rely on that wretched woman again?" Vegeta said with clear irritation.

"I'm not telling you anything you don't already know," Piccolo replied.

"I take it she hasn't returned yet?" Gohan interjected.

"No, but I calculate that she will reappear in the next several hours. Gohan, please go wait at the lookout. I know you want to search for your father, but as you said, we have no idea where to look," Piccolo said.

Gohan nodded grimly, "Alright. I'll be back as quickly as possible."

Piccolo nodded back, "I hope so." Gohan then vanished just as he pressed two fingers to his head and teleported away.

"So we just sit around and wait?" Trunks asked.

"We don't have any other choice Trunks. Your father is crippled, Goku is missing and for all intents and purposes Lenz has betrayed us. With Gohan and Verto needed elsewhere, the only two Saiyans left to defend the Earth are you and Goten. Frost could attack at anytime, so we cannot take any chances. I'm sure that Vegeta agrees with me," Piccolo pointed out.

Vegeta bared his teeth, "Since when have you been in charge?"

"Since you underestimated your opponent and were poisoned."

Vegeta's fists shook, "Just you wait Namek."

There was a short pause before Trunks thought of something, "Can't we use the Dragon Balls to wish them right back here? Or take us there?"

Piccolo grimaced slightly, "It's not that it's a bad idea, but it carries a risk. We don't know what condition Goku or Lenz are in now. And if we go straight to them, it might be an ambush. Remember, we were utterly helpless against Vang last time because we didn't know what to expect. We were only able to get by with Verto's hidden powers. There is no reason to believe that he hasn't prepared for us more thoroughly this time. And now he has a stronger body to work with." Trunks sighed but nodded and remained quiet for the moment.

"But you do bring up a good point Trunks. We should gather the balls just in case," Piccolo added.

"Well, there's only one left to find. But we haven't been able to pick it up on the Dragon Radar," Trunks said.

"It might be stuck under something that is jamming or confusing the signal. I doubt an animal could have kept it down for this long. You may have to fly around some and try to get closer to wherever it might be," Bulma suggested.

"But that could be anywhere Mom!" Trunks argued.

"Shut up brat. It'll give you something to do while we wait for the others to return. In the meantime, you two will fly back to Kakarot's house and bring my daughter back here. And I suppose you'll need to inform the harpy of the situation," Vegeta said with annoyance.

Piccolo watched them go before turning around himself, "I'll pass the word to Krillin and Videl. Hopefully Gohan and Verto will return quickly, but they'll have a difficult fight on their hands either way."

* * *

Trunks obeyed his father's wishes for the time being, but it wasn't long before he decided to act. He still wasn't completely sure what was going on, nor what had been discussed, but he had the general idea. He brought Bulla home as ordered, to which his mother was extremely thankful. She gave him the Dragon Radar for the next day, but he didn't intend to wait that long. As soon as he sensed his parents were asleep, he packed a small bag of essentials and set out. He wasn't sure where to go exactly except that Doctor Wheelo had been in North City which was very near where the first battle with Vang had ended. He figured he'd start his search there and see what he could find. He was within a few miles of North City's outskirts when he heard a loud beep go off in his pocket. He immediately pulled out the Dragon Radar, spotting that the signaled area was just up ahead. Right as he passed over it though, the signal died out and there was nothing. Trunks held steady in the air as he stared at the blank screen in confusion. He turned around and flew the other way, and the radar beeped again. The signal was very weak and coming from below his position, which was over a tall and rocky plateau. Trunks flew backwards a bit more before dropping to the ground for a closer look, spotting a small cave nearby. The Dragon Radar was signaling that the last ball was inside, but very deep. Trunks dug out a flashlight from his travel bag and headed inside. At first it seemed like a standard cave with random stalagmites scattered about the ceiling. That changed once he saw a dug out tunnel to his right that led elsewhere in the hillside.

The radar signal got stronger at that intersection, so Trunks followed it instead. The tunnel sloped downward into a slightly steep ramp that slowly curved around in a broad spiral. As he got further in, a strong and familiar smell filled the air. Trunks didn't quite recognize it at first, but he knew he had smelled it before. It was an odd combination of both rich plant life, blood, and decomposition, though more of the latter was present. The smell got stronger as the tunnel flatted out into a straight corridor. As it did, Trunks could see a dim blue light filling the cave ahead. He walked into the room carefully and confirmed the source of the light. It was a bright blue and slightly green rectangular swirl that extended from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Trunks couldn't see anything through it, but his radar confirmed that the Dragon Ball was just on the other side of it. Trunks dared to stick out his arm to touch this strange light, feeling almost nothing except cold air. He took a deep breath and stepped in completely. His body was forcibly yanked forward as his vision exploded into a bright tunnel of randomly changing colors. He felt faint as his brain tried to process what all was going on at once. The light tunnel seemed to pull and twist Trunks in every way possible before he felt his feet touch ground again. He found himself staring at the room entrance again, with his back to the blue-green portal. Nothing seemed too terribly off base, except that the foul smell was stronger than ever. The Dragon Radar was going ballistic, showing Trunks that he was right next to the acquired signal. He glanced down and grinned as the seven-star ball winked back at him with its glow despite being buried under some rubble.

"Finally found you!" Trunks exclaimed. As he bent down to pick it up, he sensed something strange nearby. It didn't quite feel like it was in the cave with him, but further ahead. Trunks tucked the Dragon Ball away in his bag and slowly stepped forward to investigate. He made one right turn and saw outside light pouring in ahead. The stench rolling in was almost enough to make him sick at this point, and he settled for holding his nose as he continued onward. As he neared the exit, he sensed some sort of life forms ahead, but it was unclear what they could be. To him, the ki signals seemed distorted and scattered, as if they were only partially alive and yet not at all. Trunks felt a nervous shiver go up his back as he approached the cave exit. Once outside, he found himself on a barren cliff edge with no path leading up to it. Below however was the source of what he was smelling and sensing. Large, organic structures littered the ground, which was covered in thick, purple slime. Many creatures were moving around, collecting items such as dead trees, animals and the like. Vicious dog-like critters were running about with much larger snake-like monsters with huge talons moving with them. In the skies there were even more strange creatures flying in a semi-circle around the area. Some were large, slow beasts with antennae and drooping tendrils. Others were smaller, yet much faster and almost dragon-like in shape. Trunks didn't have to wonder what he was seeing though, as it had only been a year since he had seen them last. _The Zerg, they're back!_

* * *

Trunks immediately suppressed his energy as low as he could in order to hide his presence. He knew there was a chance that he'd been noticed already, but that chance was far lower if he wasn't putting out any power. The hive cluster below seemed to ignore him, but the always wary Overlords above kept him on edge. There were a few different Zerg strains running around below that he didn't recognize, as well as a few in the air. He took what appeared to be a safe moment and tried to scan the area for any sign of Lenz and Goku. He couldn't feel anything besides what he knew to be Zerg for miles. Between each hive cluster he sensed absolutely nothing, as if the land was so dead that the Zerg wouldn't even nest on it. Once he finally picked something up, he couldn't believe how far away it was. It was far enough that he could have literally chosen any direction to go and would have been right. Trunks then found himself in a dilemma. He could easily go back through the portal and report to his father with the Dragon Ball and be done with it. The other choice was to disobey and attempt to find Lenz and Goku on his own. The latter pretty much guaranteed a run-in with Vang and now the Zerg. Tipping the scales however was the fact that he had personally witnessed what the Zerg could do to any world they came to. It had happened once, and with the portal right there, it could happen again.

_Alright, I'll just blow up this hive and go back through. I'll be done so quick that they'll never know I was here. I don't think Dad will have a problem with that._ Trunks quickly formed a powerful ki blast and aimed for the smallest hive structure, which resembled a tunnel. He recalled that the Zerg could pass through their Nydus Canals very quickly to reinforce their bases. He fired and scored a direct hit, sending a large amount of red blood and various dismembered organs into the air. The reaction from the Zerg was immediate. Every snake-like Hydralisk moved towards the cliff side, threatening to spit their sharp needle spines. Other groundlings lined up with them along the mountain base, lying in wait. The various flyers stopped circling and came over at once, surrounding the mountain in a blockade like formation. Trunks' eyes widened when he saw a large swarm of flyers coming in from elsewhere, all of which were zeroed in on him.

_Okay, that was a bad idea. I'll have to try and get them away from here before I go back through. Otherwise they might try to follow me, or worse._ A few of the unfamiliar flyers pushed ahead and lined up directly in front of Trunks' position. They resembled worms found in the sand, only they were massive in size and covered in thick, armored skin.

_What are those?_ The new worm flyers hovered in the air, kicking their massive bodies up and down in order to stay afloat. All of a sudden, their mouths opened and large balls of pale green fluid shot out. Given little time and no space, Trunks quickly turned Super Saiyan and dodged by leaping high into the air. Each shot by the flying worms struck the ledge he had been standing on, exploding and splashing the whole area. Trunks realized how lucky he was when the ledge fizzled from the massive load of acid that he just been dumped on it. The ledge broke off and melted completely, falling towards the ground below. Trunks didn't have time to dwell on his luck though as the flying worms shot their acid at him again. He glided aside a bit easier this time, but still didn't have much time to react. After the second volley had left fresh dripping holes in the cliff, no more came. Instead, he saw a vast barrage of needle spines flying at him through the air, courtesy of the hydralisks below. Trunks knew he couldn't sit still and avoid them all, so he flew upwards as fast as he could to clear their impressive range.

He had barely gotten above the top of the plateau when he was nearly picked out of the air by a small Zerg flyer. It curved its flight path and hooked around to come at him again. Trunks recognized this flyer instantly and prepared a blast to deal with it. It was known as a Scourge, a small and weak flyer, yet very fast compared to the rest. It's only attack was suicide, but it did devastating damage to its target when successful. Trunks fired his blast and wiped out the single Scourge sent against him. He turned around and saw dozens more. Trunks flew back and began unleashing rapid-fire ki bolts. The scourge were effectively neutralized, but a few were able to navigate through the torrent of small explosions. Trunks blasted each stray as they came, not missing a beat from his experience before. When the smoke from his barrage cleared, he saw that the other flying Zerg were giving him a rather wide berth. Trunks paused and took a moment to look around, especially behind and below him. He hovered over the large mountain plateau, wondering if he missed anything.

_What are they waiting for?_ His answer came when he sensed several strong ki signals coming towards him. All but one of them felt familiar, and the odd one seemed to completely vanish as it got closer. They arrived in shrouds of white and golden energy, quickly ripping through all of the Zerg flyers like they weren't even there. Anything that survived quickly fell to the ground and died from decapitation. Their blazing energy faded for a moment, enough for Trunks to see they were all wearing Saiyan armor before he could identify them. In the very front was Gohan, sporting the silvery-white hair that Trunks was accustomed to seeing. On his right was Vegeta, looking about as intense as he ever did in his Super Saiyan two form. On Gohan's left was what Trunks thought was Goku at first, but he quickly saw otherwise. This man looked like Goku down to his hair strands, with an old battle scar on his face and sporting a red bandana. Trunks realized that it was actually Goku's father Bardock. Immediately near him was a tall human with three eyes, Tienshinhan. Despite the arrival of these four, Trunks' eyes were locked on the youngest, holding steady near Vegeta. He couldn't sense his ki at all, but it didn't take rocket science to figure out what one's reflection is supposed to look like.

_It's me, but older. So this is what Mom, Dad and Gohan were talking about. This is a different timeline, a parallel universe!_

**A/n: GG.**

**WDG:** Oh dear.

**VB**: Aw come on, we all love surprise cameos.


	99. When Trunks met Trunks

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 98: When Trunks met Trunks **

**A/N: I shall refer to present day Trunks the same and the alternate/older version as Alt-Trunks.**

Trunks nervously held steady as the alternate versions of himself, his father and his friends hovered above the Zerg hive cluster.

"It's just as we thought, they resurfaced after someone used the time portal that woman spoke of. Must have been that demon that came through last time and is now inside my dad," Gohan said.

"No matter, we'll deal with these bugs as we always have. Three-Eyes, you cover their rear flank. Bardock, destroy everything between here and the ocean!" Vegeta ordered and pointed. Bardock saluted and blasted off while Tien's third eye rolled a bit before he followed through.

Vegeta then turned to Gohan, "Is there a Cerebrate this time?" Gohan's eyes closed as he sensed everything around him.

He quickly looked to his left, "That way a few miles. I'll go deal with it." Gohan then took off to the south while Vegeta and Alt-Trunks prepared to fire a ki blast volley.

"Dad, what about him?" Alt-Trunks asked.

Vegeta eyed the younger version of his son carefully, "In a moment. Kill the scum around us first." Alt-Trunks nodded and they both unleashed a violent storm of ki blasts upon the hive. Clouds of dust and blood filled the air along with the bright explosions that caused them. Within mere moments Trunks no longer sensed much if any Zerg near him. Detonations further away marked the destruction of the other hive clusters nearby. _Wow, they're really good at this. I guess they've probably had more practice._ Once the explosions cleared and no other Zerg appeared to be present, Vegeta laid his eyes on Trunks, carefully looking him over. Trunks himself gulped slightly and powered down a bit, trying not to appear threatening.

Vegeta noticed well before Trunks' hair faded, "You can relax boy, I'm not going to kill you, yet." Trunks didn't feel at ease and didn't dare step any closer.

His older counterpart floated closer to his father to whisper unnoticed, "What do you think Dad? It could be another infested clone in disguise."

Vegeta put his arm up as if to force Alt-Trunks back, "We'll wait for Gohan to return before we do anything. It's possible that he is the real thing and that he followed the demon through by accident. Watch him carefully son." Alt-Trunks nodded and gave the younger Trunks the stare down of a lifetime. Trunks felt the urge to leave as fast as possible, but he knew there was no way he would get away from the two of them. He locked his quivering knees and stayed put, but did take a curious look around with his eyes and energy senses. Questions poured into his mind regarding the current situation, specifically the presence of the Zerg. He had already accepted the fact that he was in an alternate reality in which the timeline was skewed. After all, it wasn't like it was the first time seeing another version of himself. Alt-Trunks appeared to be wondering something similar as he stared into his younger self's eyes.

Trunks' lip twitched as a question he had to know leaked out, "So how old are…"

Alt-Trunks already had the answer waiting, "Almost fifteen. And you?"

"Almost ten." Both versions of Trunks paused in thought while Vegeta seemed even more perplexed.

"So how did it go in this world?" Trunks dared to ask.

"How did what go?" Vegeta responded.

"I think he means the war Dad, and it's kind of obvious how it went," Alt-Trunks said with disdain.

Trunks bit his lip, "Sorry, ours didn't last all that long. Only a month or two, well, on Earth anyway."

"And how may I ask did your battle end so swiftly? We've been fighting these cretins for years now," Vegeta pointed out.

"Well, they kind of ran away when the other aliens showed up," Trunks replied.

"Other aliens?" Alt-Trunks asked.

"You know, the guys with the weird heads? Sworn enemies of the Zerg? Use Psi energy all the time along with advanced technology? The Protoss?" Trunks hinted before flat out asking it.

"Pro what?" Vegeta grunted. In that short moment, Trunks realized what was different in this world. The Protoss had never followed the Zerg here, which changed everything drastically. Trunks could see the hardened eyes of his older self, which were probably earned from the tougher times he had likely been through. Trunks kept silent afterwards, almost out of pity for what this alternate world had become. It wasn't long before the other Gohan and Bardock returned, their armor covered in blood. Tien also reappeared a few minutes afterwards, and all five stared down Trunks before Vegeta gave orders.

"Gohan, your senses are better than ours, do you detect any Zerg presence with this one?" Vegeta asked.

Gohan concentrated a bit before answering, "No, but we've been fooled before."

Vegeta snorted, "Yes we have. Trunks, scan his memory." Alt-Trunks floated forward while his smaller counterpart recoiled a bit.

"Relax, it's a special power I picked up that helps me determine whether you're telling the truth or not. It won't hurt you," Alt-Trunks assured.

"Yeah, I have it too," Trunks admitted.

Alt-Trunks was astonished, "You do? How?"

"We've all got some sort of new power due to over-exposure to Psionic waves and the mixed version with normal ki. Mine started a month or two ago. We've seen humans get weird powers out of it too," Trunks explained.

"So that's where it's been coming from. All this time we thought it was due to what happened to the world," Gohan said.

"Let's test that theory first before we jump to conclusions. What's my special ability?" Vegeta asked.

"You recover from injuries faster, as long as you're not out of energy," Trunks replied. Alt-Trunks and Bardock's eyes were both wide while Vegeta was completely flabbergasted.

"Exactly right, how would he know that?" Gohan pondered.

"One thing we learned was that the Zerg can easily gather information though both memory of those they infest and through mechanical transmissions. However, that was not discussed over any active channels. The only way he could have known is if he was in the same room. So either he's a skilled lair and guessed right, or he's telling the truth. Where that truth comes from remains a question. Tell us boy, what is Bardock's ability?" Vegeta said.

Trunks grimaced slightly, "I don't know."

Vegeta smelled blood at the answer, "You don't know, and why is that? You might as well reveal yourself now before I blow you away!"

Trunks backed up in fear, "I don't know because he's not there!"

"Ha, you're telling me he didn't survive?" Vegeta laughed slightly, drawing a glare from the Saiyan in question.

"N-No, he's not there because he went back to his own time!" Trunks stammered. Everyone froze in shock to this, though Bardock was clearly the most affected.

"So if I'm back in my own time, does that mean my team is too? Did they survive?" Bardock asked.

"No, but we wished them back with the Dragon Balls as soon as we could. We had another big battle and they went back with you after we won it, that was about three and a half months ago," Trunks said.

Bardock bowed his head slightly and nodded, "Good to know something went right somewhere."

"Why don't you use the Dragon Balls to save the Earth here?" Trunks asked.

Everyone turned away except for Vegeta, "We haven't had the blasted Dragon Balls since both of the Nameks were killed. And we haven't been able to contact the other Nameks. Apparently you've have had a very easy time in your timeline."

Trunks frowned a bit, "I wouldn't say that, Dad. Especially since a lot of our troubles have been your fault to some extent."

Vegeta took the statement in stride, "Oh really? Perhaps I should go and solve some of your troubles since I apparently caused them!"

Gohan stepped in his way, "Easy, you can't expect him to quite comprehend what has gone on here if he's really from there. And we know about the time portal that woman left behind when she said she could fix this. Maybe she hasn't been able to finish the job yet, assuming she can actually do that. All she said was to never go through it because it agitates the Zerg, not what was on the other side. And it's happened enough times now that we can't look past it anymore."

Vegeta was unfazed, "You make a good point boy, but we have to make sure. Remember, the Zerg have fooled us before by using infested clones to gain our trust. Trunks, read his mind now. If he checks out, then we will move from there. If he resists or his story doesn't fit, kill him!" Alt-Trunks nodded fiercely and came closer while his doppelganger froze in place. He didn't dare try to resist, knowing his father like he did. Alt-Trunks removed one of his gloves and held it over Trunks' head.

"Relax, take a deep breath. After that, try to recall your experiences from the time the Zerg arrived until right now," Alt-Trunks requested.

"Okay," Trunks said with a slight nod before Alt-Trunks followed through. Both of them stiffened slightly as the memories passed through their physical contact. Alt-Trunks first experience almost an exact replica of the initial skirmishes with the Zerg. When he saw the mental images of the Protoss however, that all changes. Trunks didn't have as much personal experience with the Protoss as the others had, but he and Goten did have to fight against them. Alt-Trunks then felt the memories of his baby sister being born, other foes that they had faced off against, and of course the people that existed in the younger Trunks' world, but not his.

He pulled his hand away and stared at his father grimly, "It's true father. There's no way the Zerg could have replicated that memory.

Vegeta shut his eyes for a moment, "Alright, I suppose he's clean then. Now, we need to…what the hell is wrong with him?" All eyes went to Trunks, who looked like he was going into convulsions. What they hadn't realized was that while Alt-Trunks maintained contact, his memories had passed over. Trunks saw vast devastation, people suffering, and former allies turned against him in one fast paced vision. He saw armies of humans covered in Zerg tissues, running at their own kind to kill them. Behind the infested humans were many flying figures shooting energy blasts in the name of the swarm. He saw the brutal, violent death of Goten by one of these figures. That was swiftly followed by a dark, scaly figure stabbing his pregnant mother with a bright green sword. These sudden visions overwhelmed any reasoning he currently had, and his rage bubbled to the surface just as fast. A larger amount of ki followed, quickly taking him back through his Super Saiyan form, and then further. Radical ki lightning surged through Trunks' erratic aura as his hair stood up completely. His angry scream finished off the transformation, leaving the others more than a little surprised.

"He's ascended, even earlier than you did Trunks," Gohan pointed out.

"He must have read my memories at the same time that I was reading his. He probably can't control his ability yet," Alt-Trunks suggested.

Trunks growled with rage as he glared at Vegeta with utmost intensity, "Why didn't you protect Mom?"

"Get a hold of yourself boy! Focus your energy or you'll lose control of your power! Your mother isn't dead!" Vegeta shouted back.

Trunks switched targets instead, "Why didn't you save Goten? You're his brother!"

Gohan stared at the ground, "You weren't really there Trunks."

Vegeta snorted lightly, "We don't have time for this brat's tantrum." He phased out and cracked Trunks in the back of the head. Vegeta caught him just as the transformation ended and he passed out from the hit.

"Bardock, take this one back home and have the woman check his condition more thoroughly. Trunks, when he wakes up, teach him how to control that mind reading ability you share. He doesn't need to be having the same problems you did whenever somebody touched you," Vegeta ordered.

Alt-Trunks nodded, "Right, what about the rest of the Zerg? I still sense a lot of them over in that direction."

Vegeta gazed towards the south and east where his son was pointing, "Gohan, Three-Eyes and myself will be more than enough to take care of them. You look after your look-alike."

Alt-Trunks nodded again, "Okay. By the way Dad, there's something you should know."

"And what is that?" Vegeta asked.

"Their version of Verto is alive," he answered.

A brief but loud gust of wind pushed through the area, coinciding with the malice that filled Vegeta's face, "Really?" The look on Gohan's face was similar, and Bardock's was an equally negative reaction, all of which alarmed Tien.

"Hey, calm down. It's just like that time with the androids and Cell. A different reality because of time travel, we already knew that things there would be different. The odds are good that Verto would be too, he wouldn't necessarily be overtaken by evil again," Tien said, attempting to supply reasoning.

It clearly didn't work for Vegeta though, "It makes no difference to me Three-Eyes."

Gohan nodded with intense anger, "That's right. Even though he was taken by the Zerg, you remember what happened after he broke free. And the other one will be just as capable of the same evil that ours unleashed on the world…"

* * *

Back in a much different place, several large bubbles soared to the surface inside the rejuvenation tank as Verto let the information from Gohan sink in.

"_So that's how it went while I was gone. So much for taking it easy,"_ Verto thought out to his friend.

Gohan nodded from the other side of the glass, "_Yeah, roughly anyway. Obviously I had no idea about that ghost-demon until we heard about it. And the situation with my Dad threw us all for a loop_."

"_I'm sure, but before we dip our toes too far in, why didn't you tell me about Chemical Z before? I could have used that kind of information at the time. Knowing it was the Overmind's blood ahead of time would have helped me deal with it before it took over, even if I did manage to eventually fight it off. I really had no idea that it was going to affect me at all until it was too late_," Verto admitted.

"_Well I didn't find out till after the fact when me and Bulma were looking at a sample. It was Leira who told us not to, fearing that you or Vegeta would do something drastic to put a stop to any potential Zerg problem_," Gohan said.

Verto paused in thought, "_Well I can't say I wouldn't have done something stupid at the time, considering what a few drops of that shit did. But I've had time since then to think a little more logically, after all I was a bit unstable at the time. I think our best bet would have been to find a way to prevent it from happening again. Like sealing up that gateway or whatever it is that leads to this alternate reality you spoke of. Obviously that's out of the question at the moment, and who knows what went on there since it's a different timeline. I already figured out that Leira led the Protoss here when they came after the Zerg_," Verto explained.

Gohan was slightly taken aback, "_Wait, how did you figure that out? She admitted it to Bulma and then she told me, but I didn't get a chance to…_"

"_I used the Pendulum Room at the lookout, it can see past events even if they're altered_," Verto interrupted.

"_Really? I never even considered that, nice going_," Gohan said.

"_Well, she stopped me before I could see why she's even here, though I have a hunch or two now. But everything involving her and Frost is true, to an extent. She wanted us to team up with him to take out Ranot. Probably should have headed that advice, too late now_," Verto claimed.

"_He would've turned on us not matter what happened. He is the son of Frieza after all,_" Gohan reminded.

"_Anyways, about going after Lenz and Goku, we need to be really careful. The Zerg shouldn't be a huge problem unless they own the planet, but Vang will be. That bastard is gonna be ready for us this time, and now we'll be short handed_," Verto pointed out.

"_Maybe, maybe not. If the other versions of us and our friends are alive and still fighting the Zerg, they can help us_," Gohan said.

"_Yeah, but in what condition will they be in? You have to bear in mind that their war did not go the same as ours did. They probably had to deal with some of the same shit that we did, without the help or interference from the Protoss. And if the Zerg are still around, odds are that one or maybe both of us is dead." _

_"Yeah, tough to tell_." A loud beeping went off next to them, signaling that the cycle was complete. Verto lifted his newly restored right arm in order to test it a bit before the chamber started to drain.

It opened up as Gohan handed him a towel, "Feel better?"

"Much."

As Verto was drying off, the door opened and Laysh walked in, carrying a red jumpsuit with new Saiyan armor.

"Where are my other clothes?" Verto asked.

"You mean those rags? I threw them out of course!" Laysh said.

Verto huffed slightly, "I could have repaired them."

"Ha, yeah right! Here's some real battle gear kid. This will at least make you presentable. Someone like you doesn't need to be wearing pajamas!" Laysh declared. Gohan grimaced at the remark but said nothing.

"If I must, but I prefer blue," Verto argued.

"You'll prefer whatever I give you and that's that! Besides, you look better in red. Now quit whining and put it on!" Laysh barked at him.

Gohan cringed and stepped back a bit, "Yikes, she's nothing like Lenz. Reminds me of how Fasha was before you tamed her a bit."

Verto glared at him, "Don't even start with that. Or at least wait until I get out of the room for some sleep."

Laysh looked a bit confused but changed the subject, "I've been meaning to ask the both of you, what happened to your tails?"

Gohan stared back in slight puzzlement, "Well mine was removed when I was young so I didn't transform, I couldn't really control it."

Laysh then glanced at Verto as he was fitting into the jumpsuit, "And you?"

Verto cast his glare at her for a moment before slipping on the provided gloves, "Don't ask." Verto took the pad-less armor from her hands and walked off promptly.

"Was it something I said?" Laysh asked.

"You reminded him of something terrible that he had to go through. And he's going to have to face some of those problems again pretty soon," Gohan explained vaguely.

"Hmph, well I guess it doesn't matter that much. As for you, a good hour long soak should fix you right up. Now are you going to strip big guy, or do I have to do it for you?" Laysh asked.

Gohan put his hands up defensively, "No, I, uh, prefer to keep my clothes on thank you. After all, my wife would kill me if she found out and the wedding isn't very far away and…"

Laysh rolled her eyes, "Fine, whatever. Just get in the damn tank!"

"But I can just wait for a Senzu Bean…"

"NOW!"

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

Verto's eyes opened slowly as he awoke and he stared at the ceiling. _The same exact dream. Why did I see it again?_ He didn't have long to ponder this before Laysh suddenly barged into the room.

"You awake yet? It's been almost twelve hours!" she declared.

Verto's eyes shifted towards the blue-haired Saiyan, "I was fighting your captain, not exactly an easy thing to do."

"Even still, your time in the medical capsule should have restored your strength completely. You shouldn't have even needed a nap," Laysh claimed.

Verto was already annoyed, "Okay first of all, I'm not dumb enough to fix one huge problem and jump straight into another without some sort of rest. Besides, the time in the tank only restored half of my power, my Psi energy was still very depleted."

Laysh bit her lip in thought, "I suppose you have a point there. Your friend Gohan is outside with that demon kid and all the other weaklings. He said he's waiting for our transportation. He can wait all day if he really wants to I suppose, but this ship works just fine."

Verto slowly slid out of the brick of a bed and stood up, stretching a bit before answering, "The way we got here was different than that. You'll see soon."

"Fine, but if I don't like it, we take the ship!" Laysh stated.

Verto rubbed his chin in thought, "Hmmm, well we can't leave it here either. Plus how will you return to the others?"

"See, we have to take the ship. Finally, one of you idiots gets it!"

Verto scowled, "Which is worse? An idiot or someone extremely ignorant?"

Laysh shrugged, "Tough call, but I would say ignorance is worse."

"Then take your own advice."

Verto walked out of the room while Laysh blinked sharply in bewilderment. She followed a minute later with a much angrier expression once she figured out what he had actually said. Outside, Verto found Gohan with Yusuke and his team just as Laysh had said. With them however was a short, old woman with pink hair.

He froze in surprise, "Genkai? But you died didn't you?" They all stared at him in question until the old woman glanced at the ground and smirked.

"Weren't you paying attention kid? Winners of the tournament are granted a wish, so these fools spent it on me. Koenma followed through on it since he was the only team owner still alive," she explained.

Yusuke scoffed slightly, "Well let's not forget that if it wasn't for him we'd all be dead right now. Well, except for me of course!"

"Keep telling yourself that, dimwit."

Verto eyed Yusuke carefully, "So what happened to all that hair, and the tribal markings?"

Yusuke shrugged, "The fancy body art was gone when I woke up, and Kurama cut off that mop I grew."

"Yeah, too bad yours doesn't auto-retract or something. Feel any different?" Verto asked.

"Nope, not really."

With that said, Verto turned to Gohan next while the others talked about other things, "What's up?"

"I'm just really anxious to get back," he replied.

"I know how you feel then. When did Leira say she'd be back?"

"Should be anytime now. I'm starting to think something happened," Gohan said, clearly worried.

Verto grimaced slightly, "Did you get here the same exact way I did?"

"I think so. That guy with the junior tattoo on his head showed up with Kibito. He said he would take me as far as he could. Almost to the moment we got here, he faded away completely. After that I just followed your power signal," Gohan explained.

"He faded completely? Which means the timeline changed and didn't revert back. But we killed Ranot, so the problem is solved isn't it?" Verto asked.

"Yeah, but our presence alone would have changed things. So it really isn't all that surprising if you think about it," Gohan pointed out.

Verto sighed in frustration, "Yeah, but it was a calculated risk. So unless Ranot somehow lived…"

"No way, there's no way!" Gohan argued.

Both of them stared at each other in all seriousness before Verto made a suggestion, "Let's check the body then."

They blasted off into the air, leaving the others both surprised and confused. Verto got there first, and could only produce a vacant expression towards the corpse-less bloodstain on the ground.

Gohan matched it, "That's not possible, unless he's some sort of mutant creature that can regenerate. Even then it shouldn't be, we saw how he healed before and his power level died out completely!"

Verto looked grim, "Well, it's not like it would be the first time that we've fought someone who could regenerate, even from a killing blow. But he didn't seem like the type that could do that." Both Saiyans were so excited and fearful of the possibility that neither noticed Laysh dropping in until she surprised them both.

"What's wrong with you two?" she asked with clear disdain.

"Might be your captain again. Was there any other special power he had that you forgot to mention?" Verto said in a raised voice.

"No, I told you that already," Laysh replied, annoyed.

Verto became irritated, "Then where's the damn body?"

Laysh was just a bit taken aback, "Is that what you two morons are panicking about?"

"Let's see, ummmm, yes!" Verto shouted back.

Gohan approached the subject with a bit more etiquette, "Please, if you know something you have to tell us."

"Here's what I know. You're both idiots who need to relax. The body is six feet under where I buried it. Right over there!" Laysh spat as she pointed to her left. Sure enough to the side of the battlefield there was a fresh mound of dirt. Verto slapped his own face with his palm while Gohan blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Honestly, to think two great fighters like yourselves could be so oblivious to what I would think would be very obvious," Laysh grumbled.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I guess we're still a little high strung from all this," Gohan said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Since panic mode is over, can we focus on transportation again? If the timeline is too far off, then how would that affect us getting home?"

"Well, if you think about it, just us being here would change things right?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, and?"

"If the futuristic Koenma faded away even if we seemed to have succeeded, even if he comes back, he wouldn't have any memory of us. So he wouldn't know where to go, when to go or how to get us back to our own place. Same goes for the present day version, in theory anyway," Gohan explained.

"Alright, let's say we go with that theory, then where'd Leira go? Knowing her, she would've stayed to make sure things got done," Verto pointed out.

"Right, and the last one to see her was…"

They both glanced at Laysh, who literally put her hand up as if to block an incoming attack, "Haven't seen her since the fight, don't ask!"

Gohan turned back to Verto, "So we're still stuck then?"

"How about this? We take the ship back through the rift…" Verto started to say.

Laysh interrupted him, "Finally! One of you has a good idea! I've only been saying that since yesterday!"

Verto's lip twitched just slightly, "Can I finish?"

"Oh go right ahead. Don't mind me, I just happen to know what the hell I'm talking about…" Laysh said in exasperation.

"Anyway, we get to the other side, leave the ship there and either you or Kibito can teleport us back. Odds are that they are probably waiting for word anyway. Sound good?"

Laysh looked slightly amused but angry at the same time, "Okay, I was with you until you said leave the ship. And who's this Kibit or whatever you said?"

"He's a Kai," Verto replied simply.

"You mean a god? Hmmm, I think I'd better put you back in the medical capsule for a little while. It seems you're seeing things that aren't there kid," Laysh said out of partial concern.

"I'm fine, and you'll see what I mean soon enough. The Kais are the overseers of the universe. Leira works with them to an extent," Verto explained briefly.

"He's right," Gohan added.

"So this Kibit guy is one of these supposed overseers? Okay, let's say I believe you. What makes you think that this, god, is going to just show up and help with…what did you say again?" Laysh suddenly asked.

"Teleport us to Earth," Verto reminded.

"Right, that. How do you know he's going to do this? Surely this, god, is busy running the universe and doesn't have time for your individual problems. And teleport us to Earth? C'mon, that's just absurd!" Laysh proclaimed.

"You really need to revisit your realm of impossibility. You'll see what we mean soon enough. Let's just get on the ship and go," Verto suggested.

"Alright fine, at least half of that plan makes sense. Just don't cry to me when your god doesn't show up," Laysh warned.

"Trust me, they don't have much else to do," Verto said with a chuckle.

"Whatever. It amazes me though that you two can't pick out an obvious grave because you're too busy relying on some invisible man," Laysh muttered.

Verto took slight offence, "Easy, we've had a lot of stress to deal with lately. A lot on our minds."

"Well, maybe you should quit thinking about everything and focus on the here and now!" Laysh said sternly. Verto's eyebrows shot into the air at the statement before Laysh promptly blasted off towards the ship.

Gohan was also more than a little stunned by her words, "Did she actually just say that or was I imagining it?"

"Yep, a woman just told us not to think about everything. I'd call her out for being a hypocrite, but you know she'd just deny it," Verto said.

"Since she's the expert, she should teach Mom and Videl how not to," Gohan joked.

Verto shook his head, "That's about as likely as Vegeta owning a kitten. C'mon, let's get out of here."

* * *

Verto had a brief goodbye session with Yusuke and his team before boarding the ship. Laysh had been more than ready to blast off and almost didn't wait for the ramp to close before doing so. They were already in space before he could get to the command room.

"And I thought I was in a hurry to leave," Verto muttered as he entered.

"I'm sick of being here, feeling weak," Laysh said.

"I think we all know the feeling by now," Verto said. As the ship left the planet's orbit and approached the rift, Verto's attention grew a bit more intense. The clouds of deep purple with occasional lightning filled his mind with more questions. It looked the same as it did before, but that didn't make Verto feel at ease. Gohan looked a big perturbed as well, someone that didn't escape his friend's notice.

Verto turned to him shortly before they entered, "Hey, did it look like this when you guys came after me with the Protoss?"

"No, we couldn't see it until we actually entered the tunnel and it was nothing like this," Gohan replied. Verto was about to ask something else when the ship suddenly shook violently upon entering the stormy rift. Every loose object fell out of place and pinged off the floor, leaving it cluttered and ears ringing. It only happened once, but once was enough to shake everyone's nerves.

"And it definitely didn't feel like that," Gohan added.

"Relax you two, spatial storms and wormholes are usually like that. We'll be clear soon," Laysh claimed. Neither of them felt at ease as they observed the radical lightning flashes that came extremely close to the ship. Soon though, the dark clouds gave way to stars, and the ship exited the rift. Almost immediately, Verto felt like he had just removed a few tons worth of weighted clothes as his energy level rose. Gohan felt the same way, as did Laysh.

"That's better, I actually feel like I can fight now instead of suffocate," Gohan said.

"Now that it's over and done with, I'm kind of glad we fought Ranot in a place where energy was harder to use. It would've taken ten times that effort at home," Verto proclaimed.

"True, but I would have felt better about our chances. We would have had more help, and it's not like he would have been the only one that was stronger," Gohan said reassuringly.

Verto nodded, "Good point. Now we need to contact Kibito…" The words were barely out of his mouth when the very Kai in question suddenly appeared.

"Verto! Gohan! Thank goodness you're alright! We've been worried sick!" Kibito declared.

Verto grimaced, "And waiting with baited breath for us to solve the next problem by the looks of it." Kibito nervously nodded under the annoyed glare that Verto was giving him.

"Who the hell is this guy? How'd he get onboard?" Laysh asked in almost a shout.

"You know that talk we just had about gods and teleportation? This is Kibito, also known as the Supreme Kai," Verto answered, gesturing to tall Kai. Laysh's stunned expression couldn't be matched, so Verto continued regardless.

"Kibito, can you actually teleport the entire ship to Earth?"

Kibito looked around, "I don't think so. It's more of a matter of moving both myself and other life energy masses. That doesn't quite work for something this size, and on top of which, it's synthetic. I suggest leaving the ship here and…"

"What? How will I get back?" Laysh screeched in a panic.

"…And I will return you to this ship when your business on Earth is finished," Kibito finished with a frown.

Laysh calmed down, "Oh, well why didn't you say so before?" Both Gohan and Kibito face-faulted while Verto smacked his own head for the second time in a very short span.

"What? Spit it out!" Laysh demanded.

"That fact that you went from not believing a word I said a minute ago to completely accepting it the moment he appeared," Verto pointed out.

"Well excuse me! But what you said seemed pretty far fetched and all! Besides, I'm not one to take things at face value until I see them for myself. For example, you," Laysh argued.

Verto glanced at Gohan and the Kai, joining them in a collective shrug, "Fine, it's bad logic but whatever works. Let's go."

* * *

Upon return to Earth, Verto sensed the ominous feeling in the air almost instantly, as did Gohan. He shut his eyes and felt for every strong power signal he would recognize. Four of them were missing, though he found Vegeta's eventually once he noticed how weak it was. Lenz and Goku were nowhere to be found, but he had expected that by word of mouth. The one that he didn't expect to be missing didn't exactly surprise him, and he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Where's Trunks?" Gohan asked.

"No idea, but I bet I can guess," Verto replied, annoyed.

Laysh was busily looking around the area of Capsule Corp, unfazed by the discussion, "Not bad. Too many weaklings running around though. Reminds me of our Tuffle slaves."

Gohan and Verto's eyes went wide at the remark, "Come again?"

"What?" Laysh asked.

Gohan glanced around before answering, "You mentioned Tuffles."

Laysh grimaced, "Yeah, and? Didn't Chal mention them to you at some point?"

Verto shook his head, "He didn't go into the detail that they were still around, never mind slaves."

"It's not a big deal is it? They helped us get through some of our problems so it's only natural to offer assistance in return isn't it? After all, we need their technology to travel through space and we can't rely solely on what we steal from the Kold Empire," Laysh explained.

"It doesn't matter to me, it might to Vegeta," Verto replied.

"Why?"

"He doesn't like Tuffles," Gohan said simply.

"That's just old-fashioned racist thinking. If he accepts all these weak humans, I'm sure he understands. After all, he must be a wise ruler to deal with you two," Laysh claimed.

Verto gritted his teeth a bit, "You clearly don't know Vegeta, and you're one to talk about racism. And whether he is a wise ruler or not isn't the point. I've heard enough war stories about him finding remaining Tuffles in hiding, plotting to kill off the Saiyans. His opinion of them is beneath his view of Frieza, and that is saying something."

"Oh, well I'll try not to mention them then," Laysh sneered slightly.

"Yeah, you shouldn't. And I would drop the snooty attitude around him unless you want to get your head taken off," Verto suggested.

"He's that strong?" Laysh asked.

"It isn't just a matter of strength that he may or may not have. He has a tendency to surprise anyone he faces with it, and he has a lot of pride," Gohan answered carefully.

Laysh frowned, "Hmph, I'll believe it when I see it." They entered Capsule Corp slowly, noting what appeared to be a collapsed wall on the far east end near the gravity room. It wasn't long before Vegeta noticed their presence and came down the stairs. His wounds had healed some in the time that Gohan had been gone, but not as much as would be expected.

"It's about time, there's a huge mess here for you to clean up," he grumbled.

Verto put his hand up as if to deflect the words, "Save it, I heard what happened."

"Good, I didn't feel like explaining it again. Who is the woman?" Vegeta asked as he glared a hole through the newcomer in his house.

"Her name is Laysh, she's a representative for the Renegade Saiyans," Verto said.

Laysh was taken aback, "Renegade, that's what you call us?"

"You got a better name in mind? It fits after all," Verto replied.

"Just 'Saiyans' will be fine, seeing as there are more of us anyway. Maybe you guys need the outcast label, hmph!" Laysh snorted.

"Renegade will do," Vegeta said.

Laysh's jaw dropped, "Who the hell is this guy anyway? Looks like a human, feels just as weak."

Vegeta's eyebrow twitched as a few veins popped out, "Care to repeat that?"

Gohan cringed and backed up while Verto shook his head in dismay, "That's Vegeta, smooth introduction. They say first impressions are everything."

"And she just failed. Get out of my sight!" Vegeta roared.

Laysh had an oddly blank expression on her face, "You're kidding right? This is the great and powerful Prince Vegeta? I'm sorry, but I cannot believe that at all!"

Vegeta's glare fixated on her and didn't waver, "Then perhaps you'd like to try me and see for yourself?"

"I doubt you could even bruise this brat's face, never mind a seasoned warrior like me," Laysh dared.

Verto stared at Laysh as if she were crazy while Vegeta only smirked, "Is that so?" Vegeta suddenly rushed Verto and punched his face as hard as possible. It was enough to knock the younger, unguarded Saiyan down.

Verto's fists balled up as he suppressed the urge to strike back, "What the hell was that for?"

"It's what you get for dropping your guard boy! You've gotten soft again!" Vegeta lectured as he stood over him.

Verto slowly got up, "Oh give me a break, I've been to hell and back in the last two weeks!" Laysh was more than a little stunned as Verto stood up and traded death glares with his teacher as he wiped the blood from his lip.

"Let this be a lesson girl, don't ever doubt the Prince of all Saiyans, no matter how tired he may be," Vegeta stated as he turned and stepped away.

Gohan managed to chuckle at this, "Same old Vegeta."

"Same old stubborn prick," Verto muttered.

Vegeta's head turned, "Watch it boy! I may not take it easy on you next time! Now come, the woman is waiting in the lab!" Verto's bloodied lip twitched in anger, but he suppressed it and followed slowly, prompting the other two to tag along.

As the trio followed the grumpy prince, Laysh finally felt brave enough to even whisper again, "I can't believe he was able to touch you. His energy is so low."

"It normally isn't. Remember that he is in a weakened condition right now," Verto whispered back.

"You didn't take that on purpose did you? In order for him to save face and look better?" Laysh asked.

"Hell no. You have no idea how many times he's broken my face, but I've gotten him back several times for it," Verto rasped quickly before Vegeta noticed. Laysh didn't seem that convinced and stared at Vegeta's right hand, which even through the glove appeared to be broken.

Verto also noticed it but didn't say anything aloud, _Even in a weakened state, he threw everything he had into that punch in order to prove a point and project strength. His hand is ruined but he won't even show it. I guess he's taking Laysh's presence as an envoy seriously._

Verto decided to change the whole subject, "So where's Trunks?"

"Since Gohan filled you in, I'll only update you. It's been three days and Trunks has been missing. I ordered him to search for the last, component, but it seems he has either gotten lost or has disobeyed me and went after the girl himself," Vegeta explained, pausing notably.

"Last component?" Gohan asked.

"The orange energy cores that the woman needs to finish one of her devices. It's that green machine that resembles a dragon, I think you know which one," Vegeta answered, vaguely.

Verto quickly shot a glance at Gohan, "_I think he meant the Dragon Balls and didn't want Laysh to know._"

Vegeta continued on once there wasn't another question, "Bulma confirmed a strange energy fluctuation coming from around where you failed to slay the demon before. I suggest caution when you investigate, after all, there is a strong chance that you might encounter some sort of infestation."

Verto nodded, "I can handle that."

"You had better. While were on the subject, what the devil happened to your appearance?" Vegeta asked.

Verto shrugged, "It's kinda complicated. Leira was involved."

"It wasn't that complicated sir," Laysh blurted out.

Verto scowled at this, but the damage was already done as Vegeta's attention had been grabbed, "Really?"

"Yeah, he took a weird potion and aged out of diapers for awhile. You should've seen his power, just insane. Too bad he turned back into a little brat," Laysh replied in a snarky tone.

"Not that little anymore, I gained a few inches," Verto argued.

"And he did gain about a year I'm guessing," Gohan added.

"Ha, come back when you're full grown again!" Laysh laughed.

"I see," Vegeta said plainly, clearly in thought.

"I have a question about what you said your highness, what's this about an infestation? Is it like bugs are something?" Laysh asked.

Vegeta barely acknowledged her, "Something like that. Go and prepare now boy, do not fly into this blind. Gohan will stay here, as will the girl."

Verto's eyes widened, "You want me to go alone?"

"No way!" Gohan argued.

"You know the risks Gohan, Frost could come here at anytime. And sending anyone else would be useless against the demon," Vegeta said plainly.

"What about your Namekian friend?" Laysh suggested.

"I'm not relying on the Namek!" Vegeta shouted back.

Verto shook his head, "This is a bad idea, even for you. I can handle it, but I'm going to need some sort of help."

"You'll have to find your own help this time boy, we are as in the dark as you are. We can't afford to send Kakarot's brat and no one else has sufficient experience to battle the demon. Only your skills will do," Vegeta said.

The ground cracked beneath Gohan's feet, "But he's my father!"

Vegeta's glare intensified, "The decision was made before you left. Understand your place boy, you are too valuable to risk losing in a suicide mission. You have responsibilities now, besides, it's not like this is the first time that circus clown has run off. The boy can handle it, alone."

Laysh dared to put her hand up, "Excuse me your highness, I know I'm new here, but I've got some experience against demons."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed sharply, "Hm?"

"This is not the same. This one will put the ones you fought to utter shame. But your powers would come in handy…" Verto paused in thought.

"Yeah, and if you think about it, I'm familiar with the energy. I mean hell, look what our group has been through," Laysh pointed out.

"Absolutely not. I don't trust her yet," Vegeta interrupted.

"You don't have to, I do. It's not like she has anywhere to go at the moment. Her mastery of Psionic Ice makes her a unique addition to the team. One that Vang won't expect, and if Lenz really has turned on us, it would counter the fire demon within her. I will vouch for her," Verto offered.

"Ridiculous! A few little tricks won't make a difference against Vang, certainly not in the body he has now!" Vegeta claimed.

"I seem to recall them making all the difference in several battles," Verto pointed out.

"Lucky tricks, nothing more! He knows them all by now!"

"Hmph, you seem to have a ton of faith in several of those techniques if you want to send me off to face this alone. And I seem to recall many times now that what might seem useless will work when they don't see it coming. It's called misdirection and unpredictability. Without those tools, even an elite Saiyan falls to a third class weakling, right?" Verto declared, pressing the button that most wouldn't.

On cue, Vegeta bared his teeth, "Don't you dare bring that up!"

Verto smirked, "Did I strike a nerve? Or did my point finally get across?"

Vegeta growled and took a step forward, "Another word and I'll rip that tongue of yours straight out!"

Verto lowered into his stance, "Try it. You know you won't blindside me twice!" Vegeta's forehead filled with popped veins, though he managed to barely restrain himself.

After a moment he stopped and even smirked a little before turning away, "Do as you please." Both Gohan and Laysh blinked sharply in confusion while Verto snorted a bit and moved forward. He walked right past the motionless Vegeta, pausing long enough to lock eyes with him before moving on.

After a moment of silence, Laysh dared to speak up again as she looked to Gohan for an answer, "Um…what just happened?"

"Egos clashed, the bigger one stepped aside," Gohan explained briefly.

Vegeta's glare was on him in a heartbeat, "Care to rephrase that?"

Gohan put his hands up sheepishly, "Sorry, I meant you gave him permission because you weren't that interested anymore."

Vegeta scowled slightly and brushed past the two hybrid Saiyans as he walked the other way, "Nonsense."

He crossed his arms and left them in continued confusion. _I'll be damned, the boy has gotten his edge back. I didn't want to believe it after dropping him once, but for him to completely suppress his anger and not strike back is evidence of self-control. Then to openly oppose me in view of other Saiyans and make me reconsider the mere idea of hitting him first, it can only be true. That look in his eye, he clearly fought with a strong and ruthless opponent while he was gone. My only regret is that because of that damned demon, I won't be able to help him save this world._

* * *

Verto flew with determination towards North City with Laysh following quickly as she took in the landscape. In his hand was a new Dragon Radar, which wasn't picking up anything.

"Nice planet you have, much better than that other one with the humans," Laysh pointed out.

"Same planet, different reality," Verto answered as he kept his eyes forward.

"You're still going on about that?" Laysh asked.

Verto turned to stare at her, "You're still claiming I'm wrong? I realized the truth about different dimensions and space a long time ago, even if I don't totally understand how they work or coincide. If you didn't pick up the hint of that yet, you soon will."

"It still sounds like crazy talk to me," Laysh claimed.

"So did Supreme Overseers and teleportation, you saw how that worked out," Verto countered.

"Oh shut it for once!" Verto smirked back and rolled his eyes a bit before focusing forward again. As they approached North City, Verto carefully eyed the Dragon Radar. He stopped in midair and stared at the screen, which was reading blank. _Hmmm, I guess that's not very surprising. Six of them are stashed away back home. And even if Trunks did find the last one, it probably wouldn't pick up if it's in a different dimension._ Verto shut off the radar as Laysh came to a stop and stared at him in question. He glanced around, scanning for anything out of the ordinary.

He frowned in frustration, "What the hell?"

"What is it?" Laysh asked.

"I'm not sensing anything here. Bulma specifically said that she had detected strange energy fluctuations a few miles west and south-west from the city, which is around here," Verto said.

Laysh glanced around herself, "I'm not feeling anything either. Did she say if it was synthetic or a life form reading?"

"Neither, but that's not what's bugging me about it," Verto replied.

"What is it then?"

"The fact that I'm not sensing anything around here, not even the plants or animals. It's like there's a big dead spot here, but as you can see, there are things living here."

"I'm kind of getting that too, but I can read your energy just fine. And I feel others a long ways away."

"Which means that nothing's wrong with us and we're probably in the right place. It's just a matter of finding it now," Verto summarized.

Laysh looked thoughtful, "Well, let's say you're right and there is an entrance to this 'other place'. If it's here, wouldn't it be hidden?"

"Probably, even if it's naturally occurring which I'm betting it's not. But I'm not seeing anything too terribly obvious here. There might be a cave of something in these mountains, but it could be hard to find. And I'm concerned about why we can't sense anything here other than each other," Verto pointed out.

"Well, you did mention that you had a big battle here, maybe the area is still recovering?" Laysh suggested.

"There's grass and trees here though. Even with their low energy, I would be able to sense that," Verto said.

Laysh blinked sharply, "I never do."

"Probably because you never tried. Stand back, I've got an idea," Verto ordered. Laysh looked like she was going to object, but shrugged and glided away as Verto glanced around.

_Okay, I won't be able to complete the technique, but if I can draw in the energy, I should be able to sense where this dead spot is centered._ Verto's eyes closed as he spread his legs apart and lifted his arms to the skies. The ground began to glow and sparkle randomly with energy, drawing Laysh's confused and surprised stare.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Shhh," Verto rasped. His expression changed to deep concentration as his body started to glow. The energy flowed in from all around, making him stand out even in the evening sky. Laysh herself didn't understand what was going on, but did feel a change in the air. Just as she did, Verto's eyes snapped open and he stopped what he was doing.

The multi-colored energy faded from around him as he cast a glare towards the north, "Found it." He blasted off, leaving a still puzzled Laysh behind. She followed quickly, landing beside him a mile away at a small opening at the base of a large plateau. He was staring a hole through this entrance, but wasn't going through it.

"What was that technique just now?" she asked first.

"A gathering technique that can produce the ultimate attack if channeled enough. It takes in all the energy a planet and its inhabitants can provide before it's turned on an evil being that can't be beaten any other way," Verto explained as he continued to stare into the cave.

Laysh was shocked, "Why didn't you use something like that against the captain then?"

Verto grinned a bit as he closed his eyes, "It isn't that simple. You have to have a clear head that isn't filled with anger or hatred to use it, which mine wasn't at the time. Add to that the fact that it takes forever to gather enough energy to beat someone that powerful. Trust me, it wouldn't have worked out. You have to sit there and channel it continuously without moving or losing focus, and I doubt Ranot would have left me alone long enough to do it. Had I tried, he would have caught on quick just from seeing the damn thing form, and you know the rest."

"Oh, well what's so special about this cave then?" Laysh asked, changing the subject.

"Nothing, except that there's some sort of barrier there," Verto said.

"How can you tell?"

"That technique I just used allows me to pull in and channel all the energy around me on a rather large scale. Because I used myself as the focal point, once the energy moved, I could sense where it all was. And because of that, I could also sense where it wasn't, make sense?"

Laysh shook her head, "Nope, you lost me."

Verto smacked his head again, "Forget the explanation then, here's where we need to be. As I said, there's some sort of barrier here."

"I don't see anything," Laysh claimed as she reached out with her hand. As she did, the cave opening suddenly became blurry and solid as she brushed an invisible surface.

"What the?" she exclaimed. She ran her hand over it and the blurry field followed. Once she pulled away, the surface cleared, leaving no trace of anything present again.

"We're probably not going to get through easily," Verto suggested.

"So, blast it open," Laysh said bluntly.

"We don't need to bring down the whole mountain, and we don't know what that would do. Plus Trunks got through and probably without blasting it."

"How? It's a hard surface."

Verto's Psi sword snapped to life in his right hand, "Stand back." He stabbed forward and struck the invisible wall, only to see his blade bounce off.

"So much for that idea," Laysh commented. Verto scowled at her and stabbed forward again, forcing his sword to maintain contact as he shifted his hands a quarter turn. A small white burst shot down the length of his sword and struck his body, sending him flying backwards. Verto got off his back unharmed, but slightly dazed.

"You alright?" Laysh asked.

Verto grimaced a bit, "I'm fine, looks like brute force may not be the best way to get through."

"How can you be sure? Aren't you stronger than this Trunks kid? If you can't get through, how did he?"

"Hold on, that's what I'm trying to figure out. It's possible that this barrier wasn't here when he went through. If that's the case, I know who put it up," Verto hinted.

"Who?"

Verto bent his head a bit and then glared to his right, "Leira, come on out, I know you're there."

The red-head in question stepped out from behind a nearby tree, "Impressive, your senses are getting better."

"It's not like it was hard to guess, this smelled like your doing after all," Verto grumbled.

"Just who I didn't want to see today. I told you not to trust her kid," Laysh claimed.

Verto snorted, "Yeah, I get that a lot. What's the deal here?"

"I would think the answer is obvious. I can't allow you to go through," Leira declared.

"Why?"

"I think you already know the answer to that. Even if you don't, accept the fact that I'm doing this for your own good," Leira said in assurance.

"Just so I don't do what? Go crazy? Get killed? Get possessed? Save Lenz? Save the others? Cause some sort of catastrophe? Are there anymore guesses to this because I think I covered them all!" Verto said in anger.

Leira frowned slightly, "I didn't plan for this outcome Verto. Vang was not supposed to take things this far."

"Well I guess things change, like how he's supposed to be your enemy!"

Leira gasped slightly while Laysh looked a bit annoyed, "So what's this about? I'm lost."

Verto straightened up, "When I first encountered this demon we're after, she was all about killing it if at all possible. All of that nightmare was to unleash the Berserker power we both have. You know, the unstable red Psi that comes with rage, it's a very demon-like power. The backup plan was to use a containment spell on him, which is what we ended up using and he was sealed in a magical jar that she took with her. My understanding is that the only way out is if someone else opens it, right?"

Leira's lip twitched in frustration, "Correct."

"Okay, now we can safely determine that you are probably the one who let him out. I'll bet we even find the jar in this cave. Even if you didn't, you are still responsible for it happening. Fast forward a few months and you're going through all these so-called methods to get Lenz and even the Renegade Saiyans killed by whatever means. Odd that you let some live, even when they're so very dangerous alive. Then I just happen to have a dream in which Ranot killed your brother a bazillion years ago, whenever that was. A brother that was not only a Saiyan, but also poisoned and weakened by Vang, just like Vegeta is now. A dream that I might add has happened more than once now. With me so far?" Verto asked, pausing for a moment.

"You've had that dream more than once?" Leira asked with concern.

Verto nodded, "Yeah. It's not like I can't figure out who you and your brother spoke of now that I've heard the conversation a few times. Now answer my question, why do all this and why does it have to involve me? You can't tell me that I got this power just to deal with one or two evil beings given what I've been through."

"That is a difficult answer and a very time consuming one. You needn't waste time if you want to save your friends," Leira said.

"So, you'll let us go through now if I stop talking? Is that how this works?" Verto asked, irritated.

Leira smiled, "You've said enough to convince me that you understand the situation at least a little bit."

"Not completely. If Vang was the direct cause of your brother's death despite Ranot, why help the demon? It makes no sense," Verto said.

"You're right, it doesn't make any sense does it. So let me ask you this: have you ever heard that everything that happens is for a reason?"

"Multiple times, don't use vague logic on me."

Leira sighed, "Just listen to my words and remember this. I told you before that I am here to help. Even if my methods seem bizarre or cruel, they are for your well being as well as this planet's survival."

"I'll be the judge of that. Now take down this damn barrier, I've got work to do," Verto ordered. Leira nodded and snapped her fingers, causing the cave entrance to flash with light briefly before fading again.

Leira then pulled a small bag out and tossed it to Verto, "Make use of those, but be warned that there are only four. Do not ingest any of the food or water there until after the corruption is dealt with."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laysh asked.

Verto stared at the bag and turned his head slightly, "Is there something else there that I need to deal with?"

Leira turned on her heel, "You already know what it is, but the corruption I speak of goes much deeper. You'll figure it out soon, be careful."

**A/n: Vagueness abounds, what could be ahead? You might know some of it.**


	100. Seeds of Hatred

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 99: Seeds of Hatred**

Verto and Laysh stood at the crumbling cliff exit and stared out at what could only be described as devastation. There was no vegetation or any signs of life for miles around. The rocky terrain was covered in blast craters and deep fissures that appeared to be the result of a recent battle. A smoldering lava field nearby provided a hot breeze and a continuous funnel of ash shot into the sky, forcing a lasting darkness even at high noon. Verto sensed nothing nearby, much like the suppressed 'dead spot' he had just left behind. The grand difference here was that there was no barrier, and there was nothing to sense.

Laysh was first to break the silence, "What is this place? It's like Hell or something."

"No, Hell is livelier than this," Verto replied.

"How would you know?" Laysh asked.

Verto's eyes shifted in slight irritation, "Never mind that. Keep your energy low until further notice. I don't want any potential enemies to know we're here yet."

Laysh put on her determined face, "What enemies, other than this demon and half-Saiyan girl you've spoken of?"

"Let's just say you'll know them if we see them. And I'm concerned about what else we may find here," Verto said.

"Looks like a whole lot of nothing," Laysh muttered.

Verto gazed into the distance as he answered, "For now maybe. Let's fly that way."

The duo took off in that direction, flying low due to the effort of keeping their energy output in check. The ruined terrain below remained lifeless and randomly cluttered with rocky debris the entire time, only making way for larger boulders and scattered crevices. The pair flew silently for a long time, seeing no real change in the environment. It wasn't until they had gone about a hundred miles that they even saw a river. This river however was not filled with sparkling blue water. In actuality, it wasn't filled with water at all, at least none that Verto recognized. In its place was a slow moving black fluid that occasionally bubbled up in spots. It resembled a tar pit, or perhaps an oil flow, but either way it didn't belong.

"What is that?" Laysh asked first. When Verto didn't answer, she stared over at him and let a small gasp slip out. He was trembling uncontrollable and his eyes were dim and blank.

"_At last, you've returned! Come to me! Join with me!_ _It is your purpose, your destiny!_"

Verto's teeth clenched tightly as he tried to ignore the voice that suddenly invaded his mind, but he knew full well who it belonged too. _It's him, the Overmind's presence!_

Laysh's brow wrinkled in confusion, "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"I-I am n-not yours!" Verto stuttered.

Laysh did not yet realize that he was talking to someone else, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"_You cannot resist me! Not before, not now! Join with me, or die!_"

"Get out of my head!" Verto shouted.

The Overmind's voice didn't abide, "_You're mine!"_ A sudden burst of energy seemed to hit Verto out of nowhere and he began floating towards the river of black, out of apparent control. Laysh stared with concern as she felt another presence driving Verto's energy.

"_Yes! Come to me now! Finally I shall be reborn!_" Verto's body was rigid as he was literally pulled over the black river, which began to bubble and churn much more rapidly.

"Let me go!" Verto barely managed to say.

"_You are MINE!_" Verto's aura erupted as smoky waves of blue, green and gold randomly came off him. It was only enough to ripple the river a bit, and his body began to lower towards it.

"What are you doing?" Laysh shouted at him. Her voice echoed in Verto's mind, nearly canceling out the other presence that had taken his attention. The black fluid began to rise out of the river in the form of a large black hand, as if it were trying to grab him. His eyes snapped open just as he transformed to Super Mystic and spread his arms wide. Using the force of his energy, he forced the black blood of the Overmind away, creating gaps in the river's flow. Once it had been shoved further away, Verto flew straight up and away from it. He didn't stop until he was at least a mile away, which didn't take much motivation at this point. Laysh joined him in the sky as he gasped for breath, watching the river reform itself and settle once again.

"So…you mind telling me what that was all about?" Laysh asked.

Verto panted slightly as sweat trickled down his face, "Long story, don't touch that shit if you can help it."

Laysh gazed at the distant river, "Don't have to tell me twice, but what is it?"

Verto stood up straight, "The remains of a very large and powerful creature that could control huge armies both mentally and physically. I'm not sure exactly why so much of its blood could be here, unless it poisoned the water or something…"

Verto then let a gasp slip in realization, _The Overmind was big enough to take up miles of space. Even though there would be much more water on Earth, this would be something it's capable of. I can't imagine that it would be difficult for the Zerg to contaminate the water supply, considering some of the things I got to see. And if that's the case, it explains why everything has died off. A poisoned water supply would either kill everything off, or corrupt it. Guess that's why Leira said not to eat or drink anything here, it's probably everywhere. But how can I deal with this?_

"You're spacing out again," Laysh said aloud.

Verto scowled at her, "You're one to talk. Anyways we should try to find some sort of life around…"

The words were barely out of his mouth before he was suddenly punched hard by a glowing golden fist from above. Verto crashed into the ground on his back, glaring up at who had just caught his blindside. His jaw slipped a bit in surprise. Vegeta hovered there with his arms crossed, his aura crackling with the lightning of Super Saiyan two. Next to him on the right was Gohan at his equally intense level of Super Mystic. On the left was another Super Saiyan with a red head band tied around his head, which nearly matched Goku's face except for the scar.

_Bardock, that figures. Now why in the hell did they attack like this?_

"Well well well, look who's back," Vegeta said in all seriousness.

Verto scowled as he got up, "What the hell was that for?"

"The first of many while we send you to hell!" Vegeta shouted back. His palm glowed blue as he aimed for Verto, whose eyes widened when he recognized the stance.

"Big Bang Attack!" Verto flew up at the last second to avoid the blast, which created an absurdly huge explosion. He turned to face his apparent opponents, spotting only Gohan and Vegeta through the smoke as it slowly cleared. Verto sensed the incoming attack a split second before Bardock phased in behind him. He attempted to catch Verto in a strangle hold, only to receive a hard elbow in the chest for his efforts. Bardock was forced back, giving Verto a tad bit of breathing room to collect himself. That didn't last long before a torrent of small but strong ki blasts invaded the sky, courtesy of Vegeta. Verto avoided most of them, deflecting the others when he could. The barrage ended once Vegeta saw that it wasn't doing any good, and the action halted. Verto stared at his opponents equally, though he kept a stern eye on Gohan, who had yet to do anything.

_Well, this isn't what I expected. I'll figure out what happened when I can. Judging by the hostility, I'm probably not going to get easy answers. And I'm probably the root of their problems too. Talk about a time that I absolutely need my feedback technique._ _But I wonder why Gohan hasn't made a move yet?_ He felt Laysh's fearful energy high above as she quivered slightly in place. He understood why, all these powerful Saiyans nearby made her impressive energy seem nonexistent.

"Alright, I guess I don't have choice but to deal with you first since talking has gone out the window already," Verto stated.

Vegeta smirked, "How right you are boy! Let's see if you're anywhere near as powerful as your counterpart was!"

Verto's head turned a bit, "So you already know that I'm not the Verto you know. Then why attack me?" Gohan suddenly phased out and reappeared a mere dozen feet away from him, but made no further move.

"It's not entirely personal. However, even if the timeline ran somewhat more smoothly for you, you're still capable of the same evil that our Verto was. We've learned that we cannot trust you not to snap on us, even if you're not infested," Gohan explained briefly.

Verto grimaced and looked away, "I understand your position on this. I was infested once and it wasn't a pleasant experience. I won't get in your way or anything. Once I retrieve the people that came here, I'll leave."

"You mean Trunks?" Gohan asked.

Verto paused in surprise, "You already ran into him?"

"He's been here for almost a full month. We were wondering when someone would come for him, and somehow we knew it would be you," Gohan admitted.

Verto sighed, "Another time lag, great. He's only been gone a few days from our point of view, you should have sent him back through as soon as you could. This would have been a lot easier."

"Perhaps, but it wasn't wasted time. Our Trunks had something to teach him first. He can go back at any time now though, we will send him through before the day is over," Gohan offered.

"Thanks, but he's not the only one I'm here for," Verto said.

Gohan's fists bunched up momentarily, "Who?"

"My student Lenz, she's half-Saiyan with violet hair. She also has Psionic powers that could be dangerous if left unchecked. I was training her before all this happened," Verto pointed out.

Gohan let a small smile cross his face, "Ah, her. We don't have any issues with her at this time. She was nice enough to torch some Zerg for us."

Verto's eyebrow went up, "Good to know that some of her power is going to good use. Now there's the matter of your father."

Gohan's smile was quickly gone, "What of him?"

Verto hesitated, "Are you aware of the demon within him?"

Gohan nodded, "Very."

"Well there's no easy way to say this so I'll just say it. The demon has to be dealt with," Verto said uneasily.

"We're well aware of this demon Vang and the threat he brings, we're not stupid. He took over Kakarot's body at a weak moment when his soft heart had finally got the better of him," Vegeta interrupted.

Gohan cast a glare in his direction briefly, "And we all know why that was. The point is, Vang is a problem that we will deal with. We don't want or need your help."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "Whether you do or don't doesn't matter to me. I'll handle it myself if I have to."

Bardock interjected next, "No, you won't. You see, Vang wants us to capture you. He wants your body, not Kakarot's. But we aren't going to do that coward's bidding. So either you leave now, or we will make you."

Verto didn't budge, "What does he want with me?"

Vegeta snorted, "Clearly you're either deaf of just idiotic. He wants your body, I think why is obvious."

"And you attacking me would help him. Maybe you should think about that, assuming you still can," Verto countered.

"Why you…" Vegeta growled back.

Gohan put his hand up in front of Vegeta, "Hold on, he deserves to know exactly why we can't trust him." Vegeta's glare shifted towards his rival's son for a moment before he grunted and turned away.

"Glad to see that one of you is level-headed," Verto muttered.

Gohan frowned at him, "Well don't get the wrong idea. This is only so you know why we don't want you here, and there are multiple reasons for this. The first is obvious, the war with the Zerg didn't go well. The day that they gathered their full force and lost was also the day you were taken and infested. Trunks told us about the other aliens that showed up and helped drive them off your world, but they didn't come here. You killed many of our friends, and then got them infested too, or cloned in some cases. Somewhere along the way, you succumbed to the darkness we all knew you had, and you revolted. You returned, a shell of your former self, and the chaos that you caused on the way out gave us the chance to destroy the Overmind once and for all. Or so we thought…"

Gohan paused a moment to collect his thoughts, prompting Verto to speak, "I take it things didn't end there."

Gohan's fists clenched, "Shut up! You have no idea how badly I want to kill you right now!" Verto stayed quiet, but was still very surprised at the sudden outburst from his long time friend. Gohan shuddered with the intense emotions of both anger and what appeared to be deep sorrow.

"Gohan, do you need me to tell him?" Bardock offered.

Gohan's head turned towards his grandfather, "No! I can handle it. After the other you snapped, you killed most of our family. The evil poured out and caught us by surprise. You forced us to watch you kill Goten, Videl, and my mother. Dad cracked and drove you away, but he was never the same again. You then cut down Piccolo and Dende, taking the Dragon Balls from us too. The three of us fought you tooth and nail, eventually forcing a stalemate at the time. And then you disappeared."

Verto was quite taken aback at the revelation and sighed heavily, "Look I…"

"Don't you say a fucking word until I'm done talking to you!" Gohan shouted, forcing Verto into silence. The look on Gohan's face told the whole story, even if Verto himself hadn't done what he was being accused of, Gohan was still identifying him as the culprit.

Bardock saw that his grandson was having trouble maintaining composure and stepped in to finish, "At some point you also wiped out some of the resurgent Zerg before falling into that black fluid that runs through our rivers. That fluid is the Overmind's legacy. We haven't been able to get rid of it despite our best efforts. Even the air is poisoned by its lingering stench. Anyone who falls into contact with it is infected by its curse. In your case, it completely took over your body and we had to face you again. We eventually won, and you died along with it."

Verto grimaced, "I'm sorry that I, or should I say, the other me, caused you so much trouble. But I'm not him."

Gohan panted a bit from his outburst but appeared to be calming down, "If you don't leave immediately, we'll do to you what we did to the other Verto."

Verto scowled at the threat, "That's sad. You're so burdened and bloodthirsty from revenge that you can't think of any other options. Use that brain for something other than emotional baggage." Gohan gasped at the audacity of Verto's words, as they had clearly stung him.

"You've got some nerve kid, you always were the worst at controlling your emotions," Bardock said as he floated forward.

"It's about the only weakness you really had. Pity you were such a brat that you couldn't see it," Vegeta added as he also came closer.

Verto smirked, "You know, I hear that quite often. And I'll admit that it does cause me some problems from time to time. However…" Verto shifted into his ready stance, signaling what his intentions were. "I've had training that your Verto didn't have. On top of which, I expelled the evil spirit that was within me. Your Verto had it too, so he's the one you should blame, not me. Don't assume to know me at all. The only real thing that we shared is a simple warning: Don't piss me off!"

Bardock was unaffected by Verto's statement, "Is that your final answer then?"

"First, final, and only. You want me to leave? Make me!" Verto dared.

Vegeta scoffed, "What a fool, probably even more so than the other one. Well despite that, we won't go easy on you. This is a fight to the death, I hope you can still understand that."

Verto waved him on, "I have no wish to kill any of you, but I'll do what I have to. Who's first?"

Vegeta laughed, "Ha, you honestly think we will allow you that luxury? You don't _deserve_ the honor of fighting us one by one. Then again, it's not like you will be able to defeat any single one of us. There are still things you haven't seen."

"Like what? The fact that you can go Super Saiyan Three?" Verto asked.

Vegeta gasped in surprise, "How?"

Verto shook his head, "Come on, you were able to do it when we were dealing with Majin Buu. Our worlds aren't that different. Hell it's been long enough, I'll bet Bardock can too." Bardock's surprised face nearly matched Vegeta's, causing Verto to chuckle lightly.

Vegeta's shock faded, "Still, it's foolish for you to think that you can take all three of us. Certainly not all at once."

"So much for your Saiyan honor. Fine, but none of you goes after the girl. She has nothing to do with this," Verto bargained.

"Agreed."

"Hold on Vegeta," Gohan said suddenly as he came forward.

"What is it?"

"I'll fight him alone for now. After all, he isn't the Verto we know," Gohan pointed out.

"Are you sure? He may have the same kind of energy reserves the other one had," Bardock said.

"You forget Grandpa, I beat him before, even when he had the Overmind's help. I should be able to handle another one that doesn't have that advantage. Judging by the energy I'm sensing, he's far below that level," Gohan countered. He then let his power flow freely and began increasing his already high level of strength. Verto followed suit, quickly topping out since he had already transformed himself. Gohan took a bit longer to finish, giving Verto time to analyze the energy he was sensing.

_No reason to think he isn't as strong as or stronger than the other Gohan. Plus time has passed differently here as well, so he also has more experience. And then there's the matter of what techniques he's developed. Even if he hasn't come up with any, this won't be easy until he wears down. I've got to be careful._ Gohan's power-up stopped sooner than Verto expected, and he quickly sensed that Gohan wasn't at his maximum. He measured the energy he sensed as about even with his own top level, and smelled the deception immediately.

Verto scoffed, "You're going to hold back, against me?"

Gohan smirked, "Maybe, but who says I need to go full power to win? By my calculation, at about eighty percent I can fight on an equal level with you. Then again, it still won't take a minute to beat you. I've had far more time to learn this power than you have."

Verto's eyes narrowed at Gohan's odd confidence, "That's not what I would expect to hear from you. That's something I would usually hear from a true enemy. And if the other Verto was anything near or above my level, you should know that sandbagging will not work against me. What's happened to you?"

Gohan's blue eyes closed for a second, "The time for talk is over." He suddenly phased out, reappearing behind Verto instantly. A bright green sword stopped at this neck just as he moved to attack, halting his motion due to surprise.

Verto held the blade firmly as he cast a glare up at Gohan, "I wouldn't try that again if I were you. You're not the only one I've fought that can use that move."

Gohan was astounded, "You can anticipate that? How?"

"Just knowing that you can do it makes me watch for it. Also, at close range I can sense a very subtle fluctuation in your energy just before you move. After that, it depends on how fast I can react, assuming I can. But trust me, I've had ample practice," Verto warned.

"Kill me now then. That's my best technique to use against you," Gohan suggested.

Verto's eyebrow went up, "Giving up already? That's not like you at all."

Gohan's eyes softened momentarily, "I'm giving you a chance to leave before I have to put you down. If you're so intent to stay, you'll have to kill me now. Do it quickly and do not give me another chance, otherwise…" A very large golden blast suddenly came at them out of nowhere, startling both. They managed to steer clear as it shot into space and eventually out of all sight. Verto and Gohan were well separated by the sudden attack and stared down towards its origin. It appeared to be Bardock's doing as he held his arm out.

"Damn it, it's already started," Gohan muttered.

Verto gazed at him, "What has?"

"Look closely at his eyes," Gohan replied. Verto glanced down and saw that Bardock's teal eyes had vanished. Instead they were filled in with all black.

"Listen, you need to get out of here now, otherwise you'll be killed, or worse. I can only hold out myself for so long before the infection takes over me too," Gohan admitted.

"Hold on, infection? What exactly is going on here?" Verto asked.

Gohan pointed to the distance, "Remember what my grandfather said about that black river?"

"Yeah, he already confirmed that it's the Overmind's blood, isn't it?"

Gohan nodded, "Essentially, though it's all over the world. Most of the rivers, lakes and oceans have at least some of it. It's even in the air we breathe. Can I assume that you know what happens once you have enough of it in your system?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how much it takes…wait, are you saying that you're all infected by it?" Verto asked, realizing the possibility.

"Unfortunately, I take it you have run into this problem before if you know what it is. Trunks said that the Overmind wasn't on Earth when you defeated it," Gohan said.

"Very recently actually. There's a scientist that was messing around with it, trying to attain our level of strength. I don't remember all of it, but I was infected at some point and I went off the handle without realizing it. I felt that thing's presence though, and it did try to take over. For a short time it did from what I heard," Verto explained.

"With us, it doesn't always try to take over, but it does cause us to feel intense anger at times. If we are powered up though, it eventually causes us to lose control for awhile, as it feeds off our energy from within. We can't maintain our maximum power because of that, but at the same time it cannot use it either. And while it may seem like the lights are on with no one home, we're more like puppets on a string until it passes. We'll respond to powerful threats and we can still use most of our techniques as well as energy, we just won't be in full control," Gohan elaborated further. Verto could hear Bardock grunting like a wild beast that was about to attack, drawing his attention momentarily.

Gohan brought it right back, "That's why you must leave now! I can't hold it at bay and fight you and them at the same time!" Verto eyed him carefully before glancing back towards Vegeta, who was remaining very still. He sensed fluctuations in the prince's energy, signaling that he might have been struggling with something.

_That explains a lot. It wasn't just their personal feelings towards me, but it does make the effect quite a bit more intense. There's still some sort of compassion there, otherwise they wouldn't care if I lived or died. Never mind if Vang posed a threat or whatever he wants me for. And even if having that shit in their system doesn't make them infested, there's got to be a lingering bit of the Overmind compelling them to attack me so it can take over again._ _The symptoms are a lot like what the other Gohan described when I was infected. I'm not sure if that Chemical Z crap that Wheelo developed was different or not, but I know it wasn't airborne. And if it was, then the Overmind would not have to wait for when I get near it to attack me, nor anyone else. Then again, it probably doesn't matter if it's in the water supply and has been for awhile. _

"Do you get it now?" Gohan asked, interrupting Verto's thoughts.

Verto smiled slightly and shook his head, "Yeah, at least I know why I'm about to get my brains bashed in."

"That's why you have to go, don't be stubborn! In or out of control, you can't beat the three of us! And should I maintain myself through all this, I will make sure you either leave or die! You being here poses too great a risk for more than one reason," Gohan reminded. Verto nudged the small bag of candies in his pocket, making sure he indeed had four of them. _Looks like I might be using all of these._

"Do what you think you have to do. But it would be helpful if we could knock one or both of them out first. I don't have time to go and get the cure if I'm dealing with you," Verto said.

Gohan paused, "There's a cure?"

"Use the sacred water from the lookout, it should wipe out all of the infection. Then just find a way to administer it to the whole world," Verto suggested.

"We didn't even consider that since it's in all of the fresh water. Plus we're still having Zerg problems and the lookout was…" Gohan suddenly stopped and coughed heavily. He clutched at his head painfully and screamed instead.

Verto scowled, _Damn, bad timing._

Gohan managed to glare up at him as half his eyes had gone black while the other half were bloodshot, "Run! Now!" The words were barely out of his mouth before he rushed forward with all speed. Verto narrowly dodged the punch attempt and kicked hard into Gohan's chest before phasing out to a safer distance. Gohan was stunned, but only enough to stall his wrath for a few seconds before he locked eyes on him and snarled with nothing but bloodthirsty rage.

_Now I see why he even bothered to attack so quickly earlier. He was sure he'd win with just Instant Transmission and wanted to force me into leaving before this could happen._

He paused his own thoughts when he sensed Laysh flying in, "I take it your bad negotiation broke down again."

Verto glared at her, "Now isn't a good time for your snide remarks." The pair hovered back to back as Gohan and Bardock flew up and encircled them, randomly grunting at them. Vegeta flew in closer as well, but stayed far enough away that Verto was unable to tell how affected he was at the moment.

Laysh seemed legitimately concerned, "Why did I agree to this again?"

"Beats me, but there's no turning back now. Look at it this way, you'll get to experience Vegeta's real strength," Verto joked.

Laysh eyed the powerful prince in the background, "Can't you take all three? You're the one who talks big all the time."

Verto's eyes shifted between Gohan and Bardock as they stopped on either side of him, "Clearly you haven't been paying attention. Gohan by himself will be all I can handle. And at least one of them will go after you, bank on it!"

Laysh snorted, "So brainiac, what's the plan?"

"Think you can keep those two off of me?" Verto asked.

"You're kidding right? They're both much stronger than me at my maximum power!" Laysh argued.

Verto winced at the volume of her voice next to his ear, "I didn't say you had to beat them, just keep them from jumping in. Use your ice techniques to both distract them and defend yourself. Try not to kill them though."

Verto then floated towards Gohan as Laysh sighed, "Yeah, if they don't kill me first!"

Verto paused and turned, "Your best bet is to catch them in unguarded moments. Since they're mostly focused on me, that should be easy. If you get stuck, do what I do, improvise."

"That's not reassuring!" Laysh shouted at him. Verto smirked before taking off towards Gohan, who was eager to start by the look of it.

* * *

As soon as they engaged, a shockwave flurry disturbed the surrounding air, forcing Laysh to back up quickly. She quickly turned towards Bardock, who had moved closer and whose eyes were following the extreme speed in front of him. Laysh saw that he was looking to jump in at any moment, and he was also completely open to attack from the rear.

She quickly prepared her attack and fired, "Koori Kometoo!" The sparkling blue Ice Comet overwhelmed the unaware Bardock before he could even react, and he became covered in thick ice. She channeled the technique further, adding enough layers to fill up an acre of farmland before stopping. No visible response occurred within the newly formed iceberg as it dropped to the ground. Laysh watched as some of it broke apart, but not enough to free the Super Saiyan. She dared to sigh with relief, and then turned right into Vegeta's fist. The impact sent her flying, but Vegeta didn't let her even feel it. He quickly chased her down and added a brutal knee to the stomach. He then grabbed Laysh by her blue hair and threw her aside, briefly watching her fall before turning towards the higher paced action further away. On the ground, Laysh spat up a heavy volume of blood, shocked and painfully shaken by the feeling of the freight train that had just hit her.

_So that's what the prince's real power is like. Should have hit him first._ Laysh winced painfully as she barely managed to stand, feeling that he had completely broken her nose and several ribs with just two hits. She took in slow painful breaths as she traced his position, quickly seeing him up in the sky and paying her no mind at all.

_Just like the kid said, he's completely focused on him and unguarded like the other one. Looks like that infection thing doesn't do much for their intelligence if they only respond to a threat after the fact. Then again, it's not like I'm any match for him. Even if I use my Koori Kometoo_ _from here, he'd have plenty of time to react to it. I'll have to risk getting a lot closer to have a chance._ Laysh quickly looked over and saw that the Bardock Iceberg was beginning to glow gold.

_Damn it, he's going to be out soon. I'm not going to be able to hold one down without dealing with the other first. I can use that technique that I hate using to injure one of them, but it won't do any good if they sense me coming. That is unless…_ Laysh stared at Vegeta before holding out her palm and charging it with Psi energy. Vegeta didn't react to this at all, and when a bright explosion went off ahead of him, Laysh dared to fire it. She intentionally missed by dozens of feet, but it told Laysh what she needed to know when he didn't even turn his head.

Laysh grinned, _Of course! He's not a member of my clan so he can't use Psionic powers and probably can't sense them either. I can completely suppress my ki and he won't be able to detect my presence without using his other senses. As long as I'm quiet, he won't hear me coming. I'm also downwind, which takes his nose out too. This just might work after all._ She carefully regulated her energy before concentrating on her right arm. Ice began to cover it from the mid-forearm all the way past her fingers and extending out about a foot and a half before thickening, forming a small sword made of ice.

_Alright, now here comes the hard part._ She slowly floated of the ground and made her way towards Vegeta, who had his arms crossed. Laysh made steady progress and pulled her arm back into pre-stabbing position once she was a few feet away. She hesitated for a moment with the unaware prince staying completely motionless before her.

_I don't have to go for the kill, I can instantly freeze him once I make contact. Then I'll do the same with the other one and alternate between the two as needed._ Laysh pulled back a little more before thrusting forward. Just as her Icy Sword touched Vegeta's armor, he suddenly phased out, causing Laysh to fall forward. A vicious boot kicked her frozen hand, shattering the ice and the bones along with it. Laysh instinctively clutched her wrist, unprepared for the hand coming towards her throat. It stopped there and held her by the neck with a deadly grip that wasn't quite a choke. Laysh dared open her eyes, and then wished she hadn't. Vegeta's eyes were indeed blackened, but the pupils were still a teal color unlike Bardock's.

Vegeta pulled her close enough to almost graze her nose with his own, "Just who do you think you're dealing with, little girl?"

**A/n: Whoops, somebody messed up.**

**WDG:** Vegeta? Unguarded? Keep dreaming.

**VB**: It's been known to happen from time to time. Always due to a cheap trick no doubt…


	101. AltGohan's Strength

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 100: Alt-Gohan's Strength**

Laysh clutched at Alt-Vegeta's arm in an attempt to free herself, but he didn't budge.

"Let go of me!" she demanded.

Vegeta smirked, "You're not the one that can order me around. It's your own fault for attempting to attack me from behind. If you can't take care of yourself, you won't survive here!" Laysh trembled as she looked him in the eye, as if there was an eerie presence there. Even for a Saiyan, they had an incredibly disturbing look to them with the blackened corneas and teal pupils.

"Better call for help, I don't know how long I can restrain myself from choking the life out of you," Vegeta warned as his fingers flinched slightly. Laysh felt his grip tighten just a bit and a rush of panic filled her. She knew by the sounds of battle around her that Verto would be far too busy with Gohan to be able to assist her. The Bardock Iceberg she had created was threatening to break at anytime, which would not be good for either of them. She closed her eyes momentarily and concentrated. Vegeta's smirk faded as her aura erupted and began to sparkle with blue. His hand and arm quickly froze over before rapidly spreading through his body. Laysh took the chance and kicked forward into Vegeta's stomach to break the hold. She carefully backed away and floated cautiously. Barely three seconds passed before the ice around Vegeta was blown off easily by his golden aura.

"Hmph, you're out of your mind if you think that will hold any Super Saiyan for long, certainly not me. Your little freezing tricks with Psionic energy are pitiful!" Vegeta claimed. Laysh frowned and stared him down, unsure of what to do next. Bardock promptly broke out of his cold confines and looked around anxiously. Once he spotted Verto he took off in that direction. Laysh moved to go after him, but stopped dead in her tracks when a large, golden blast cut her off.

"Don't interfere girl, otherwise you will die immediately!" Vegeta warned.

"But you promised it would be one on one!" Laysh shouted back as she pointed out the golden aura streaking towards the battle.

Vegeta snorted lightly and crossed his arms, "I made no such agreement. I only agreed that I would not attack you, provided you didn't attempt to act. Since you're basically harmless, I won't have to. And I have no intention of stopping Bardock or Gohan's right of vengeance. Surely as a Saiyan you would understand that."

"But they're out of control aren't they? That black stuff is in you too," Laysh pointed out.

Vegeta smiled and closed his eyes, "It isn't a problem, if you know how to use it. And it will be a cold day in hell before the prince of all Saiyans is controlled by anybody or anything!"

"That's not reassuring, it's not exactly warm here. And are you saying that they're not being influenced like the kid said?" Laysh asked.

Vegeta scowled at her, "Of course they are you fool. They're not the type of warriors that can handle a taste of evil. If the brat had half a brain he would kill them at the first opportunity. Pity he won't, will he?"

Laysh grimaced, "Probably not. But there's got to be a way to at least fight them on even terms, not as mindless beasts! I've seen my fair share of warriors that are overly affected by something they can't control, and it's not honorable to sit by and do nothing while they can't control their own actions!"

"Ha, what would you know about mindless beasts? You probably don't even know what the Zerg are yet," Vegeta said.

"No, I'm not familiar with that species. But I have dealt with Saiyans whose own powers have caused them to go crazy. And I've seen the kid handle it before, so there must be a way," Laysh declared.

Vegeta shut his eyes again and grinned, "Oh there is. All he has to do is injure them enough that pain will restore their senses. No minor scratch will do, but he wouldn't have to completely disable them either. However…"

Laysh felt a nervous chill crawl up her spine at Vegeta's sudden pause, "What?"

Vegeta chuckled, "Let's just say he may not want to do that. The effects will be quite…damaging. You never know what an angered Saiyan may consider resorting to, even one as complacent as Gohan."

Laysh's eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Vegeta huffed slightly, "You'll figure it out…but you will make no move to help the boy. If you do, I will kill you where you stand!" Laysh shifted her stance from the threat alone, but Vegeta turned away. He stared at the frenzy in the distance, while Laysh tried to figure out a way out of her mess.

* * *

Verto didn't dare stop moving once the battle had begun. He initially traded blows with the beast-like Gohan before changing tactics and simply playing defense. Dodging and only blocking when he had to allowed him to keep an eye on Laysh, as well as not use up any energy. When Vegeta counter-attacked her, he prepared to intervene, but stopped himself when Vegeta didn't go the expected kill. Verto knew that allowing his only ally to die would be a costly mistake, but so would turning his back on Gohan, no matter the condition. When he saw Bardock coming, Verto changed tactics again. He forced Gohan away with a quick burst of energy before focusing on his Chi Shield technique. He extended it outward by several feet before stopping and strengthening it. Bardock attempted to punch through, but was stopped short rather easily. A barrage of green blasts collided with the shield a moment later, courtesy of Gohan from the air. Enraged, Bardock punched the shield over and over again from the other side. Verto shifted his gaze between the two as he kept both arms up to help channel his energy.

_Well this is turning out great, so much for strategy. Guess I should count myself as lucky that all three of them aren't fighting at once. Vegeta must be more resistant to Chemical Z than the others, makes sense I suppose. Alright, I have to make this a one on one fight before I can end this. Bardock's weaker, so I have to knock him out at least before I deal with Gohan. I'd rather go for the strongest first, but it'll take too long and use too much energy. Best to go with the weakest link…or at least as weak as an ascended Super Saiyan can be._ Verto's shield began to spin rapidly, stalling Bardock's next assault. Verto quickly empowered his shield and fired a minor blast from it, knocking Bardock backwards for a moment. He quickly gathered a huge amount of Chi into his right hand and aimed for Gohan just as he dropped the shield.

"Final Shine!" The blast fired was smaller than usual and barely expanded, thus Gohan could avoid it easily. Verto kept the beam going though and adjusted his aim to chase Gohan through the skies, but kept his senses on Bardock. Once Bardock recovered and saw Verto fire with his shield down, he charged in like a crazed animal that was ready to rip off the head of his prey. Verto's beam ceased once Bardock moved and began charging up again, even though his palm was still open. Verto braced his arm with his left hand and turned just as he released the energy. A strong, violent burst of lightning sprang from his open hand and slammed into Bardock. The attack stopped the elder Saiyan completely and the lightning overwhelmed him in the same instant. He screamed and shouted in pain, but Verto didn't ease up. Bardock's body tore open all over, leaving bloodied and burnt gashes throughout. His hair faded to black and his energy level plummeted before Verto finally let up. He was left on his back, gasping for breath as his eyes also shifted back to normal.

"Wha-What happened?" Bardock asked.

Verto stood up straight and relaxed his arms, _He's back under control, it must wear off if the body is damaged enough. The only question is if the chemical Z burns off, or does it simply stay quiet for awhile? Probably the latter._

Verto grimaced at this thought, "Stay down, otherwise the next one kills you. Understand?" Bardock didn't reply to this, but Verto sensed it was due to passing out. He wiped a small trickle of sweat from his brow and shifted towards Gohan, who was coming towards him quickly from above.

_Alright, his turn now. I'll use a diversion tactic so I have a clean shot at him._ Verto charge more energy into his hand and fired another Final Shine at the charging Gohan. Gohan phased out and instantly appeared behind Verto. A short green blade found the side of his left shoulder and he cried out in pain. Verto held the blade with both hands and saw the chance to go for the kill. Instead, he dove to the side and swung at Gohan's right leg, grazing it but still leaving a sizable gash. Gohan winced and dropped to his knees, holding his shoulder painfully. His expression of rage didn't change a bit and he stood back up despite his injury and ran towards Verto just as he landed. Verto's sword vanished as he refocused the energy into another Chi Storm burst and fired. Gohan dropped immediately and put up no real fight against the technique. He grunted painfully as the whites of his eyes returned to normal a few seconds later while he gasped for breath. Verto considered coming closer to get a better look, but stayed away to give Gohan time to get his bearings.

"So that was enough to bring you to your senses?" Verto asked.

Gohan finished catching his breath and the air seemed to become eerily still, "Yes, but it seems you didn't listen. You always were stubborn that way. We don't want you here, I thought I made that clear."

Verto felt that the anger coming from Gohan had not diminished at all, "The only thing clear is that you need help. Now will you cooperate, or do you feel the need to continue this pointless fight?"

Gohan smirked slightly, "No fight is ever pointless, and no, I don't think I'm ready to end it yet. Not before you suffer!"

"You know it'll be mutually beneficial to help each other, I can show you another way to purge the Overmind's blood from you and others. You know that I'm not a threat to you," Verto suggested.

Gohan stood up as his face shifted back to anger, "I remember you saying something like that, right before you killed my whole family!" A powerful burst of energy followed Gohan's statement, knocking Verto backwards and tearing the ground around them apart. Gohan's minor wounds soothed as his full power came out, and any bleeding stopped. Verto's jaw slipped a bit when he sensed Gohan's full power, as it was considerable more powerful than his own. _Oh shit, this isn't going to be good._

"I told you to leave, and if you didn't that you would die. I meant what I said, so put away any belief that my brief dose of compassion meant anything for you. Rest assured, I'm going to put you down once and for all!" Gohan proclaimed. Bright, silver energy continued to pour out of Gohan, more than enough to make Verto reconsider his options.

_Geez, I thought I had all the potential. He's on par with Frost's power and damn near Ranot's. Makes me wonder why Vang or the Overmind didn't go after him. Either way, this isn't going to be easy._

Gohan smirked when Verto backed up a step, "You're afraid of me aren't you?"

"No, I had a cramp in my leg. You know how those can be sometimes. Besides, it isn't my first time sensing this much power," Verto replied.

"Then you know that you don't have a chance," Gohan suggested.

Verto backed up another step, "I've also beaten that kind of power before, so just keep that in mind."

"Bluffing won't do you much good. Tell you what, I might stop once you agree to leave, but I might not be so accommodating once we get started. You'd better decide when to run quickly," Gohan said.

Verto smiled lightly as he stood his ground, _When to use Kaio-ken is more like it._

Gohan's finished his power-up, blowing away any dust and loose rocks that remained. He vanished the moment he was done, blasting Verto in the jaw with a single right hook. Verto had almost felt the blow before dozens more followed. The assault was over just as fast as it started, but the effect on Verto's body was devastating. The feeling of broken bones overwhelmed any sensation of cuts and bruises, which were numerous all over his body. Verto shook painfully as he staggered down to his knees, stunned at how fast he was beaten to a pulp.

Gohan touched down a few feet away with his arms crossed, "I held back so you could grasp the situation. I could have ended this just as fast." Verto stood up painfully as blood leaked from his open mouth in tune with his exhales before he spit the bulk of it out.

"You should know by now not to hold back," Verto warned.

"I see I didn't hit you hard enough to knock your stubborn pride away. Very well, I'll try not to kill you with the next one," Gohan said as he stepped forward again. Verto's fists glowed green as he stood his ground and resumed his stance, eyeing Gohan with all seriousness. Gohan vanished again, but Verto caught the kick aimed for his side. Another assault of punches and kicks followed, but this time none of them connected as Verto dodged and blocked each one.

Gohan stopped the attack and backed off, "How?"

Verto shook off the pain in his injured limbs and closed his eyes momentarily, "You underestimated the amount of energy you were sensing and didn't attack with your full speed and strength. I took your first barrage on purpose to estimate your power, but I could have avoided it. I'm not sure that I can match your full effort as I am now. Add to that I'm better with ranged combat and energy techniques than I am melee, which is more of your thing."

Gohan frowned, "At least you know now that you can't win, even if you would've lasted a bit longer than I thought. Are you giving up then?"

Verto smirked as he stared up at Gohan, "I don't give up." He then reached into his armor and pulled out one of Leira's candies, eating it quickly.

"What was that, a Senzu bean?" Gohan asked.

"Something like that."

Verto's energy surged as his injuries faded, _Alright, time to take his power down a few notches. That way I can reduce this to an even fight and win with ranged skills instead of brute strength. I have to use Kaio-ken conservatively and only use large amounts of energy as needed. Hopefully I won't need more than one of these._

Gohan snorted slightly, "Regaining your full power isn't going to make that much of a difference you know. It might make you last another couple of minutes, that's about it. You said it yourself, you can't match me."

Verto's eyes narrowed, _I've never seen Gohan so arrogant, well not when he's himself. Either the years here have been that bad, or he's still got Chemical Z in his system, or both. Doesn't matter I guess, I'll still need to deal with him and probably Vegeta afterwards. If I can defeat him and have time to concentrate, I may be able to cure them just like the sacred water would. First things first though._

Gohan folded his arms again for the moment, "Enough stalling. Let's finish this pointless fight. I'm getting anxious to bury you."

Verto spread his arms and legs evenly apart to steady himself, "We'll see who buries who! Kaio-ken!"

Gohan's eyes widened as Verto's aura became a bright green, "No, you can't!" The powerful breeze struck Gohan and nearly pushed him back, but he managed to hold position. Verto's battle cry filled the air as his power level increased quickly. Random bursts of energy shot out and bombarded the lifeless ground nearby, lighting up the skies with small explosions that reflected off the clouds. Verto's aura remained its vivid green color as it rapidly condensed around him.

Gohan was amazed, "Impressive, your counterpart was never able to withstand that kind of power. Still, I doubt you can do this for long."

Verto grimaced as he changed his stance, _Five minutes is all I'm good for like this. I doubt he'll let me have a rest period unless I earn it, so I'll have to make every move count._

"Well, am I right?" Gohan asked, as if expecting an answer.

Verto's eyebrow went up, "I think it was you that said the time for talk was over."

Gohan's smirk reappeared as he shifted into his own stance, "You're right I did. Let's do this."

* * *

Gohan's silver aura rose back up to match the intensity of Verto's teal-green shroud. Both balls of light brightened enough to obscure the two generating them. Verto remained focused on his own, but he was clearly sensing something about Gohan that didn't feel right.

_His energy is growing darker with each passing moment, what's causing that? Oh hell I can't worry about that now._ In a flash the action began as they shot towards each other, forcing Laysh and Alt-Vegeta to protect themselves. Gohan connected early with a hard punch to Verto's face. He received an equally fierce kick to his side, forcing him away. Gohan fired a blast in return, which Verto deflected barehanded. The distraction was enough for Gohan to phase out and catch Verto in the back with a crushing overhand blow to his shoulder. Gohan smirked at this, but frowned when he saw Verto spinning out of the impact. Gohan bent over backwards, narrowly missing Verto's Chi sword when it passed just in front of his nose. Verto floated back up and discarded his sword as he refocused the energy back into his fist quickly.

Gohan straightened out just as Verto punched forward, "Super Galic Fist!" From the ground, the light from the explosion blinded everyone. The result was Gohan buried in rubble a mile or so away as Verto held steady in the skies.

_Not a bad start, a few more shots like that one should take him down a few notches. Although I got lucky on the way he chose to dodge my sword, doubt that happens again. He should have used instant transmission, that's very unlike him to screw up like that._ The ground exploded a moment later as Gohan scattered the rubble with merely a shout. He pulled his arms back and charged up a strong blast, indicating his eagerness to finish. Verto sensed that he wasn't going all out with this beam however and elected not to reply in kind. Gohan fired a Kamehameha without the words, aiming right for Verto. He waited for it to get close before he phased out, dodging fairly easily to a safer spot on the ground nearby. When he didn't see Gohan, he spun and blocked the sudden punch aimed for his head, wincing painfully as his left forearm throbbed from the impact. Gohan spun backwards, aiming a knife hand strike to Verto's ear. Verto reacted fast enough to block it with the same arm, feeling one of the bones break almost immediately. He cringed in pain and blasted off into the sky, to which Gohan gave chase. Verto turned his head slightly as he examined his arm mid-flight and then sensed some of the intensity coming from Gohan.

_Looks like he knows how to focus his energy into his physical attacks to break through his opponent's defenses. It would take a much stronger physical being like Frost or Ranot to stand up to that, and I'm neither. I can't risk blocking any more blows unless absolutely necessary, at least not until he's weakened. Dodging will be rough too with his speed and teleportation to boot. Looks like I'll have to maintain my distance and fight him at mid to long range earlier than I thought. Anything close is a disadvantage for me._ Verto's sword appeared in his right hand, making Gohan slow down just a bit in caution. Verto turned and glided to a halt as Gohan also stopped a few dozen feet away in the air. Neither fighter made a move initially, making both wonder what the other was doing. Gohan eyed Verto's green sword, which told Verto that he clearly had no desire to be hit by it again. That gave Verto a little more assurance that he could dictate the battle, but not much.

Gohan suddenly chuckled, "I hope you don't think you're safe at a distance just because I would prefer not to get hit by that sword technique again. I'll admit that you are more skilled than I thought you would be, but a tiny little blade isn't going to save you."

Verto replied by slashing at the air a few times with practice swings, "Oh I don't think you'll be the last one wanting to avoid getting cut in half. Although that does tell me that you might be familiar with this technique."

Gohan closed his eyes for a moment, "I admit that the other Verto didn't have much time to develop his power before everything went to hell. However I have." Gohan pulled back his right hand and charged a pulsing blast of green light.

Verto's eyes narrowed, _Final Shine? No wait, this feels different._

Gohan's attack finished quickly and he launched it forward, "Masenko Comet!" The blast came at Verto normally, to which Verto grasped his sword with both hands and swung downwards, pushing the blast towards the ground.

He snorted as he stared back at Gohan, "You can't be serious, that was nothing."

Gohan crossed his arms and smirked, "Oh yeah?" Verto's senses went wild as the blast turned and arced back towards him from a different angle. He flew out of its way, only to see it hook in pursuit.

Verto scowled in disgust as the blast caught up with him, _It's a homing attack, great. I just love these things._ Verto turned and smashed his sword into the blazing Comet again to buy time, but it only provided a few seconds.

Gohan laughed, "You're wasting your time, that attack will continue to go after you until I focus on something or it detonates!" Verto took note of the statement as he bashed the homing ball away again. As soon as he did, he quickly gathered a strong charge of Chi lightning in his non-sword hand and fired at the Masenko Comet. Gohan frowned as his attack exploded at a safe distance from the target.

Verto stopped and turned as he pulled his sword back to a defensive position, "You'll have to do better than that. I've encountered my share of techniques that aren't what we would call normal, and most of them I can't do, but I can counter them. A homing attack barely scratches that surface."

"Is that right? How about we up the ante then?" Gohan suggested. His palms filled with pulsing green again before he fired two Masenko Comets straight up in the air, far from Verto. It didn't stop there though as soon several more followed until the skies were filled with these blasts, each equally as intense as they surrounded Verto while Gohan held them in place from the ground.

Verto recognized the attack immediately, "You're using Piccolo's Scattershot technique?"

Gohan's eyes filled with rage, "Shut up! You don't have the right to even say his name! And this is the new version, it's much more effective. I don't recommend hiding behind that shield of yours this time!"

Verto turned his head at this, _Shield? I haven't used it since I knocked out Bardock. That means he was at least somewhat aware of his actions earlier and he's been playing me from the start. His energy keeps fluctuating so it's hard to tell, and it's still getting darker. I'll have to get through to him somehow, even if it means nearly killing him first. But he is right, there's too much concentrated energy for me to risk using the Chi Shield technique to fend this off, there's too many. Although…his power hasn't dropped yet. Why is that?_ Verto kept pondering this as his green Kaio-ken aura surged up again while he held position. Gohan's barrage began to circle before zeroing in on him within a few seconds and the explosions began. Gohan smirked initially until he saw Verto speeding out of the smoke cloud.

"You're not getting away!" he shouted as he cast his arm out, causing his volley of Masenko Comets to change course. Verto stayed ahead of the barrage fairly easily, but he knew he had to do something about them.

_Charging at him wouldn't do any good, especially with the teleportation factor. I can't absorb them all through my sword either, not unless they were combined into a single blast…and that's too dangerous with Kaio-ken anyway. And I really don't want him to know I can do that yet, I need to bring his power down first and it hasn't budged. I'll have to risk getting closer and cause them to crash into each other as I go through. Here goes._ Verto's sword shined with extra energy as he turned around and sped back into the oncoming swarm of Chi blasts.

Gohan chuckled, "Fool!" He closed his fist and pulled back, causing every Comet to change course just as Verto reached the center point between them. Verto didn't stop to watch though and held his sword ahead of him just as the first few went off. A bright and constantly shifting set of explosions covered the skies, repeating its previous epicenter in a direct line following Verto's flight path. Gohan seemed satisfied for a moment before he saw Verto fly out ahead of his remaining barrage, outrunning each detonation by a few feet. Gohan phased out and reappeared a short distance ahead of Verto with another blast ready. Verto saw this in time and checked behind him, seeing only four potent Comet blasts remaining on his tail. Gohan reared back and launched a much larger Masenko Comet. Verto slowed before realizing he was caught in the middle. He carefully flipped backwards just as the smaller four blasts zoomed by underneath, singeing a few hair strands as they did. He quickly braced himself as all of the blasts collided together. The explosion that followed dwarfed the previous ones by a noticeable amount. Gohan frowned as he looked up from his own block as darkness settled back in. He barely had time to sense the attack coming before Verto phased in from his left, Chi sword aimed for his side. Another bright and potentially explosive clash filled the dead lands, but this time it was Verto who was surprised. Along Gohan's left side was a perfectly rounded blue energy shield nearly three inches thick. It was buzzing with intensity and protected him from head to toe in a wide berth. Verto's sword had been stopped easily, though a few sparks flew off from the impact as he continued to lean into it.

Gohan unusual smirk appeared again, "Nice try, but as you can see, I've had plenty of training with this Mystic power."

Verto nodded knowingly, "I figured you had, from my perspective it's only been about a year or so since the Zerg invaded. It's been quite a bit longer here so it's only natural."

Gohan's feet shifted slightly as his shield began to glow, "Allow me to show you another one then. Masenko-Shredder!" Gohan's shield suddenly dispersed into hundreds of concentrated bullet-like blasts. Verto barely had time to be surprised before he was overwhelmed quickly as many of the small blasts struck from point-blank range. He fell to the ground as his body smoked and bled randomly all over. Gohan stood up straight and landed nearby as Verto's added Kaio-ken energy faded.

"Like you said, I've had more time than you, but you can handle more power in short bursts than I. You've always had that trait. Now, stay still and I'll make this quick!"

Verto panted slightly as he sat up, wiping blood from around his face, "Fat chance. I've got to beat you back into your own senses first!"

Gohan crossed his arms, "You already did and I am a bit grateful for it. At least now I can finish you off properly and not behave like a rabid animal looking for his next meal." Gohan stepped closer as he spoke, giving Verto time to consider his options.

_His energy still hasn't dropped and it feels even darker. But he's close enough for me to end this quickly with a Chi storm, as long as he doesn't get that shield up in time. I'll have to risk it at almost melee range._ Gohan's palm lit up with green as he neared Verto, who was still catching his breath.

Gohan stood over him as he prepped the deciding blast, "Time to end this, prepare yourself!"

Verto closed his eyes and concentrated, careful not to reveal his intentions too soon, "Fine I'm ready." Gohan reared back and Verto sensed his chance and threw his palm forward. Lightning arched out and overwhelmed the surprised Gohan as he fell back and lost any hope of counter attack. Verto scrambled to his feet and braced his arm as he continued to channel the attack which swarmed Gohan's body as he cried out in distress. Verto didn't focus on Gohan's body as much as he did his energy in hopes that he could burn it away quickly.

_All I've got to do is reduce his power down to a reasonable point, then I'll finish this and see if I can purge this crap from his system._ Gohan thrashed against the streams of continuous lightning, as if trying to brush off the attempt. Gohan's aura came up around him as this occurred, and Verto's lightning began to misdirect off him. The energy became thicker and Verto's lightning soon stopped working completely.

Verto's eyes widened, _That's impossible!_ Within seconds Gohan was up and looking unaffected by the Chi storm, to which Verto stopped channeling in utter shock. The attack did have the impact of making Gohan a lot angrier, and his fist buried in Verto's face before he knew what happened. Verto felt the facial bones under his left eye shatter from the impact as he sailed backwards, carving a short path into the dirt. A slightly dirty and bloodied Gohan quickly phased out and kicked hard into Verto's gut, sending him flailing in another direction. He stayed on the attack and vanished again, this time dropping his boot onto Verto's crushed face and applying pressure. Verto cried out in severe pain as a river of red came down across his face from the temple area.

"Now you die!" Gohan roared. Verto grabbed onto Gohan's foot and tried to force him off in desperation, but was unable to. Gohan lifted it momentarily, only to stomp down hard on Verto's hand, which then moved out of the way so he could continue applying pressure to the head. Verto cringed as he felt his face being utterly crushed and attempted to turn. He managed it enough to free his other arm and lay on his back, to which his nose broke almost instantly as all he could see was the bloody and dirty bottom of Gohan's boot. He shut his eyes and charged energy into his right palm just as he grabbed onto Gohan's ankle and released some of it. The other end of his sword skewered through Gohan's leg easily, causing Gohan to cry out instead as he lost balance and fell backwards. As soon as the pressure on his head was off, Verto jumped up and counterattacked with his sword gripped in both bloody hands, aiming for Gohan's head. Gohan barely saw him coming and lifted his hands. Verto's sword stopped just short of Gohan's hair, pressing against another green blade coming from Gohan's right hand and being braced with his left to protect his head. Gohan pressed back and forced Verto away before grasping his own Chi sword with both hands and assuming a ready position despite his injured leg. Verto breathed heavily as he took the chance to wipe a generous amount of blood off his face.

He even grinned a little as he eyed Gohan's bright blade, "So you too eh?"

Gohan cringed as he lost some of the feeling in his foot but was still undeterred, "Naturally after seeing our Verto use this, I knew I could learn it. After all, it's fairly simple to use. You're probably even better with it than he was, but it still won't save you!" Gohan pulled one hand away and fired a quick spray of energy blasts. Verto turned his sword to his left and channeled his energy outwards, forming his Chi Shield again in time to deflect the attack easily. Gohan watched his blasts fly off harmlessly and his tone shifted back to cocky in a heartbeat.

"You're making this too easy! But at least it's fun enough for me to try out this technique!" Gohan declared as he grabbed his sword with both hands and held it over his head. It brightened and seethed with added energy as the dust and loose rock rose up around him.

Verto took a step back in concern, _He's focusing a lot of power into his sword, probably thinking of firing some sort of blast with it. I wonder if it's enough to…_

His thoughts were cut off when Gohan slashed downwards towards him, "Shattering Slash!"

A strong, focused and dense beam rushed out of Gohan's sword, straight towards Verto. Verto strengthened his shield in preparation, but it cut right through the barrier like it wasn't even there. Verto narrowly dodged just before it would have hit, to which it then shredded the ground in a straight line that continued into the distance. He stared back at Gohan in amazement, only to see another attack charging into the sword. Verto flew upwards and away to give him both time and some distance to avoid the next one. He sensed what Gohan was doing and analyzed the attack quickly.

_By focusing his energy into the compressed blade and releasing it that way, he can both boost his blasting power and increase its concentration to a point past even my Shield technique, that's why it broke so easily. The energy is so dense that it can easily shred energy barriers of equal or less power. Can't believe I never thought of that, or at least tried it more often._ Gohan slashed at the air, firing another intense blast from the sword. Verto phased out just in time, moving aside a few dozen feet as the green blast tore through the clouds. Gohan's energy level remained almost the same according to Verto's senses even as he fired another one. This continued for several more moments, though Verto dodged each one fairly easily.

_It hardly takes any power to perform? No, that can't be right. His power level has barely changed at all after all the big shots he's fired off including these, something is up for that to happen. Never mind the fact that his leg is holding on by strings and it doesn't even look like it's affecting him._ He flew a bit closer to hear Gohan starting to laugh crazily. He fired another shot before stopping, to which Verto avoided and landed in front cautiously. Gohan held his blade down and continued a small chuckle, despite what seemed to be obvious pain from the large amount of blood spilling out from his ruined leg. He was grinning ear to ear as he looked upon Verto. That's when Verto noticed that his eyes had filled in with black again, prompting his concerned look.

_What the hell?_ Gohan began to grunt and endure a heavy breath, but it appeared to be from struggling not to laugh even more, which failed a moment later.

"Hahahaha, it's finally time to put you away. Oh the irony of this Saiyan doing it!" Gohan shouted. Verto's eyes widened as he then sensed another presence driving Gohan's actions; it clearly hadn't been there before. It did however match the darkening energy that he had been sensing from the start of the battle.

"Whoever you are, get out of my friend's body! He doesn't want or need you!" Verto demanded.

Gohan laughed in a deeper tone that wasn't his own, "Oh how little you've realized what has happened here. Gohan, Vegeta, all your friends, they've all fallen to my will and never even knew it until it was far too late! Now I've dug deeper into their very souls. They thrive off my power and cannot live without it! I've made all these puny beings my new swarm, and I will not be denied!"

Verto held his sword at the ready, "You're the Overmind aren't you?"

"Very good. I wasn't sure if you would know my voice from earlier or not, after all your timeline was different than this one. Shall I divulge how I conquered this world from under their very noses?"

Verto's sword retracted into his palm and remained a ball of green, "No, I think I get the idea without hearing you babble your evil nonsense again. I heard enough of it the first time."

"Too bad, it's a story I feel like sharing. It's also quite amusing since you fell long before they did. There were complications of course, such as when you attempted to destroy the entire swarm by yourself and nearly succeeded. If you were as skilled with your powers as you are now, you probably would have done it. Oh my, I apologize. I shouldn't compare that weak-minded being to you, no you are far more talented than that Verto ever was. He had a side of him that he wouldn't embrace, a far darker side that was a true warrior. A side that you've obviously taken to heart or you wouldn't be able to attack and wound this body, I congratulate you for that."

Verto's glare deepened, "Careful what you wish for."

"Indeed, your doppelganger was more difficult to control than the others, but eventually I took him. These fools defeated him and destroyed my main body, but by that time I had already flooded the oceans with my essence. They believed they could reverse the process and make life sustainable again, but only where I allow it. Their sanctuary is a façade, for I was within them with every drink of water, every bite of food. After that it was a simple matter for the other Verto to return to them as if nothing happened, but what I didn't count on was the demon within to make an appearance. Him slaughtering your friends was a surprisingly fortunate turn of events, because it allowed me to take a hold of their anger and rage, bending them to my will with every ounce of power that I provided them. I then decided to continue testing them once I knew the secrets of Saiyan strength, and I revived the Zerg, but your alter-ego didn't want to allow it. Too bad he met his tragic end by falling into a vast pool of my essence in a battle with the Saiyan Goku. I believe that Gohan told you what happened after that, which was another one of my little tests. It's a pity I wasn't able to add Goku to my collection, as he has kept his distance all this time. It's possible that he knew about your supposed cure and was able to get to it before I had the lookout destroyed and your Dragon Balls eliminated. That doesn't matter though, I have all the Saiyan firepower I need. And with another world to conquer soon, one with the same potential, I will only add to my collection."

Smokey red waves slowly came off Verto's body as he seethed at the possessed Gohan, "And I suppose you and Vang are in cahoots together."

Zerg-Gohan frowned, "I'm afraid not, our objectives are different. However we did form a non-aggression pact while he trains the girl, with additional Zerg at their disposal I might add. Eventually he may be in my way, especially with Goku's body. But as you used to say, I will cross that road when I get there. Any questions?"

Verto twitched angrily but managed to remain as composed as possible before he answered, "Just one. How is it you've kept everyone under control? Even with your blood in their veins, they would have noticed and obviously have if they had time to warn me before, you're not in complete control. I can't believe that someone like Vegeta would simply go along quietly."

"Very astute of you to observe. I am not in control all of the time as you said. But you see, they are driven by their anger and rage towards both the Zerg and yourself. And I can enhance that by twisting their very thoughts and emotions with false images and other such tricks."

Verto looked at the ground in dismay, _The same thing happened to me when I was struggling with that dark spirit. The Overmind used my rage against him and I was only lucky that I broke through after he went too far. I can't let that happen here._

Zerg-Gohan smiled lightly, "I see that you experienced something similar and that it pains you that your friends here are now your enemies. Join me and that will be resolved."

Verto's sadness faded, "Yeah, that'll happen."

"Then stop me boy! Every second that passes he becomes more my slave!" Verto began to see a dim stream of black funneling into Gohan, granting him continued power as he laughed again.

_There's only one way I can do this_. Verto's stationary blast in his hand flashed with sparks of blue as he concentrated. It began to flux rapidly with shades of white, blue, green and red while he appeared to struggle. He cringed as he felt his emotional control slipping, and the weight of the speech the Overmind had just given wasn't helping.

Laughter continued to fill the air, "Hahaha, there's nothing you can do boy! Nothing!" Verto attempted to shut him out as he remembered what the real Gohan was like, the gentle Gohan. His blast kept shifting in both color and polarity as he added energy to it.

_I don't care if I'm never able to fully control my negative power or even use Feedback ever again! If there's one person I have to save, it's him! I have to save him!_ Verto cringed as he recalled every positive memory of Gohan that he could, anything that the monster before him was not. The possessed Gohan still laughed crazily, until Verto's blast grew a bit larger than his usual blast of this type and shifted completely to blue and white.

"What is that technique?"

Verto's eyes snapped open as he launched it, "Spirit Bomb!"

Due to his injuries, Gohan couldn't even try to dodge it before he was struck dead on. Blue and white energy surged through him quickly as he screamed. Verto ran at him and tackled him to the ground, as if to prevent him from finding a way out of his trap. As the blue-white energy produced a vivid amount of lightning, small ripples of black began to leak out and evaporate into the air. Gohan tried to throw Verto off, but was unsuccessful while the Spirit Bomb did its work.

"Y-You won't s-stop me! Everyone you ever loved here is your enemy now! They are all m-mine!" Zerg-Gohan stammered.

"I don't care! I'll drive you out of every single one of them if I have to! Now let him go!" Verto shouted. He charged another burst of Spirit Bomb energy and slammed it into Gohan's chest. The extra burst went through and caused the already volatile energy to accelerate around Gohan. A prompt explosion followed, accompanying the violent scream from its victim before it cleared. Once it did, Verto and Gohan lay in a small crater, both powered down to normal and seemingly unconscious. Several minutes passed before either of them moved. Gohan grunted as he sat up first and stared at his dirty and bloodied hands.

_He's gone. I can't feel the Overmind in me anymore._ He glanced down at Verto, who was still out of it from what had occurred. Gohan managed to get up to one knee, barely manageable considering how torn apart his other leg was from Verto's sword attack earlier. He then reached down and checked Verto's vitals, which appeared to be stable. _He gave everything he had to purge that thing out of me, even after I tried to kill him. I don't deserve it._

He shifted his hand to Verto's head and left it there, as if in reassurance, "Thank you, my friend."

**Powerlevels**:

**Super Mystic Alt-Gohan: 820,000,000**

**Super Mystic Verto: 620,000,000; Kaio-ken: 910,000,000**


	102. Legacy

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 101: Legacy**

Alt-Gohan struggled to move as the dust settled from the battle. Verto was still unconscious for the moment amongst the crater that had formed after he had used the Spirit Bomb technique on Gohan. _When did he learn the Spirit Bomb technique? I knew he could use Kaio-ken but I didn't think he could learn the Spirit Bomb since he wasn't completely pure of heart. Then again, maybe emotional control was part of the training that he got and our Verto didn't. I hope he still has some of those Senzu beans or whatever they were._ A pair of boots landed barely a meter away and startled Gohan, but he quickly relaxed when he saw it was the blue-haired Saiyan Laysh.

"Is he alright?" she asked with slight concern.

"Yeah, he's just exhausted, you're his friend right?" Gohan asked.

"Um…I suppose. I guess you haven't met me before whereas your counterpart has," Laysh said with a slight pause in thought.

"It's okay, I understand that this can be a little confusing. This isn't the first time we've dealt with an alternate timeline issue," Gohan explained briefly.

"I'm still a little new to this, what happened here? He didn't explain it very well," Laysh claimed.

"It's a long story, let's deal with that later. Right now I'd like to have my leg back," Gohan said as he nodded towards the bleeding and disfigured mass that used to be his calf. Laysh stared at it for a moment but didn't let the gory scene bother her much before she searched Verto's armor plating for the bag hidden inside. Her fingers had barely grazed it before a smoldering golden light appeared to throw her out of the way and she tumbled aside facedown. The bag of Leira's candies landed at Vegeta's feet and lay there while the Saiyan Prince scowled.

Gohan gasped in surprise, "Vegeta! Stop this!" Alt-Vegeta scoffed at him before kicking hard into Verto's side, sending him out of the crater and dropping into the dirt painfully.

"As usual I have to clean up from your soft-heartedness! Even with a decided advantage you couldn't get the job done! Pitiful!" he growled as he set his sights on Gohan.

"We were wrong! We've been under that damned Overmind's influence for so long we can't even see clearly!" Gohan declared.

Vegeta spit at the ground, "So what? At least we survived. Once again you can't focus on the larger picture can you? There will always be stronger enemies that can and will wipe us out, this little brat has seen to that. We were fools to trust him or believe in his power. And because of that, we all took the most logical course of action and embraced this. Since we can't destroy the Zerg completely, we will use them to grow stronger. Look at what this pitiful excuse for a Saiyan has done to us. To you? Isn't that thought alone boiling your blood?"

Gohan stared at the ground, "It did, but we were still wrong. Look at what we allowed them to do to our home! It doesn't matter if we've managed to save everyone from suffering the Overmind's full wrath, we're still at fault! You used to be the one that preached about completely annihilating the Zerg no matter what! Now look at us, we're just getting in line and following!"

Vegeta cracked a smirk, "Sometimes you have to swallow pride for the sake of compromise, you know that. Even your clown of a father knew that, and look how far he went. He didn't even try to resist when that demon decided to take over. He just quit. Just like he did with Cell."

Gohan's teeth cinched, "Don't you dare talk about quitting Vegeta. You convinced us that this, infection, was a gift. That as long as we grew stronger, the Overmind's own trap couldn't defeat us. That as long as we survived, we would overthrow it someday. Look where that got us! No, you're the one that quit first. You're the one that quit fighting back! You're the one that quit being a Saiyan!" The smirk on Vegeta's face vanished a microsecond before Gohan was floored by one hard punch.

"Mind whom you're speaking to boy! Don't forget that I have spared you and your friends from my wrath countless times. You only live because I allow it!"

Gohan turned his head painfully aside as blood trickled out, "You only did that because you can't beat anything on your own! You proved my point by accepting help from the Overmind. You've done it before with Babidi. The only thing you were ever good at is destroying the weak while being a puppet for Frieza."

Vegeta's head filled with swelled veins, "What did you call me?"

Gohan grinned, "A puppet." Vegeta jumped high and landed hard on Gohan's chest, knocking the wind out of him. With a howl of rage he grabbed Gohan by the arm and flung him into the air. In a heartbeat he phased out and smashed Gohan back to the ground with his fists.

Vegeta landed there quickly and prepared a potent blast in his hand, "You clearly didn't feel like surviving any longer. This has been a long time coming, son of Kakarot!" Gohan winced as the blast filled his entire field of view, but was unable to do much to stop it. Vegeta was about to release it when he sensed something to his right and looked away. Gohan's eyes opened, slightly wondering why he hadn't been blasted yet. He managed to turn his own head to the left and saw the reason. Verto was standing several dozen feet away, completely focused on Vegeta. His face was still quite bloody from his fight with Gohan, mostly due to his nose being broken and now quite swollen. The left side of his head also featured a red trail that ran halfway down the side of his cheek from his temple. Other than that he didn't appear to be affected much by the fight except for a possible energy loss. Any idea of energy loss however was thrown out the window as his eyes had shifted to red and the air around him was rapidly shooting upwards in a colorless aura that looked more like heat waves. Verto had an extremely deadly expression as he stared down Vegeta.

"Well look who's up. Don't give me that look you brat, you know you're far too tired to even consider facing me now!" Vegeta claimed.

Gohan sensed the immense energy that Verto was holding back and quickly knew what was coming. _This is that power that our Verto couldn't control without that darker side of him surfacing. I remember that he said that he expelled it in his timeline. If that's the case, then that explains why he can even attempt using the Kaio-ken technique with the Super Mystic power. That means he might be able to control his hidden power fully. That's the only way he'll beat Vegeta now. But if he loses himself in the process, he may create a bigger monster._

Vegeta didn't appear to be worried, but allowed his blast to fade as he turned toward Verto, "So, resorting to that unstable power of yours now? I hope you have more to offer than just that level of power."

Gohan's eyes shifted to Vegeta briefly, _He must not be sensing what I am, or he's bluffing. If this Verto turns all his power on Vegeta…I don't know what will happen._ Verto appeared to be remaining eerily calm and focused as Vegeta dared to step closer.

"You know, I really don't want to do this to you," Verto said softly.

Vegeta chuckled, "Do what? You'll barely scratch me at your current level. Maybe you should eat another one of those beans to restore your strength and make this a fair contest." Verto's answer was to close his eyes for the moment and take a deep breath, as if he were trying to calm himself down.

Gohan's eyes narrowed as he felt Verto's power fluctuate rapidly even though it stayed fairly low. _What's going on? It was as if he was about to snap but now he's trying to calm down. Oh I get it, he doesn't want to allow himself to get carried away. Looks like he has gotten better at controlling his emotions, but this is a really bad time for it._

"You mustn't let your kindness take a hold of you this time Verto. Fight him with everything you've got!" Gohan shouted.

Verto's eyes opened, revealing that they had faded to black, "I wouldn't worry about that this time. This is the one and only moment I'm going to have any sort of compassion for whatever is standing in front of me. After this, there won't be any." Gohan sighed slightly as he felt slightly reassured. That feeling wouldn't last for long.

"I'm going to warn you now, do not provoke me anymore. I'm at my limit of control and if we fight, I am not going to stop. You got that?" Verto said.

Vegeta's trademark smirk deepened, "Is that supposed to scare me? Apparently Gohan wasn't the only one who needs reminding of who he's dealing with. Is your world now so peaceful that you try to win battles with words?"

Verto's head turned slightly, "It is the preferred method, but I felt that it was fair that I warn you first. The technique I used just now to cure Gohan won't work if I'm angry."

"Yes yes, I know how the Spirit Bomb works boy. Don't forget that it was I that suggested using it to wipe out Majin Buu. Don't take me for a buffoon!" Vegeta grumbled impatiently.

"No, my Spirit Bomb is different from the one that you're used too. Instead of making my mind as clear as possible, I focus on positive feelings. It changes the effect it has on my opponent. Instead of doing direct damage, it merely disables them and prevents them from attacking. It's called the Feedback Wave, and it doesn't require nearly as much energy as usual. If they try to attack or even charge their energy in any sort of negative way, it backfires. In some cases it can in fact remove the source of that negativity, as with Gohan. There's another technique that uses the same idea that allows me to heal others, or at least save them from whatever outside forces are affecting them. I can use both techniques as long as my own energy isn't being affected by…let's just say emotional turbulence," Verto explained. Gohan listened intently and was quite impressed, but Vegeta clearly was not.

"So you formed a few pathetic techniques, way to go. Where's the part that supposed to impress me?" he asked.

Verto took a moment to answer, "I've barely been able to use those techniques for awhile now because of the negative power within me. Otherwise I could have dropped all three of you before this battle ever started and we wouldn't be in this situation."

Vegeta folded his arms, "So because you can't get a hold of yourself, I'm supposed to be scared of this big technique that is essentially a coward's way out of a battle. I take back what may have been said before, at least our Verto put up a decent fight before he met his end. You're just boring us to death with words!"

"Actually I was explaining it for Gohan to learn since it would be hard to demonstrate right now. I learned long ago that balancing my emotions is the key to mastering this power, but it's been a very slow process to catch on with. Kind of like catching up to Goku was for you. Oh wait, you still haven't done it," Verto replied, adding the insult purposefully.

Vegeta's feet shifted slightly, "Your singular wit is as annoying as ever. So when are you going to get to the point? All of this babble is nothing but your final words. I don't care about Kakarot nor his current strength, he's nothing to me."

"I am going to say this whether you like it or not, because once this fight starts, you'll get the picture. Not only did I learn what happens when I focus positive energy, I also learned what happens when there is negative energy," Verto stated.

"This sounds hard to figure out…wait, maybe somebody dies? Do I get a reward for that?" Vegeta asked, mocking Verto in the same manner that he would normally use.

Verto continued on unabated by the insult, "That's part of it, but when taken to the extreme, it goes further. The easy version is that there won't be a Hell for you to go to, or should I say there won't be one for Vegeta to go to."

"Apparently your eyes don't work, I am still Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans. Now why would there be no Hell for me to go to?"

Verto's eyes flashed with seriousness, "You may look, act and sound like Vegeta, but I can sense the difference. As for your lack of afterlife, it'll be because you won't exist anymore. All it takes is one energy attack with this power to hit you in a vital location and it's over."

Vegeta looked amused, "Is that all? For a moment I almost felt threatened, almost. Are you finally done?"

Verto shook his head, "There's one more message to convey, I am going to burn every last Zerg on this planet. And then I'm going to show these people how to get rid of you for good. And then you can float in nothingness for eternity."

"Ha, we'll see about that won't we?" Vegeta laughed. Verto didn't reply as his eyes slowly became crimson colored again and the heat waves reformed.

"So are you finally done talking? I thought old age was going to strike before you finished," Vegeta said. A quick set of tears welled up from Verto's eyes and dripped out a bit before evaporating off his face.

"That's what I thought boy, you still haven't the spine to play with the adults. A pity that you showed such promise, but in the end you're still a pathetic human with a big chip on your shoulder. You couldn't ever kill me," Vegeta continued.

"The Vegeta I knew would rather be wiped out than to be controlled by anything other than his own strength. If that's what it takes to free him, then it will happen," Verto retorted.

Vegeta's face went serious for a moment, "Then prove you can do it."

Any sign of Verto's sadness quickly faded as smoky traces of red energy began to come out of his limbs. His hair moved slightly as the red aura began to surround him, but did not change his hair color nor style. From near Vegeta's position, Gohan felt the rage and anger coming from deep within, but it was on a different level than what he was familiar with. _He is going to fight Vegeta completely unrestrained this time, I need to get out of here._ Gohan struggled to sit up before a wave of hot energy washed over him from Verto. It was enough of a demonstration for Vegeta's expression to change.

"Well, well, it appears you weren't completely bluffing after all. Let's finally have a real battle to the end boy," Vegeta proclaimed. He then grabbed Gohan by the neck and threw him into the air, taking Gohan effectively out of the line of fire.

"There, that nuisance won't distract us now," Vegeta said as he lowered into his stance. Verto's energy continued to build as his eyes now glowed with red, but he still didn't make a move. Vegeta's aura became electrically charged as he powered up in Super Saiyan two form, though his eyes didn't change from their odd black and teal mixture. Further behind Vegeta, Laysh began to stir. It didn't take her long to realize that she was in a very bad place to be. She quickly got to her feet and flew out of the way. Once she was clear, Verto's power erupted almost immediately as he charged Vegeta head on.

* * *

Alt-Vegeta blocked the first punch aimed for his head and smirked as if he could hold Verto back easily. The kick that found his lower regions said otherwise as he collapsed by instinct. Verto was on him in a flash, pounding Vegeta's face and upper body with numerous blows. He let up long enough to launch into the air, only to come back down and drive his knees into Vegeta's chest. The air was sent out of Vegeta's lungs quickly before Verto bashed his face side to side repeatedly. The beating only stopped once Verto allowed it to and he jumped backwards and lowered back into his stance. Vegeta recovered quickly, but not easily as he scowled and got to his feet.

"Impressive, let's see how long you can keep that up," Vegeta growled as he wiped the blood from his lip. Verto didn't answer as he kept his left hand up and his knees bent, preparing to strike at any moment.

Vegeta grinned evilly, "Nothing to say now? What changed? Don't tell me that was your best?" Verto didn't budge from his current position, and kept his focus on Vegeta completely.

Vegeta frowned at the defiance as his words seemed to bounce off, "Fine, you clearly have said enough anyway. Now prepare for oblivion!" Vegeta charged a large amount of ki into his palm and held it out, showing what he intended to do with his next attack very clear.

Further away, Laysh helped Gohan to his feet by acting as a brace, "Are you alright?"

Gohan cringed in pain as he unsuccessfully tried to stand on his own, "About as alright as one can expect. I didn't think things would turn out like this but then again I wasn't really thinking like myself either just a few minutes ago."

"From what I've seen out of you and the kid, I'm surprised you would have trouble with this guy, even if he is the prince. I probably couldn't beat him for sure, but both of you are way stronger," Laysh claimed.

"Don't ever count Vegeta out no matter whose side he's on. And right now he has an edge that neither of us have. He has a separate power to draw from, which is what you called the black infection. As long as he's like that, he can continually draw out more and more strength if needs be. Verto might have a deep power that we don't completely understand, but it has its limits," Gohan pointed out.

"He hesitated speaking of what this infection was. And he was about to tell me before you guys showed up," Laysh said.

Gohan looked down, "It's from a being called the Overmind, which is why this time split occurred in the first place. It's why this world was so devastated by the Zerg."

"I don't know who they are but I keep hearing that name come up, fill me in please. I can't help if I don't know what's going on," Laysh claimed.

Gohan denied this request, "After this battle, I promise." Laysh frowned at this and refocused her attention on Vegeta's blast and what Verto was going to do to counter it. He hadn't even taken a defensive posture, as if he intended on doing nothing.

Vegeta scoffed at this, "Has all that power gone to your head boy? You can't take this head on and you know it!" Verto still made no move to counter Vegeta's forming attack and declined to answer, which only annoyed his opponent even more.

"Fine, off to Hell with you! Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta shouted.

The large blast he released had more power inside it than it first appeared, and Gohan drug Laysh to the ground once he sensed it, "Hit the deck!" Verto didn't appear to move at all when the blast struck his position and detonated. The nuclear-like explosion that followed didn't do much in the way of damage to the already ruined landscape, but it did flatten the landscape very effectively once past the initial blast crater. Vegeta stood at its edge with his arms crossed and chuckling as he saw nothing inside the crater.

"C'mon brat, I know you're fast enough to avoid an attack like that. Don't bother trying to fool me!" Vegeta said to the air.

His wish was granted when Verto phased in behind him and brought his glowing red fist forward, "Super Galic Fist!" Another explosion went off, but it was much more centralized to its target and cleared up much faster. Vegeta was face down on the far side of the crater with a gaping hole punched out of his armor and the impact point bloody and bruised. He took a moment to pull himself up as his back seemed to be extremely injured by the attack, but still together.

He favored it slightly as he turned around angry, "Alright kid, no more playing around!" Verto phased out and instantly smashed Vegeta across the face with a single punch, sending him flailing into the distance. He motioned to follow him, but something else drew his attention to the other direction.

Laysh was quite confused by this as she didn't sense anything, "What is he doing?"

Gohan wasn't sure yet either, "I don't know, he must sense something that we can't. Vegeta isn't finished yet and he has to know that." Gohan followed Verto's gaze to the distance where a sizable cloud of gray dust had formed and was coming closer.

Laysh caught on quickly, "What is that?"

Gohan gasped in realization quickly, "Help me off the ground, hurry!" Laysh nodded with concern and helped levitate them both into the air as the dust cloud's origin became known. Legions of variously shaped, sized and purple colored creatures came into view, all making a beeline for Verto. Creatures that both he and Gohan knew all to well.

"What are those things?" Laysh gasped in surprise.

"Those would be the Zerg you've heard about. Looks like they didn't send any flyers, but you can't let yourself be touched by them. They may not look it, but they're all strong enough to do damage to even a Super Saiyan," Gohan advised.

"Don't have to tell me twice. Can't you just blast them?" Laysh asked.

"It's one of the more effective ways to deal with them, but you have to understand that they reproduce incredibly fast. If you don't wipe out the hives that spawned one group, another will rise within a few hours. So even if you destroy one group another follows and a war of attrition starts. It's very easy to run out of energy beforehand and then you're in trouble," Gohan said as the swarm below surrounded Verto.

"I understand that, but if that's all it takes then you should've wiped them out a long time ago, right?" Laysh asked.

"If only it were that easy, we wouldn't be in the shape we're in. They can make use of any species they come across, Saiyans included. The remains of the being that they came from is that black fluid you saw before. And it's inside almost everyone else on this world at the moment," Gohan explained.

"So that story the kid told me about having to kill his own comrades and giving it all to destroy some overly powerful entity that controlled him, that was what he was talking about?" Laysh asked.

Gohan's head bent down, "Most likely yes."

Both of them looked on with distress as the Zerg funneled in from afar and encircled Verto, who didn't look pleased to see them at all. It only took one Zergling to charge at him before his energy erupted and spiraled outwards. The red waves of raw Psi energy washed over the Zerg and many of them turned tail and retreated away from Verto. He didn't waste any time though as his aura filled with lightning and spread to the swarm quickly. Each and every Zerg was hit by the red Psi Storm and stained the ground with blood and bones upon their spontaneous combustion. Fire spread from one dead Zerg to another and engulfed the area in flames. Size only mattered in how much was destroyed in the area before he was done. It was over in seconds, and the attacking Zerg were completely annihilated. All that was left were traces of blood, thousands of broken bones and just as many flaming carcasses.

Laysh was amazed and grinned in pride, "That kid is amazing."

Gohan wasn't quite as positive to the display, "He hates the Zerg more than most things, but to be able to shed that much blood is wrong, even if it is necessary. They must have come to try and disrupt the fight somehow, but for what reason?" A loud battle cry and bright golden column of light drew their attention back to near where Vegeta had been. Boulders of various size were being tossed like paper as the prince's power level skyrocketed. The force of his sudden outburst was enough to knock Laysh and the weakened Gohan from the sky. Verto returned his attention to his opponent, who was coming back quickly.

"That's why. Here we go," Gohan said as he and Laysh recovered among the torched Zerg bodies. When Vegeta arrived, his form had changed to the more powerful golden locks of the third Super Saiyan form.

"Whoa, what happened to his hair?" Laysh exclaimed.

"It's what happens when any Saiyan transforms into a Super Saiyan and its various levels. That is the third and strongest level so far, not counting what me and Verto do with Super Mystic. Vegeta means to end this now, we had better give them plenty of room," Gohan suggested.

Laysh couldn't help but go weak in the knees upon sensing Vegeta's power, "I can't believe I actually thought I could go up against that."

"I know what you mean, but we have to go, now!" Gohan urged. Laysh nodded and prepared to take off before she spotted a brown bag sticking out from one of the Zerg bodies. She reached down and grabbed it before taking off with Gohan in tow.

Vegeta seethed as Verto remained deadly calm despite his Berserker state, "This ends now boy! Feel my wrath!" Vegeta launched forward and punched through Verto's guard into his face, stunning him. Vegeta grabbed Verto's arm and hurled him into the air, phasing out and hammering Verto back to the ground within a moment. He drove his knee to hit Verto in the same manner the younger Saiyan had a few minutes prior, but missed when Verto phased out. Vegeta got up and grinned slightly as Verto took a defensive position a few dozen feet away.

"So, you can still move after those first few hits. That's good, but I don't intend on letting this drag on. You don't deserve the honor of a long lasting fight with the Prince of all Saiyans. We will finish this now!" Vegeta shouted as he launched forward. He flew in as if launched from a cannon and hammered Verto's stomach with both fists. Verto was sent flying and struck the ground hard with his head bouncing back from whiplash. Vegeta was on him quickly, driving his boot into the same area he had just punched. Verto gasped as the air was driven out from his lungs and his body bent inwards towards the point of impact. Vegeta smirked evilly until he saw Verto's glowing right hand opening and aiming towards him.

"Final Shine!" A quick and very strong red beam overtook Vegeta from point blank range. Even as he tried to dodge, the beam still clipped his body enough to force him away, particularly his midsection where his armor vanished. Vegeta landed on his back but was up just as fast, favoring his stomach area that was left bruised and exposed once the armor was gone. Verto stayed on the ground for the moment to recover, taking deep heaving breaths in the process.

"Little brat, to think you have this much energy left. It's absurd," Vegeta growled. He stomped towards Verto slowly, giving the younger Saiyan plenty of time to see him coming. Once Verto turned his head enough to see him, he scrambled to his feet and conjured his now red Psi sword.

Vegeta stopped once he laid eyes on it, "You think you can hit me with that? I'd like to see you try!"

Verto's expression didn't change as he flew towards Vegeta with his sword drawn back. He slashed towards Vegeta's head, grazing only the top of his widow's peak when he phased out. Vegeta appeared briefly behind him before Verto swung around, but only slicing an after-image. Verto's eyes darted from side to side as he lost track of Vegeta's position and tried to reclaim it. He found it again a brief moment later, but it was at a much safer distance where the prince had stopped to grin and cross his arms.

"Too fast for you boy? You should know better than to think that you can defeat me after the fight you just had. Even if your energy hasn't completely depleted, you can't think that your body can move at the same speed," Vegeta claimed. Verto scowled deeply as his sword brightened with energy. He held it back before slashing towards the ground at a downwards angle, producing a thick but arc-shaped blast that raced towards a surprised Vegeta. Vegeta quickly sidestepped to allow the blast to go past unhindered, but took his eyes off Verto. In a flash he was through Vegeta's guard with his sword held at the same overhead angle just before he slashed downwards, aiming for Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta felt a rush of panic and quickly glided backwards, causing Verto to hit only the ground when he followed through.

He confidently regained his footing and smirked back, "You missed your chance boy!"

Verto's deep scowl remained as he reset his stance, "Did I?"

Vegeta's eyes widened when he suddenly felt a rush of pain go through his left side. He painfully gasped and held his shoulder as his armor and jumpsuit fell away from a smoldering wound that extended from the neckline to his side. Blood splattered out as he stumbled back and quickly lost feeling in his arm, before it was replaced by pain soon after.

"Argh! Damn you!" Vegeta groaned.

Verto dropped his sword to his side and gave Vegeta a deathly glare, "I warned you before this started, now you can't dodge me. Give up now, because the next one goes through your heart and it'll be all over for you and your existence!"

Vegeta's fist shook in renewed anger, "Not without going to Hell yourself first!" Vegeta spread his arms wide for a moment before bringing them together, though far from easily. It became very apparent that he intended to fire his Final Flash technique at Verto or whoever happened to be in its path.

Verto saw this and smirked a bit, "I bet you can't hit me old man! Even if I stay still and don't move!"

Vegeta became even more enraged as his golden blast took form and swelled in size, "Just try it you brat! I'll erase you!" Verto's sword reabsorbed into his hand as he flipped backwards to double the distance between them before he raised his hand again to conjure up a counter.

"That's it boy, make this at least entertaining!" Vegeta cackled as he continued to summon a great amount of ki to fuel his attack. Verto took a slightly different pose and only charged energy into his right index finger, which glowed bright red quickly.

"What is that attack?" Gohan asked.

Laysh squinted slightly to see, "That's the attack he kept using when we first saw him, it's small but effective and strong. I think he learned it from this other kid he was protecting. Only…"

"Only it doesn't look strong enough to counter Vegeta's attack, right?" Gohan asked. Laysh shook her head no, and Gohan stared down in dismay. Verto looked intent to continue regardless of the growing ball that was Vegeta's attack.

Vegeta laughed, "You'd better come up with a something better than that boy! Can't you sense that you won't stand up to my power?"

Verto ignored Vegeta's warning and took aim with the Spirit Gun pose before he fired, "Shock Cannon!" The potent blast that was barely larger than a beach ball shot towards Vegeta quickly, and he was only too happy to oblige.

"If that's all you've got, then so be it. Final Fla…" Vegeta was cut off when the red ball smashed into his own golden blast and produced the most unexpected reaction of blowing up.

A large, bright ball of purple exploded into view, along with the loud sonic boom that usually came with the Shock Cannon. The blast didn't extend out far enough to affect Gohan, Laysh or Verto, but each of them got a feel for the power it put out. A deeper crater was left behind and Vegeta's body was lay at the center of it. His Super Saiyan transformation was history as he was left in shambles due to the point blank proximity to the attack. Verto quickly flew in and landed at his side, but did not press the attack. Gohan and Laysh quickly followed as the Saiyan Prince struggled to move. His body was left reddened and slightly burnt from the Shock Cannon explosion, which only added to the agony his left side was in after Verto's sword swipe.

"Finish it boy, kill me now!" Vegeta ordered. Verto looked tempted as his Psi Sword flashed on again, but this time had returned to its normal bright blue color.

"No, don't! You don't need to Verto. You can cure him just like you did with me!" Gohan pleaded. Verto's eyes had shifted back to blue at this point as he looked up at Gohan before returning his gaze to Vegeta and allowing his sword to fade again.

"You had better kill me now. This is what I want, to die in a battle with one of the greatest Saiyans. It may not have been the way I would've planned it, but it will do. Overmind or not, I will not stop hunting you if you don't! I-I wish to atone for my actions. It was my fault that we all fell under that beast's spell and I will accept the punishment. No son of a third class clown will deny me that!" Vegeta growled.

"So you planned this from day one. I was to be your end when you were too old and weak so you didn't die of old age. Once your family had passed on, you wanted to die in battle…like a Saiyan," Verto said softly.

"Exactly. I'm sure the other Vegeta would have wanted the same thing some day. I have disgraced my family and they no longer deserve me to lead them. Kakarot didn't have the stomach for this and nor does anyone else here that's strong enough. The demon Vang wouldn't do it either, but I knew you would," Vegeta said.

Verto's fists tightened, "Why me? Why put me through all this? From day one you've always kept me in the dark about something and it stinks. Even if things went differently here, it's still the same. There's something about me that you know and I don't. Now what the hell is it? Tell me and I'll grant your stupid wish!"

Vegeta cocked a painful smile, "That's simple. You are the descendant of a legendary Saiyan that taught us how to evolve and grow stronger. It was because of him that my family rose to rule and that Super Saiyans were able to exist."

Verto's eyes widened along with everyone else's, "What? How can that even be possible?"

"The shortest version is that eons ago, the Saiyans were the lowest class on whatever planet we started out on, much like humans are today. At some point a powerful immortal being came to live with us. He had a half-Saiyan son named Verto that brought about great changes in our society. The Saiyans quickly conquered the planet and became the dominant species because he taught us how to use our hidden powers. He trained hundreds, maybe thousands of warriors that grew to Super Saiyan status and beyond. He was very wise and just in what he did, but he did make one mistake, he underestimated our capacity for battle. Many of the Saiyans he trained gave in to their new power and betrayed him. This and other causes brought about a Super Saiyan civil war. At the end of it, he used his special powers to bring everyone's power back down to previous levels, though we were still much stronger than before. He then decreed that a Super Saiyan would not be born but once every thousand years or so and he seemed to disappear. Our society broke back into separate levels, with the upper classes despising what he did and the lower classes suffering for it. The Saiyans that succumbed to darkness were saved by this action, but their kin were cursed for all time by both their bloodlines and propaganda." Vegeta explained. Verto's eyes had gone almost blank from this and he remained in stunned silence. Laysh had a similar expression plastered on her face.

"What happened next?" Gohan asked.

"Only my ancestors know what happened and that Verto had lost his powers in order to correct the mistake he had made in accelerating the evolution of our species. He still visited the Royal Family on occasion despite this and had revealed to them what his plan was. He encouraged them to continue growing in strength in whatever way they deemed fit and that one day, when the Saiyan race was in a critical state, his descendent would appear and help them rise again. This descendent would be granted some of the strength he once had and wouldn't be a full blooded Saiyan in order to prevent abuse of his power. He never said how this descendant would appear nor when, but that a member of the royal family would be the one to train him initially. He was soon killed by an unknown entity one day and they had never heard from him again. The story was passed on as legend to only the royal family, and that is what your Saiyan name represents, brat."

Verto stepped back and dropped to a seat in utter shock, _So that's why I keep having that dream! It's so spot on that it can't be a coincidence!_

"That's…unexpected," Gohan said.

Laysh didn't look quite as surprised, "It makes sense, I've heard a similar story from our elders. I never had a name put to it, but some sort of legendary Saiyan saved my tribe from darkness."

"Define saved. That clearly isn't the case with all of you," Verto remarked.

Vegeta's eyes darted towards her, "What? You're one of the cursed ones? That tribe was sent out to die by my father. They were traitors! Anything left of them would have been eliminated by Frieza!"

Verto sighed, "Not quite what happened in the other timeline. It was one of Leira's changes. Frieza's son Frost is another example."

"I left that scum to die ages ago!" Vegeta argued.

Verto rolled his eyes, "Yeah well now that's been changed. Anyways, I'm glad you finally told me about this other Verto, but I'm not him. So I'm this big descendant of some legendary warrior, big deal. I guess I'm happy that I have his powers and all, but they've been a huge pain in my ass too. I never asked for any of this when I found out I was part Saiyan, I just wanted whatever could be considered a normal life. It's what I get for being a kid and dreaming big I guess. I don't know if I'm destined to be this great savior or not, and quite frankly I don't care. I only want to help my friends and those who need it. This great mystery is just retarded, why couldn't you just tell me from day one, because it wasn't my time to know? I can handle whatever half-ass truth you want to throw at me, but I can't stand being lied to. It doesn't matter if it's by you, Leira, the Kais, whoever. It's like everyone has been whispering behind my back and letting me decode this crap one word at a time. I've had enough of that. And if killing you is supposed to be the way I figure all this out, then forget it. I want no part of this stupid destiny."

Vegeta's expression of shock matched both Gohan and Laysh, "What? I granted your request now grant mine! You said you would kill me!"

Verto turned to Laysh, "In his condition, how long do you think you can keep him on ice?"

Laysh's eyes widened, "I'm not sure, but I imagine awhile. If he has little to no energy left, it would take him a long time to break out if I seal him off enough. Why?"

"Then do it. We'll deal with him later after I get the cure from Vang," Verto said.

"What? You little bastard, I want you to kill me now! That's an order!" Vegeta roared.

"Fuck you. Since when did I ever listen to what you said?" Verto snapped back.

"I trained you to be ruthless, now carry out your mission!" Vegeta argued.

"I didn't need your training to be an asshole, I already had that. And I haven't killed you because I never intended to. I knew I could get you to attack me with full power at a distance and that I could counter it with my Shock Cannon technique, especially if I warned you first. Then whether you or the Overmind were pulling the strings, you would stay out of close combat if you could help it," Verto pointed out.

"So that's why you were talking about executing his soul, you were bluffing the whole time!" Gohan added.

"No, I still could have done it but I didn't see the point if I could win without doing it. I have more control in that form than you might think," Verto said.

"You tricked me you conceited little brat! When I recover I'm going to rip out your insides and feed them to the dogs!" Vegeta growled as he struggled to move.

Verto kicked his head sharply and Vegeta fell silent, "Shut the hell up. I don't know who is actually in there, Vegeta or the Overmind. But I know Vegeta would never just give up, even if he did want to be killed for his actions. He would die fighting, not on his back. And helping this world isn't going to start with murder. Your family will forgive you for your actions, even if you won't."

Gohan smiled lightly, "I'm glad to see that you haven't changed that much."

Verto grinned back as he held his bruised torso a bit, "How can I be a wise and just descendant if I just kill everything I see? I'm not going to let this power of mine control me, no matter what anyone says."

* * *

Gohan chuckled a bit before turning serious, "You mentioned getting the cure from Vang, which means you intend to use the sacred water to take care of the Overmind's blood. Can't you just use the technique you used on me?"

Verto lips pursed slightly, "I'm afraid not, that was desperation. There was a time I could use that technique at any time with little to no cost of energy. I was told that balance is the key to my power and I suppose it's ironic that the scales would be tipped the other way eventually. Due to the Berserker power that I and a few others have, I can't focus the positive energy it takes to conjure that technique easily. You saw what just happened, I burned up everything I had curing you and then it went the other way on Vegeta."

Gohan looked confused, "But you reeled yourself back in. Surely you can attempt it again now."

"Does a bloodstain easily wash out of a shirt? It doesn't work that easily. Sure I can control that power now, but it's like my energy is tainted by it. It takes longer to perform now than it ever has before and far more energy, no matter what form I'm in. I think it's some sort of backlash from going too far towards the darker side. I can still feel it trying to crawl out and burn something," Verto explained.

"So how are you going to get the sacred water from Vang then? He's too strong with my father's body and now he has that powerful girl Lenz at his side," Gohan pointed out.

"I don't know, but we'll figure out a way. The good news is that I can teach you how to use that technique even if I can't perform it easily myself. It really isn't hard to learn as long as you can keep your thoughts focused. First thing though is that I need two of those candies, Laysh," Verto said as he pointed to the bag in Laysh's hand.

Laysh looked down for a moment before digging them out, "Oh, right."

Verto handed one to Gohan before eating the other himself, "It'll heal you like a Senzu Bean." Almost instantly Verto's energy returned to full power and healed his body. Gohan followed suit, quickly standing up on his own two feet once he was able to.

Laysh looked concerned as she fumbled with the last candy, "What about him?"

Verto followed her gaze towards Vegeta, who looked like he needed the candy much more, "After we get the cure. I'm not going to fight him twice if I can help it. He'll only attack us again won't be fooled by the same trick. I wouldn't worry, he'll live long enough. I'm seen him get through tougher beatings."

"Wow, just like you said. But it restored my Psionic energy too? That's a bonus," Gohan said in delight.

"Yeah a bit too convenient if you ask me, but I'm not complaining," Verto added.

"What was that Shock Cannon technique you used to counter his Final Flash? I've never seen anything like that before," Gohan said.

"It's something I picked up along the way. If a dense and concentrated burst of Psi energy smashes into an equal amount of Ki, that's the result. It's sort of an instant bomb of Chi that goes off where it connects. A beam battle won't end up the same way, so it's not like I can constantly do it. It doesn't do near as much damage to the area except close proximity of course, but the power output is substantial if the mix of energy is close enough to even. Otherwise one of the attacks would be blown away by the other. It's not something you can do while in Super Mystic form," Verto explained.

"Makes sense I guess, so what's next?" Gohan asked.

"We move out. I think you can handle keeping Vegeta down in his state as well as your grandfather while I go deal with Vang. It'll be good training," Verto said as he gazed down at the unconscious prince.

"Wait, you'll need my help against Vang. You know that!" Gohan claimed.

"I had everyone's help last time, and I did need it, but I still had to fight him alone. I don't know what his powers are going to be like this time with Goku's body instead of the one before, but I know what I have to do. I don't know if I can get him out of your father's body or not, but I know how to kill him if I can't. I hope I don't have to resort to that," Verto said as he looked away.

"No way, you can't kill my father. If you can't kill Vegeta in this state, you certainly can't kill my father! Surely you can get rid of that demon without killing him! Use your Feedback technique like you did to cure me!" Gohan urged.

Verto glared back at him, "Look, it may not be that simple. It didn't work last time and that was before he knew what I could do. I was forced to kill his previous host when she begged me to do it and I refused, that's what happened the first time I used this power of mine. I dragged it out too long for it to work and look what happened, I don't intend to make that mistake again. I don't know what he did to Lenz or why she went along with it, but I'll stop them both if I have to."

Gohan sighed, "Fine, then show me the technique first and I'll stop him myself. It can't take that long to perfect it, after all you said you'd teach it to me right away."

Verto paused in thought, "Alright I won't try to kill him. I'll show it to you. But to really know it, I have to use it on you and then you have to master it yourself. That's how I learned. Power up to your maximum without transforming and then attack me when I give the signal."

Gohan looked slightly dazed, "Alright." Verto spread his legs and arms slightly and concentrated deeply as a small blue blast formed in his hand. He grimaced slightly as it fluctuated colors and changed size for several moments before it settled into a small white mass about the size of an orange.

"Okay, come at me!" Verto commanded. Gohan nodded and flew towards Verto with a punch outstretched.

Verto thrust his palm forward, "Feedback!" The white blast struck Gohan in the chest and sunk in as he stopped and glanced himself over.

"What that's it? I don't feel any different," Gohan noted.

"That seemed kinda pathetic for you kid, I was expecting something big to happen," Laysh added.

"It will. Now please stay here and keep Vegeta and Bardock out of the battle if you can. I have to go kill your father now," Verto said in a vile tone.

Gohan's mood shifted immediately, "But you just promised you wouldn't!"

"I lied."

Gohan's energy went into a rage before the Feedback technique kicked in and covered him in layers of white lightning, grounding any sort of movement for the moment.

"Go ice up Vegeta, leave only his head exposed so he can at least breathe," Verto said, directing Laysh. She nodded and did as he said, creating a giant block of Psionic Ice that covered Vegeta from neck to toe and extended outwards by several feet.

Once she was done, she glanced at him as if wanting another order, "What's next?"

"C'mon, let's go get this over with," Verto said as he motioned Laysh towards the sky. Gohan cursed randomly as he watched Verto and Laysh fly off, but did stop long enough to smile slightly.

_Guess this is what he meant by learning it the way he did, that was clever. Good luck my friend._

* * *

A large crystal ball shimmered with the sight of Verto defeating Vegeta and a dark voice cackled slightly, "So he's finally here."

"It's what you wanted, so don't be so surprised," Lenz said as she stepped closer to the glowing ball and revealed her face.

"Oh you shouldn't be angry for this dear girl, after all it's what you wanted as well. Well I should say it will be what you wanted. Once I have his body, you and I will rule these peons easily," Vang claimed as the image of Goku reflected off the glass ball. Instead of the traditional red gi, he had on a darker maroon outfit with a yellow shirt beneath. Lenz was donned in an all black V-neck that lightly exposed the top of her chest with matching pants.

"I don't care. If he beats you, I'll just kill him," Lenz grumbled as she stared a hole through the viewer.

"Heh, if he beats me. You do have such a wicked sense of humor my dear. Your training has been exceptional, but you still have much to learn. A little birdie tells me that you still harbor strong feelings for him, even if you think you're hiding it," Vang stated. Lenz scowled at him momentarily before she cast out her hand, causing an eruption of flames around the crystal ball.

"Don't be stupid," she growled as she walked away. Vang watched her go for the moment before sighing slightly as he continued to watch Verto movements.

"Looks like he still tries to play the hero, saving someone as useless as Vegeta. Perhaps our last fight wasn't enough to completely turn him to his darker nature as I thought. It seems as though he's gained better control. What do you think, Goku?" Vang asked before looking backwards. On the wall was a beaten and sickly looking Saiyan, stuck to the wall with purple glowing chains. He struggled to move his head upwards to even look at Vang, which to him was like looking at a mirror.

"Still a little woozy I see, I apologize about my spectral poison, it tends to have that effect. Don't worry, I made sure your family remained unharmed after my little experiment with Wentha. I can't say the same for that version of Vegeta, but I really didn't need him coming here and making a mess out of everything. I could have finished them all without much effort, but what would be the fun in that?" Vang laughed.

"Y-You won't get away with this!" Goku stuttered painfully.

"I already have you fool. This is just the final act of a well thought out plan. You really should be grateful as I'll be eliminating all of the Zerg once this is over," Vang declared.

"Verto defeated you once, he can do it again," Goku argued.

"On the contrary, the boy only beat me because I wasn't aware of his inner power. You see it was much like that of a demon's and I wasn't strong enough to harness it. Due to that little problem, I was expelled before I could take over. But he completely blew his chance to kill me within my previous host and I will not give him that chance again. All this time using your counterpart's body, I haven't been able to use my powers quite as effectively out in the open. You are, or should I say this version is, quite resistant to hostile takeovers, and because of that I haven't been able to use my powers to their fullest. But if I stop trying to, that allows me to build up my strength so to speak. I was too weak before, but now I'm fully prepared to deal with that kid's latent power as needed. This Goku's power will be used to beat the boy enough so that I can transfer over," Vang explained.

"You're wrong!" Goku shouted weakly.

"Am I? Alright Goku, tell me how my plan is going to fail, I'm all ears," Vang offered.

Goku smirked for a moment, "It's simple, the other me is going to stop you before you get your way. He's fighting your control, I can sense it."

Vang punched him hard in the stomach and his head slumped immediately, "Be silent. Neither of you have any hope once I assert my control." Goku didn't respond afterwards as Vang returned to the crystal ball, though it hadn't changed much from the previous image. A tall shadow approached from behind Vang, revealing an elderly and bald humanoid that carried a large staff.

Vang snickered slightly as he sensed the presence, "Oh, well this is certainly a surprise. You're a little far from the Guardian realm, aren't you, Razil?"

"What is your progress, demon?" Razil asked.

"Straight to business as always. As you can see, the boy is on his way. I will have his power before the next dawn," Vang boasted.

"Your mission is to kill him, not make him your new vessel. I can't afford anymore mistakes if this is to be the spark that ignites the next cosmic war," Razil said in distain.

"Ha, you're in no position to order me. Unlike your other pawns, I owe you nothing. You on the other hand owe me your life, one that I could have ended years ago before Leira discovered our secret meeting. I am cashing in on this favor now by taking this boy's power. It will restore my long lost powers to me before I annihilate both of these worlds myself," Vang proclaimed.

"Need I remind you, vermin, that if you use that boy's power to rejuvenate your own, the Guardians will act immediately. They will appear and stop you the moment you access your lost Cosmic energy. Even if you're stronger than you used to be, they are not so depleted that they can't seal you away," Razil warned.

"And that's why I have you to bog them down in proceedings before they can act. Once I attain my true power, I will use the rift between the worlds to destroy them both while transporting myself safely away. They'll never know I was reborn until it's far too late, and I'll be welcomed back to my kin with open arms," Vang said as he stretched slightly.

"Perhaps, if you succeed," Razil replied.

"If I succeed, what kind of statement is that? It's when I succeed, get it right," Vang scolded.

"Not if the boy kills you first. I've been watching him and he doesn't have the hesitation he once had. He may not have the same compassion that he had before now that his latent demon power has come to the surface. And even if you manage to get your way, I cannot hold the council back for long," Razil claimed.

"There won't be any need, old fool. After tonight, the cold war will be over," Vang laughed as the viewing ball showed Verto and Laysh flying closer.

**Power levels:**

**Alt-Vegeta Super Saiyan 2: 500,000,000; SS3: 640,000,000**

**Verto (Berserk): 550,000,000; Shock Cannon: 800,000,000**

**A/N: There were several different things I thought I was going to do with this chapter that I nixed at the eleventh hour, as they had no real purpose except for shock and awe. If anything it would have hindered me more later and really wouldn't have made very much sense to do when taking the setting into consideration. I threw in the other treat that readers have been bugging me to know and that I've been hinting at for awhile. The main events are coming, but not till next time.**


	103. Fire and Ice

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 102: Fire and Ice**

"So where are we going anyway?" Laysh asked as she flew next to Verto, who hadn't spoken a word since they departed from the previous battle sight.

"You'll know it when you see it," he said vaguely.

"Gee, thanks for keeping me in the loop. I suppose you want me to do nothing this time while you handle everything again?" she grumbled.

Verto glanced at her with a slight frown before focusing forward, "I doubt we'll be that lucky this time. And by the way, keeping those two off me for that long did help quite a bit, despite how pointless it might have been."

Laysh scoffed, "I'll remember that next time we fight and you have to resort to tail grabbing to win."

"There won't be a next time," Verto retorted.

Laysh wasn't sure how to take that and switched subjects, "So do I at least get to fulfill your plan?"

"What plan was that? You do realize that I'm having to make this up as I go," Verto pointed out.

"Well you said this girlfriend of yours has some sort of fire demon inside her right? And that my abilities can cancel those out? That's what you told the prince," Laysh reminded.

"She's not my girlfriend. And I'd prefer she doesn't have to fight either one of us, but if it comes to that and she's herself, you should probably win. That's if she hasn't had much training from Vang, but I wouldn't bet on that," Verto added.

"And Vang is the one that's inside Gohan's father right? Is that this world's version of Gohan's father, or the other one?" Laysh asked.

Verto glared at her, "Probably this one, doesn't really matter now does it?"

"Well I prefer to be well informed and you guys just confuse the hell out of me with everything you say. And while we're on the subject, what is it with you guys and possession? Seriously, it's like none of you are ever in your right mind," Laysh claimed.

Verto's eyebrow shot into the air, "This coming from a tribe of Saiyans that blow themselves up whenever they try to use the hidden powers they don't understand."

Laysh grimaced, "But that was before we had help from the Tuffles and…"

Verto cut her off, "And what? Your teammate proved my point did he not?"

Laysh growled a bit, "Little prick."

"That's what I thought, drop it," Verto warned. Laysh snorted and looked away, effectively ending the discussion for the moment.

Around ten to fifteen minutes of silent flight passed before she noticed something ahead.

"What's with that tall tower over there? I've never seen one go that high off the ground," Laysh said as she pointed ahead.

"It goes up further than you can see, and we'll be going past the top," Verto said as he adjusted his flight to a path parallel to Korin Tower. He considered checking in on the cat master as they approached the tower's top quickly, but decided against it. Above, he could feel two distinct power levels waiting for him, though they were in a relaxed state. He also sensed two very low signals coming from the lookout's interior, confirming some of what he had heard so far.

"Listen, this is probably going to be rougher than the fight we just went through. Be prepared for anything, Vang can strike from anywhere at any time," Verto said.

Laysh nodded slightly, "I take it we're going to that floating platform up there?"

"That's the place," Verto replied shortly. The pair shot past the lookout before arcing around and landing in its courtyard, taking the chance to observe anyone that was present. The place didn't look too much different in comparison to the other version, with the exception of there were absolutely no plants or trees in place. The presence of Goku was recognized immediately, despite who was really within him. He wasn't wearing his traditional red-orange over blue martial arts outfit either; instead he had on maroon over yellow. The girl next to him was taller and older than Verto had expected, but it was definitely Lenz. Most of that growth had been a result of Kaon's emergence previously, but she had certainly toughened up since he had last seen her.

"Is that him?" Laysh whispered as they touched down. Verto answered by stepping forward until he was within a distance of thirty feet or so. The scowl on the face of Lenz had deepened as he got closer, but it only worsened when Laysh walked up.

"It's about time you came boy, I was getting anxious," Vang said.

"It'll pass once you're out of that body. I suppose you have a new name like Vangku or something this time," Verto surmised.

Vang chuckled, "There's no need to create illusions or aliases to cover any tracks here. They are only a wasted effort on one such as you."

Verto snorted lightly, "You got that right. I won't bother asking if you'll give up everything that I've come here for. But I will ask that you relinquish any hold that you have on Lenz and let her be herself."

Vang laughed louder this time, "Oh there's no need for you to worry about that yet. She is herself through and through. You might notice a slight change in attitude, but as you know, we all have to grow up sometime."

"So, who is that supposed to be?" Lenz said with an already raised voice as she locked eyes with Laysh.

"Nice to see you too. And this is basically your cousin," Verto replied.

"Cousin? She's not related to me," Laysh declared immediately.

"Actually she kind of is. Part of your tribe became Frost's leftovers," Verto pointed out.

"Oh, that makes sense. She certainly looks like she would work in one of his whore houses," Laysh remarked.

The spark of energy that came from Lenz's power signal was enough to show that a button had been pressed, "What did you say, wanna repeat that?"

Verto closed his eyes and held the bridge of his nose as he shook his head slightly in dismay, "We could have done without that."

"I do believe that your new friend there wishes to fight first," Vang said.

Verto stepped in front of Laysh, "There's no need for either of them to fight at all, this is between us."

Vang grinned a very non-Goku grin, "My boy, you must have an opening bout to lead into the main event. Isn't that the standard way of things? Besides, I'm sure you're very curious about how much better your pretty little student has gotten. I think you'll be surprised."

Verto eyed Lenz for a moment, who had locked eyes with Laysh, "How much could you teach her in a month that I couldn't? Especially with her level of patience."

Vang closed his eyes, "Come now my friend, I know you're smarter than that. Look where we are. Do you honestly think it's only been a month from her perspective?"

"That's what I figured. At least you admit that you used the time chamber. Funny, I wouldn't think you would dare step in there again," Verto said.

Vang smiled, "Well fate certainly likes to apply ironic twists now and again. But I'm willing to swallow my pride in order to get what I want."

"Yeah I've heard, you want me. Well here I am," Verto said as he took another step closer.

"You're quite brave despite fighting me before. I'll warn you now that you will not have it nearly as easy this time," Vang proclaimed.

"If you say so," Verto smirked as his energy rose.

Lenz suddenly phased out and reappeared in between them, "No." Both Verto and Vang glanced at her and frowned a bit.

"Do you wish to prove yourself to him that badly my dear?" Vang asked sweetly, "Despite what you've learned I'm not sure it would go well for you."

"I don't care what you two do, I want her first," Lenz claimed as she pointed to Laysh.

"It's not necessary Lenz. As soon as I beat him, we're going home," Verto argued. A lightning fast fist caught him across the face, sending him tumbling to the side. Verto was up quickly, wiping the bloodied smudge with slight concern as Lenz lowered her fist. _Just as I expected, she's a lot stronger than before. Looks like Vang didn't waste any time on her attitude adjustment either. On top of that he's had two training styles to use on her between himself and Goku's. Who knows what she's gained from the demon inside her in that time. Laysh won't be able to beat her if they fight seriously._

"So I go away for a little while and you just pick up the next chick that comes by? I was going to come back, but now I can't stand the sight of you," Lenz said spitefully.

Verto grimaced with frustration, "Didn't I ever tell you that looks can be deceiving? There you go using your small mind to assume things when you're the one that's wrong. He's obviously got you so brainwashed that you wouldn't know left from right if it reached out and smacked you in the face!"

A noticeably red aura began to enshroud Lenz as her teeth cinched, "Shut up! All I ever did was love you and you've always thrown it back at my face! Well screw you, little asshole! I'm gonna tear you and your new girl apart!"

"Oh my, there she goes again. We really should have spent more time on emotional control," Vang scolded slightly.

Laysh smirked as she stepped forward, blue aura rising, "Relax kid, I got this. It's obvious Frost's little whore needs a spanking."

Verto gazed at both of them, "This is a bad idea. One of you will get killed."

"Nice of you to care so much, but don't worry little asshole, I'll make it quick," Lenz said with a deep grin as she took her stance.

Vang laughed casually, "I don't think you'll be able to stop them at this point boy. Sit back and enjoy the show before your world ends. Popo! Bring us some refreshment!" Verto's eyes shifted quickly to the pudgy assistant, who scampered out of the nearest building, tripping over his own feet in the process. On his wrists and ankles were some sort of brightly glowing violet shackles. Popo got back to his feet quickly but stopped and gasped as soon as he spotted Verto staring back at him.

"Step on it you tub of lard!" Vang shouted.

"Oh, right," Popo nodded as he ran towards one of the other small buildings.

Verto's eyes narrowed, _Gohan specifically said that Dende and Piccolo were dead here. So why is Popo still alive, or is it just Vang playing one of his games for the hell of it?_ Verto's attention was drawn to the two women on either side of him, as both were powering up quickly. Verto folded his arms and stepped back, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop the fight easily.

* * *

Deep red clashed with deep blue as both female Saiyans stared each other down, each as eager to fight as the other. Lenz was certainly the angrier of the two, which clearly showed as her eye color threatened to shift to completely red before they stayed blue. Her rage subsided as she appeared to calm herself and her aura fell away. Verto felt her energy out thoroughly, which had clearly increased by quite a bit since the battle with Frost. Her ki was on a level that was much closer to Verto's normal level than it had been previously, despite not being in any sort of Super Saiyan form. Like Verto and Gohan though, once her deeper powers had started to emerge, the Super Saiyan transformation was essentially negated and wasn't necessary. Her Psi level however didn't feel like it had risen anywhere close to what Verto knew she was capable of. To him, it felt as if she were holding it back on purpose.

_That's strange, I've never known Lenz to hold back, although most of her battles were against stronger foes. Laysh will have the upper hand with experience alone if Lenz thinks she can get away with that. _

Laysh took her stance and waved her on, "Come on pretty eyes, let's see if you can back up that mouth of yours!"

Lenz answered by rushing forward, keeping her feet on the ground but moving at a furious pace. Her initial punch attempt was dodged by hair lengths as Laysh stepped aside. Lenz appeared to stumble off balance and used her hands to brace the ground as she fell forward. Laysh moved in to strike, only to have Lenz's left heel smash into her jaw from below. Lenz twisted around quickly and pushed off the ground, heaving her legs straight into Laysh's abdomen. Laysh fell backwards enough that Lenz momentum carried her too far over, allowing Laysh to counter attack with a kick to Lenz's lower back. Lenz flew up from the impact, phasing out once she recovered. Laysh scrambled to her feet as she lost track of Lenz for the moment, but found her coming at her fast from the side, fist outstretched. Laysh deflected the overpowered blow and struck Lenz in the back of the neck with a hard chop. Lenz broke the tiles of the ground with her landing and stayed prone for a moment while Laysh stepped back cautiously. Verto took note of every move that they had made, knowing his assumption before had been correct thus far. As soon as Lenz recovered the platform became a barrage of small shockwaves and light explosions as the two went back and forth, trying to get the other first.

_They're both just testing each other, since they're nearly equal in energy output, this could go on for awhile. But I seriously doubt Vang's training only took her this far unless she resisted him. She must be saving the bulk of her power to fight me, or something else. Strange though, I can sense Kaon's energy buried deep within her whereas I couldn't before, but I don't actually sense the demon's presence. It's like her power is released for Lenz but the demon is suppressed. How can that be? _Verto's thoughts were put on hold when Popo stopped next to him, with a glass of orange juice held out. Verto took it without thinking, but then stared at the glass suspiciously.

"This doesn't by chance have any of the Overmind's crap in it, does it?" Verto whispered.

Popo's expression didn't change, "No, he doesn't want you to fall under that creature's control. And I made that myself, I would not poison you Verto. We never stopped believing that you could rise out of the darkness, I just wish it would have happened sooner."

Verto gulped down the orange juice and handed the glass back, "Hate to break it to you, but I'm not the Verto you knew. I went through similar things… but without as much damage."

"So, is Dende alive in the other timeline?" Popo asked.

Verto stared at him strangely, but understood the assistant's concern, "Well at least I don't need to explain that. And everyone is alive there. I didn't fly off the handle enough for that."

"Oh thank goodness!"

"Popo, I want my dinner. Now!" Vang shouted from a short distance away.

"Oh dear, I wish he hadn't inherited that trait from Goku," Popo muttered.

"Yeah I sort of noticed his personality has changed since I last fought him, or he's just that confident this time. Have his powers changed too?" Verto asked.

Popo looked unsure, "I do not know the details of what happened in your world. But the demon's powers and attitude change depending on who he has possessed. He won't be able to use all of his abilities nor to their full potency until he regains his own body or finds one similar enough to him to take over. It is sort of like what happens when Trunks and Goten attempt to fuse and make an error."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "So he's weaker now?"

Popo shook his head, "No, far from it. But his union with Goku is not complete. If it were, he would be a much stronger being and would not have any restrictions on his power. If you had fought him when he had assumed the identity of Mercurial, then you should understand just how horrible his power can be at even a low level. Kara had no comparable power to resist, so once Vang had joined with her, he could use almost all of his powers, but the price of having his energy severely reduced. Inside Goku, he can control the greatest of all the Super Saiyans, but at the cost of using the bulk of his power to maintain control. Should he strain himself too much, Goku could be able to break free."

Verto's eyes darted to Vang, who was impatiently tapping his feet as clashes of energy continued in front of him. _The feedback technique will work on him then, if I can pull it together enough to attempt it._ _The only problem is that I already used my Berserker power on Vegeta, so my emotional control is shot for now._

"Popo must ask, why did you come here alone? Surely you cannot defeat him by yourself," Popo claimed.

"Yeah, there's a slight setback with that, the Overmind wants me too and since it pretty much has control of everyone else, that's a problem. But I know a way around that, and it would be faster if you could help," Verto suggested.

Popo stared at the ground, "Popo is sorry, but I cannot go against Vang as long as I am bound with these shackles. He only has to give a certain command and my body will act on its own. If he gets impatient, he will do horrible things to Popo!"

"Don't worry, I'll distract him enough so you won't have to worry about that. Just act normal until then," Verto said.

"Alright, but what do you wish me to do?" Popo asked.

Verto shifted his glance to Vang for a moment, who looked bored as he watched the rapid combat before him, "Can you hear my thoughts if I project them to you telepathically?"

Popo nodded, "Yes of course, Kami taught me many years ago!"

A loud shout interrupted them again, "Popo! If I don't have my food in five minutes, you will be spinning on that round head of yours nonstop for a week!"

Verto eyes shifted between Vang and the battle, "Go on, it's better if he doesn't hear it." Popo quickly ran towards the left side of the palace where a distinct trail of smoke was coming from the top of its tower. Verto's head lowered slightly as he appeared to concentrate on the battle, but only as a ruse.

"_Do you hear me Popo?_"

The response was immediate, "_Popo hear you!_"

Verto smirked slightly, "_Good, listen up."_

* * *

Fists and feet collided over and over as Laysh and Lenz continued to go at it. Neither had even thrown an energy blast as of yet, nor had they taken much in the way of damage from physical blows aside from a few blemishes. The platform of the lookout was barely damaged either, which truly illustrated how easy they were going on each other.

Laysh managed to crack a grin when they stopped momentarily after she had blocked one of Lenz's fierce punches, "I can see some of the brat's fighting style in you. This will be nice, I never got to fight him a second time."

Lenz's eyes widened, "You fought him? I thought you were his new girlfriend or something?"

Laysh closed her eyes and her smile vanished, "Please, you're being a naïve little girl that is easily tricked. Don't mix up the facts with your own misplaced jealousy, he's a kid after all. And yes, me and my crew were sent to another planet like this one and he was sent to stop us. We all fought him and we all got beaten, though part of our mission was to retrieve him and bring him back to our people. We were betrayed and killed off by one of our own. The kid saved my ass and I owe him for it, simple as that." Lenz scowled and didn't answer as she attempted to break Laysh's guard with a strong rising kick towards her chest, but missed when Laysh phased out. Lenz stopped her attack and turned towards Laysh's new position, ready to continue. The action stopped for nearly a minute, and the only thing that changed was Vang had sat down to eat a plate of large turkey legs.

From the other side, Verto noticed that Lenz's energy had shifted rather drastically. It wasn't in an upward or downward manner, but more of a state of fury to somewhat relaxed despite the situation. _If anything, Lenz feels like she's in emotional turmoil. She was angry before, but she clearly regrets coming here. Looks like I got through to her after all, or maybe Laysh did._

Laysh confidently stayed in place, "You are pretty decent at standard fighting, but this is boring. How about we stop playing around?" Lenz stood up straight but didn't answer initially. Laysh's grin didn't subside as she turned her palm upwards and began to concentrate her power into a round icy ball. Lenz's eyes narrowed as the air started to cool down, and she began to charge up a powerful answer in her own hand.

Laysh held her Ice Comet and waited for Lenz to finish her counterattack, "Hurry it up girl, I want to get this over with."

Lenz drew back her arm before thrusting it forward, "Final Shine!" Laysh recognized the attack and flew up and out of the way before it could reach her, sending the green colored Ki beam flying into the horizon.

She held her icy energy ball up and gracefully released it with a wave of her hand, "Koori Kometoo!" The Ice Comet hurled towards Lenz with surprising speed, crashing into her arms first as she attempted to block against it. This only resulted in it rapidly covering her body with cold Psionic ice.

Laysh landed next to the block of ice with a slight chuckle, "Too easy." She then grabbed Lenz by the back of her frozen head and slammed her knee straight into the face, shattering both the ice and Lenz's nose. Laysh quickly added a spin kick that sent Lenz flying backwards for a short distance before she landed roughly, breaking some more of the ice on her body. She struggled to get up as her teeth chattered a bit due to the combination of pain and sharp cold.

"You can't win if that's your best little girl. I've been doing this a lot longer than you," Laysh warned. Lenz wiped some of the blood coming from her nose before she stared at her hand. The sight of blood seemed to enrage her more than anything as her aura crackled to life around her. She pulled both arms back and began charging up a very potent purple beam.

From afar, Verto's eyes widened when he felt the energy output coming from Lenz, _There she goes, she's released some of her restraint and created a Chi blast. That's what I was afraid would happen._

Laysh seemed to sense at least some of what was going on and prepared to evade whatever was coming. Lenz fired without a word, and Laysh glided to the side to avoid the powerful beam heading for her, which sailed off the edge off the lookout and into the sky. Lenz shot towards her with a much more aggressive look in her eye as she aimed another kick towards Laysh, whose aura began to sparkle a bit. Laysh turned her head as she narrowly dodge the kick, watching as ice built up on Lenz's leg and left her wide open. Laysh dropped and swept out Lenz other leg just as it touched ground, causing Lenz to smack her head against the tile. Laysh pounced on her just as a sharp, icy blade formed from her right hand and wavered in front of Lenz's face.

"Yield, you're beaten!" Laysh warned. Lenz paused in slight surprise, unsure what to do with the sharp icicle inches from her face. From the side, Vang threw down the remains of a bone that had held the meat he had just devoured.

"Are you done playing around girl? We all know you can do better!" he shouted.

Lenz glanced at him and took a quick, light breath before she held it due to hesitation, "No, it's not how I want to be."

"It is your true nature girl, no matter how you deny it. You cannot deny your calling," Vang declared.

"But it's too much like _her_! I won't go there, they don't deserve it!" Lenz claimed.

Verto's eyes narrowed at those words, _So she's figured out how to use the inner power that she gets from Kaon, but she's wary about using it. It also explains her momentary attitude shifts, then again she's always had those. Looks like she didn't change that much, but I'm worried that Vang does have some sort of hold on her. Otherwise how could she stay here even after any supposed training? Even if he told her something that Vegeta knew about to pull her away, she would have been able to resist, she isn't that weak-minded._

"Don't try my patience girl, not today. Don't forget that your life is forfeit in the hands of those fools. You are nothing more than a by-product to do with as they please until you are no longer useful! Is that how you want to live?" Vang asked.

"Don't listen to that lying piece of shit! It doesn't matter what you are or aren't Lenz. You have just as much a right to live as anyone else. I won't let anything happen to you," Verto shouted.

Lenz gasped slightly and looked at the ground, "I know you wouldn't, I'm sorry." Laysh eyed both Vang and Verto before backing away from Lenz to allow her to get up.

Her ice blade broke off from her wrist and she offered Lenz a hand, "About time."

Lenz stood up and sighed deeply as a few tears dripped out, "Thanks." A platter full of empty bones dropped and shattered against the tile of the lookout before being blown away by the sudden energy increase from Vang.

"I see, I was far too easy on you girl. But if you think you're going to just walk away after I taught you how to live again, you had best think twice. I did not waste all that time on you just for your soft feelings to get in the way. If you won't use your true power, then I will force you too!" Vang shouted as he raised his hand which was shrouded in deep purple. On his whim, Lenz lifted off the ground as a red and purple swirl surrounded her.

Verto's eyes widened as he prepared to jump in, "Let her go!"

"No, please don't!" Lenz begged and tried to squirm out of his telekinetic hold, to no avail.

"You brought this on yourself girl. Don't you think I had a failsafe in mind after seeing how soft you are? You chose to come to this place with me to embrace your true nature, you don't get to change your mind whenever you want to! Now they will suffer the consequences!" Vang said as he began to concentrate. Lenz's aura began to shoot out bright purple energy bursts that detonated randomly. Laysh was forced back by one of these bursts, landing on what used to be one of Popo's gardens. She was back on her feet quickly, watching as Lenz began to change slightly. Bright red and purple lightning struck around the area as Lenz's purple hair stood up on end, much like a Super Saiyan.

Verto himself had to block against some of the energy output due to how close he was, _Pure Chi waves. Is she turning Super Mystic, or is this something else? It feels just as dark as Kaon, but not quite as strong._ Lenz's aura also shifted to a lavender flame-like appearance before she seemed to relax and dropped back to the ground.

Vang's arm dropped as he grinned wickedly, "That's more like it. Now, show them what you've learned since you came here." Lenz's eyes opened, revealing a deep red hue that spoke volumes about her current state of mind.

Laysh felt a rush of surprise and fear as she got a hint of Lenz's new power, "Oh crap."

Verto scowled deeply as he took in the power level he was sensing, "So much for letting her be herself. Looks like you knew she would resist and you put in a measure of control. Release her now Vang."

Vang's smirk didn't waver, "Or what? You'll make me? I think you both have more things to worry about, after all it's not like I'm actually controlling her. I merely unleashed what she wouldn't. She will kill your friend if you do nothing and then you'll have to face the both of us. On the other hand, if you fight her now, you'll be too drained of energy to even consider facing me without resorting to your own demon powers. So, what is it going to be?"

Verto's fists clenched angrily, "So that's your game plan then? I wouldn't bank on it working. Laysh, it's up to you to win this fight, no matter what you have to do!"

Laysh looked at Verto with concern, "Why would he tell me that, he knows I'll do whatever it takes to win."

Verto looked back and nodded to give the go ahead, "Just like before Laysh."

She nodded back, _I get it, he wants me to keep her busy while he deals with the other guy._ Verto stepped towards Vang with intent, but his opponent remained in place, unthreatened.

Vang even chuckled, "Come now boy, I told you to sit back and enjoy the show. I've merely guaranteed that there will be a show to watch. But if you think you're going to use their fight to distract the girl so you can fight unhindered, I'm afraid I have to ruin your plans." A bright purple shield erupted around both Verto and Vang, which effectively cut them both off from the rest of the action.

"I think you remember this technique from before boy, although you could break through and stop this fight if you try hard enough. However, doing so will, as I said before, drain you significantly. Don't worry though, we can still fight later. First I want you to witness this slaughter," Vang declared. Verto's teeth clinched in rage as he eyed Lenz and Laysh, the latter of whom did not look comfortable with the new circumstances.

* * *

Lenz stared at Laysh with cold, empty eyes, as if she were on autopilot. Her opponent stepped back in slight hesitation, unsure what to make of Lenz's current power. It was clearly above her own by a wide margin, she had no problem seeing or sensing that. Laysh concentrated briefly before her swirling aura sparking randomly with blue, insuring that she had at least some protection with her Shivering Armor technique. Lenz responded by lifting off the ground slowly before a swath of fire erupted beneath her feet, hot enough to ignite the tiles. Once they became molten, Lenz's energy began to pour in from above. Laysh wasn't sure what to make of this odd technique until she felt something hot coming towards her from below. She glanced down to see the tiles she was standing on quickly beginning to glow red hot. Laysh narrowly lunged out of the way before a bright column of fire shot out of the ground and high into the air much like a geyser. Laysh only had a second to stare at the result before she spotted a slight bulge in the ground coming towards her like a torpedo. She jumped to the side and watched as it also became a tube of fire that shot into the air. She noticed that both attempts maintained themselves even after missing. Three more fiery bursts came towards her from different angles. She elected to jump out ahead of the one in the middle and watched as it sailed past before it eventually detonated. The others had clearly missed before doing the same, leaving five separate columns of fire burning at the air constantly. That's when Laysh realized that they had formed a semi-circle around her, leaving a small amount of space between each one and only one escape path where Lenz was currently floating.

Laysh grinned and pulled her arms together, "Is that how you're going to trap me? I don't think so!" Lenz didn't answer as another Molten Torpedo formed and headed straight for Laysh. It stopped short to completely surround Laysh with flaming pillars, to which she focused her energy into her forearms.

"Shinsei Toukan!" she shouted as she thrust her arms out and wide. Instantly a bright sphere of cold blue erupted from her and spread quickly through the area. The flame columns glazed over with thick ice almost immediately before the edge of the sphere reached its designated distance. Lenz stopped channeling energy into the molten puddle below her and hovered in place. She watched as the flaming pillars she had created to trap her opponent merely became frozen, empty statues of cold air.

Laysh smirked, "You'll have to do better than fire-based techniques girl, no one has ever beaten me with those!" Lenz's lip twitched into a scowl before she rose higher into the air as her palms glowed with purple and red. She stopped high above the lookout and held them out at short angles. Flames burst from her hands and quickly smashed into the lookout's circular edge at both ends. She then began to slowly spin in the air, causing her flame jets to strike the entire perimeter before she let out. Thick walls of fire erupted around the lookout and remained burning even after she stopped, creating towering walls of purple and red flames. She then dropped back to the ground and set her eyes back upon Laysh, who looked undeterred and more confident.

"You'll still have to come and get me, I don't intend to run into your traps," Laysh said with a smirk. Her confidence was shaken when Lenz held out her hand as a deep, purple blade of energy formed. She phased out and narrowly missed an overhead slash attempt when Laysh barely dodged it. Small batches of ice melted and flaked off of Lenz's hands from the close proximity of Laysh's aura, but didn't do much to slow her down. Laysh herself glided to a safer distance before she dared to stop, amazed by the sudden speed in which Lenz had come at her. Lenz shuddered with fury and charged at her again, sword held back for a strike.

Laysh quickly gathered a counterattack and fired, "Koori Kometoo!" Her Ice Comet smashed head on into Lenz and formed a large and irregular ball of ice. Laysh sighed with relief for a moment, but that relief was replace by panic when the ice ball suddenly glowed red and shattered. Lenz paused long enough to drop her sword and prepare a strong energy beam instead, forming a deep purple ball between her hands. Laysh cringed as she instantly knew that she wasn't going to be able to counter this attack and prepared to dodge.

"Super Galic Gun!" Lenz shouted as she fired straight at Laysh's position. Laysh didn't bother waiting for the beam to even come close before she quickly flew towards her left, which then allowed the beam to plow into the flame walls and shoot into the distance. Laysh paused long enough to witness this before a strong kick struck the back of her head from the phasing-in Lenz. Laysh crashed into the ground face-first before quickly rolling sideways, just missing Lenz's follow-up punch. Laysh scrambled to get up and leapt into the air to get away, only to be struck hard in the stomach by a vicious punch that doubled her over. Her Shivering Armor technique didn't even have time to take effect before Lenz was already through her guard. Lenz moved behind and smashed Laysh's back with another strong kick, sending her crashing through three of the frozen pillars, shattering them. Laysh lay facedown on the ground for a moment before a well of blood came up and her breathing became shallow. Lenz didn't let her have much of a breather before she stomped down hard on Laysh's back, causing her to cry out in pain. Lenz repeated the action over and over, quickly causing Laysh's energy levels to drop from injury.

Back in the twin Shadow Bubbles, Vang stood with his arms crossed, chuckling, "Now that's more like it. Are you impressed yet boy?"

Verto's fists shook as his black hair flashed with silver as it stood on end, "What do you think? I already knew she would probably beat Laysh if her demon powers came into play. Are you satisfied with that answer?"

Vang smirked, "More or less."

"Then how about you undo whatever control you have on her now. It's not like she needs it now," Verto suggested.

Vang glanced at him briefly, "It won't be that easy boy. It's very, very similar to how that Overmind creature has influenced your other friends, unleashing their rage. The difference is that I cannot control her directly, just give her a little nudge in the right direction. It is not easily interrupted as you probably know by now."

Verto grimaced as his hair turned fully silver, completing the transformation, "Then I'll end this, now."

Vang's grin subsided slightly, "And just how do you plan to do that and have enough left to take me on? Besides, maybe the other girl will use her latent energy as well. She could still win at this rate, there's no need to be hasty."

Verto eyed him after those words just before his power reached its peak and brightened the bubble, "You sound nervous Vang. I wonder why that is."

Vang paused in thought, "What makes you think I'm nervous?"

"Your words suggest that you want this to drag on, either to provoke me or to see one of them get killed. I doubt Laysh will be able to use her deep power like Lenz can, they're completely different in that regard. The only other reason I can think of is that you don't have as much control over Goku as you seem to. Either way, this isn't going to continue," Verto said as he held his arms out slightly.

"Maybe you're right, then again maybe you're not. The ball is in your court boy, what is it going to be?" Vang asked. Verto didn't answer as he instead focused on building his power up to break the bubble. It shuddered slightly but showed no real sign of breaking, frustrating Verto slightly. Outside, Lenz was still trying to break Laysh's back with her constant stomping, which only motivated Verto more.

"Kaio-ken!" he shouted. The bubble glowed bright with green before it shattered like glass just as a round ball of light came screeching out. Lenz barely had time to turn before Verto smashed into her unguarded. She was stunned from the blow and landed flat on her back. He wasted no time in stepping down hard onto both arms and summoning twin green swords above his head. In a flash he stabbed Lenz cleanly through both of her hands, effectively pinning her down. She screamed in pain before the swords finally faded, to which she turned onto her side and held her hollowed-out hands as they began to spill blood.

Verto's powerful green Kaio-ken aura faded back to his normal silver one as he knelt down, "Sorry." Lenz winced and nodded from the fetal position, remaining in place as she tried to recover from the attack.

Verto eyed her carefully, _Good, looks like the sudden onset of injury was enough to snap her out of it just like Gohan and the others. His influence must make that form just like the Berserker mode, or maybe it's already like that. She didn't want to use it before he made her after all. I didn't want to have to handicap her from being able to fight, but at least this way Vang can't use her directly against us now._ Verto went to check on Laysh right away, who was whimpering slightly from the beating she had sustained. He didn't need to examine her much before he noticed that her back had been broken in several places by Lenz fierce attacks.

He sighed and pulled out the last candy that Leira had given him and held it to Laysh's lips, "Try to swallow this." She opened her mouth enough for him to slip it in before he stood up and set his eyes on Vang.

Laysh's injuries healed within a few moments before she sat up and looked herself over, "That hit the spot. Wait, don't tell me that was the last one?"

Verto nodded grimly as he stared forward, "I need you mobile, even if you aren't part of this fight you could get dragged into it." Laysh stood up carefully and looked over at Lenz, whose hands were shaking from the painful wounds.

"Geez, remind me never to piss you off kid," Laysh exclaimed. Verto didn't answer as he stepped closer to the remaining Shadow Bubble that Vang was inside of.

* * *

Vang himself looked slightly amused at what had just transpired, "Nicely done, looks like you're at least well versed in that adolescent power that you all possess."

Verto stopped a few dozen feet away, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Your demon energy isn't pure since you're part monkey. Therefore when it emerges at a young age, it is not only too strong for you to control, it is also immature. Thus it comes out as the lesser and unstable Psionic energy. Once enough time and training has allowed it to partially mature, it becomes Chi energy. An unbalanced and untrained mind will still not be able to quite handle it, as both you and the girl are well aware of," Vang explained.

Verto scowled, "Your point?"

"My point is that since you are still young, you can still not fathom the powers you possess, or rather, you inherited," Vang replied.

Verto's lip twitched, "So you know about that too then?"

Vang uncrossed his arms, "Of course I know about it young fool. I'm the one that caused it to happen! I crippled your predecessor and forced him to give away his powers before they were eventually lost. I wasn't the cause of his eventual death, but I did guarantee it. That being known as Verto had power far beyond your own, some of which you would never be able to wield. Do you know why that is?"

Verto tapped his foot impatiently, "Are you going to come out or not? I don't have time for a history lessen I could give a shit less about."

Vang's grin re-emerged, "What's wrong, don't you like to be well-informed?"

Verto snorted slightly, "Anytime someone has a moment to spill some truth there seems to be a slew of other shit happening at the same time to distract me. I'll figure it all out later when I'm not caught up in every other mess!"

Vang laughed slightly, "Oh you're not like your ancestor at all, at least he would make time for a peaceful dialogue. I'd blame it on your Saiyan blood, but like him, you're only half Saiyan. The other half is that weakling human blood that somehow manages to excel when it shouldn't."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "If I'm half human, how could you know that for sure?"

Vang snickered slightly, "The last time we met I managed to hold onto your body long enough to at least examine it. I'll give Leira credit, it was very well designed considering it was flowing with unstable DNA. My guess is that it was designed to eventually skip ahead an age or two before it settled down. Your energy signal didn't have that human stain to it last time, now it does."

Verto's eyes widened, _The aging potion she gave me, it must've had another purpose! So that's why my appearance changed too_._ I should have realized it when Gohan mentioned that I felt different. This guy clearly knows more about me than he lets on. I can't afford to get distracted here, but at the same time, I have to know why Leira has interfered with my life._

"And why would that need to be done, since you have all the answers?" Verto asked.

"Oh finally ready to hear some of your history are you? The short answer is this: Leira knew that if you began to show signs of latent demon energy once your powers began to show, it would corrupt your Saiyan blood so much that you would eventually turn into a full-fledged demon. That is how my people used to find recruits you see. A hybrid race is much more resilient to this corruption, thus your human cells would be reactivated to help you resist," Vang claimed.

Verto was taken slightly aback, "Wait, what? Your people? And how would she reactivate human DNA if I was already a hybrid? I was examined thoroughly and judged to be full Saiyan."

Vang smirked, "Technology can be fooled, so can senses. Haven't you wondered exactly how you suddenly started turning into a Saiyan years ago? I mean, why you and not another, let's say, better prepared human? Didn't you find that story that the futuristic Bulma and her son told you a bit odd, or was your life so lacking in worth that you accepted anything you heard? I imagine you've operated on the basis of thinking that Leira just stepped into your life recently. That is not true. She's been involved at least partially from day one. You were selected from a small list of candidates and were the only successful outcome. Your original human body died the day you became a Saiyan, but it had to be used as a partial template to maintain a stable transition. Your soul was quite literally moved to your current body while you slept, making a seemingly seamless transition. Bulma and Trunks had no idea what exactly had truly happened obviously, as they believed that they had solved your problems with a magic pill. The one responsible for that though was Leira herself. She followed the wishes of her brother and handpicked you to be his successor. You were given a large portion of his power at the onset, and then the rest of it at a later time during your encounter with the Zerg. I guess it's too bad that she won't be able to enjoy the fruits of her labor now."

Verto listened carefully, feeling shock and surprise invade his mind as he nearly fell from dizziness, "That can't all be true."

Vang frowned, "Oh it is my boy, I used the special time travel room in this place to confirm it for myself. And it probably clears a few things up for you, like how you're being molded for her personal gains. She doesn't care for any of your friends, they're all expendable. She only wants her brother to come back so they can continue with their plans to conquer the known universe. But we're not going to let that happen are we?"

Verto's head snapped up towards him, "No, definitely not. Tell me though, how is it I have this supposed demon power, where does it come from? You mentioned your people and I know a little about the cursed Saiyans, including these two."

"Looks like I've perked your full attention now, isn't the truth nice? I'll keep this fairly simple, my people are all demons. We are involved in a cold war against a ruling council known as the Guardians. They are a mixed race of god-like beings that were spawned from the true gods and were granted immortality when the creators of the universe vanished. The demon lords are a separate and dark faction that oppose the Guardians' will to interfere only when they see fit. The lower beings, such as you, are constantly caught in the crossfire. Now here's the part that should interest you a bit. The original Verto's father was a half-breed of both sides. He then illegally mated with a Saiyan woman, birthing your predecessor and his twin sister Leira. After he was banished, the children were split between both sides. When they met again years later, they were both very much involved in the Super Saiyan civil war that Vegeta spoke of. Leira betrayed her demon brethren and rejoined her brother, I believe you can probably figure out the rest from there. That is why you have demon energy buried deep within, although some of it is starting to come to the surface. Leira had to take more measures to ensure it didn't become a problem, which is why she likely had you take a special potion to reactivate your human blood while you were away in that alternate realm. Am I correct?" Vang continued.

Laysh stared at Verto with concern as he nodded, "Yeah."

"Your powers won't change much from that, nor will your strength given your training. But she did take away most of the threat of ever achieving a demonic form that, given time, would have been quite disastrous to her plans. And to most of the known universe. It could still certainly happen, but it's much less likely now," Vang added.

Verto closed his eyes momentarily to help push back any anger that he had built up, no matter who it was towards, "Is there anything else I need to know?"

Vang grinned, "Did she tell you the truth about your alter ego? That darker part of your being that allied itself with the Overmind?"

Verto's eyes widened again, "How did you…"

Vang held up his hand, "Please, I already told you how I know. Whether it was by seeing another person's thoughts or by the Pendulum Room, I can research anything. What you probably don't know is that dark spirit was actually the mind of the Saiyan hybrid your body originally belonged to when it was created. When it was released by the Overmind, it discovered some of the power you were given and rebelled against you. And while you think you had gotten rid of it after you expelled it, you would be very, very wrong. It's out there, somewhere, festering like an open wound. It will return someday to claim your head in revenge, and nothing you do will be able to stop that!"

Verto scowled, "But if it's in spirit form, it can't do anything."

Vang frowned, "Be mindful boy, you're smarter than you let on. Would you use that judgment on a being such as me? Your dark side is no different than I am. Leira and those old fools lied to you to ease your mind, but rest assured, it was no random accident that made that creature. It may not have had quite the same power as you did at the time thanks to that Cerebrate creature, but believe me when I say this: You were and still are destined to join our side, whether you want to or not."

Verto sighed deeply as he stared at the ground, "Fine, whatever." The bubble around Vang subsided as his hair suddenly stood on end and turned gold as electric sparks flew up around his body, showing that he had transformed to Super Saiyan two.

"Now that your background is out of the way, I'm ready to start this fight, end your pain and bring you peace. Prepare yourself!" Vang ordered.

Verto sank into his stance as his silver aura reactivated, but the turmoil caused by Vang's speech had clearly rattled him. Verto was so distracted that he couldn't even block the first punch that smashed into his face.

**PL**

**Lenz: 250,000,000; Semi-Demon: 500,000,000**

**Laysh: 250,000,000**

**Verto (SM): 620,000,000; Kaio-ken: 930,000,000**

**Vangku: TBA**

**WDG:** Ahahahaha. Vangku... :'D

**VB**: Gokang didn't sound quite right.


	104. Shadow Games

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 103: Shadow Games**

Verto flew out of control into the pillar of one of the lookout's towers, causing everything above the impact to tumble down to the ground and become rubble. Vang stood up straight from his outstretched punch position, grinning slightly as the dust and stone appeared to settle over the buried young Saiyan. Both Lenz and Laysh stared wide-eyed at this predicament, as Verto didn't show any signs of coming out.

"That can't be all you've got kid, get up!" Laysh shouted.

Vang snorted slightly, "Did my little revelation actually hit you that close to home boy? If you don't have the heart for this fight, you might as well give up now!" Lenz's lip quivered a bit but she remained quiet as she winced a bit while wrapping her wounded hands. Buried under the rubble, Verto slowly stirred, as the punch had knocked a tooth or two loose.

_He got me with my guard down before the punch was ever thrown. I don't understand what the purpose of all this crap is, but I don't have time for it. I don't know how much of what he said was true or not, but I can't discount any of what he said either. It could all be lies, or it could all be truth, I'll have to figure that out later if I can get through this. _His eyes shifted to his side when he heard Lenz calling out to him.

"Little brother! It doesn't matter what you are or what you're supposed to be, you told me that! Put all that aside and you can beat him!" she suggested. The pile of rubble then blew apart quickly as Verto stood up and popped his neck slightly as he set his sights back on Vang, who was chuckling.

"I must have flustered you quite badly for you to need her advice," Vang claimed.

Lenz scowled as Verto merely shrugged, "Hard to tell, I had a neck cramp that needed attention first."

"Already have your wits back, eh? Good. I wouldn't want this to be too easy," Vang remarked as he dropped into his stance. Verto's eyes darted around the area, specifically towards the central palace as he tried to sense both Popo and the other imprisoned Goku.

"_Popo, what's your status?_" Verto called out telepathically.

"_Popo nearly there, had to leave Goku behind, too weak for this journey. Try not to destroy lookout_," Popo answered.

"_Yeah, no promises there._"

Verto's silver aura came back on in full to match the intensity of Vang's borrowed golden one.

Vang pulled back slightly and cupped his hands behind him as he charged a large amount of ki into them, "How about we start this off with a bang?"

Verto scowled as he tried to decide on how he was going to combat the first finishing move, "Bring it on!"

Vang smiled wickedly, "Ka…me…ha…me…" Verto had yet to expose any sort of counter to the large beam forming before him, as he wasn't sure what he was seeing was going to be the actual attack. The power involved was certainly genuine, but the delay was off. Just as he sensed the beam finish charging, Vang's borrowed body darkened from head to toe. Verto then sensed the energy displace to a spot much closer to him for a split second before he phased out quickly.

"HA!" Vang shouted as he reappeared and fired into Verto's afterimage. The beam busted through the rubble there and boar down on where Verto had reappeared. Verto's eyes widened as he phased out again, getting out of the beam's path as it tore into the distant sky. He reappeared well out of the way and was immediately punched hard in the face again by Vang, grounding him. Verto was barely down for a half second before he jumped towards Vang, who phased out just in time to avoid Verto's flying kick. Verto dropped to the ground and used his hands to help skid to a stop as he turned around, looking up just in time to see the boot coming from his left. Vang's kick made contact and sent Verto sailing towards another tower. Verto recovered midway and used the tower to reverse direction, coming back towards Vang at full flying speed. Vang crossed his arms and smirked as his body darkened again and vanished instantly just as Verto arrived. Verto dropped to the ground and dug his feet in to stop, pausing in realization when a large blue light erupted behind him. A bright blue explosion eclipsed anything else on the lookout for a brief moment before smoke replaced it.

Vang grinned evilly as he stood up from the Kamehameha pose, "You're making this too simple boy!" The smoke around the epicenter faded, showing a small but deep crater in the stone tile. At its center on top of a slight mound, Verto dropped his blocking arms.

_He's using his ability to teleport through shadows at every step, and I could barely sense it. Not only that, he's reading me completely. I won't be able to easily counter his teleportation since he's using his Shadow Chi for it while he uses Goku's Super Saiyan power to fight. I'll have to watch for that momentary darkening when he does it and then move unpredictably._ _It would be best if I can force this fight into the air and away from any shadows, but how will I do that?_ Verto's eyes shifted briefly to his right and left before he blasted off and hovered above the lookout.

"Lenz, Laysh, Popo! Get off the lookout, I'm gonna blow it up!" Verto announced as he began charging his Galic Gun. The women didn't need to be told twice and bolted up into the sky in two different directions.

Vang didn't budge, "Come on kid, I know you're bluffing. You wouldn't dare risk destroying the lookout, not with the other Goku held here."

Verto forced a bit more energy into his blast but held back considerably, "I'd bet that you won't be able to stop me unless you use that special ability to redirect our energy beams. But since you're using most of your power to control that body, you won't be able to do much about it. Besides, it won't take much to blow this place out of the sky, Goku would survive the attack," Verto claimed.

"That's an awfully strong guess boy, are you certain about that?" Vang asked.

"Unless you want me to fire and test the theory by wiping out your useful throne, come and stop me!" Verto boasted. Vang gritted his teeth and rose into the air towards him.

Verto adjusted his aim and fired the green blast, "Galic Gun!" Vang scowled and deflected the weak blast downwards, which sent it barreling into the side of the lookout. Verto grimaced as it exploded, sending shrapnel flying out in almost every direction. The smoke cleared quickly from the weak blast, leaving a wedge cut out that measured a few dozen feet on both ends.

Vang's eyes narrowed, "Lucky guess kid, it really doesn't take much to destroy this place. I suppose I should have remedied that beforehand."

Verto smirked as he lined up with Vang nearly a hundred feet above the lookout, "Thanks for proving my theory correct at least. If you can't redirect my energy attacks, you won't be able to guard against them as well as you could before."

Vang grinned back, "That may be true, but it's not like you'll be able to hit me as easily either."

Verto glided backwards to lure Vang out into the wide-open air space next to the lookout, "I don't have to hit you, I could just wait long enough for you to come to me. After all, you're the one that wants a new suit to wear!"

Vang frowned and flew out towards Verto, seemingly eager to engage. Verto held his ground and waited for Vang to close the distance before he launched towards him. Shockwaves lit up the skies briefly before they both caught each other with strong punches to the face. Verto fell backwards from an apparent stronger blow, and Vang jumped towards him. Verto used the momentum to flip backwards and catch Vang in the jaw with both feet. He recovered fast and swung both arms from overhead, aimed at Verto's head just before he phased out. Verto kicked Vang hard in the back before grabbing onto his arm and pulling hard as he began to turn. Vang was helpless as Verto spun quickly, building as much speed as he could before letting go. When he did, Vang flew into the horizon at a ridiculous and out of control speed, which was followed by a bright burst of green energy as Verto quickly fired his Final Shine blast to give chase. A large explosion brightened that area of the Earth enough to be seen from space, clearing out many clouds and volcanic ash remnants in the air below it. Verto scanned the area before turning around and flying quickly back to the lookout. Laysh and Lenz both landed there to greet him, with the latter cheering a bit.

"Great shot little brother!" she stated.

Verto grimaced, "Don't celebrate yet, he's not done, not even close. I'm going after him, I want you two to find Goku and help him out of here. Go to Korin's place below and ask for Senzu Beans to heal yourselves. Hopefully I can hold him off long enough for the others to get here."

Lenz paused in confusion, "The others, they all hate you here. And they all have that black Chemical Z stuff in them!"

Verto smirked a bit, "That problem will be remedied soon. I just need to keep Vang away long enough to finish the job. I'm sure that once they're cured, they'll all come to help."

"How do you know that? I mean, without that weird water bucket that woman gave me before, there isn't a cure. Or is there?" Lenz asked.

"There is another one of those here, but I needed to distract Vang so Popo could deliver it safely. Now hurry up, he isn't going to stay down that long," Verto ordered.

"I don't completely get what's going on, but at least you seem to have a plan this time kid," Laysh said as she headed towards the palace, "Come on girl, I'm not going to baby-sit you all day, show me where this Goku person is." Lenz motioned to follow but looked back at Verto with deep concern.

Verto nodded towards her, "Go on, I'll be alright." Lenz turned and followed Laysh into the darkened hall, leaving Verto alone on the platform for the moment. He flew back to the general area he had just fought off Vang from and waited. It wasn't but a few seconds after that when he sensed Vang, or rather Alt-Goku's, strong Super Saiyan ki coming back towards him quickly, lighting up the skies with gold.

Verto crossed his arms and waited, _That probably got his attention, so I expect he'll be resorting to some of his weird tactics again now. I seriously doubt he'll want to go toe to toe with me in the air again without ascending further or using one of his Shadow tricks._ _Whether he can use Super Saiyan Three or not is a good question though. I'm sure it's very possible, but he may not do it so he can maintain control of Goku. _Vang arrived and stopped a few dozen feet away, his maroon and gold uniform showing the wear and tear that Verto's attack had left on him. He wasn't breathing all that hard yet, but he did have several bruises and burn marks on him.

"That one hurt a little, you pest," Vang said in a surprisingly calm tone.

"It gets worse, I'm sure you remember the last time we met," Verto reminded.

"Yes, poor Kara. I really did enjoy using her body to explore all aspects of your pathetic human race. What you lack in power and intelligence, you make up for in entertainment, and pleasure," Vang said with an evil grin.

Verto shook his head in dismay, "You know, that's really sick. Only a parasite like you could think that way."

"Oh there are much worse types of demons out there than me. While I am one of the types that may require a host body from time to time, there are others who can't even conquer a target planet without first using its own denizens to nearly destroy it for them first. Imagine having to stay for possibly hundreds of years until the natural forces of said planet are dealt with, like the magnetic fields and the protective air layers of your atmosphere. It would be maddening for me personally," Vang admitted.

Verto's eyes narrowed, _He's stalling with discussion again, why? No matter what he says, I can't let him distract me with words. Maybe he's trying to think up a strategy, though I doubt he's even close to being out of options yet. At the very least, I can use this to my advantage too, every second gained means help gets here faster. _

"Why would they need to do something like that? Seems like a waste of time," Verto replied carefully.

Vang closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly, "It is, but those demons are much like Saiyans, in that they're weak and sent out to conquer the target world within an allotted timeframe. That may take a few hundred years however, mostly because every being has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, if the clean air is good for you earthlings, it may be toxic to a different type of alien. Parasite demon types like that rarely finish their missions swiftly, if at all."

"Kind of like you," Verto said.

Vang snorted as his eyes opened again, "Ha, don't compare me to those imps, I surpassed them ages ago. With or without my original body, I can still lay waste to a mud pit like this world easily. Even against strong warriors such as yourself and your Super Saiyan comrades, we shadow types are extremely difficult to kill, that's what makes us so effective."

"I've noticed, so what other types of demons are there? I'm pretty sure I know what kind Lenz has inside her, fire right?" Verto asked, trying to extend the conversation.

Vang grinned, "Aren't you the curious one, I suppose you have a right to know a little history. After all, you'll be meeting them soon for the first time."

"Yeah, we'll see about that. I'll be damned if I'm going to let you use my body to get your way," Verto claimed.

Vang chuckled, "Whether you do or not, the facts won't change. After I take your power and use it to wipe out everything here, I will go back to the demon's realm. Then you will see our brethren first hand, even if it isn't until your next life. So whether you embrace it yourself, get killed in action or fall to me, the result is the same."

"Are you saying you'd let me go after you got back to wherever you're going, sounds like a dumb idea to me. Giving me another chance to kill you," Verto retorted.

"On the contrary, it is a very good idea. You see, eventually there will be another war with the Guardians, and my people are actively recruiting. You would be a valuable soldier, even if your power is a little lacking on its own," Vang said with a slight snicker.

"A little lacking, yet you seem to want it pretty badly," Verto fired back.

Vang took it in stride, "Lacking on your own boy. Combined with another's like my own or say, one of your friends, it would prove quite devastating."

Verto let that thought train through his head for a moment, "Well, it's not like I can fuse with anyone right now, don't know what you're so afraid of."

"Fool, it's not about fear, or that fusion dance technique. You've experienced for yourself what your power can become when it is boosted by another source. Anytime you absorb additional energy or combine powers with someone else, you come dangerously closer to what your ancestor used to possess. That is what I am talking about, even if you can't do it on your own, it is still quite fearsome. And as far as your eventual status as a soldier, you wouldn't have much of a choice in the matter, as your memory would be wiped and you would be retrained into one of us. Ironically, even if you somehow defeat me here and now, you'll find that you're being groomed for a similar position. Leira has been assigned to you by the Guardians for that very purpose, unless of course she continues with her original plan. It's always hard to tell which side she's on since she pretends to work for both groups," Vang explained.

"Yeah right, even if all that is true, neither one of you are going to make me do shit! I don't care about your stupid war that probably won't happen for another million years," Verto declared.

"Ha, no matter how or when the curtain rises, you won't have a choice boy. Eventually every planet in every realm will become part of it, it's just a matter of time," Vang stated.

"You bring your war and see what happens then," Verto dared.

Vang grinned wickedly again, "Fool, you shouldn't underestimate either side of this conflict. Though you and the other Saiyans rely on your great energy levels to fight, even you should know that pure power does not decide every battle. To draw a comparison, even the lowest level of grunt-type soldier could potentially kill the strongest Saiyan despite an obvious strength difference, much like the Zerg creatures can if given the opportunity. It isn't always just about strength and power, surely you've been taught better than that."

Verto's glare became intense, "I get what you're saying, but don't think that's going to sway me in either direction. I don't give two craps about you or your war with these other people. The only thing I want is for you people to stop bringing so much chaos into our lives."

Vang's grin didn't falter, "If I recall, it was you that freed me and then couldn't come to terms enough to finish me off when you had the chance. Whether by accident or not, it's your own fault. But be careful what you wish for boy, it may cost you more than you think." He then started to drop out of the air and descended towards the distant ground below.

Verto's eyes narrowed as Vang quickly vanished into the clouds, _Where is he going?_ Verto followed quickly, breaking the lower ash cloud layer to find Vang waiting for him a few hundred feet above the ground. Vang then turned and flew to the south and east, to which Verto followed.

_He's leading me somewhere, but I can't sense anything ahead._ Verto slowed his chasing speed a bit to allow Vang a large lead. He stopped after a few minutes and hovered in place, allowing Verto to catch up quickly. When he arrived, he saw the end of the dead land below, giving way to the ocean of blackened water beyond it. Verto could already feel the Overmind's presence trying to tug at the back of his mind with telepathic whispers.

_Damn it, shouldn't have followed. He plans on using this as a distraction. Well, I guess I'll have to see just how effective the sacred water is with my own eyes. Gotta stay out of the black crap._ Vang smiled and held out his arms, which flashed with dark purple Chi. Verto sensed the entire ground area suddenly light up with the same energy. In the air around Vang, black clouds began to form diagonally from four directions. Once formed fully, numerous pink and purple bolts of lightning struck at them from the ground directly below, turning the clouds into rifts of unstable energy. Vang then pulled back into the Kamehameha pose again, and the energy from the four clouds ignited into dark lightning bolts that streamed into his palms and formed a large and dark purple blast. Verto eyed the up flow of energy that was being directed into Vang's blast, holding out his hand to form his green Chi sword in response.

"Shadow Kamehameha!" Vang announced as he fired. Verto held his sword with both hands and swung into the blast, causing it to be deflected towards the skies. It cleared out a large block of clouds on the way, allowing sunshine to peak through at an angle.

Verto scowled, _He's using the huge shadow cast by the clouds to his advantage. If it's like the last time we fought, he'll be able to use any of his techniques fairly easily._ _There wasn't enough power behind that one to do a lot to me, but if I give him too much time to channel it, that might change. _Vang was undeterred by the fact that Verto had deflected his blast, but he did straighten up as his dark clouds continued to spark with energy lightning. Verto kept his sword in a guard position as he watched for any sort of movement. Vang's body darkened and Verto reacted by quickly dodging to the side just as Vang phased in to strike. Vang instantly phased out again, just missing Verto again at the next spot. Verto phased out and quickly began moving randomly around the area, only reappearing long enough for Vang to spot him and act. As soon as Verto got closer to the black ocean though, he felt a strong telepathic pulse hit him from below.

"_Come to me!_" Verto winced at the Overmind's mental presence, causing him to stop long enough for Vang to catch up easily. Vang's first punch went to his jaw, stunning Verto. Vang jumped at the chance and rapidly attacked with fierce punches and kicks to nearly every part of Verto's body. He finished the quick barrage with a strong overhand smash that sent Verto barreling towards the water. Verto only managed to open one eye, spotting where he was falling to.

_Oh shit, have to stop my fall!_ Verto managed to turnover and attempt to concentrate enough to put on the brakes, but it wasn't enough. Just before he would hit though, a dim and solid glass-like purple surface appeared out of thin air and caught him just inches from the water. Verto glanced down in confusion before he glanced over at Vang, who was wagging his finger back and forth.

"Tsk tsk, we can't have you falling in there," Vang proclaimed. Verto felt his Shadow Chi extend towards him and the glass-like surface began to spread upwards around him. Verto didn't wait for it to completely surround him and flew straight up, breaking through the forming bubble easily. He got well out of range of the Overmind's influence and kept on going until he was into the cloud layer.

Vang frowned and waited intently once he sensed Verto stop, _Now what is that boy up to? He can't stay in there all day._

His answer came when he first sensed and then saw a massive burst of green and silver energy erupt. A hole in the clouds formed as Verto violently thrust his energy outwards with a mighty shout, causing the earth to tremble in protest. Even the blackened water below rippled outwards and caused waves to splash far inland despite how high Verto was in the air. Sunlight expanded from the break in the clouds, which with the added push of Verto's energy, cleared out in a wide expanse for miles. When he finished, the only clouds in the sky were on the distant horizon. Vang grimaced slightly as his unstable clouds of Shadow Chi diminished rapidly before vanishing in a puff of smoke while the sun's rays shined on every bit of the area. Verto sighed heavily as the warmth from the nearest star eased the bitter environment's grip, and he flew back towards Vang's position, stopping at a fair distance once again.

Vang shook his head in slight anger, "Smart move kid, I'll give you that. Without the aid of the cloud layer, I won't be able to generate much of my regular power to use on you. You certainly are quick on the uptake." Verto didn't answer as he sunk back into his stance and waited for the first move. Vang matched the stance as his aura became an intense golden flow again. Small bursts of energy clashed between them, detonating into occasionally lightning bursts that struck and cracked the ground. Where the ground cracked along the beach head, more black water seeped into view. Verto bared his teeth slightly at this, much to Vang's amusement.

"You really don't like that creature eh?" he asked.

Verto gave him a heated glare, "What was the hint?"

Vang grinned smugly, "I suppose I can't blame you, it's only natural. Both Saiyans and Humans are the independent type, though one clearly more than the other in that regard."

Verto snorted heavily, "And I suppose demons don't mind having their whole existence enslaved? You certainly don't mind doing that to others."

"The strong are destined to rule the weak, you should have learned that long ago. It may not be to anyone's personal liking, but once the cards are dealt, there is little one can do about it," Vang decreed.

"Yeah, well you'll pardon me if I don't follow that bullshit belief. True or not, that doesn't mean that we can't resist it," Verto countered.

"You can try," Vang said as he launched forward. He brought his hands up towards his face, turning his palms outwards while lining them up, causing Verto to pause in caution.

_What is that pose? It looks like the Solar Flare technique, but his hands aren't in the right position. It must be something else._

Vang's hands took on a brief purple hue before he released the small amount of energy, "Shadow Flare!"

Verto guarded his face from the attack attempt, but instead of bright light, only dark energy erupted into his sight. The darkness hit Verto quickly and completely enveloped his field of vision, effectively blinding him. He was able to keep his eyes open and pain free, but all he saw was black. Vang smirked as he floated towards Verto from the left, watching as the younger Saiyan attempted to wave off the attack. Around his head, a sphere of dark purple had formed. Anyone else could still see Verto's face easily, just in a dim light. For Verto though, he could only see black, as if he were looking into a two sided mirror with the lights off. Verto also had no trouble breathing, which came short and quick due to a slight panic that washed over him as he tried to see.

"Effective technique isn't it? Unlike your friend's little light trick, this blinds only you," Vang said as he charged in. Verto, unable to see the attack coming, was blindsided by Vang's kick to his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Verto fell backwards a bit, but was quickly caught and bent hard over Vang's knee as he pulled Verto down by the head and legs. Verto gasped in surprised pain as his spit flew out of his mouth.

Vang pulled Verto up and locked in a rear-naked choke hold maneuver, "Time to go to sleep you brat!" Verto struggled to get out of the hold, still blinded by the Shadow Flare technique. His airway was completely cut and he found he couldn't even breathe. He quickly started throwing hard backward elbow strikes from both arms, hitting Vang's body on each attempt, loosening the hold. Once Verto was loose enough to get at least one breath in, he put all his energy into the next strike, surprising Vang with the powerful blow and knocking him backwards.

Still blinded, Verto turned and honed in on Vang's energy as he charged up his fist and flew in for the attack, "Super Galic Fist!" Upon contact, he felt his fist slide off Vang's body just before the energy detonated. Vang went flying to the ground hundreds of feet away, kicking up a pile of dirt around his head and neck. Verto blinked his eyes sharply as the bright sun shined in, showing that the effects of the Shadow Flare had worn off and giving him slightly blinding light again instead. Once his vision adjusted, he turned towards Vang, who was recovering on the ground. The side of his uniform had a noticeable piece missing, where the skin below had become reddened and heavily bruised.

Verto frowned in dismay, _Just clipped him. If I hadn't been blinded I could have aimed it correctly._

Vang slowly picked himself up and gave Verto a noticeably hard glare as he lifted off the ground again, "You sure are a troublesome little boy."

Verto matched the glare, "Gee, I haven't heard that one before." Vang's golden aura flowed back into view as he flew closer and stopped. Verto held out his hand and reformed his Chi sword before holding it defensively for the next attack. Vang held his ground and continued the stare-down, apparently not in a hurry to continue nor finish the fight. Behind Vang, the air suddenly began to swirl and turn in an unnatural way. A bright light then appeared and drew a circle before its area darkened and revealed a bald, shadowy figure within.

"Hurry it up Vang, your time is limited," a voice said. Verto's ears perked slightly as he thought he recognized the voice but couldn't be certain.

Vang angrily glanced over his shoulder, "Mind your business Lord Razil, this is not the type of battle that I can win quickly in this form."

Verto's eyebrow raised slightly at the statement, _Lord Razil? That's what Ranot called the person he was talking to when me and Laysh spied on him on Yusuke's world. This creep must be the same guy, too bad I can't quite see his face to identify it._

"You fool, you're so intent on getting the boy's body that you have no clue as to what is going on around you. You got careless, and now you're about to be overwhelmed!" Razil said in a scolding tone.

Vang didn't take his eye off Razil's form inside the circle, "What are you talking about?"

"The other warriors on that planet are going to be heading your way soon, most likely joining forces with that kid. You won't be able to hold them all off by yourself," Razil claimed.

Vang scoffed, "Is that what you're concerned about? If they were going to do that, they would have been here awhile ago. They're still under the influence of the Overmind, and thus, they'll be compliant with my wishes. If any of them come here, they'll just be compelled to kill the boy."

Razil growled notably, "Not for long. That fat assistant you spared is negating that advantage as we speak by using the holy cleansing water. Just look towards that ocean if you don't believe me." Both Verto and Vang glanced towards the watery horizon, which along with the sky reflection, was beginning to fill in with blue. Below, the blackened water had formed a large pool in one of the wider craters that had been created by the battle, to which Verto noticed more of it filling in from a small stream nearby before running itself out. Normal water flowed from that stream to the ocean, indicating that the fluid was isolated from it.

Verto grinned slightly, _Great job Popo! _

Vang snarled at this and his energy flared, "Damn that tub of lard! I'll wring his little neck for this!"

Razil chuckled slightly from the portal he resided in, "How easily your confidence is shaken. I suggest you finish this battle quickly Vang, as I don't plan to assist in your escape if you do fail. It would only expose me to try and help a demon that botches his mission once again!" The portal and Razil's shadowy head vanished, after which Vang's rage became much clearer. His aura brightened as his power rapidly increased, making Verto block against the wind force it created. The ground cracked even more below as fissures opened and closed randomly while Vang's power increased by a large amount.

Verto's expression became a bit grim, _There it is, Super Saiyan three. This is gonna be rough._

* * *

The hair on Vang's borrowed body extended back towards his waist while the eyebrows disappeared, matching the exact features of the third level of Super Saiyan. Verto felt Vang's new power level soar above his own easily, making it feel nearly as dense and heavy as Frost's had been in his fifth form at full power.

_Fuck me, this world's Goku is that much stronger? Might as well just go fight Gohan again. Hell I shouldn't be surprised, it has been a longer period of time, and it's all been a war. With Vang's power added in I guess this should be expected._ _I won't be able to use Kaio-ken effectively due to already using it earlier. _Vang's energy erupted in a wide circular burst that shot outwards quickly, forcing Verto away once it reached him. Vang growled and blasted off towards Verto quickly. Verto barely had time to get his guard up before Vang punched through it, smashing Verto's face in. Vang wasted no time and grabbed Verto by the head, ramming his knee into it. Blood and chipped teeth flew from the strong attack as Verto's head snapped backwards. Vang grabbed Verto by the arm and threw him into the ground below, very near the edge of the pooled black fluid. It was close enough that Verto's hand had landed inches above the black surface, which began to reach up towards him. Upon feeling the evil touch, Verto recoiled painfully and scrambled away. He glared up towards Vang who had his arms crossed as he hovered in place. He looked a lot more eager now to finish the fight, and Verto felt that he had to do whatever he could to win.

Verto's aura came on strong as he pulled his arms back and began charging his energy, "Come and get me!" Vang mimicked the pose and formed a bright blue Kamehameha wave to answer Verto's challenge. Verto hovered slightly off the ground as is cracked and broke apart again under the energy they were both putting out.

He set his arm directly on Vang and pushed his blast forward, "Super Galic Gun!" The immense green blast shot into the sky, being met by an even larger blue counterpart highway to its target. Verto channeled the majority of his power into the beam, knowing that this would either be the deciding contest, or a huge waste of energy. Vang's beam pushed down on Verto's as he increased its power, forcing the spot of collision back down towards Verto, who was pushed into the ground. Verto strained as he did all he could to keep it an even stalemate, but it was all for naught. Vang's beam closed in quickly and Verto knew what he had to do next. _Damn, he's forcing me to use all remaining my power quickly, and I don't have a choice._

"Kai…O…Ken!" Verto's power exploded with renewed intensity and shoved Vang's Kamehameha back at him like it was nothing. Vang's eyes widened for a moment before the green light washed over his position completely. Instead of an explosion, the massive Galic Gun shot into space without incident. Verto breathed heavily as he held his knees and felt his power dropping quickly. As he looked down, the ground directly below him fluctuated a bit just before a golden fist appeared and connected with his jaw. Vang burst out Verto's own shadow with a mighty uppercut, knocking Verto straight up into the air. That attack was followed by another clubbing blow delivered with both hands. Verto fell fast into the ground like a rocket had been shot from Vang's hands, creating another crater about half the size of the one containing the black lake. Verto's body lay prone as his hair had faded back to black and his energy had subsided. Vang smirked slightly as he began to fly slowly towards Verto, who showed no real signs of recovery just yet. On the edge of the new crater, the black fluid began seeping in and moved with a fair pace towards Verto. Vang stopped for a moment to observe as the small stream moved with a mind of its own towards its prey.

"Come on kid, you can't tell me you'd rather be swallowed by that thing again! Fight me like you mean it, use your demon energy!" Vang shouted down. Verto's eyes opened slightly, though he hadn't quite heard what Vang had said. He did however notice the black water coming towards him, which became a distinct flow that only increased its inflow into the crater. It quickly surrounded Verto, leaving him lying on a slowly fading island.

"_Finally…you are mine!_" Verto's eyes snapped open as he scrambled to his feet. The black water rose off the ground and formed a bubble around and above Verto before dropping on top of him. Verto felt a renewed sense of horror and fear as the fluid touched him.

_No, not again! Never again! _

Vang stared with deep concern as he raced towards Verto's position. Just as he got close enough to act, the bubble exploded and forced the black fluid away. Red energy surged from Verto as his teeth cinched and his hair stood on end and his eyes shifted colors again. The black blood of the Overmind retreated almost out of fear, leaving only Vang near enough for Verto to target. He snarled and shot towards Vang, only to be hammered back down to the ground.

Vang grinned evilly, "Now that's more like it boy. Let the rage consume you!" Below, a large red blast formed in Verto's right hand just before he fired it. Vang phased out well before it hit and reappeared at Verto side, kicking him hard. Verto rebounded off the ground and landed on his feet, slouching down just slightly as he bared his teeth again while his red aura only increased in potency.

Vang's smirk maintained, _Good, just a little more before he completely loses himself in anger._ Verto's sword appeared in his right hand as he shot towards Vang, who waited patiently. Verto swung wildly towards Vang's head, missing when Vang ducked out of the way. Verto slashed towards him several more times, all of which Vang dodged by a hair's length. Verto growled and attempted to stab Vang directly through the chest. Vang side-stepped just in time and smashed Verto's arm with his knee and elbow at the same time. The pain from the blow made Verto wince and lose any concentration on his sword, giving Vang another opening. He grabbed Verto by the back of the head and shoved repeated knees into his body, causing more blood to spill out of Verto's mouth from each hit. On the last one Vang threw Verto high into the air and followed quickly. He didn't quite get there before Verto spun and came at him with a howl of rage.

"Not quite finished yet eh? Very well," Vang remarked just as they were about to hit each other. Verto completely missed his punch attempt when Vang phased out and moved high into the air as he gathered another massive Kamehameha Wave. Verto spun around and gathered a large amount of energy into the tips of his two fingers as he pointed them straight at Vang, who had just finished his own beam. Verto fired the smaller attack without a word and Vang fired his larger beam without realizing yet what he had just done. He quickly sensed the concentrated energy of Verto's counter-attack and flew quickly away, but it wasn't fast enough. A large purple explosion crackled through the air as a loud bang accompanied it in the form of a Shock Cannon detonation. The energy created displaced quickly, but it was still enough to send Vang spiraling into the distance and crashing into a large hill.

He slowly recovered from the attack and shoved the rubble off him as he rose back into the air, _Damn it, I should have seen that attack coming. That was the one problem with this approach while he's using his immature demon energy. Couldn't be helped I suppose, that should have taken a lot more out of the brat than it did me. Time to collect my prize._ Vang flew quickly back to near where the explosion had occurred, finding Verto huffing and puffing on the ground as he tried to stay up. Vang swiftly landed and drove his fist into Verto's ruined face again. Upon hitting the ground, Vang's hand glowed with purple as he pulled Verto up by the neck and floated upwards into the air. Verto clawed at his arm as he struggled to get loose, but was unable to do much more than make a few light scratches.

"All too easy boy. You fought well, but this is where it ends," Vang declared as his whole body shimmered with a mixture of purple and golden. The energy began to flow into Verto's body and he gasped painfully. He began to convulse violently as if he were having a seizure, and Vang's smile only widened. The shaking continued for several seconds before it slowly faded as Verto slumped and quickly fell unconscious.

"This shouldn't take long kid. Well, it may be a long time for you," Vang remarked as his dark, purple aura bent and twisted until it was literally starting to flow down Verto's throat. Vang's laughter filled the lands as he began the apparent transfer. A slight ping went off in his mind as he sensed something drawing near from the distance. He turned with an annoyed expression as several bright auras came into view. The first one to stop belonged to Alt-Gohan, who was quickly joined by battered Vegeta and Bardock. Not long after them, two matching figures with lavender hair stopped next to them, belonging to both the younger and older versions of Trunks. Tienshinhan approached rapidly from behind to complete the group. From the other direction, Vang sensed three other energy signals coming closer, though one of them was decidedly weakened. Laysh brushed her blue hair out of her face as she flew in just ahead of ahead of Lenz, who was bracing Goku's shoulder with her own while she followed.

Vang frowned slightly, "So, you've all come to see his demise."

_I am the shadow, and the smoke in your eyes  
I am the ghost, that hides in the night…  
_

**PL**

**Super Mystic Verto: 620,000,000; Weakened Kaio-ken burst: 840,000,000**

**Verto (Berserker): 550,000,000 (drops quickly as he takes more damage)**

**Vangku (SS2): 560,000,000; Shadow Kamehameha: 420,000,000 SS3: 730,000,000**

**A/n: I only posted the number for the Shadow-Kamehameha for reference to what Vang's extra power source was producing at the time, obviously it made little impact on the actual battle.**

**WDG:** I am the darkness that flaps through the night.

**VB**: Boom!


	105. Balance Point

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 104: Balance Point**

"_Verto, wake up!_"

Verto realized that he was lying on his back instead of being choked and slowly opened his eyes. He saw Goku standing over him, dressed in his usual red-orange gi with blue underneath.

"Goku? Wait, you're Vang!" he said as he jumped to his feet and readied himself to fight again.

"No, you've got it all wrong," Goku said. When he glanced around, he saw that they were in a much different place than before. The skies were blue, the grass was green, and they were both next to a shrine of some sort. It took a moment for Verto to realize that they were at the very shrine that Goku called home for many years before he trained with Master Roshi as a child.

"What's going on?" Verto asked suspiciously.

Goku rubbed the back of his head slightly, "I'm not sure really. One minute I was watching you and Vang fight, and the next we were both here. I can't figure out how that happened."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "Wait, you're the other Goku right? The one from this world, not mine?"

Goku lit up with surprise before grinning sheepishly, "Oh yeah, that's right. I guess I forgot to mention that too."

"Then we must be having a meeting of the minds or something. This happened last time I fought Vang, only it was a human girl that was being held hostage in her own body," Verto explained.

"I guess that makes sense…" Goku muttered as he trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Verto asked.

"I regret that things came to this. You wouldn't be here if I had the strength to keep that creature at bay. But it was also because of you that it happened," Goku said with a distinct change of tone. It wasn't quite anger, but it was more of a heavy disappointment.

Verto sighed, "Yeah, had I killed his previous host fast instead of slow, he wouldn't have been able to come here. Sorry, I was just too hesitant about using my negative energy."

Goku's stern expression deepened, "That's not what I meant. What you're doing now is just like the other Verto did before he fell."

Verto was taken aback, "What do you mean by that? I'm not that guy and I think I've proven it."

Goku shook his head, "No, but you're going down the exact same path, I can see it clear as day."

"Now wait a minute, Gohan and the others explained to me what happened. That the darkness within him took control, he hurt and killed many others including our friends, and that wasn't even including the Zerg part. I conquered that same darkness and expelled it. Even if it does come back to fight me again in another form like Vang thinks, it is still gone for now," Verto argued.

"No, I wasn't talking about that dark spirit. I mean the way you've allowed yourself to rely on your inner power at all times. That power is evil, you should never have to resort to it so quickly! Being in that state is only hurting you inside and you know it. Someday you're going to lose control of it and that will be it. You will become the very evil you've sworn to defend against!" Goku said in almost a shout.

Verto grimaced, "I don't want to have to resort to it, but it hasn't always been up to me Goku. It's so easy for it to happen right now that all it takes is someone to say the wrong thing and I'm already on the edge. There was another group of Saiyans that we met that have Psionic powers like I do. One of them can use a mental ability to flood someone else with negative feelings. He did it to me and I haven't been able to get past it yet. Fortunately I can control it to an extent."

Goku's frown grew larger, "That's just an excuse Verto, you're strong enough that you can push past anything thrown at you. If that guy's power really had that much control over you, then you couldn't have defeated anyone else you fought with afterwards. It's always been easier to use your power in a dark and evil way because destroying things is easier than protecting."

Verto became incensed and his eyes turned red, "All I've done with this power is protect others!"

Goku didn't back down, "I don't mean just your power when you lose your control and start using your demon energy. I mean even in your normal or Super Mystic state as well. You've been much more aggressive and more eager to hurt than normal. I saw your memories of your battles with that strange doctor, Lenz, and then when you traveled to that other Earth to help them against the Renegade Saiyans. You might blame it on that guy's abilities, but what is really driving it is yourself. Look at what you nearly did to Frieza."

Verto's eyes glowed, "Oh don't even go there. No matter what was going on in my head at the time, that bastard has gotten off easy!"

Goku folded his arms with disappointment, "Frieza has paid for his sins with his life and he is in Hell for it. Killing him to the point of not even being able to repent is wrong. Even if he never changes his ways, at least you know that he can't hurt anyone else where he is now. Erasing someone's existence completely should not be up to you. Who are you to judge somebody like that? There is always an alternative! Would you use that same judgment on anyone you fight in the future? Weren't you once told that every soul has the potential to be completely different if they were to come back in a reincarnated form?"

Verto's eyes faded slightly as he looked down, "Well it's not like these guys are born again good guys after I beat them. And besides, it's not like Vegeta or Piccolo were any different when you fought them for the first time."

"You're right. Not everyone can or will change their ways. Frieza, Cell and Majin Buu are like that because they choose to be like that and they've paid for their crimes. Vang and Frost aren't too different in that regard. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that you should lower yourself to their level just to defeat them," Goku scolded.

Verto sighed heavily again as his eyes shifted to slightly neutral black for the moment, "What if it's true though Goku? What if this demon energy I have turns out to be the real thing? What if I'm just going to turn into another villain that wants to destroy everything?"

Goku turned away for the moment, "You want to know? Here I'll show you."

* * *

The scenery flashed bright for a moment before settling into something else. It showed the group of Z warriors donned in Saiyan armor confronting a large swarm of Zerg that were coming out of a huge brown-orange cloud that resembled thick dust. Each of them were taking out the various forms of Zerg whether it be by close combat or by blasting them at range. Verto took note of the presence of Goten and Trunks near the front, both of which looked about the same age as when the Zerg had first invaded. Out of the Zerg swarm, a bright silver aura rushed out and shot towards the boys. Trunks saw it first and shouted a warning to Goten, but it was too late. Goten was punched down easily by a similar sized figure with silver hair. Verto realized that it was really himself he was seeing, with the exception of Zerg appendages attached to his body and a slightly green skin tone. Alt-Verto bashed Trunks away when he tried to attack before reaching down and grabbing Goten by the throat. He lifted him up with only his left hand as he grinned evilly and charged a powerful blast in his free hand. Trunks had barely looked up from his spot on the ground to see this as Goku's voice echoed in the background.

"No, Verto! Stop this!" Alt-Verto only looked back for a moment before he aimed and fired a shot that tore through Goten's chest. Alt-Verto dropped Goten's corpse and blasted off into the swarm of Zerg, vanishing for the moment. A few of Bardock's crew members took off after him enraged and disappeared into the dust behind the Zerg for a moment. Bright flashes went off before they were sent flying back out with energy sword wounds where their hearts were supposed to be. Goku picked up his lifeless son and shook in place as the realization hit. Bardock felt the same for his comrades while the others could only look on in horror. The scene faded to black for a moment as Goku eyed Verto's reaction carefully. Verto was staring at the ground with his eyes closed while a heavy feeling of guilt and sorrow washed over him.

"Do you understand now?" Goku asked.

"You don't need to show me what happened. I get it, the other Verto did some very bad things. My…I mean our dark side was not a good person," Verto replied uneasily.

Goku grimaced, "This was before he expelled the evil spirit that you both had. It was much worse afterwards when he had split from the Zerg."

Verto's eyes shot wide open, "What?"

"Gohan and the others didn't tell you everything there was to tell. When he came back to us from the Zerg initially, he was fighting against his dark side like you did. We helped him to expel it, but even after he did, he didn't recover. There was still a Zerg presence within him and we couldn't figure out a way to eliminate it. Piccolo thought it was because he didn't know how to fully control his Psi energy, and when he started to train at the lookout with Piccolo, that's when the demon energy came into the picture. He killed Piccolo and Dende when he lost control by accident," Goku explained.

Verto hesitated to answer to this, "Are you sure it was an accident?"

Goku also hesitated to answer, "It is difficult to tell, but that's how it was described by Mister Popo. Vegeta and I agreed that it would be best not to push you, I mean him, but the damage was already done. This is what happened the very next night."

The area behind Goku switched to what appeared to be a darkened Capsule Corp at nighttime. Goku was rummaging through the fridge when he heard a loud, piercing scream. "Chichi?" he asked as he ran down the hall. He entered the bedroom to find Chichi collapsed on the floor with a small but deep foot imprint on her neck.

"Chichi no!" Goku cried out as he picked her up, but she was already gone.

As he was putting her on the bed he heard another shout that was from his son, "Videl!" Goku rushed to where Gohan was, finding him collapsed and crying over an unmoving Videl, covered in blood.

"Gohan what happened?" Goku asked with a terrified tone. Gohan shook his head as if he didn't know and continued to weep.

Trunks came up behind Goku, "What's going on?" Goku turned to him and was about to say something before he heard one more scream coming from the downstairs area. Both he and Trunks quickly made their way there to find Bulma being attacked by a small spiky-headed figure that despite being in Super Mystic form had glowing red eyes.

"You think you can control me? Putting a little tag in my neck when I'm out of it? Now you're going to pay!" Alt-Verto said as he suddenly stabbed into Bulma's baby bump with his green sword.

"NOOO!" Goku shouted.

"Mom!" Trunks cried out next to him as Alt-Verto turned and grinned evilly. Bulma coughed up blood as she slumped with her stomach ripped open, also leaking out red and staining the floor. Alt-Verto didn't say another word before he rushed out of the building, shortly before several of the Z warriors chased after him.

* * *

The memory faded and Goku faced Verto again, whose expression had changed.

He was no longer even trying to hide his guilty feelings, as he had sunk to his knees and begun to cry slightly, "I-I did all that?"

Goku's sternness softened slightly, "Yes. And I fear that it can happen again if you continue down this path of violence. We can't change the past, but you can change your future, today!"

Verto looked up as tears poured out of his eyes, "How?"

"The first step is to stop burying your feelings and becoming cold to others. I know that it's part of the way you are, but I know you can be caring and loving at the same time, instead of being cold and ruthless. If someone like Vegeta can change, even a little bit, then it can be done. When you don't use your feelings, you may be able to focus in battle better, but at the same time you stop being a person and just become a fighting machine. It's alright to hide your feelings during a fight, but not all the time. When you do that, it's easier to say that you're just fighting for the sake of fighting," Goku explained.

Verto looked at him confused, "Wait, aren't we both Saiyans, well at least partially? And all Saiyans love a good fight?"

Goku blinked sharply, "Oh that's right. Darn, what are the right words for this? I wish Chichi were here so she could tell me, but then she'd just yell at me for growing up in the mountains again and being unedjumacated or something..." Verto's sobbing ended when he let out a hearty laugh instead, drawing Goku's own confusion.

Verto laughed so hard he fell over, "That is so like you Goku."

Goku allowed himself to chuckle for a moment as he rubbed the back of his head again, "I guess it is." Both of them laughed it off before things became serious again, though the tension had eased considerably.

"So, just out of curiosity, what did he mean by control when he attacked Bulma?" Verto asked.

Goku paused, "I'm not exactly sure, but it might have to do with her idea to implant tracking chips under everyone's skin. We all agreed that it was a good idea at the time, I guess he didn't."

Verto grimaced, "I'm not really into that brand of thinking, but against the Zerg I can understand the idea. Were these microchips designed to do something other than track people though?"

Goku rubbed his head in confusion, "I don't think so, but I'm not really good with that stuff. You'd have to ask Bulma about that."

Verto shifted his legs to sit cross-legged as he stared at the ground, "If I get out of this mess first. I know what I have to do to beat him, but I can't to do it. On top of that he's very strong."

"Well, what I've been trying to say is that you've trained yourself to be so cold in battle that you forget why you're fighting in the first place. And I think it's that uncaring ruthlessness that really brings out your demon energy. It's to the point now that when you become furious the effect is increased several times over. You become a different person," Goku continued.

Verto nodded, "That's how Dabura taught me to use the soul burning technique, since it's the polar opposite of the Spirit Bomb. When I used it for the first time, I thought I had no choice since Babidi was using that undead freak from Hell just to get to me. I never even considered telling the Kais or anyone else to help deal with it, I just acted instead. I almost killed Kibito Kai that day when he tried to stop me, and he was only trying to help. It didn't happen again until later when I was really pushed to do it during the first battle with Vang, but once that happened I noticed that I was always really easy to anger. When Doctor Wheelo and his goons were trying to kill us, my mind was trying to tell me that I was on the wrong path and I embraced my dark power in order to maintain some sort of sanity. But then I just took it too far when Android Thirteen wouldn't stop killing others. After that it was so hard to keep control of it, and when Chal flooded me with negative energy I just let it fly. I killed so many of Frost's soldiers and I enjoyed it, at the time. I felt so free."

"And you regret it now?" Goku asked.

Verto looked grim as he turned away, "Completely. I even used that power against Kaon, the demon that's inside of Lenz. I wanted to help her but was so far gone that I couldn't use my feedback technique anymore. At that point it became who lived and who died. When I went up against all those evil and weak demons, all they had to do was say the wrong thing and I killed them without even thinking. It might have been Chal shouting in my mental ear so to speak, but I was the one that let it happen. And here, I even used it against Vegeta, and you."

Goku squatted down and put a hand on Verto's shoulder, "I know, and I know it's been hard. But somehow you kept from killing them. Whether they're our friends from my world or the other timeline, you still held back enough, and because of that there's still hope for you."

"How so?"

"Because if you had actually been able to follow through with it and fight unrestrained by any guilt, then you truly would have become the demon instead. It's never good to hurt the people you care about, even if they're trying to kill you themselves. You showed real restraint today by only injuring Vegeta and Lenz enough to where they snapped out of it. And you saved my son from himself. Zerg or no Zerg, Gohan wanted to kill you again because of what happened before, and you saved him. No evil demon would be able to do that, it wouldn't even occur to them," Goku said. He then grabbed Verto by the underarms and hoisted him up to his feet before turning him around to talk directly to his face.

"I forgive you for everything that has happened, but you still have to change. You have to fight with your feelings, otherwise there's no point. It's alright to feel angry and to use it against the evil that threatens you and your friends. It's never bad to fight for what is right and just. But it isn't right for you to turn that anger on those that love you or try to help you, nor is it alright to lose yourself in that anger and go so far that you don't even give your enemy enough compassion to repent for what they've done. If you do, then you become a cold and ruthless killing machine incapable of love of affection. Is that how you want to live? If that's the case, then you might as well join these demons or Guardian people to fight in their war. I know that it's not fun to feel guilty about some of the bad things we've all done, but at least then you're still a person and not a monster. You have to forgive yourself and not dwell on the past, otherwise it will only make you more miserable. I'm sure Vegeta would agree, in his own way," Goku finished.

Verto smiled slightly, "Yeah, you're right about that. I'm just not sure how I'm going to keep myself balanced after all that's happened. That's the only way my feedback technique will work is if I can keep the negative energy filtered out."

Goku looked thoughtful, "When Vegeta and I were fused together into Vegito, do you know what our plan was going to be before Majin Buu started ripping dimension holes open? We were going to see if we could get the others out, even if that meant being absorbed by Buu to do it."

Verto paled slightly, "Why in the hell would you do that?" As soon as he said it he felt a bit silly, _Wait, as I recall that's what was supposed to happen._

"Well, because we believed we could do it. Obviously it didn't matter in the end, but the point is, when you put your mind to it, anything is possible, right?" Goku asked.

Verto's thought process utterly stopped for a moment, "I guess that's true."

Goku stood up with a wide grin, "Of course it is, but do you know why people say that?"

Verto also got back to his feet, "Because no matter how tough things get, if you don't believe it what you're trying to do, you'll never succeed."

Goku's hand returned to Verto's shoulder for reassurance, "Something like that. It's also because it's never easy to take the high road and stick to your morals or beliefs, that's why it's the harder road. You do have a great power within you, but it won't be that way if you're fighting to destroy as you'll only hurt yourself in the long you're strong, but that doesn't make you the one to pass judgments on others. And when you're up against someone like Vang, just remember the people you're fighting for and why you're fighting for them. You're trying to protect them, not hurt them. Let that thought alone be your weapon."

Verto nodded, "Thanks Goku."

Goku held out his hand to Verto as it began to glow bright gold, "I'm glad that you understand. Now go show that monster what kind of warrior you really are!"

* * *

Vang scowled as the Z fighters gathered near him, with the addition of Laysh, Lenz, Trunks and the other Goku.

"Now what do all of you want? I'm a bit busy right now," Vang remarked as he continued to channel his dark energy into Verto's limp body.

"We want you to let him and my father go!" Alt-Gohan began.

Vang smirked, "Your father won't matter in a few more minutes, so I'll gladly give him back after I'm done. As for the boy, why do you care? You yourself wanted him dead after he destroyed your family. In fact, I believe it was you that finished him off."

Gohan's glare hardened, "Revenge is in the past, and that was the Overmind edging me on. I care now because he's my friend!"

Vang stopped channeling his energy for a moment, "Some friend, but only a fool like you could call him that after everything that's happened. I doubt you're the same way, are you Vegeta? This brat nearly killed your son and your wife. And he did kill your defenseless daughter while she was still in the womb."

Alt-Vegeta remained eerily calm, "I've been manipulated enough today demon, I will not fall for your tricks. Release the boy and fight us like a Saiyan would. Surely Kakarot would at least want to defeat us properly first."

From the side, Goku turned his head slightly as he held onto Lenz for support, "I don't want to fight you or the others Vegeta."

Vegeta's calm demeanor vanished as some veins on his forehead popped out, "I was talking about the other Kakarot, idiot!"

Goku stared at Vang, or rather his own reflection, "Well if he's really like me underneath I don't think he would want to either."

Vegeta shook his fist slightly at this, "Argh! Just one of you is bad enough! And why are you so damned weak? You were next to that fur ball's tower the entire time! Surely you could have stopped by and grabbed one of those beans! Or are you just this naturally weak in the other timeline?"

Goku winced and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, "Well the Senzu bean did heal all my injuries, but Vang's energy poison thing can't be cured that easily. Korin said he wasn't even sure if the cleansing power of the sacred water would help. I can't even fly like this."

Vegeta was tempted to blast Goku at this point, "So you come to the battlefield as a crutch instead of an asset, only you would do something as idiotic as that Kakarot!"

Goku frowned, "Well what about you Vegeta? You barely have any energy left, you'll just be in the way too!"

Vegeta's growl filled the air, "Fool, I recover faster than anyone now! Surely the other version of myself has the same ability."

Vang chuckled, "I'll save you two the trouble of speculation, your holy water won't do anything about my spectral poison no matter how much you drink. It isn't like an infection such as one caused by the Overmind's essence that you're all so familiar with. Now, if you're done with your pointless bickering, I would like to get back to it. If you've come to get in my way, then I'm afraid that we have a problem."

Vegeta's trademark smirk appeared as he turned to Vang, "That's where you're wrong demon. Even with our Kakarot's power, do you honestly think you can take all of us at once?"

Vang was undeterred, "Without the help of the Overmind, none of you are as strong as you claim to be. After watching you get blown down by this kid, I'm surprised you had the nerve to show up here. It doesn't matter though, because whether you like it or not, you're not going to interfere!" Vang's purple Chi spread out a bit before forming a solid but dark bubble-like shield around both him and the unconscious Verto. Vegeta responded by suddenly turning Super Saiyan and blasting the shield with as much energy as he could muster. When the smoke cleared there wasn't even a blemish. Bardock and Alt-Trunks followed suit and threw ki blast after ki blast at the dense Shadow Bubble in an attempt to break it through attrition.

Trunks and Tien were about to jump in when Gohan held up his hands to stop everyone, "It's no use guys, we can't break that shield. Even if I blasted it with my full power as it is now, I'm not sure it would even have an effect."

"Then what can we do?" Alt-Trunks asked.

Gohan was flustered, "I'm not sure."

"Can't we combine our power or something, that thing has to have a limit! Everything does after all. I saw the kid break it by himself earlier when he was trapped," Laysh pointed out.

Goku looked like he was concentrating on something rather intently, "Guys, I think you should donate your power to Verto."

"What? What are you saying Kakarot? All we'll be doing is wasting it on that boy, then Vang will use it against us when he takes over!" Vegeta argued.

"He's right my son. I think we have no choice but to wait. It's not the preferred option, but it's better if we wait it out and then fight him together when he comes out on his own. No matter which body he's uses, Vang cannot hope to beat us all and he knows it," Bardock suggested.

Lenz looked particularly crushed over this suggestion, "You can't. If Vang takes over Verto's body, he'll gain more power than you think. He's spoken of a power that's beyond anything we can imagine, and that's a lot as it is. He said that even Gohan's maximum power would seem like nothing in comparison." This drew more than a few surprised glances as they all considered the possibilities.

"But giving him more power is a better solution? At least Bardock's idea makes sense! Even if that version of Verto isn't like the one that we knew, he's still capable of the same evil. I have no intention of giving him any of my power when it's clear that we'll have to fight Vang anyway! I prefer to be able to fight with my full power rather than give it away!" Alt-Trunks claimed.

Tien nodded in agreement, "After what he did to Krillin and Chiaotzu, I can't forgive him!"

"But that wasn't the Verto that came from my world! He needs our help!" Trunks argued. Gohan glanced towards the other version of his father, who stared back with a look of desperation.

"I know we can't look past the things our Verto did, but we can't just leave this one to suffer for it either. That makes us no better," Gohan said.

Goku frowned slightly, "I know it's been difficult guys. I've been able to speak to the other version of me telepathically from time to time, and he's willing to forgive Verto over what has happened. If he can forgive him, then the rest of you have no reason not to. I know you can't hear it, but the other me is calling for you to help Verto now. Give some of your energy to him like you've done for me in the past. If you truly were his friends, you'll trust me."

Everyone glanced at each other before Gohan sighed heavily, "Right, Dad."

Alt-Trunks hesitated, "I guess there's no reason not to try it. I've never seen you steer us wrong Goku."

Tien grimaced slightly, "If Goku says it's the right thing to do, I can't argue with it."

Vegeta took the longest to respond, "Imbeciles. If we all followed what Kakarot said all the time we'd all be long dead. I'm only doing this so I can fight the boy again!" Almost in unison, the Z fighters raised their arms and aimed their energy lightly towards the Shadow Bubble, causing it to glow gold and white after a few seconds.

As it grew brighter, Gohan realized something was wrong, "It's not penetrating through!"

"Argh, I knew this would be a waste of energy!" Vegeta grumbled.

Goku looked thoughtful, "No, it isn't! Keep it going guys! Trust me, it'll go through!" Shortly after he said this, the Shadow Bubble pulsed and cracked apart, causing the donated energy of the Z fighters to quickly shoot through and vanish. It was fairly apparent that it hadn't been them that broke though, but rather it was Vang who intentionally took his own defense down.

Vang, who was still at the stage of Super Saiyan three, looked highly irritated, "Just what are you fools trying to do? Don't disturb me, I'll kill you all when I'm good and ready!" He was quite suddenly punched in the face by Verto and forced away from him. Vang was able to stop himself quickly and scowled as Verto appeared to completely snap out of it. His eyes had returned to their semi-normal blue color while his aura became white and clear.

"So, you're not quite done are you? Well that's fine, but now you'll have to suffer through seeing these losers get killed," Vang laughed.

Verto's nostrils flared as his energy rose quickly, "Those are my friends, you won't touch them!" Bright silver and white flashed as Verto transformed again, and Vang felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine when he felt the power level.

* * *

_Boom-lay boom-lay, boom!_

_Boom-lay boom-lay, boom!_

_Boom-lay boom-lay, Boom!_

Verto's Super Mystic power glowed with such vivid intensity that matched the brightness of the sun above. Even Vang couldn't help but feel uncertainty when the younger Saiyan stared him down. Once his power up was complete, Verto felt something strange about his energy and he stared down at his hands for a moment.

He looked to the others nearby, realizing that it was their energy he felt helping him along, "Thanks."

Vegeta snorted slightly, "You had better not waste an ounce of that energy! If you do, you won't be spared my wrath, even at the bottom of Hell!"

Gohan winced, "Oh boy, there's no helping him. Verto, we believed in you once, make us believe again."

Verto nodded, "I'll do what I can, no promises." Verto turned his attention back to Vang, whose uncertainty had faded as he folded his arms.

"So, you think that little boost is going to change anything kid? I hate to burst your bubble, but even at equal power you won't defeat me," Vang boasted.

Verto sunk into his stance, "Maybe, maybe not. We won't find out until I try. But there is something you're forgetting."

Vang laughed, "And what would that be?"

"You're still at Super Saiyan Three. That means the longer you stay powered up, the more energy you'll lose since that transformation demands so much of it. Any sort of heavy damage will accelerate that," Verto pointed out.

Vang smirked, "Maybe, but I also know that whenever you exceed your limits like this, you can't sustain it for much more than a few attacks. So humor me again." Verto didn't answer as he appeared to settle into a deep state of focus. Vang matched this and energy pulsed between them momentarily, sending off occasionally clashes that lit the sky.

_Wait, wait a minute take a step back, gotta think twice before you react.  
So stay, stay a little while cause a promise not kept is the road to exile  
Hey, what's the circumstance, you'll never be great without taking a chance  
So, wait, you waited too long, had your hands in your pocket when you should've been gone._

Vang moved first, phasing out and attempting to attack Verto from behind. Verto blocked the punch attempt with his forearm as lightning burst a the point of collision. Vang growled in slight frustration and began punching in rapid fashion. Verto matched the intense barrage with his own display, blocking or dodging anytime Vang got too close, but always keeping pace. Their fists collided so many times that everyone nearby lost track. When they finally separated, Vang gathered a strong blue blast in his hands, one that Verto was well aware of. Vang began phasing in and out rapidly around the area as he charged another Kamehameha, trying to outflank Verto. Verto turned his head at each appearance quickly, unsure where Vang was actually going to strike from. When he felt Vang's attack top out, his fists glowed bright green in anticipation.

_(Boom-lay boom-lay boom)  
One push is all you need!  
(Boom-lay boom-lay boom)  
Fist first philosophy!  
(Boom-lay boom-lay boom)  
We watch with wounded eyes!  
(Boom-lay boom-lay boom)  
So I hope you recognize!_

"HAAA!" Vang shouted from behind. The large Kamehameha obscured nearly everyone's vision of Verto's position since Vang had appeared between them.

"Verto no!" Lenz shouted as the Kamehameha slowed before it detonated on target, covering Verto's position with smoke and dust.

"Damn, we didn't give him enough energy!" Alt-Trunks claimed.

The sound of Vang's deep laugh erupted from in front of the group, "Hahaha, that idiot took it head on! Even he should know that he couldn't have gotten out unscathed! I guess I should feel bad though, I wanted his power after all. Oh well, some you win, some you lose!"

Gohan's eyes narrowed, "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Bardock asked.

"I could feel it, Verto's power was equal with Vang's. That blast shouldn't have hurt him that much, but now I can't be sure since I don't sense his energy," Gohan explained.

Lenz's anger overflowed into her aura, which pulsed with random red and blue hues, "I'll make that bastard pay!"

Goku, who was holding onto her for support, attempt to console her, "Hey, don't worry. Verto won't be done in that easily!" The smoke began to clear and suddenly they all sensed Verto's energy again. Once he reemerged, they saw a glowing energy sword that was sparking with excess golden energy, and it undoubtedly had belonged to Vang.

Vang was in shock, "How? You can't hold that much extra energy without it blowing up in your hands! You're already at your limit of receiving extra power!"

Verto grinned slightly as he held up the blade, though far from easily, "Good thing I didn't actually absorb it then. You're right that I can't take in too much, that's probably why some of it did explode, but it wasn't enough to do much."

Lenz's face melted from anger into joy as Goku smiled with assurance, "He's going to win."

_Out on the front line, don't worry I'll be fine.  
The story is just beginning.  
I say goodbye to my weakness, so long to the regrets.  
And now I see the world through Diamond Eyes!_

Verto kept a hold of his pulsing energy sword that was stuffed with most of Vang's Kamehameha, seemingly waiting for the right moment to attack. He kept his stare on Vang at all times, but shifted his head slightly as if to indicate a suggestion.

Gohan realized it and was the first to move, "Guys, clear out! We're in their way!" The others quickly flew away, though Lenz was extremely hesitant to leave before she did with Goku in tow. They all landed on a semi-distant mountain top and watched patiently.

Vang's borrowed face filled with frustration as he stared down the younger Saiyan, "You really are more trouble than you're worth boy."

Verto smirked, "Thanks for the compliment." He then braced his sword with both hands and held it over his head, preparing to release the stolen energy. Vang readied himself, fairly certain of what attack was coming. Verto knew what attack he wanted to use at first, but decided that it needed a different name as he swung the blade down.

"Galic Slash!" Vang's eyes narrowed at the attack name, but he was well prepared to deflect the arc-shaped blast as it raced towards him. Just as he batted it aside, Verto phased in right in Vang's face, grabbing his head and ramming his knee into it. Vang's head recoiled badly from whiplash as spit flew out of his mouth, but Verto wasn't done there.

_Damn, damn it all down. Took one to the chest without even a sound  
So, what, what do you worth? The things you love or the people you hurt?  
Hey, it's like deja vu, a suicidal maniac with nothing to lose.  
So wait, it's the exception to the rule. Everyone of us is expendable_.

Verto dropped down behind Vang and thrust his palms up behind the shoulders, sending him flying high. Verto gave chase is he powered up his right fist again, intent to hammer Vang with all his might. Vang's eyes snapped open as he felt his flight slowing and Verto approaching. He phased out before Verto got there and rushed back into him, kicking hard into Verto's left shoulder and knocking him away. Verto cringed painfully as he struggled to control his momentum and swung his right hand forward to release the energy he had built up.

"Final Shine!" Vang's expression shifted to surprise as he was caught completely off guard. He barely managed to block against the force of the attack just as it struck and exploded. Verto's aura came back on as he managed to stop and observe the results.

Out of the smoke, a slightly battered and bruised Vang snarled in anger, "Kid, you're starting to get under my skin!"

Verto's expression didn't change, "Shit happens, get used to it."

Vang dropped his arms momentarily, "I'll put an end to that smart mouth of yours!"

_(Boom-lay boom-lay boom)  
One push is all you need!  
(Boom-lay boom-lay boom)  
Fist first philosophy!  
(Boom-lay boom-lay boom)  
We watch with wounded eyes.  
(Boom-lay boom-lay boom)  
So I hope you recognize!_

Vang's hands charged with energy as he brought them up and shot several small but strong blasts at his target. Verto deflected the first few and dodged the following shots as Vang kept up the pressure. In the midst of the storm of blasts, Verto conjured his sword again and used it to either deflect the blasts or slice them into harmless vanishing acts. Vang became flustered at this and phased out, reappeared above. Verto stopped the last blast and looked up to see Vang coming in to attack at close range. Just as Verto swung his sword into the attack, Vang reached inside and blocked Verto's arm from completing its motion, causing the green energy blade to vanish. Vang quickly grabbed a hold of Verto's shirt collar and pulled him into a hard head-to-head collision. Verto winced sharply as a trace of blood came off his forehead while his ears rung. Vang smirked and repeated the head butt action a dozen more times, causing some of the blood to trickle onto his own bruised head above where his eyebrows were supposed to be. Verto's eyes burned from some of the blood getting into them and he blindly punched towards Vang, who dodged aside easily before grabbing Verto's opposite arm. He then pulled Verto into a hard knee just below the neckline, stunning Verto as he felt his heart skip a beat. Vang held Verto up by the collar again to look him in his pain filled face before he glanced at the other fighters gathered on a cliff nearby.

"Look at those lost sheep. Even if you did convince them that you deserve their compassion, they're still leaving you to die here. Why do you fight for such wretches?" Vang asked.

Verto coughed hard as a trace of blood trickled out of his mouth, "B-Because I choose to, they're my friends."

Vang gave him another knee into his stomach, "Such nonsense. Your bonds of friendship are nothing but an excuse to stay here. You don't love them, you desire to see them suffer. I've seen the depths of your soul, you resent them for holding you down here, in this place. For not letting you rise to your true potential while they play games with your life! You have a fiery power just begging to come out, let it burn!"

Verto struggled to get out of Vang's grip when he heard a single voice whisper to him, " _You do have a great power within you, but it won't be that way if you're fighting to destroy as you'll only hurt yourself in the long run. You're fighting to protect others, not hurt them. Let that thought alone be your weapon!_" Verto blinked sharply, not realizing initially that what he had heard was not audible. He felt Vang's power fluctuate ever so slightly through the contact of the hand near his neck, and for a brief moment, it didn't feel like the demon at all. Vang dared to look at the other fighters again and Verto saw the opening.

"They're pond scum boy, you have to accept this eventually," Vang claimed as he turned back. Verto kicked forward hard, which struck Vang in a very painful and private area. Vang's eyes exploded with shock as he instinctively doubled over and released Verto, who glided backwards.

"Is that all you can muster now? Cheap shots, you brat?" Vang shouted as he recovered quickly and lashed out angrily with a deadly punch aimed towards Verto's head. Verto narrowly ducked and Vang flew too close to miss.

Verto's fist glowed bright green again as he punched upwards as hard as he could, "Super Galic Fist!"

_Out on the front line, don't worry I'll be fine.  
The story is just beginning.  
I say goodbye to my weakness, so long to the regrets.  
And now I know that I'm alive…_

The attack hit Vang dead in the stomach and detonated, blinding all to what had transpired momentarily. When it cleared, Vang was painfully struggling to stay in the air as his body had taken the full blow and was showing the effects. His stomach was bloodied all around the point of impact, which was a distinctly dark red dent that hadn't quite pierced the skin, but had clearly damaged him beneath it. The most noteworthy impact though was that Vang was no long in the Super Saiyan Three state, but in the less powerful level two. Verto floated up to match his altitude from a distance but didn't press the attack yet.

From the mountain side, Alt-Gohan sighed slightly, "It's almost over."

Laysh glanced over at him in question, "How so? I still feel their power levels and they're still strong!"

Vegeta's eyes shifted but he didn't turn his head, "Clearly you're not using your senses correctly. He means that the demon is on the verge of losing."

"Then what's the problem? Isn't that a good thing?" Laysh asked.

"We don't know how to get Vang out of Goku's body. He has to come out on his own free will, or be killed while he's still in Goku's body," Alt-Trunks answered. Most of the group nodded grimly to this while the Goku frowned at the idea.

"He's not going to push it that far you guys, have some faith," Goku said.

"Yeah, maybe that sacred water stuff would work!" Lenz suggested.

Bardock shook his head, "If that worked, then we wouldn't be in this position. That may have cleansed us of the Zerg infection, but this is not the same thing." Lenz looked on with concern as Verto dared to float within a dozen feet to address Vang.

"You're beaten demon. Surrender now," Verto warned.

Vang snarled at this, "Amateur, I'm not even close to defeated!" Vang pulled his fists aside and flashed with golden energy as his hair lengthened again, powering back up to Super Saiyan Three.

Verto turned his head slightly, "You're wasting your time and energy. That attack weakened you more than you think, I hit you with full force."

Vang smiled despite the red dripping from his mouth, "We'll see how weakened I am won't we?"

Vang rushed forward with a fierce punch to Verto's face that hit dead on target. Verto's head bent to the side as expected, but he recovered so fast that it was as if he hadn't even felt it. Vang's jaw slipped open in shock before Verto buried his fist into the same vulnerable spot he had just hit before. Vang doubled over and slowly dropped to the ground before he looked up at Verto in defiance. Verto's face filled with fury as he phased out, hammering Vang across the face in an instant. Vang fell backwards a bit before Verto jumped at the opening and began landing slow but very strong blows to most of Vang's upper body, alternating between his face and torso. Dozens of such attacks landed and Vang could do nothing to stop them. The last of this barrage was an uppercut that sent Vang higher into the air momentarily. Verto's silver aura surged to life as he followed with his arm drawn back, punching hard into Vang's stomach again. Vang shuddered from the impact and he lost the Super Saiyan transformation almost immediately, returning to Alt-Goku's normal form as he fell to the ground. He landed near the black lake and it bubbled slightly, as if it knew what was happening. Vang's breath came short as he attempted to stand up, laying his evil eyes on Verto when he landed a short distance away. Blood began to pour out of both the stomach area and Vang's mouth, signaling how damaged he was.

"That's what I meant earlier demon. Super Saiyan Three isn't meant to be maintained for a long time. Once you were damaged enough, you can't hold that much power for long anymore," Verto said. Vang growled slightly and reached behind his back, pulling out a small but sharp dagger that shimmered with purple energy. Verto's eyebrow went up as he detected a spectral power coming from the weapon that clearly told him that he shouldn't get hit by it.

Vang scowled as he turned the blade in his hand, "I really didn't want to have to resort to this, but it's clear that you give me no choice. Do you know what this is?"

"I'm guessing it's the same weapon you stabbed Vegeta with that took away his energy. Same thing for the other Goku," Verto replied.

"Not necessarily the same weapon, just the same spectral poison. I won't bother with the details, but I will make one thing perfectly clear boy, you can't win. One strike with this and not only will you lose your strength, you will lose your body. It will be oh so easy to claim your power now. No amount of holy water will save you from this fate," Vang explained.

Verto scoffed, "That doesn't make any sense, why would you take away my power if you want it so badly? I realize that you're a coward that can't rely on his own strength, but doesn't that contradict your own plan?"

Vang shifted the blade around a bit more, "Not really. There is a cure of my own making, I have to know the extent of my own abilities after all. Suffice it to say, this poison does not work on me the same way it works on anyone else. I've had many occasions where I've had to take an infected host and build it back up. You'll find out soon, so let's put an end to the chatter, this battle ends now!"

Vang flew at Verto with his dagger tucked just back enough to strike at full intensity upon arrival. Verto sidestepped the stab attempt easily and bashed the knife away by striking Vang's forearm just below the wrist. Vang swung his other hand towards Verto, but it was caught easily. Vang didn't even see the knee that slammed into his gut, but he was on his hands and knees afterward regardless. Vang's painful gasp was loud enough to hear for miles before a mixture of blood and saliva dripped out onto the dirt. Verto backed off a step to observe what he would do, trying not to rush into a mistake. To anyone else, it might have seemed like he was toying with Vang now that he was weakened, but that wasn't it at all.

_I refuse to think that was his last ditch effort, not after the battle we had before. Whether his powers change with hosts or not, I know what he can do._ _I have to be ready for anything now that we're in the desperation phase._ Vang managed to get back to his feet as blood continued to ooze out of his borrowed body from both the mouth and the torso, making things appear to be far more painful.

Verto grimaced at this, _I'm sorry for the pain Goku, just hold on a little longer._

Vang gritted his teeth from both anger and pain, "I can't believe you pushed me this far. I have no choice now."

"Is it just me, or do I hear a parrot?" Verto said smugly, though it was without any sort of smile.

"Laugh while you can boy, there is still one card I can play that will decide this battle!" Vang threatened. Verto stood ready for whatever was going to come his way, but Vang did the one thing he didn't expect. Vang walked over to the black fluid and stepped in.

Verto's jaw dropped just a bit as he stared in confused surprise, "What are you doing?"

Vang was knee deep in the Overmind's remnant before he turned around, "There is something that you probably don't know about the Zerg, or more specifically, the creature that spawned them. The Overmind itself is a being that is not unlike low to middle ranked demons in terms of both energy and composition. In fact quite a long time ago, it was a demon scientist that helped to create it along with the race known as the Xel'Naga. He had infiltrated into their talented ranks and I believe you know most of the story from there. Because it has trace amounts of demon energy, I can make use of its power, even in a dormant form like this. It's not a preferred outcome, but my higher mind cannot fall to its influence and as long as I have a body, my powers will increase greatly." Purple and pink streaks of lightning began to encompass the black pool as Vang held his borrowed arms out to it. Verto jumped off the ground when one of these lightning pulses surged towards him, electing to stay out of range for the moment. He watched as the pool began to rise up around Vang, taking in his hands and completely covering him from the waist down. He felt Vang's Shadow Chi rising rapidly from its previous lower levels and knew he had to act.

Verto took a deep breath in order to help himself focus on what he had to do, _It's now or never. If I don't save Goku now, I won't have another chance!_

_Every night of my life I watch angels fall from the sky.  
Every time that the sun still sets.  
I pray they don't take mine._

_I'm out on the front line, don't worry I'll be fine  
The story is just beginning  
I say goodbye to my weakness, so long to the regrets…_

Verto held his arms wide as two solid blue orbs of energy spun into view while he concentrated. Thin beams of matching color burst out of each orb and rotated in sync before eventually fading, adding a strobe-light effect.

Vang chuckled from below, "Go ahead kid, give it your best shot!" Sweat dripped down the side of Verto's head as he struggled to focus on his next technique. The twin orbs flashed with random shades of white, blue and green momentarily before settling on blue with a bright white core. Verto poured energy into the spinning orbs, which in turn increased their size by several times until they were both larger than an average car.

Vang's grin faded, "No…"

Verto launched both orbs at arcing angles, aimed straight at the black pool, "Spirit Bomb Barrage!"

Vang tried to move his legs enough to jump out of the way, but he was held firmly in place by the Overmind's devouring essence. He screamed loudly as both sizable Spirit Bombs smashed into him from both right and left before exploding into a vivid lightning display that danced all around him as they started to merge together. Eventually Vang's horrified face vanished from view as the Spirit Bombs molded into one larger ball. The black fluid dissipated around Vang's position and retreated from the bright blue Chi energy as it pulsed and flashed. Soon after, it deformed into a bright swath of white that soared through the sky, taking Vang with it. Verto watched intently as the Spirit Bomb did its work, taking note of the hint of black and purple smoke leaking out of the brighter energy. As Alt-Goku's body was riding onward into the ground, the bright white of the Spirit Bomb began to fade harmlessly away. In the skies behind it however, Verto spotted a wisp of black and purple reforming. It didn't quite take a true shape of a person, more like a shadowy silhouette that resembled one. Verto flew at it and held out his palm, firing a quick burst of energy that surrounded the shadow before it could react. Verto's energy formed a tight ball of green around the dark shadow as it reformed to fit the shape of its new prison.

"You little rat, just wait till I get free. You will all suffer!" Vang's snake-like voice said despite the lack of a mouth or even lungs.

Verto scowled, "I don't think so."

Vang managed to laugh despite his position, "Go ahead kid, try and blow me up! In this form I'm composed of nearly all energy. I cannot be destroyed easily, even if you threw me into a bright star. I suggest you go find that Namek's special jar to contain me, too bad he's dead in this timeline!"

Verto's lip twitched slightly before he glanced downwards, "That would be a problem, but I've think I found a solution." Verto dropped towards the ground, holding his energy ball about a foot away as he approached the reforming black pool.

He could already feel Vang's nervousness, "No, don't!"

Verto smirked, "Don't what? The Overmind always came after me every chance it got, so I've got the perfect bait. You said that with a body you would get stronger by allowing it in. But I'll bet that without a body, you'll just become part of its useless essence. You said you and this thing got along pretty well for more than one reason, so how about you get reacquainted?"

"NOOO!" Vang screamed as Verto dropped his energy ball into the black lake. The fluid boiled and steamed as it rose off the ground and washed over the energy ball. There was no explosion to follow this action, just the sound of the Overmind's blood settling back down with a slight hint of dark purple mist rising off of it. Verto no longer sensed nor saw any sign of Vang's presence and he charged up his open palm with a huge amount of green Chi.

"This ends now for both of you monsters!" Verto announced at the lake below. He shouted loudly as he released a huge torrent of teal-green lightning aimed at the black fluid. Upon striking, the black began to hiss and bubble again with distinct sounds that mimicked dying Zerg. Each bolt caused some of the fluid to begin evaporating, and Verto released hundreds of them to cover the area. The steam that rose out was normal in appearance, and the lake quickly shrank away until only a small portion of it remained. Verto stopped channeling the technique and dropped into the area to double check the situation. All he found in the crater was a small black object not even the size of his boot, trying to move and slither on its own. It resembled a slug without the bodily features, and it even managed to thicken enough to look up at him and squeak slightly. Verto's face filled with anger as he fired a small blast that flattened it like a pancake before burning it as well. All that remained when Verto was finished was a small pile of darkened dust that was easily blown away by the wind, leaving only the burn mark.

Verto sighed heavily, _Finally, it's over._

_Out on the front line, don't worry I'll be fine!  
The story is just beginning!  
I say goodbye to my weakness, so long to the regrets!  
And now I see the world through diamond eyes!_

Verto waited patiently just in case there was another surprise by Vang or the Overmind's black blood, but there were no signs of anything left. He took one last look before flying towards the fallen Alt-Goku, who was completely unconscious. Verto landed next to him and channeled his Chi energy into his palms and then calmly released it over Alt-Goku's injuries, causing them to soften and heal quickly. As the other fighters flew towards them, Alt-Goku woke up, realizing that he was himself again.

"I knew you could do it," Alt-Goku said with a deep smile.

Verto eyed him as he stopped channeling his energy and powered down to normal as he wiped the sweat from his brow, "Nothing like a little motivation, thanks for that. Sorry I can't do more but I'm almost out of energy."

"It's okay, I'm sure Korin has some more Senzu beans. I'm proud of the warrior you've become, I wish our Verto could have done it," Alt-Goku said as he frowned.

"Yeah, me too," Goku's voice said from behind. Verto turned to see everyone there, mostly filled with smiles except for Vegeta of course.

Trunks was especially excited in particular, "That was so awesome Verto! You totally demolished that stupid demon!"

Verto chuckled, "One wrong move and he would've demolished me, not kidding. I just got lucky and took advantage of it."

"No, you used your feelings. It gave you more strength than we could have provided, and that's how you defeated him," Goku declared.

"Yeah, what he said," Alt-Goku added.

Vegeta became quite smug but also irritated, "You idiot, that's not how it went at all! He obviously managed to catch Vang off guard and then capitalized on the opening that he created. It's quite simple, even you should understand that Kakarot!"

Both Goku and Alt-Goku glanced at each other before the latter spoke, "Which one of us were you talking to? Me-me or the other me?"

The veins of Vegeta's forehead pulsed, "Argh! Both of you!" He then turned around and muttered incoherently while both versions of Goku glanced at each other in confusion.

"All I know is that was a hell of a job kid. I honestly didn't think you were going to get out of that mess alive, but then again I thought that last time too, shame on me! I guess you're just full of surprises!" Laysh claimed as she clapped him on the back.

Lenz rushed in and pulled Verto away by the shoulder as if to shield him, "Hey! Hands off!"

Laysh filled with confusion, "What the? I don't even…seriously? How are you that thick?"

"He's not yours, he's mine!" Lenz declared.

Laysh blinked slow and hard before shrugging her shoulders and turning away, "Wow…just wow." Verto himself submitted to the urge of smacking his head, which was a bad reminder that he was slightly wounded there but it wasn't enough to erase the scene.

Lenz noticed some of the blood tricking down his hand and peeled off her wristband before holding it there to apply pressure, "Thanks for coming to get me, it was really sweet of you."

Verto stared up at her eyes, which were threatening to spill tears, before he held her wrist snugly, "Just stop running off, that's all I ask."

Lenz wiped her eyes with her free hand, "You got it."

Once the activity seemed to die down, Gohan finally stepped closer, "I know it'll probably seem awkward, but you're welcome to stay here until you've rested. It's the least we can do, besides, Trunks left the Dragon Ball at home so you'd have to go retrieve it anyway."

Verto turned to Trunks briefly, "So you did find it? That's a relief. But that'll only complete our world's set, I'm not sure we can do anything here with those."

"No, I don't think so either, not without bringing the entire set here or something. But we do have Bulma's spaceship blueprints so we can eventually get to Namek somehow. I don't know how much damage we can really repair here, but it's a start," Gohan answered.

"Might as well ask the Kais for help on that, if they're willing. On second thought you might have better luck with building a ship first," Verto grumbled slightly.

"Before we do that, we have to wipe out whatever's left of the Zerg. They attacked during your fight with Vegeta after all. I know that Kerrigan is still around somewhere, she's given us the slip every time. And I doubt that the sacred water would actually eliminate her or the Zerg," Gohan suggested.

"Yeah, we don't want all that trouble happening again. We should head out first thing in the morning," Alt-Trunks said in agreement. As he was finished speaking, an extremely loud groan sounded all around them, loud enough to shake the ground just slightly.

"What in the hell was that?" Tien shouted first. What he didn't realize was that everyone else knew exactly what it was, because all of them were at least partially Saiyan.

"I'm so hungry," Goku moaned.

"Yeah, I think that since we were so close together, they just both wanted to be heard at once! I guess that's called a meeting of the stomachs!" Alt-Goku proclaimed.

"I swear he has some sort of genetic stupidity disease. Now it's ten times worse with two of them…" Vegeta muttered under his breath. Bardock shot a glare towards Vegeta but said nothing to it. Both Verto and Gohan couldn't help but laugh at this even though they were feeling something similar.

"I guess I can't argue with that, I feel sorry for whoever is cooking though," Verto said.

"Alright, let's go," Gohan said with a nod before the group departed.

Hours after they were gone, night began to fall on the area while the bright yellow sun once again set onto the horizon. In the dark of one particular crater, the shadows began to stir.

_Diamond Eyes by Shinedown_

**PL**

**Verto (Enhanced Super Mystic): 750,000,000**

**Vangku (Vang-Goku): Super Saiyan 3: 750,000,000; Weakened: 600,000,000 (drops quickly)**


	106. The Last Hive

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 105: The Last Hive**

Verto flew alongside the Alt-Z fighters along with Lenz, Laysh, Trunks and Goku. The lands below were covered in large fissures and blast craters, obvious signs of battles that had gone on. There was not one sign of life between Korin Tower and their destination, which was far to the north and east. Judging by the distance traveled, Verto guessed that they were headed to an area between North and East City, but he wasn't for sure. Where he would have expected a temperature drop, he didn't receive one, likely due to a few open lava pools spewing their heat into the atmosphere. The entire group was stone cold silent for most of the flight, with the brief exception of Goku's stomach. His counterpart's innards were making the same sound, but he was ignoring it a little easier as he was at least able to fly on his own. It wasn't until Verto spotted a large structure ahead that anyone even spoke. "That's it up there," Alt-Gohan pointed out. It appeared to be a clear dome that covered a large city below it, one that actually had grass and plants growing inside. The outside was a heavily fortified and very tall white-gold wall, covered in bloodstains that had likely belonged to Zerg, judging by some of the corpse piles at the bottom. Along the top of the wall and all around it were stations that looked like gun turrets. When they were close enough to see them clearly, Verto recognized the design of the laser cannons that Bulma had invented before. These cannons looked like that had been both upgraded and mass-produced.

_Looks like they weren't exaggerating about how crappy it's been here_, Verto thought as they descended before a large gate.

Gohan approached it carefully and knocked three times before staring upwards at a camera, "It's us, please open the gate!"

"Yes sir!" a gruff voice answered.

Verto could only assume that it belonged to a leftover soldier, which was confirmed when the gate lifted enough to see. Beyond it a line of troops dressed in uniforms with Capsule Corp logos waited in a saluting pose. Verto took note as he passed under that the gate was only lifted enough to allow them all through before it dropped back down. Directly under the gate's looming shadow was a metal slot for it to fit into. Verto could tell that there was much more of that substance further down and he quickly realized what it was for.

_This place was designed to keep Zerg out, including the ones that burrow. Even if they were under the influence of the Overmind, they still fought off the Zerg._ _That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but if what Gohan said was true, while that thing was controlling them to an extent, it may have been increasing their strength through constant fighting_. Inside, Verto initially saw what he would expect to see on the outer edges of a military base. There were obvious training areas, weapons stations, barracks, alarm systems, and once again, the gun turrets. As far as he could tell, these stations covered the perimeter of the dome, which extended quite a bit further than he thought it did.

"Um, how many people live here?" Verto asked.

Bardock glanced down at him, "Around nine thousand seven hundred, give or take a few. They are the survivors, the rest of the population is gone." Verto grimaced slightly as he continued to look around.

"Does that number surprise you boy?" Vegeta grumbled.

"I'd be lying if I said no, but I honestly wasn't sure how many to expect," Verto replied.

"After all the crap we've been through with you and the Zerg, it's a miracle to even have this place to fall back on," Bardock muttered with his back turned.

"Father, that was rude," Alt-Goku scolded as he drew Bardock's glare momentarily.

They faced off for a few seconds before Verto shook it off, "Don't worry about it, I didn't expect a warm reception."

"That's good, most of these people remember you," Tien said from behind. Verto shifted his eyes from side to side, noticing several surprised and fearful gazes coming his way. As they began to pass through a residential area filled with Capsule houses, many of the open doors and windows slammed shut quickly. Soon after, Verto started hearing the murmurs and whispers coming from random directions.

"Oh my god, it's him!"

"How could they let that thing back in? After what he did to the Son family!"

"I'm sure it's for a good reason, otherwise I'm sure Mister Gohan wouldn't allow it."

"I hope they give him the chair!"

"Yeah, and I hope they let us watch, just to know he's gone for sure this time!"

"Traitor, I hope you fry!"

Verto did his best to shut out the voices of anger being directed towards him, but it wasn't easy. Lenz began locating each person that said anything hateful, as if she were marking off targets. Laysh didn't really care either way, but it did make her a little anxious. The anger towards Verto seemed to ease when they spotted Goku, or rather, both versions of him. Once they were past the initial resident area, Verto noticed an even larger Capsule Corp dome than he could have expected, easily passing the thirty story mark. All around it was a huge meadow of trees, each of which were still quite young but appeared to be growing well. A single concrete path paved the way between them, straight to the building. The entrance door was twice as wide as a standard double-door, signaling that if needed it could handle several people going through at once. _Probably need it that wide in case they need to evacuate. I can't imagine that they got this place set up very quickly._ The doors swung open seemingly automatically when Gohan stepped up to them, revealing several familiar people waiting inside. Unfortunately for Verto, none of them smiled upon seeing him, nor did he expect them too.

"What the hell is he doing here? How is he alive anyway? This is another Zerg trick isn't it?" Yamcha shouted. Verto stopped well before he could get to the entrance, just to allow anyone inside some breathing room before he got within attack range.

"Relax Yamcha, this is the Verto from a different timeline, remember?" Gohan said to reassure him.

It didn't appear to work to well, "He better not think of trying to punch holes in anyone! Otherwise I'm gonna take care of him personally!"

Vegeta snorted, "I'd pay to see that."

"You shut up!" Once Yamcha stepped aside from his brief tirade, a blonde girl nearly Trunks and Verto's age poked her head out.

She wasn't there for long before she ran towards her mother, "Isn't that the bad guy Mom?" Verto didn't recognize the girl initially, but he didn't have any problem identifying Android Eighteen, who was giving him the cold, hard stare.

"Up to your room Marron," Eighteen ordered, not taking her eyes off Verto. Just as Marron had disappeared and most of the group had entered, a loud angry voice caused them to separate. Verto frowned a bit when Hercule Satan made his presence known, though his trademark afro had thinned out considerably.

"There you are, you murderous little bastard! You're gonna pay for hurting my daughter!" Satan declared as he charged out. Verto stood his ground as he made note of the power level coming from the former champion. It was much higher than he would have expected, indicating that he too had received some sort of training, but it was also too low to be much of a threat. When Satan flew at Verto with a punch ready, Verto didn't even bother to block it as it collided with his face, barely leaving a blemish. Laysh and Lenz both moved to assist when Satan backed off and prepared for another round, but Verto waved them off.

"Let him get it out of his system, everyone else had a turn so far today. Hurry it up, I won't fight back," Verto said as he crossed his arms and waited for the next one.

Satan paused in surprise, "You're letting me have a free shot?"

"If it makes you feel better, or until you realize that I didn't kill Videl. Take your pick," Verto offered. Satan acted as if he was going to follow through and attack again, but thought better of it before slumping his broad shoulders. A large brown dog ran out the door to his side, making a noticeable growl at Verto before sniffing the air slightly and calming down. Verto used his senses to scan the entire compound for a certain energy signal, but he didn't find it. _If that's the same dog he had before, then the fat Majin Buu must also be gone. This world's Mister Satan doesn't have anything left. _

Verto uncrossed his arms as he gave Satan a stern stare, but it softened soon after, "You know, Videl is still alive where I come from."

His statement had the desired effect as Satan perked up immediately, "She is? Well how's she doing?"

"She's due to walk down the aisle pretty soon," Verto replied.

Satan had genuine joy about his face for a moment, "I'm glad something went right." He then turned around and went inside without another word as the dog quickly followed and the others looked on with slight concern.

"Well that was cheerful, any other friends you made here kid?" Laysh whispered.

"Hey, it's not like it's his fault!" Lenz shouted back.

"That depends on your point of view doesn't it?" Laysh countered.

"Oh shut up, what do you know? You haven't been here that long!"

"Long enough to know when someone's presence is clearly not wanted. If you weren't so busy thinking up sick ways to get laid you'd probably notice too!"

"What did you say?"

Verto threw up his hands between them, "Enough! It's only natural that they'd be uncomfortable around me. If you have a guest room that's far away from everyone else, I'll take that one. That way everyone can sleep tonight."

All chatter ceased for a solid ten seconds before another familiar face popped out, "Everything alright out here?"

Lenz gasped at the slim man with glasses, brown hair plus a lab coat, and Verto responded by dropping into his stance, "Doctor Wheelo."

"Well I'm a doctor but I certainly don't go by that dreadful sounding name," the man replied.

Verto scowled, "I mean Cash, Flandal Cash right?"

"Yes that's me, do I know you?" Flandal Cash asked, unsure.

"All too well," Verto said in a threatening tone.

The others quickly realized that something was off before Alt-Goku stepped in, "It's alright Verto, this Doctor Cash is a good person. He's not at all like that other one that made himself into the big robot."

Verto didn't relax, "That one was quite misleading at first too."

Cash adjusted his glasses slightly, "Well I'll admit that I've always been interested in robotic technology, but I'm afraid you might have the wrong person, Verto is it? We have our hands full enough with the Zerg and our own survival as a species. I'm afraid I don't have time or the motivation to play mad scientist. Good day."

Lenz nervously edged towards Verto to whisper in his ear, "I really don't want to stay here."

"What's wrong girl, you scared of that little man?" Laysh mocked.

"In our timeline, he caused us plenty of problems," Verto answered for her.

"Hmph, to think that weak human gave you any cause for concern," Laysh muttered as she turned away.

"Are you three coming or not, my meal is getting cold!" Vegeta roared at them.

"Maybe it'll be best if we keep everyone from the different timelines separated. We're clearly not going to be comfortable around each other," Alt-Trunks suggested.

"That's so stupid, can't you get past any sort of revenge feelings?" the smaller Trunks asked.

"If you had scanned all their memories of Verto, you'd understand their pain a little better. I figured you'd know enough since you saw what I remember of that terrible night," Alt-Trunks pointed out.

Verto's eyebrow shot into the air, "Memory scan?" Another sharp gasp hit the air, most notable from both versions of Trunks.

"I take it you didn't tell them yet?" Alt-Trunks asked the younger.

"No, only Gohan knew," Trunks rasped.

"Your special ability I take it?" Verto asked as he deduced it quickly.

"Both of us, I taught him how to control it while he's been here. He was going to tell you eventually I'm sure," Alt-Trunks remarked, giving his younger self an eyeful.

"Be sure to tell your parents when we get back, that is need to know information. As for your suggestion, I think that would be a good idea to give each other plenty of space for the night. I don't plan to stay any longer than that," Verto said as he stepped on by.

All of the Saiyans in the group moved into the right hallway once inside, towards where the smell of food was coming from. Other than some minor chatter between the two Goku's, not much was said. Most of the alternate Z fighters kept stealing glances at Verto, who pretended not to notice. At least a dozen chefs and waiting staff were scrambling around a large table filled with copious amounts of food, trying to get everything set before anyone walked in. That all ceased when they saw Goku enter, along with the other one.

"Oh my god he's back, and there's two of him! Tell the chefs to keep cooking, do not stop!" the lead waiter cried out.

Verto allowed himself to smirk for a moment, "Someone's popular."

As one could expect, anyone that stopped to marvel at the lack of table manners were quickly reminded to bring in the next dish. Verto ate quite a bit more slowly than anyone else in the room, keeping his dinner down to only a few helpings compared to everyone else. He was quite bothered by the wide berth everyone besides Lenz and Laysh were giving him, even if he did understand why. More than once he considered leaving the table early, but decided against it. In the middle of it all, Bulma entered the room and nearly dropped her own plate when she spotted Verto. He couldn't hear what Vegeta whispered to her, but he had a good idea when she sat down at slight ease next to her husband.

Once the last tasty morsel was devoured, Vegeta cleared his throat, "Boy, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we've made our, feelings, about you clear. I want you to tell us your side of things. Tell us what has transpired from the day these Protoss aliens showed up till you came here."

Verto glanced at him warily, "I figured you would have weeded all of that out of Trunks by now."

"If I wanted to hear it from Trunks, I would have asked him. Repay some of our generosity with some of your own," Vegeta said in an eerily calm voice that demanded attention.

Verto grimaced slightly, _Depends on what you call generous. I guess if it'll get them off my case…_

* * *

Verto yawned loudly as he slowly woke from his six hour slumber. It had been almost a full day and a half since he had any real sleep and he welcomed the chance to relax, even if it wasn't for very long. It probably would have come sooner if he hadn't spent half of the night reciting some of his adventures with the alternate Z-fighters. Most of the highlights included his time with the Zerg, the Protoss and then of course how the Overmind was eventually killed. They disputed some of what he mentioned about Kerrigan helping him through the ordeal, claiming she would only do that if it had her best interests. Verto took note of that and moved on though, trying not to linger too much nor argue about the differences in the timelines. He intentionally skipped some of what had happened during his stay in the afterlife, giving Lenz and Goku the go ahead to mention how they ran into Frost since he hadn't been present the first few times. Vegeta was ultra curious about the dealings with the Renegade Saiyans, but he himself said that he had made sure that the Frost of this world was already gone, which eliminated at least the Rotian hybrids. They were all on the edge of their seat when Verto explained how Vang had come into their lives, but they understood it well. It had gotten most of them to lighten up though, which saved him a few more angry staring contests. One that hadn't subsided though was the one between Lenz and Laysh, though most of that had been from the former.

Lenz had made sure that she and Verto had gotten the same room, but was thwarted when Laysh had demanded that her bed be there as well. Judging by the smirk that Laysh had given as she literally moved in, she was doing her best to make Lenz as jealous as possible for her own amusement. Lenz went out of her way to stay between them both, even though the bed that Verto took was on the opposite side of the room from Laysh's. Even with his sleepy eyes, he could tell that Lenz had literally stayed on her guard all night while Laysh slept quite easily. Verto shook his head slightly at this prospect before he sensed a presence outside the door. He recognized it as Bardock's immediately, but there was a much lower one approaching. A light tap on the door prompted Verto to open it, only to be greeted by Alt-Bulma, whom Verto didn't expect to see.

In her hands was a teal-green uniform as she held it out to him, "Your outfit was all torn up, and Trunks said you liked this color now."

Verto took the new clothes from her carefully, "Thanks, but didn't you guys all hate me to death until yesterday?"

Bulma sighed heavily, "We may have all been under the Overmind's influence, but it's not like we completely hated you the entire time. And some of that was my fault anyway. If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have gone along with what that demon did to our Goku."

"How so?" Verto asked.

"I came up with what I thought was a water purification solution to clear all the world's water of toxins. What I didn't know was that the Overmind's blood had tainted even the cleanest water and that no technology would easily drive it out. It took about a year before any of us noticed and of course it was already too late. All in all, I underestimated the Zerg and we all paid for it," Bulma replied sadly.

Verto set his new set of clothes aside, "I'm surprised that thing let you have any sort of free will."

"Yeah, you and me both. Come see me later if you have time," Bulma said as she turned to leave.

Bardock then came into the doorway, "Hurry up and dress. We're leaving to finish off the Zerg in a few minutes." Verto nodded and complied as Bardock left the area. He was about to wake the girls once dressed, but found he didn't need to as Laysh was already up.

Verto shook his head in dismay, "Didn't you get enough of watching me change last time?"

"Well it's not like it matters to me at your current age, although you didn't look half bad there when you were fighting my captain. Anyways, I'll come with you. I want to see more of these Zerg things up close before you wipe them out. And of course if you need the help while I'm still here," she offered.

Lenz was out of bed and in her face before another word was said, "Not without me, I don't want you trying anything tricky!"

"You really are that dumb aren't you?" Laysh snickered.

Lenz motioned like she was about to deck her, "You wanna go again?"

Verto rolled his eyes as he quickly changed clothes and left the room while they were still staring each other down. _Ugh those two, I think I've seen this movie somewhere before_...

* * *

Laysh and Lenz continued the stare off as they flew off over more wasteland to the south. Most of the Saiyans in the group had come along with the exception of Goku and Trunks. Verto felt it was overkill but he understood the caution. He smelled the stench of the Zerg long before they saw the purple creep that typically covered their infested areas. Laysh, who hadn't really had a chance to investigate anything during the previous battles before, had the classic look of surprise and confusion upon sensing them.

"What is that strange feeling they're giving off?" Laysh asked.

"The scattered feeling. It's how they always seem when you try to sense their energy. It'll be easier for you since you use Psionic energy often, but that also makes you a target. I don't suggest getting too close," Alt-Gohan said.

"Feels like I'm a magnet," Laysh muttered.

"Well don't get too used to it, these things have lived long enough!" Vegeta grumbled as they began to spot the hive cluster on the horizon. Within a minute of seeing the Zerg structures, the skies filled with flyers of all types coming towards them.

"What the? There's thousands of them!" Laysh exclaimed as the group came to a quick stop.

"We expected this. Bardock, Trunks, thin out the herd!" Vegeta ordered. The two Saiyans floated to the front and charged two Kamehameha Waves as they both turned Super Saiyan. The massive cloud of Zerg flyers never got close enough to attack before they were blown away while Alt-Trunks and Bardock swept the area with their wide energy beams. Once a majority of the flyers were gone, Vegeta took the lead again and they moved on. The ground below became extremely active as more and more Zerg un-burrowed themselves and followed the Saiyans on foot. So many came to the area that anything that was there originally was trampled or otherwise damaged by the large numbers of Zerg, specifically the bigger breeds.

Gohan's energy rose as he dropped towards the ground, "I've got these." He transformed to Super Mystic and plunged right into the pack, attracting their attention. A bright silver and green eruption of energy then spread out from his position as if a great explosion had gone off. As it passed through the Zerg, their bodies were literally ripped apart by Gohan's power.

Upon seeing this, Laysh felt relieved, "I'm surprised you guys had any problems with them."

"The individual Zerg by themselves are quite weak and simple to finish off, but when wave after wave of them start coming in it can become a problem if you're not careful. We've had enough experience to not let that happen," Bardock explained. Verto grimaced as the deaths of all the Zerg below made him a little nauseous. Lenz noticed it first, but wasn't the only one that did.

"What's wrong boy, have the deaths of all your little friends down there gotten to you that much?" Vegeta mocked. Verto gave him a sharp glare before setting his eyes straight and forward.

Despite his expression, he almost felt relieved. _I guess I must still be sane if I can feel guilty about killing Zerg again. But I can't lose focus on what needs to be done_. Upon sensing what was ahead, Verto detected a potent Psionic presence within the hive. He recognized it immediately and transformed to Super Mystic before flying ahead.

"Where the devil are you going boy, we do this together!" Vegeta shouted.

"You guys can handle surrounding them and not letting any escape as you work your way in. I have to speak to Kerrigan first, there's something I need to know," Verto called back.

"Be careful, she is not the same as you remember," Alt-Goku warned.

Vegeta growled a bit, "Try anything funny boy and you're dead!" Verto rolled his eyes slightly as he increased his speed drastically, arriving at the primary hive cluster quickly. It was quite a bit larger than what he would expect out of a standard Zerg hive, which was already huge to begin with. This one was easily four to five times bigger, and it had a rather large entryway that would easily allow the larger Zerg Ultralisks to walk in side by side. On the ground, Verto spotted several new Zerg species that he didn't recognize, but all of them certainly had his attention. Smaller ones were covered in sacs of green fluid and could roll around on the ground fairly easily. Verto didn't have to guess what their purpose was, it was somewhat obvious that they were basically living bombs of acid that he preferred not to get near. Another strain that he was uncertain about was a massive beast that even made the Ultralisk look a bit meek. It walked on a set of sharp talons for feet with large lobster like claws held up in the air. Judging by the size of its mouth and teeth, Verto guessed it could probably attack at range as well. A fact that was confirmed when it suddenly spat a volley of green at him, but missed when he flew up to avoid it. Verto charged his palms with energy and let loose a rapid barrage of green Chi blasts, massacring the new Zerg along with the old, sparing nothing. Explosions detonated all around the grounds of the hive cluster, sending blood and Zerg tissues flying everywhere as they burned. Once he had eliminated most of the groundlings nearby, he turned his full attention to the main hive structure itself.

"Come on out Kerrigan, I know you're in there!" Verto announced.

A loud and booming laugh struck the air with her voice, "Hahaha, look who's back. All things being equal, I can't say I expected to ever see you again, but things are not things are not equal are they?" With the sheer volume she spoke with, Verto couldn't be sure if she was just projecting her thoughts. The fact that the ground and air literally shook with her speech though revealed that she likely wasn't.

Verto frowned at the general lack of activity, "Do I have to tear this place down to get to you first?"

A large hand grasped the entryway as a pair of golden eyes came into view, "No need for that. I always come answer challenges personally!" Verto's jaw slipped and his eyes widened as the figure of Kerrigan came into view. It was just about everything he would come to expect from her with a slight deviation in skin color. It was her sheer size that threw him off as she barely fit through the huge entryway, taking her wing-like talons into account, which were easily the size of tree trunks.

_Something's definitely not the same, she's as big as an Oozaru Great Ape, maybe bigger! Her energy level is also quite a bit larger, but something feels off about it_. Kerrigan took one long step out, easily bridging the distance between them in one stride. Verto felt the need to glide backwards as her incredibly big body covered his field of vision.

He maneuvered upwards as he did so he could at least speak to her face, "And what the hell is this supposed to be? You can't tell me that you've actually turned into this."

The giant Kerrigan grinned wickedly as a few fangs easily two feet long came into view, "Your senses work well my tasty treat. This is an avatar I constructed for tricky situations like this when my minions aren't enough. My power is magnified through her nearly ten-fold! So you can't expect her to fall as easily as most Zerg. Now I'll squash you like the bug you are!" Kerrigan quickly reached towards Verto with her humongous hands, trying to grab a hold and squish him between. A green ball of light erupted as Verto spread his arms wide, forcing her hands away.

He didn't waste a moment and charged his right hand with a strong blast, intent on finishing the monstrosity quickly, "Final Shine!" Kerrigan's size proved to be a disadvantage as she had no chance to get out of the way, and the beam blew a sizable hole right through her chest. The giantess tumbled to the ground, smashing any remaining thing there and laid motionless. Verto folded his arms and descended closer to the ground, taking a long look at the wound and making sure she was finished. He still sensed plenty of energy active and charged up another Final Shine blast and aimed at her head. Just as he was about to fire, her eyes shot open and she lunged off the ground towards him. Verto was knocked away by the sudden charge and crashed into a bloodied Zerg creep colony. Kerrigan's hands lit up with orange colored energy as she fired a sizable blast at Verto's position. The small hut exploded from the sudden emergence of Verto's aura, which was enough to deflect Kerrigan's blast upwards harmlessly. When the debris scattered enough to fully reveal him, he had his arms drawn back and was preparing another powerful attack.

"Come here little worm, I'm going to eat you!" Kerrigan roared as she stepped towards him and bent down with her hands outstretched. Verto's eyes filled with malice, If that's how she wants it.

Verto powered up his blast considerably more before pushing it forward, "Super Galic Gun!" Just as Kerrigan's huge hands reached him, his blast made them vanish. The beam expanded to a large enough size to completely obliterate a majority of the giant's form before shooting into the skies and detonating. When the explosion and wind force faded, only a large, smoking pair of feet remained.

Verto stood up straight and sighed heavily, _There's one big pain in the ass out of the way. Now where is the puppet master?_ Verto sensed that Kerrigan's energy had not faded completely, but it had moved from where her gigantic avatar had fallen, and it had weakened considerably.

"_I'll reveal myself little boy. You bested my pet in combat and I won't be able to do anything about it until she is revived. Neither I nor my minions will attack you during our parley. You have my word_," Kerrigan's voice said telepathically. Verto floated above the smoldering remains and flew towards the hive entryway, where he spotted a much smaller figure coming out to greet him. This time, it was the appropriate figure that he had expected, but the expression on her face read clear defeat.

"So, you come all the way here from a different timeline? May I ask you what the point is if you already defeated the Zerg before?" she asked first.

Verto's lip twitched a bit at the answer, "I didn't come here because I wanted to. There were a couple of threats that I needed to eliminate, and one of those is your former master the Overmind, no matter what form he was in."

Kerrigan sighed, "The Overmind hasn't been in control of the Zerg for quite a time, I have. The creature's blood poisoned the entire planet and your former friends here. In truth, I was waging a war against him as well as the Saiyans. They never realized that they were under his control until it was too late. However, I sense that he is no longer present on the planet. I highly doubt you were easily able to wipe his remnant from the deepest ocean, not without some sort of weapon."

"You could say that, I'm only here by request to help wipe the rest of you out," Verto said simply.

"I see, I hope you didn't expect to destroy me without a fight. You know fully well what I can do, don't you?" Kerrigan warned.

"I hope you don't think that you can beat me with your level of power. That giant avatar thing was a nice trick, but you'd need a lot more of them. Assuming that I'm the same Verto that you knew would be a mistake," Verto fired back.

"Yes, that is true. Still, I don't see the point of you bothering with the last remaining colony of Zerg. It's not like the other Saiyans couldn't have handled it if they were indeed cleansed," Kerrigan pointed out. Verto gave her a hard stare as she gave off her tone of defeat. _At least she realizes she won't be getting out of this one_.

Verto crossed his arms again, "I have a few questions first and you're likely the only one that can answer them. Even if you can't, it'll give me a good idea of why things went the way they did in my timeline."

Kerrigan was slightly taken aback by this, "Alright, I suppose I can spare the time."

"In the other timeline you helped me to overthrow the Overmind, you and the Cerebrate both did. You both undermined his authority and were not under his control completely, even though you pretended to be. I want to know why you would've done that. I realize it was different here, but just try to picture it," Verto said.

Kerrigan stared back, confused, "Which Cerebrate are you speaking of? Zasz, Daggoth? One of the others perhaps?"

"He didn't have a name, it was just Cerebrate," Verto replied.

Kerrigan shook her head, "All Cerebrates have names, even if they are unknown to outsiders. And as for undermining the Overmind's authority goes, if he was still alive in his full form, that couldn't have happened. I was never free of his full control at any time here until his primary body was destroyed. The same goes for Cerebrates and other Zerg. For any sort of rebellion to work, some other presence stronger than the Overmind's will would have had to take control of me, or disrupt his. If what you said is true, then it would have likely been done directly by some sort of possession. What kind of force would be able to do that, I have no idea."

Verto carefully thought that through, "Would that apply to a Cerebrate as well? Could it have also been controlled or possessed by another?"

Kerrigan rubbed her chin slightly, "In theory I suppose it's possible. I've never heard of it ever happening before now, but judging by the vivid memories of your mind, I can tell that you're not lying."

Verto scowled, "Stay out of my head. Next time you wait until I give you permission."

Kerrigan closed her eyes and smirked slightly, "You never did like that, even if it did make conversations easier. I'll save you the trouble of asking your next question though. I have seen that red-headed woman named Leira before, but I have no idea what she is, nor her story. If she is involved in these timeline shifts, then it's quite clear that she had something to do with how the other Kerrigan behaved."

Verto frowned at the thought probe again, but let it slide, "Thank you."

"Is that all?" Kerrigan asked.

"It's all I came here to know. I expect Gohan and the others will be here soon," Verto said as he turned around.

"I have no intention of waiting for my death. I wish you to make the killing blow," Kerrigan requested.

Verto gave her a stern stare, "Why? What would be the difference?"

"I'm tired Verto, I'm tired of this war that I can never win. I'm tired of being chained to this planet and to these things! Nothing I can do will convince the Saiyans that I'm no threat, certainly not after what happened. All I ever wanted was to live a standard life and I was forced into this one instead. I know if I continue on this path, I'll eventually go mad. Whether I could increase my powers to a point past your own is really irrelevant since it would take many more years than they'll allow me, especially now. And if anyone deserved getting killed by you, it was certainly me. Whether I was chained by the Overmind or not, I have regretted everything I've done, specifically to you. It was my digging and prodding that released the dark demon within you and for that we all paid dearly. End me now, or I promise I will never let you hear the end of it," Kerrigan demanded.

Verto thought it over briefly before he charged up another blast in his palm, "You're sure?"

Kerrigan nodded and closed her eyes, "Just make it quick. I know that you don't like to intentionally kill others, but you mustn't lose your hardened edge either. There's more to keeping yourself balanced than tipping to one side or the other. As for me, we've all suffered enough."

Verto grimly held up his palm and fired without another word. Kerrigan's form evaporated in the blast wave as it shot through the hive and exploded somewhere near the middle. Verto sighed heavily and took off into the air, hovering high above what remained of the hive cluster. He sensed the Zerg around him begin to frantically start attacking each other, acting on their base instincts without control. It wasn't difficult to sense the majority of the Zerg dying by blows of former comrades before they were systematically blown to pieces by the attacking Saiyans. He didn't have to wait long before Vegeta arrived with Laysh and Lenz, all of which looked very wary of what was going on.

"What happened boy? We sensed you were having a battle with a strong presence but now it's gone," Vegeta claimed.

"Those things are going crazy, they're killing each other now," Lenz said as she looked around.

"If you look hard enough you might find some remains. Kerrigan's dead, and because the Zerg no longer have any measure of control, they're killing each other. I'll leave you guys to clean up whatever is left," Verto said as he turned his back and flew away.

"Now wait just a damned minute!" Vegeta shouted at him, but he was already out of earshot. Laysh and Lenz quickly followed, taking note of the exasperated look on his face when they caught up.

Lenz was about to ask what had happened, but Laysh shook her head in warning, "Not worth it girl." The three of them remained silent on their way back to the sanctuary.

* * *

Verto didn't say another word until well after they had returned to the domed retreat for the Earth's remaining population. He ignored the people there despite their continued anxiety and hateful words. Only once he reached the primary building did he even relax enough to talk to Trunks, who greeted him at the door.

"How did it go?" Trunks asked, slightly excited.

"About as smooth as one could expect. The others are taking care of the rest of them," Verto replied.

Trunks shook his fists a bit, "Cool, can we go home now?"

Verto looked at him carefully, "As soon as I talk to Bulma, there's some things I need to know and I'm not sure your mother would cooperate."

Trunks' eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Verto didn't feel like explaining what was on his mind and dodged the question, "It shouldn't take any more than an hour. You guys be ready by then, and let Goku know." Verto then turned away from Trunks, Laysh and Lenz as he locked onto Bulma's position and walked straight in that direction.

Laysh felt slightly shunned, "Well, that was rude."

"I wonder what he needs to talk to Mom…I mean the other Mom about? She didn't say anything to me that sounded any weirder than this place already is," Trunks mumbled. Lenz remained silent as she watched him go, concerned.

The deep frown on Verto's face scared the faculty that filled the halls, causing the stationed soldiers to consider aiming their weapons. He walked right on by as if they weren't even there though, reaching Alt-Bulma's position fairly quickly. She was going over some sort of computer pad in a conference room when he walked in, likely examining some sort of digital document.

She knew when he entered though, and sighed heavily, "I guess it's time." Verto took a seat at the other end of the table to at least not impose, but it didn't seem to be that effective.

"Well you said to come see you before we left. And I do have questions that the other Bulma probably won't answer," Verto said.

Bulma nodded, "It probably pertains to things you weren't supposed to know when you first got here. To be honest we didn't know much either until after the whole incident with Majin Buu. And I think it's safe to say the other Bulma knows more than I do."

Verto returned the nod, "Yeah I'd buy that. But first, did you know I was only half-Saiyan the whole time?"

Bulma was taken aback, "That wasn't what I expected to hear first. And to answer you directly, no. There were genetic markers that I noticed were more human than they were Saiyan, but they were inactive so I didn't think much of them. After all you were supposed to have come from a human body to begin with, but I knew something was off. I'm pretty sure there's no way any magic pill could have turned you into a kid, not without something like the Dragon Balls being involved."

Verto folded his arms, "Yeah I've never been too sure about that but I was blind at the time and bought it. Vang said that there was a body transfer involved and someone had switched me out, kinda like what Ginyu does. I don't think he was lying either."

Bulma grimaced slightly, "No probably not. Have you met the one called Leira yet in the other timeline?"

The scowl and sudden spark of energy that went off of Verto's hands answered her question before he could speak on the matter, "Don't remind me."

"Guess so. She first came here after you, I mean the other Verto, was already gone. She asked what all happened and then claimed that she would do what she could to change the timeline to a more favorable outcome. We knew there wasn't much she could do here given the experience we have with time travel, so we didn't get our hopes up too much. When she left, she warned us not to go through the rift her time travel device left behind. I guess she had used it too much and it became unstable so she had to leave it in that cave, which made that rift. She was extra thorough in telling us to not only don't go through there, but also to never try to blow it up or something. She wouldn't say why, but did claim that it wouldn't be good," Bulma explained.

Verto cocked his head slightly, "Wouldn't be good? As in the 'destroys the planet' type of not good?"

"Something like that, we never tested the theory," Bulma replied.

Verto's eyes widened as he stared at her, "So despite being under the Overmind's control, no one even tried to go through?"

"There was someone that came through from your side before Vang. I never saw him but the reports were that he looked a lot like my colleague Doctor Cash. He wasn't here very long and vanished without much of a trace. We assumed the Zerg got him," she replied.

"No, but we've taken care of that mess as far as I know," Verto said as he stared at the empty table in dismay. His mind wasn't on the events involving Wheelo though, _Both worlds are connected by that rift. I had planned to make sure it was sealed when we came back through, but now that sounds like a really, really bad idea. _

Bulma pulled something from her lab coat and set it on the table, "Anyway, this is what I called you here for."

Verto snapped out of his own thoughts for the moment, "What is that?"

"It's a microchip, one that is designed to fit under a person's skin and then they can be tracked all over the world," Bulma claimed.

"Oh, Goku mentioned something about this. He showed me what happened, can I guess the other me wanted no part of it?" Verto asked carefully.

Bulma sighed heavily again, "You could say that. He snapped during that argument and I think you know what happened afterwards."

"I understand the idea and that at the time, with the Zerg, you do need to know where everyone is so that they're safe. The part that concerns me is that if they did something other than track you, or if the technology fell into the wrong hands. It's a form of fascist control that I've never liked," Verto stated.

Bulma gasped a bit, "Oh no, they were only designed to track. You'd have to plant a special chip in the brain or spinal cord for something more. These fit just under the skin pretty much wherever. I usually chose the side of the leg or shoulder so they didn't impede anything. It wasn't a big deal, I doubt it would even cause mild skin irritation. This one here though presents a problem."

"Why's that?"

"I implanted everyone here with these chips, but it was entirely voluntary, I never forced these on anyone who didn't want them. I may have egged them on a bit for safety reasons, but even you understood that. When Trunks came here, I immediately realized that I shouldn't put one in him despite what Vegeta and the others were stressing. After all they can at least track his power level if it became a problem. However when I gave him a medical scan, I found this one in his neck. It came from your timeline and only the other Bulma could have made it," Bulma explained. The heated look that filled Verto's face gave her a nervous chill, but nothing came of it as he appeared to calm down just as quickly.

"Mind if I take that with me?" Verto asked.

Bulma nodded, "Certainly, just don't be too hard on them. After all, it's not like we didn't care, we did. Even after all that happened, I still consider you a second son. I imagine the other Bulma feels the same way, probably more so."

Verto's face was nearly emotionless, "Well that doesn't mean they need to hide shit from me. I'm not the type that enjoys being lied too." He turned to leave but turned back with one of his deep smirks, "But I'll try not to blow anything up, no promises."

Bulma gave him a slight wave, "Take care."

**A/N: For those who have played SC2's campaign, then you should have had no problems following the elements I used in this chapter.**

**WDG**: It's over nine thousaaaaand!

**VB**: Yes, yes it is.


	107. Truths

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 106: Truths**

The flight back to the mysterious cave was as silent as any other, though Trunks was clearly relieved to be leaving as he flew near the front, just to the right of Verto. Alt-Goku and Alt-Gohan accompanied them, flying on Verto's left. Behind him, Lenz continued her duty of escorting the still incapacitated Goku. Physically he was just fine, but his energy level was so low that Verto could have sworn that he needed life support, by Saiyan standards anyway. Verto took note of Trunks' eagerness to leave, quite often passing them all and getting far enough ahead that he would have to be called back. After this happened five times, Verto finally had enough and decided to investigate by increasing his speed just enough to catch up and grab onto Trunks' backpack enough to slow him down momentarily.

"What's up with you? I know you're eager to leave, but we'll be there soon enough without pushing it," Verto said.

Trunks glanced back in realization, "Sorry, I guess I'm just sick of this place."

Verto nodded, "I can't say I blame you there. It's been strange for me too."

Trunks stared at the ground with dismay, "Well, there's something I did while I was here…"

Verto eyed him, "And what was that?"

Trunks glided closer to Verto so that he could whisper, "Promise not to tell anyone?"

Verto considered stopping but kept pace, "Is this about your special power? The one where you can read memories?"

Trunks gritted his teeth slightly, "I guess it kind of is, I mean it's how this other thing happened."

"You don't need to beat around the bush Trunks, what was it?" Verto asked with a stern voice.

"Dad, I mean the other Dad, whatever, he said that I ascended past regular Super Saiyan when the other me and I traded memories. I don't remember it and I've tried to do it again several times, no luck," Trunks admitted.

Verto felt a slight sense of relief, "Is that all? I thought you were gonna say you did something really bad."

Trunks didn't look nearly as content, "But what if it happens again? I didn't learn to do Super Saiyan like everyone else did, I've always been able to do it easy. What if I can't handle it?"

"I don't think you'll go crazy Trunks, after all you and Goten have gone higher as Gotenks. But if you're that worried about it, the best thing you can do is train yourself not to lose yourself in the power boost. Going Super Saiyan Two isn't all that different, think of it like breaking a second wall after your first transformation stage," Verto suggested.

Trunks grimaced, "That's what Gohan said to do, and it still doesn't work."

Verto shrugged, "Look it'll happen when it happens. Since you don't remember how to do it, there's no point in trying to duplicate it until that particular scenario comes back into play. I can show you how I do it, but it wouldn't be the same. Ditto on your father and anyone else who has been able to go that far. It's really a silly thing to concern yourself over."

"Yeah, I guess so, but could you still not tell my dad about it? I don't want him to know until I can actually do it," Trunks requested.

"Sure, if it's that important to you," Verto agreed.

"Thanks."

"But they are going to be finding out about your little ability. Not the best idea to withhold that one," Verto scolded.

"Yeah, but the other me showed me how to control it so even if someone randomly touches me, it won't go off," Trunks claimed.

"Good."

"There it is guys, at one o'clock!" Gohan shouted from behind. The group made a minor turn and arrived at the mountain that held the mystical rift that connected the two Earths. Only the hole on the side remained of what used to be a landing space, one that was melted off by a brief battle with the Zerg.

"I guess this is it," Alt-Goku said as Trunks entered the cave first.

"I don't expect we'll be seeing each other ever again, but for what it's worth, it's nice to know that at least one Verto turned out good," Gohan remarked.

Verto snorted, "I can't say it was nice to know that one Gohan turned out bad, even if he was possessed. Same goes to you Goku, even if it was really Vang again. Those were a few smash fests I don't really care to repeat. Then again…it's not like that hasn't happened before either."

All Son family members laughed at this, prompting Laysh to follow Trunks, "You people are all nuts!"

"I heard that!" Lenz shouted after her as she and Goku landed and proceeded inside.

"Thanks though, without you I'm not sure we could have had a chance of recovering from the Zerg attack. Now maybe we can get things back to normal around here," Gohan said as he gazed at the harsh horizons.

"Depends on what you mean by normal. Just go find yourself a new girl to…ah hell I shouldn't have said that…" Verto said, smacking his face with palm.

"It's alright, there's a girl named Lime that I've had my eye on lately," Gohan admitted.

Alt-Goku nudged his son's shoulder, "You dog, so that's what you've been up to when you're not fighting the Zerg."

Gohan blushed slightly, "Not _all_ the time."

Verto couldn't resist the urge to laugh, "Alright, I'm going back to the normal world now."

Alt-Goku stopped him for a moment, "Just remember what I said if things ever get bad again."

Verto nodded knowingly, "I won't forget."

Gohan watched as his friend disappear into the cave before glancing at his father, "What did you mean by that dad?"

"I'll tell you another time, right now I'm starving!"

* * *

At the sight of another cave opening, the group emerged out into a world much calmer and much greener than the one they had just left. Each of them easily noticed the difference in just the air once they had crossed the rift again.

Once sunlight shined brightly in their eyes, Goku took it all in with a deep, satisfying breath, "Much better."

"I have to agree with you, Kakarot right? Anyways, that place was abysmal," Laysh remarked.

Goku glanced at her, "My name is Goku."

"But your Saiyan name is Kakarot, right?" Laysh asked.

"Yeah…"

"Then that's what I'll call you."

"It really isn't necessary," Goku argued.

"Don't bother, he won't budge. Might as well use one name or the other, he responds to both. After all he was raised on Earth by humans not Saiyans," Verto advised.

Laysh shook her head slightly, "That's just an excuse. You got another name too? Maybe Psycho Kid would be good."

Verto's eyes were quick to narrow, "I wouldn't go there if I were you, you're a woman."

Laysh folded her arms and smirked slightly as she motioned towards Lenz, "You just now notice this? How long did it take with her?"

Verto returned the expression, "My point was that women have no room to talk about being a little crazy. You do it at least once a month."

Laysh scowled, "That's biological moron, it happens naturally!"

"Yeah!" Lenz added.

"PMS is just an excuse," Verto countered.

Both Laysh and Lenz looked highly irritated, "Asshole!"

Verto stared at them both, "Your point?"

Goku looked on with slight confusion, "What are you guys upset about? Wait, are you talking about that weird smell that ladies give off every so often?"

Verto palmed his face sharply while Trunks looked disgusted, "Gross."

"If you are done talking about pointless things, I would like to speak to the boy alone," a voice said from the side. They all looked over to see Leira standing there, red hair blowing in the wind.

"Speaking of PMS," Verto muttered.

"Careful, I may not hand over anything nice this time," Leira warned.

"How about you admit that you hid the Dragon Ball in that other world?" Verto asked immediately. The whole group stared at Verto with surprise, though in Laysh's case it was more from confusion.

"What's a Dragon Ball? I keep hearing that term but I've never heard of that," Laysh claimed.

Leira ignored her, "And how did you come to that deduction?"

Verto scowled, "Fess up, it had to have been you. I can't think of too many others that would think to hide a Dragon Ball in another world, never mind another timeline. It explains perfectly why we couldn't find them all on the radar before. And it was conveniently placed as bait for Trunks or whoever else might be looking for it to find that rift. And don't get me started on why Vang was released from the evil containment jar and how he came back. Need I go on?" Leira frowned deeply before reaching for what looked to be a small bottle attached to a belt.

She pulled it out before tossing it to Goku, "Drink up, it contains the antidote to Vang's spectral poison."

Goku sniffed the fluid inside slightly, "It smells funny."

"It's not going to taste much better, but you should drink some right away. This process will not be quick," Leira advised.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Trunks asked.

"Vang's poison spreads quickly, but doesn't achieve its full effect for some time afterwards. Goku has been infected for such a long duration that it may be irreversible at this point. We need to determine that now," Leira continued, nodding towards Goku.

He shrugged, "Alright, here goes nothing."

Verto grimaced slightly, "How long before we know…"

Goku had barely taken a sip before he had spit out the pink fluid out of his mouth, "Yuck, that's nasty!"

"So much for that, I don't suppose there's an easier method to this," Verto said.

"There is, you could inject him instead. I should probably mention that this process will require two injections per day for one week. Drinking all of the antidote now will require two weeks to fully cure him," Leira said, pushing the one button that worked.

Goku gulped slightly, "Um, never mind. It tastes fine! In fact I've never tasted anything better!" Goku began drinking from the flask again without complaint, drawing a look of disgust from Verto.

"What's sad is that this will end up being easier," Verto muttered. After the first real drink, Verto sensed an almost instant change in Goku's energy level, even though it didn't rise all that much.

"How do you feel?" Leira asked.

Goku held up his hand and concentrated hard before a small ball of gold fizzled into view, "My energy is back."

"Not quite. It'll be awhile before it's up to what you're used to again. Drink the rest of that bottle today and you'll be back to about half of your full power by the end of the week. It'll take another seven days for it to completely return after that, so don't over-do it," Leira warned.

Goku groaned slightly as he held his stomach, "I really don't feel all that well."

"That's to be expected, the antidote has quite a few side effects. It will probably feel similar to when you were first infected, only in reverse. I suggest you get moving before the majority of those effects kick in. Lenz, go with him to be sure he gets home alright," Leira ordered. Lenz nodded momentarily, but paused when she saw the stern glare Verto was giving Leira.

"Go on Lenz, meet us back at Capsule Corp," Verto said without looking. Lenz complied and braced Goku by the shoulder again before taking off into the air. Leira took note of Verto's expression and pulled another bottle from her belt, tossing it to Trunks.

"I believe your father will be wanting that," Leira said as she waved him off. Trunks took the hint and stuff the bottle into his backpack before turning Super Saiyan and blasting off, wasting no time in vanishing into the distance. Laysh followed before anyone had to say anything, though she didn't go far before she stopped and waited about a mile away, well out of earshot.

"So, I won't bother asking if you defeated Vang, the fact that you've returned is evidence enough. What did you want to ask me about? Perhaps you want to start with the obvious things now," Leira began.

"You possessed Kerrigan didn't you?" Verto asked.

Leira sighed, "Hard to get any more obvious than that. She told you this?"

"Not directly as it was a different Kerrigan, but now that I think about of it, it makes perfect sense. Your attitude matches the way she was around me at the time. I'd like to say that it made her appear to be more…human, than Zerg at the time, but even that's hard to tell. You did something to the Cerebrate though, that's why he was able to affect me the way he did. I stopped feeling his presence after the fusion though, which I didn't understand…" Verto said vaguely.

"Didn't understand until what?" Leira said knowingly.

"Until I had that dream about your brother, or should I say, my ancestor. Whatever you want to call him," Verto replied.

Leira sighed again, "Predecessor is a better word. So who revealed that to you?"

"I already had a hint of all that, one thing at a time. The dream spoke of that Verto's powers being slightly divided between what was given initially and then the rest given later. I trust that's what the Cerebrate did to me before I regained control of my body at the time?" Verto asked.

"More or less. What actually happened though is more of what you would consider a healing process," Leira said.

"What do you mean?"

"Since both of them were in a story telling mood, I'll set some of the record straight. Despite what you may have heard from the other Vegeta or even Vang, I did not lie to you before and neither did the Kais. We just didn't tell you everything because it wasn't time for you to know. They did implant you with a dying spirit to try and maintain stability while the other Saiyan spirit inside you remained dormant. The two were merged together and then sealed to prevent potential problems at the time. That's why your energy levels weren't balanced at first. When the Overmind ripped the other Saiyan loose and he took control, your soul was damaged. The being posing as the Cerebrate used the remaining power from my brother to repair the damage before he passed on, which while it wasn't that much in terms of energy was quite potent. When you ejected the other Saiyan spirit, it had nowhere to go but back to the Overmind at the time. When you fought him again with your advanced skills and won, he floated off into the great beyond. That being, much like Vang, may be able to return and cause you trouble some day, but I don't expect that to occur for some time, if at all. Do you understand?" Leira asked at the end.

Verto's scowl didn't diminish, "Yeah, I get it. But don't keep hiding shit from me, it's getting really annoying. So who was the Cerebrate?"

Leira closed her eyes and smiled, "It's not my place to tell you that, and it wasn't even my idea at the time."

"Figures. Is there anything else I should know now that we're opening up a bit? Like maybe why do all this? I get that you miss your brother and are carrying out his wishes and everything, but why me?" Verto asked.

Leira's smile faded, "I didn't select you if that's what you mean. The idea of creating Saiyans out of humans was given to the Frieza of your universe by another with the purpose of creating a list of potential candidates. The eventual result was you. I wasn't happy about it either, you didn't fit any of the criteria I wanted to remember my brother by. If it had been up to me, you'd probably still be on that world, carrying on your human life somewhat peacefully, but it wasn't up to me."

"No need to get angry about it, it's not like I've had that much fun. Sure I've always wanted powers like this, what immature kid wouldn't? Then all the shit hit the fan," Verto said spitefully.

"Yes, I realize that it hasn't been a cakewalk but that's part of growing up as you well know, now that you've done it twice. And while it wasn't up to me how things came together, I've been quite surprised by the outcome. Manipulating a timeline may create a potential outcome, but it's never the one you expect. When I volunteered for this mission and began working to undo the damage caused by your introduction, I honestly thought everything had fallen apart because of what happened. I didn't give you much of a chance because I didn't think you were worth the trouble. Despite how things developed and how they could still turn out, I've since changed my mind," Leira admitted.

Verto grimaced a bit, "And what changed your mind? I haven't exactly been a perfect little angel. I'm sure there were at least a million others that were far better choices than me."

"Believe me, it's best that you aren't a perfect little angel. And I'm sure that there were many others with cleaner souls and better records than you to pick from. But you understand pain and suffering and you haven't succumbed to it, not completely. You can feel guilt and humility. You have morals and ethics and you don't take the easy roads. You know what it's like to be under-privileged. And you also aren't a mindless follower, you can think for yourself. You may not be the strongest around, but you can certainly be a leader if it falls to you. It's those qualities that make you the best candidate, not some upper class pedigree. Whatever anyone else may think, I want you to know that you were worth it, and I also want you to know that my brother would have been pleased," Leira said with a humble tone.

Verto felt a bit confused, "Thanks, I guess. I'm not sure about the leader part, but I'll certainly try my hardest when I have to. Vang mentioned that both sides of your cold war are recruiting. I'd rather not be pulled into it."

Leira grimaced slightly, "Well, sooner or later everyone will be, that's a fact. What Vang said doesn't matter though, it's still your choice. And to be perfectly honest, that war is likely so far away that it won't even be in your lifetime."

"So, were the Super Saiyans of old being recruited?" Verto asked.

Leira paused for a moment, "Yes, but by only one side. My brother created that mess and I made it worse. For that we paid the price, and so did the Saiyans, specifically anyone who inherited the corrupted bloodlines."

Verto shook his head in dismay, "Yeah, I gathered that. Just out of curiosity, am I the only one you're trying to recruit? Because it seems like a lot of work."

Leira's tension didn't ease, "No."

"Who else?"

Leira paused before she answered, "There are too many to count in just this realm. More specifically though, every potential candidate is examined very, very carefully. You have to understand that part of that is a test. The only sure way to test someone is through reality, not simulation. I'm sure you've heard that a few times already. And you're not the only one on this planet that we're keeping an eye on with this particular method. But I'm sure you are aware of that."

"The others, Gohan, Goku, Vegeta and the rest?"

Leira nodded, "They have the same kind of potential you have. It may come in a different form, but trust me, it's very similar. Whether they rise to claim that is another story, but they are very motivated, even if they don't appear to be."

"Yeah, I'm sure Vegeta hates being third or fourth strongest. So that's why you spoke about someone other than Gohan and I being able to channel Chi waves if they pushed hard enough while fused," Verto guessed.

"Correct. Both Goku and Vegeta alone are a long ways from doing it by themselves, but together that would be different right now. Given enough time, both of them could easily surpass the power Ranot displayed. But there's also something else you have to understand, when anyone begins to rise to that level of concentrated energy, strength and power start mattering less than you may think and it becomes more of a mental game. Even if you attach a power rating number to the weakest of humans and compare it that way, they could still be a potential threat if they were able to generate dense energy waves or use particular abilities. This you know based on recent events on Earth. Strength and power aren't everything, one needs skill as well and for that, they need to have a mind. Most of what I would consider strong demons have all four. Bearing that in mind, any human could defeat a being like Vang at his best given the right situation, just like any Zerg can wound even the strongest Saiyan if they had the chance. When it comes to higher level beings though, the kind of power you're used to is nothing to them. At the same time, you and your friends are strong enough to give them pause. Anything is possible when you apply enough energy, concentration and intention, remember that," Leira warned.

"Yeah, I can't argue with that. Just tell me one more thing, I get that I'm your brother's descendent and all. I get the half-human, half-Saiyan thing to prevent me from going completely demon ape-shit. I get the timeline changes and the secrets and everything else. But, I don't have to start calling you my sister now do I?" Leira's eyes widened a bit as she stared at him before promptly laughing, which Verto had never seen her do before. It was hard enough that she tumbled to the ground and rolled a bit.

She recovered quickly and wiped a few tears from her eyes but continued to chuckle slightly, "No, maybe Auntie would be better?"

"Doubt it, might make you seem older than you already are," Verto snickered.

"Watch it brat, I'm still your elder. Besides, I look quite good for my age," Leira claimed as she stood up.

"Yeah, not a day past two thousand," Verto laughed back. The two continued enjoying the moment for several minutes before it faded.

Leira's face read relief as she brushed her red hair aside, "I thought you'd be a little angrier with me to be honest."

Verto shrugged, "I was, but there isn't a point. What happened is already past us, no point in fretting over it any more than I already have. Unless you have more to tell me?"

Leira smirked as her eyes closed again, "There's always more to tell you Verto, the universe is a very big place and the domain of time is infinitely larger. But if you need to know anything now, then ask away while you can. I can't tell you everything there is to know obviously, but I can probably shed some light at least."

Verto paused in thought, "There was one thing that I found out about both Ranot and Vang that sounded a little strange. They both worked with someone named Razil, does that name mean anything to you?"

Leira's eyes shot open with genuine surprise, "What?"

"Yeah, both Laysh and I overheard a conversation on Yusuke's world by using a scouter transmission. And then this Razil person showed up during my fight with Vang to warn him about my plan to use the sacred water and to hurry up and beat me. I didn't quite see his face, but I'd recognize the voice if I heard it again. What does this guy have against me?" Verto asked.

Leira's facial expression faded from the initial shock to the sternness that Verto was more accustomed to seeing, "Are you absolutely certain about this, his name was Razil?"

"Yeah, a hundred percent. Ask Laysh if you want to, she heard the discussion he had with Ranot. There was something about a treasure hunt that Ranot was on, which I assume is what he sent Chal and the others to get. Never found out what that was about but it doesn't matter now. There was also something about getting someone named Venestra kicked off of a council and an invasion. I know I've heard that Venestra name a few times now but with all these facts it's getting hard to piece it together. Vang also said something about a group of stronger demons and a group called the Guardians that you work for and it all sounded like they fit into this somehow. Like I already said, I really don't care about your cold war and all, but it sounded like this Razil person wants it to go hot again," Verto explained. Leira bit her lip slightly, as if she were resisting the urge to lash out at Verto.

Any sort of threatening tone was quickly held back though, "Go on home and relax, you've earned the break. I'll look into this Razil person you spoke of and I'll also make sure that no one finds their way into this time rift again. Stay out of trouble if you can."

Verto stared back in puzzlement, "Okay, see you around then." Leira motioned him to leave as she stood and appeared to focus on what Verto had told her. Verto took off and met up with Laysh, who also noticed the anger in the air coming from Leira.

"What's up with her? I thought you were the one who would be pissed off about something she said, not the opposite," Laysh claimed.

Verto shrugged his shoulders as he looked back one last time, "I'm not completely sure, but I don't intend to make it any of my business until I have to. Let's go, I have some other things to address."

Laysh seemed to accept that, but had a beaming look in her eye, "So, you gonna tell me about these Dragon Ball things or not?"

Verto gritted his teeth in slight panic but shook his head slightly, "It's more of a matter of trust, and I don't think the other Renegades should know about them."

Laysh scowled, "Those fools couldn't get squat out of me if I don't want them too. I didn't help you go through all that hell just to be left in the dark you know!"

"Alright, it's like this…"

Once the pair was gone, Leira's knees shook enough to cause her to tumble to the ground again, but not from laughter. _Lord Razil, so he's the one that has been tampering with my mission. Now it all makes sense. The only problem is that I can't go after him until he makes his next move or come up with sufficient evidence against him. Since I can't travel through time anymore, I can't go back and witness what Verto overheard myself. I could use the Pendulum Room, but I know he wasn't lying, and it won't prove anything anyway. Looks like I'll have to wait and see how this plays out before I can counter act this. But if things play out like I expect, this planet is going to need assistance that I can't give…_

* * *

When Verto and Laysh arrived at Capsule Corp, they found Gohan waiting for them outside.

"Did you find my Dad?" he asked first.

Verto's eyebrow shot into the air, "Trunks didn't say anything?"

"He was in kind of a rush to see Vegeta," Gohan pointed out.

"Well the short answer is yes. Lenz took him home, you should go see him," Verto answered. Not another word needed to be said before Gohan pressed two fingers to his forehead and vanished.

"Now that is one cool trick. Why don't you do that?" Laysh asked once she realized how far he had gone in that instant.

Verto glanced at her in annoyance, "Because I don't want to." He locked onto Trunks and Vegeta's power levels and found them in Bulma's lab. Vegeta's energy signal felt quite strange, as if he were powering up and down at random for no particular reason. He didn't feel like he was all that powerful, but the signal portrayed his presence better than it would have as a Super Saiyan. Verto hadn't felt this the last time he had been near Vegeta, so the symptom felt new.

_That must be the other effect that Vang's poison has. Come to think of it, when I had the dreams about Leira's brother, they said that it lit him up like a beacon for others to follow. Goku didn't feel like this…but Vang got him after his battle with Frost when he was exhausted. So maybe because Vegeta was powered up at the time and Goku wasn't kept the poison from affecting him in the same way, like a delayed or maybe accelerated process depending on how it reacts._ Verto was lost enough in his thoughts that he forgot that Laysh was following him through the halls until he stopped and she bumped into him.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"Maybe you should wait in the lobby for this," he suggested.

Laysh looked insulted, "Am I that untrustworthy at this point? I already gave you my word that I wouldn't tell the others about those Dragon Ball things."

"Just trying to keep the fire down to a manageable blaze instead of an inferno," Verto remarked.

"Hmph, if it's a problem I can cool things down easily," Laysh smirked as she held up a bright blue ball of energy that chilled the room quite quickly.

"Well put that thought on ice for the moment," Verto said in a snarky tone.

Laysh scowled, "Fine." Once she turned and walked in the other direction, Verto continued onward. He could hear Trunks' excited voice as he replayed Verto's battle with Vang to his father.

"…And after that he hit him so hard that he fell out of Super Saiyan Three instantly! Then he used that super cool double Spirit Bomb on him!" Trunks rambled on. Verto entered the doorway while Trunks was pumping his fist at the air while his parents looked on. Bulma was more amused than anything, and Vegeta annoyed, but both were listening.

"Is that how it all went? I seem to recall a few other things in-between," Verto said as he leaned against the doorway, surprising Trunks.

"Oh, you're back already? I thought you were busy talking to that weird lady," Trunks claimed.

Verto grinned, "It doesn't usually take that long. As long as you gave your father the antidote."

Trunks paled and pulled the bottle out from his backpack, "Sorry Dad. Here it is."

Vegeta eyed the flask carefully, "And what is this supposed to be?"

"The cure to Vang's poison, Leira said it would take two weeks to fully restore your strength. That's assuming you drink it all today," Verto advised. Vegeta growled slightly before downing over half the bottle in just a few gulps.

"Tastes like crap. Run along Trunks, I imagine the boy would like to speak to me," Vegeta ordered.

Bulma stood up to leave, but Verto's threatening glare went to her, "Both of you actually."

Trunks was barely half a step out the door before he stopped at Verto's words, "Both of them? I thought you only wanted to talk to Mom?"

Verto snorted slightly, "Parents hide things from their children until they're old enough to know certain things Trunks. They do it for a reason, and this is no different."

That didn't seem to appease Trunks much, "But after what you did to the other version of my Dad..."

Verto turned to him briefly, "If you mean what I did while defending myself, then you can relax, there won't be any violence. You weren't there, but does it surprise you that the other Vegeta attacked me first? You saw how they were."

"Yeah I guess so," Trunks said as he quickly left. Nearly a minute passed before anyone said anything, so Bulma felt the need to break the silence first.

"So you found out about the Overmind's blood?" Bulma began.

Vegeta's head turned slightly towards her, "Did you honestly think he wouldn't? You were even foolish enough to hide it from me."

"Because I knew you would probably do something stupid Vegeta!"

"How is wiping out one of the biggest threats we've ever faced a stupid thing?"

"You know nothing about that rift thing that Leira told us about. If you do what I think you'll do when you're better, then it may destroy half the planet!"

Verto cleared his throat, "Ahem, you both have valid points on that one. But to clear the air, the Zerg are gone now, and so is the Overmind. But I wouldn't do anything to that rift just yet. If you damage the cave that it's in, it may rupture and I'm guessing that wouldn't be a good thing for either world. Leira warned the other Bulma about that."

Vegeta grunted slightly, "Either way, the rift needs to be dealt with. Once I find out where it is, I will deal with it one way or another."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "Don't act like you don't know where it is. I know you do, so don't even lie about it."

Vegeta looked smug, "Look who's acting all high and mighty now, just remember who you're calling a liar, brat! Unless you have proof to backup your claims then I suggest you keep a lid on it."

Verto reached into his side pocket and tossed a small metallic item to him, "Well here's your fucking proof!" Vegeta eyed the microchip before his eyes darted to Bulma, who gasped slightly. Both remained silent at this particular revelation for the moment.

"That kind of control might have been a good idea with the Zerg around, but not here, not now. Especially when some random mad scientist can easily find that kind of technology and use it to his advantage. I'm sure Doctor Wheelo would love to have access to something like that," Verto proclaimed angrily.

Bulma was the first to accept it, "I take it the other Bulma found this?"

"Probably wasn't hard to figure out since she had the others already implanted in that world. You said before that you had a general idea of where Trunks disappeared to, which just so happened to be right where the rift was. If Vegeta was that incapacitated, then he wouldn't have been able to tell where Trunks went, unless there was some sort of tracking device involved. Need any more proof? Or are you going to finally come clean with me?" Verto demanded.

Bulma slumped slightly, "Truthfully, I had the best intentions for this. After the Flandal incidents in both North and South City, we needed to be able to track each other without relying on you guys sensing power levels. Doesn't do a whole lot of good with those Ki Disruptors. And some day we may have need of such things if Frost and his empire show up. Not to mention the mess with the new tribe of Saiyans you discovered."

Verto listened carefully but was undeterred, "I understand where you're coming from, but what if that were to fall into Wheelo's hands? Then he could track us too."

Vegeta's forehead lit up with popped veins, "That foolish human died with his robot."

Verto glared at him, "You buried the robot, you didn't destroy it. Just because he lost doesn't mean he died. If he could transfer his mind as quickly as I saw down in that lab, I'm sure he could do it again if he had to."

"That's ridiculous!" Vegeta roared back.

"Is it? You beat the tar out of him once at the North City lab and he lived. Then you beat him again when the odds were a bit more even, but who's to say that he didn't have a backup plan that time too?" Verto suggested.

Vegeta grunted slightly, "Hmph, maybe you should go check his grave if you're so concerned, maybe he's magically alive and walking around like a zombie!"

"Give me the location and it'll be done in the morning," Verto offered.

Vegeta seemed to give in, "Do what you want, I don't care."

"Has anyone else been implanted with these tracking chips?" Verto asked Bulma.

She pointed to a patch of swelled skin on her leg, "Only me and Trunks. I didn't want to test anything on anyone else before I knew they worked. Vegeta knocked out Trunks so he wouldn't know."

Verto bit his lip to keep from lashing out, "Did you ever consider his feelings on the matter? Maybe you should just go with some sort of tracking bracelet or a bug that fits on the clothes."

"I did consider that, but I also know my son would forget to use such a thing. What happens next time we end up in a situation where were all separated and in danger?" Bulma argued.

"That doesn't make what you did right, even if it's done with the best of intentions. Some of the worst things ever done were for righteous causes. The other Bulma thought she could purify the water and ended up infecting everyone with the Overmind's blood by accident," Verto fired back.

Bulma's eyes went wide and she backed off, "I guess I never thought of it that way. Explains why Leira didn't want me even looking at that stuff." Verto shook his head slightly in dismay, spotting the Dragon Ball that Trunks had retrieved sitting on Bulma's desk.

"So, what were you guys planning to do with the Dragon Balls anyway? I seem to recall some deception before I went on Leira's mission that nearly got me killed against the Saiyan Ranot," Verto said, changing the subject. Bulma glanced at Vegeta, who eyed her for a moment before looking away.

"Well Leira wanted all these cursed Saiyans eliminated…" Bulma started.

Verto was quick to cut in, "I already knew that. She was focused more on Lenz and her people, and that was before we knew about the demon Kaon. Frost has pretty much wiped all of the Rotians out. The only ones left other than Lenz are so out of their minds that they can't function, assuming they're still alive now."

"Well we wanted to use the balls to wish back her planet and her people. That was before we knew that they all had this demon curse thing. And of course once Frost came into the picture again we weren't sure," Bulma said.

Verto leaned against the wall in thought, "From what I've seen, Frost would likely notice if that planet were to be wished back, including the other Rotians. We wouldn't be doing them any favors. How long has it been exactly since Frost destroyed that planet?"

"Well let's see, today is October the fourteenth, and Vegeta got back on February the twenty-third. So how long before Goku could teleport you here did that happen?" Bulma asked her husband.

Vegeta glanced at her briefly, "Ten days."

"Well, it's been less than a year, so we still have time," Bulma pointed out.

Vegeta's teeth cinched, "It doesn't matter woman! Even if we wish them back, Frost will just kill them again! It would be a pointless exercise in futility."

Bulma had a quick counter, "Okay, but what if we wish all of the Rotians to the Earth's check-in station first so that they can be brought back to life here? We've done that before with Krillin, right?"

Vegeta's anger went up a notch, "And have all of those mental cases running loose here instead? Do you realize how stupid that sounds woman?"

Bulma quickly lost her patience, "Well it was originally your bad idea, moron!"

Verto was quietly thinking it over before the answer came to him, "The crystals."

"What?" Bulma asked.

"I said the crystals, they're the answer to this," Verto replied.

Vegeta growled, "What the devil are you talking about boy?"

"Lenz's special crystal suppresses her demon energy. The same was true with her brother and with me when I tried it out. He said that planet Rotaria was full of these crystal shards and that every Rotian had one before the planet was destroyed. Only after did they start going crazy. I've seen them work myself," Verto explained.

"I get you, as long as they have these special crystals, they don't go crazy. I wonder why that is," Bulma pondered.

"I don't know, some old man locked up at Frost's base said it was based on some mystical creature that protected the Rotarians and that it was passed down to even the Saiyan hybrids. A lot of good that did I guess," Verto said in spite.

"Maybe we should ask the dragon to move the planet or something when we wish it back, and then take a trip to Namek. That might be the best course of action," Bulma claimed.

Vegeta shook his head, "If I recall, you said her crystal shattered when that demon first popped out."

"Her brother's actually, and it was after Wheelo had removed it and let Kaon out. I wasn't there till after, but the crystal reacted to Kaon and tried to re-seal her again, it just wasn't strong enough. I imagine that as long as none of the Rotians are away from their crystals, they can't succumb. That's how it was when I tried to reverse the condition at Frost's base, they were fine until they no longer had physical contact with a shard," Verto explained further.

"And if they all have demons inside them, what then genius?" Vegeta remarked sarcastically.

Verto grimaced at him, "Look I don't know. From what I can tell, Lenz is the only one of them that has an alter ego like Kaon. It's a lot like the one I had after all. Maybe it's our fault for training her to be so much stronger than her people were."

Vegeta snorted, "You mean your fault, boy."

"If I recall, you gave me the order when we were both still dead, so shut the hell up before I knock your teeth out!" Verto fired back.

"As if you could!" Vegeta dared. Verto's eyebrow went up momentarily before the two settled into one of their glaring matches again.

Bulma however was deep in thought, "There's something else about this you might want to know."

Verto's eyes shifted to her but he didn't turn his head, "And what is that?"

"Leira didn't want us to use the Dragon Balls to wish Lenz's people back," Bulma said.

Verto's gaze went back to Vegeta before he answered, "That's probably why she hid the Dragon Ball in the other timeline then, makes sense."

"Well, Kibito Kai didn't want us to either. They both said in separate instances not to wish these people back," Bulma added.

That got Verto's attention as he turned to her fully, "Why does that not surprise me?"

"That's why we've been hesitant to do anything as of yet, and obviously we've also had all these other things come up," Bulma pointed out.

Verto scowled as he looked straight up, "Like one big distraction. Next time I see that Kai he's getting the shit kicked out of him."

"The Kai does have a point," Vegeta cut in. Verto and Bulma both stared at him as if he were crazy. He suddenly smirked though, "But who am I to side with authority?"

Verto returned the smirk, "That'll be the day."

Bulma sighed as she stood up, "So I guess I should get a spaceship ready."

Vegeta put his hand up to stop her, "You've got enough projects going on to bother with that. Once Kakarot and I are back to full strength, we'll use his Instant Transmission, one way or another."

"I thought he couldn't sense them this far away?" Bulma asked.

"It's never stopped that fool before," Vegeta pointed out.

"So what other projects are you working on?" Verto asked straight away, catching Bulma off guard.

"Oh nothing, just a few little things," Bulma lied quickly.

Vegeta folded his arms, "Don't bother woman, the boy can see right through it."

"It was kinda obvious," Verto admitted.

"I'm building a state of the art bunker for emergencies, in case some intergalactic villain shows up for example. It's meant to house as much as five thousand people comfortably and it'll be fully capable of space flight when I'm finished. It's quite impervious to damage even from energy attacks. Flandal had a lot more Protoss technology than he knew what to do with, so I borrowed some of it from the North City lab. Well, what was left of it. The South City lab is pretty much buried now that they've demolished the building," Bulma explained.

"You shouldn't be making these unannounced visits. If the boy is right, you could easily be ambushed without me or Trunks there," Vegeta said.

"Oh shut up, I've been just fine," Bulma argued.

Verto rolled his eyes a bit, "If you think it's necessary, but I imagine Frost could still destroy it easily if we're ever caught out in space."

"I guess we'll see won't we? It's not like that's the only thing I've been working on. You guys think you have it bad, I've been working almost non-stop for weeks while taking care of the baby by myself while you guys just fight and train!" Bulma screeched.

Vegeta covered his ears, "Enough with the noise woman, we get it!"

"Anyways, let me know when you want to take a tour," Bulma offered Verto in a gentler tone.

"I swear she's bi-polar," Vegeta muttered.

Verto held his hands up defensively, "Eventually, I'll wait till the finished product. If you need assistance though just let me know."

"Oh you'll get your own private wing by the time I'm done, that way you and Lenz can have the area to yourselves," Bulma said with a beaming grin.

She was treated with another eye roll by Verto, "Cut it out. Is there anything else you two need to tell me about? Other than what you know about the Saiyan ancestors."

Vegeta glanced at him in utter shock, "When did you…"

"The other Vegeta told me," Verto said.

"He would have had to have been on his death bed, I swore that I wouldn't say a thing about it until that time," Vegeta declared.

"He was on his death bed and wanted me to end it once he revealed everything, I just didn't kill him when he finished. Leira came clean about a lot of it too, so it wasn't just you…I mean the other you," Verto said, correcting himself quickly.

Vegeta became more than a little agitated, "Have you no honor? You wouldn't even grant me my last dying wish? Me?"

Verto straightened up as his lip twitched in slight anger, "I don't give a shit about honor if it means that you have to lie to me since day one about something as silly as my name. If you really feel that bad about it, we can fight it out again when you're better. I don't really care about the stupid legend anyway, even if it is true. So don't come at me with the honor crap, not when you're the fucking hypocrite here!" Bulma gasped at the audacity that Verto had in calling out Vegeta, but there was no violent response to it.

"It's pitifully sad that you're like this boy, even after all I've taught you. But I suppose it's inevitable. I was no better when I was your age," Vegeta admitted.

Verto turned on his heel then, "At least you realize that. Now I think Trunks has something he needs to tell you two, it's not my place to do it."

Vegeta wasn't done though, "One more thing boy."

Verto paused and glanced back at him, "What?"

"How did you manage to slay the demon? Trunks said that you did not kill the other Kakarot that Vang had possessed," Vegeta stated.

"No, didn't have to. I forced him out of Goku and let the Overmind's essence devour what was left of Vang before I turned the rest into ash," Verto answered before walking off.

Vegeta let that go thought his head a few times before he slumped slightly, _So he failed after all and proved that woman right. The end is near, so be it._

* * *

Lenz huffed slightly from her spot next to the Capsule Corp wall as the group said their goodbyes to Laysh. She had been given a separate room for the night while they waited for Kibito Kai to show. Eventually he did pop in unannounced, but was greeted by five angered Saiyans when his sudden appearance caused the food on their table to blow off. He had made a hasty retreat and said that he would return at high-noon instead. Gohan and Videl then showed up at mid-morning to formally give the Briefs family their wedding invitations. Gohan then felt the need to apologize to Verto that the role of best man had been filled by Krillin, but only because Piccolo had declined and a decision had to be made since Verto was away so much lately. Verto let it slide though, stating that it was enough of an honor to attend. Laysh was invited as well, but declined, citing that she needed to get back to her own corner of the galaxy. Gohan reported that Goku was feeling the side effects of the antidote, but was quickly regaining his strength even in the short time he had been recovering. Vegeta held up his usual strong front that nothing was wrong with him, even if he didn't feel his best. Bulma was in the midst of presenting Laysh with a computer pad when Kibito made his appearance again, though it was highly ignored by everyone.

"What's this?" Laysh asked.

"It's a star chart to find us again if you ever need help. It's the least we can do for helping us out of this mess," Bulma offered.

Laysh picked it up and studied it carefully before handing it back, "Thanks, but I only needed a moment to look to know the way back. The wrong people could find this after all, and I owe the boy too much for that to happen."

Verto stepped a bit closer, "Nah, I consider us square at this point. I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything."

Laysh grimaced slightly, "I owe you my life kid, there isn't a bigger debt that I can think of."

"Well you did save me a few times believe it or not. Even if I did most of the fighting, I'm sure you would have done the same if our roles were flipped, at least I would hope so," Verto said.

Laysh rolled her eyes slightly, "Alright, I guess I can accept those terms. But if I have to come back here you can bet that I won't be a pushover. We'll fight again and you won't weasel out a cheap win."

Lenz was quick to approach from behind Verto, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as she gave Laysh an unnerving smile, "Oh there won't be any need for that, right little brother? You can go now, see ya, bye!" Laysh stared at Lenz's insincere farewell, along with everyone else who collectively gritted their teeth.

"At the very least kid, I should bring you a more deserving mate than this tramp. I think I already know where she's going in life, and it'll probably be to every street corner on this planet," Laysh said with a tight grin.

The veins on Lenz's forehead popped to life as she managed to keep her fake smile, "Maybe we should fight again before you go, so I can shut you up."

Laysh didn't feel threatened in the least, "Another time girl, when you've actually gotten better. Without your little demon buddy helping you out, you're no challenge." Laysh then stepped away towards the waiting Kibito while Verto held Lenz back.

He did however give Kibito another glance before he vanished, "_Remember Kai, we have unfinished business!_"

Kibito gulped and nodded slightly before placing a hand on Laysh's shoulder, "Here we go."

"Goodbye, feel free to visit!" Gohan called to her as Kibito teleported them both away.

Videl nudged him in the side, "Easy bucko, you'll be married by then."

"That wasn't what I meant though," Gohan whimpered.

Videl beamed at him, "Then what was that I heard about her being colder to you than I was when we first met? I don't recall that it actually bothered you."

"She uses ice powers, I was exaggerating! I don't even like her!"

"It didn't seem that way to me just now."

Gohan smacked his head slightly, "Why does this happen to me?"

Videl gave him a reassuring hand, "I was just kidding. Besides, you need to tell them about the reception."

That pulled Bulma's attention, "Oh yes, where is it going to be, or have you decided yet?"

"Well actually we're not going to have a normal reception. Dad thought it would be fun to have an impromptu tournament, with some prize money of course," Videl announced.

"Oh that would be good since the last one got interrupted. Where will it be held?" Bulma asked.

"Well the wedding is going to be at the mansion and then the tournament will take place. Dad has been getting an outdoor stadium setup on the outskirts of the city for the tournament part. I guess he really wanted to go all out for his wedding gift and didn't know what to get us. It's the thought that counts though right?" Videl laughed.

"My only question is if Kakarot is competing? If the wedding is two weeks from now, then he and I should be recovered enough to fight. And we will fight at this tournament since Babidi screwed up the last one!" Vegeta declared.

Bulma shook her head as she glanced at her husband, "One track mind as usual. I suppose the boys will all want to enter as well."

Gohan rubbed the back of his head, "Well I think the only ones that won't enter are me and Videl, for obvious reasons. Mom even mentioned that she might enter to win the prize money and then give half to us, but Dad talked her out of it. Besides, we're going to do something different than a standard tournament this time."

Verto finally tuned into the conversation once Lenz had calmed down enough, "What's changing?"

"Well when you went to that other Earth, you were in a tournament right? I want to do something similar to that one, without the death match part of course. Me and Mister Satan discussed it and decided we'd conduct a drawing into four, three-person teams. Opposing teams will then fight out a match of their choosing with fighter participating as needed. How does that sound?" Gohan asked.

"Bah, two weaklings would just slow me down," Vegeta grumbled.

"As long as I'm on little brother's team!" Lenz chimed in.

"And I wanna be on Goten's team!" Trunks added.

"The teams will be decided by random draw Trunks, so you could get paired with your dad, or with Krillin. Or maybe both. And even if you get a bad draw, it's a team battle, so you could elect to have all six people fight at once, if the other team agrees of course. If no one can come to an agreement on the terms though, it'll be a best of three series," Gohan explained.

"I like it, but let me guess, the old ring-out rule still applies?" Verto asked.

Gohan looked confused, "Of course, why would that change?"

Verto rolled his eyes, "Because some things never do. I'm in."

"Me too!" Lenz added.

"Me three!" Trunks said.

All eyes went to Vegeta, though he was all smirks, "Do you fools need to ask at this point? At least something about this marriage ceremony will be worth my time."

Gohan nodded, "Awesome, Dad plans on entering, and Goten too. Krillin wasn't going to at first but Eighteen convinced him. Piccolo said he would too. Mister Satan still plans to compete believe it or not, and Majin Buu wants to 'play'. His words, not mine. Master Roshi also threw his name in the hat once I mentioned it would be teams. That gives us twelve fighters, which gives us four even teams."

"That old man shouldn't even bother," Vegeta stated.

"Not everyone is married to the rich Vegeta, maybe he's getting low on money," Bulma scolded.

Gohan and Videl both blushed before the former spoke, "Actually, he said he's entering so he can spend the money on the next pretty girl he sees. He also said that he's banking on getting onto whatever team Lenz or Eighteen is on. Draw your own conclusions on that one."

Bulma's eyes closed for a moment as she shook in irritation, "Never mind."

"Either way, it should be fun, we'll see you guys then," Gohan said as he and Videl floated off into the air.

Verto smirked as he watched them go, _Another tournament. Maybe for once we'll get through something fun without a crisis popping up. Ah hell, who am I kidding?_

**A/N: Yes, another tournament, with a twist. I originally was going to slate it as a pure tag-team tournament without the random draw but I didn't like how it probably would have ended up. Also I have put my forums back up for all to use as long as the rules are followed, the link is in the profile. This will be a month long experiment, extended depending on participation. If no one bothers with using it, I'll shut it down again. And yes, I realize that what is coming in the story is probably fairly obvious. I really have no reason to hide it. Like it's said above, who am I kidding?  
**

**WDG:** Who indeed? Oh well, at least it's nice to dream.

**VB**: Right?


	108. Wedding Day Tournament

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 107: Wedding Day Tournament**

The wind blew gently, rustling the streamers and flowers that decorated the Satan mansion. Trails of white and velvet were hung from the rooftops to the front gates. To the right side of the entryway, a lone sidewalk split the autumn grass, leading to the array of chairs that sat in front of a large white arch. Nearly every chair had been taken up by someone, whether they were of human or alien descent was another story. On the left side's front row, Chichi was busily using every tissue to try and cover up her tears while Goku quietly wondered when the food would be available. Next to them, Trunks had to be nearly restrained from running off by Bulma, who already had her hands full with the infant Bulla.

"This is so boring. I hope I never get married. Why can't Goten be here?" Trunks whined.

"Goten has the ring bearer job, you two can play afterwards!" Bulma rasped at him.

Trunks wasn't happy with the answer, "Well can't we tell them to hurry up!"

"Knock it off, have some respect for Gohan. This is his big day," Verto said from his other side as he sat down. Among everyone there, he was one of the few that hadn't dressed up, electing for his usual green over blue uniform.

Trunks saw this and felt the need to complain some more as he fumbled with his turtle necked shirt, "Hey why doesn't he have to dress up?"

"This is as formal as I'm going to get, I don't do suits. Besides, it was either that or Saiyan armor. I didn't feel like copying your father today," Verto explained as he jerked his thumb towards the back. Vegeta stood there with his arms folded as he leaned against the building. He had made it abundantly clear that his only reason for attending was the promise of a tournament afterwards.

"Ugh, he just doesn't change. I swear I have to win the lottery before he even mows the lawn," Bulma griped.

"I think I'm more impressed that Goku actually has a suit on. But I'm sure that once this is over it'll be ripped off," Verto said.

Trunks seemed to settle down a bit, but not much as he leaned to whisper to Verto, "Are weddings always this boring?"

"It's a grownup thing. Trust me, the only ones that aren't bored at all are the bride and groom. And I can't imagine Mister Satan is any different right now," Verto replied as he glanced at Gohan. Donned in all white, the strongest man in the world didn't look the part. Gohan looked like he had skipped nervous and had gone straight to terrified.

Verto smirked slightly and closed his eyes before reaching out a bit, "_Calm down, if you're legs start shaking you'll embarrass yourself._"

Gohan gave him a slight glare, "_Easy for you to say! You're not the one up here looking like a fool._"

"_Believe me, it's more than looks right now. You want Videl to see you like this?_"

"_I don't suppose you've done this before?_"

Verto let out a slight chuckle, "_Nope. I'd tell you to ask your dad for advice, but I'm guessing he won't have much since he used to think marriage was a type of food."_

Gohan's eyes narrowed, "_Where did you hear that?_"

Verto realized what he had said and searched his mind for an answer briefly before giving up, "_Never mind. Ask Krillin for advice if you need it at this point, he's right there._" Gohan blinked sharply before turning to Krillin, who was checking with his own wife to see if his tie was good and straight. Verto sighed with slight relief before he felt the need to glance around. There were numerous guests that he recognized but there were just as many that he didn't. Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu sat with Master Roshi and the others on the other side. When asked if they wanted to fight though, all three had declined entry into the tournament beforehand. Towards the back Verto spotted fellow students from Gohan and Videl's high school class, the highly annoying Sharpner among them. There were also enough flashing cameras near the rear to make Verto sick. Mr. Satan had invited a select few of the press to attend, only because he didn't have that much of a choice. It was either that or listen to them swarm right outside and try to sneak in. That of course would lead to Vegeta or Piccolo blowing something up and no one needed that. Though the sight of Piccolo standing on the roof probably would have scared them off anyway, and Mr. Satan didn't want to cause a big uproar. Yet despite all of the heads dotting the yard, there was one missing.

"Where is Lenz?" Verto asked.

Bulma looked at him, "Oh, she's one of the bridesmaids. Videl wanted her to be maid of honor. Didn't she tell you that?"

Verto stared at her, "No, but it would explain why she's been out a lot the last two weeks ever since we got back. I figured she was bar hopping again."

Bulma grinned slightly, "Well I imagine she's inside helping Videl get ready. Maybe she's practicing, I'll make sure to get your tuxedo ready for next year. At the rate you're going you should be old enough by then."

Verto rolled his eyes and sat back down, "Give it a rest already." Before anything else was said, the traditional music began playing and everyone stood up. Because of the height disparity, Verto elected to hover off the ground so he could see. Goten was out first, trying not to stumble as he uneasily carried a small pillow with two golden rings set upon it. Krillin's daughter Marron followed behind, fulfilling the duty of flower girl as she scattered some petals unevenly before making a beeline for her mother at the front. Lenz emerged with one of the extra ushers that Satan had brought in. She was donned in a lavender dress that matched her hair almost perfectly and fit her the same. Because of their recent experiences, the dress was made for a taller person, so it no longer looked like she would pop out of it at anytime. Verto's eyes widened as she glanced at him, making sure she shifted her head at just the right moment before throwing in a wink for good measure when she passed the front row of chairs.

Verto felt more than a little stunned, _Whoa._

"Not bad, she looks almost as good as I did at her age. Looks like you've got some work to do kiddo," Bulma whispered. The usher that had accompanied Lenz tried to pull his arm away too quick when they reached the end and failed miserably as he tumbled to the ground, causing everyone to gasp. To anyone else it would have seemed that he had just slipped, instead of being held in place by Lenz's greater arm strength.

Verto smacked his head slightly as Lenz mimicked Goku's head scratch, "Oops." Krillin helped the unnamed usher aside as the music changed and everyone looked up to see Mr. Satan come out with his daughter. Satan's tuxedo was a few sizes too small and was threatening to rip at any moment, which most everyone in the area hoped didn't happen. Videl had on a sparkling white dress that was only outdone by her quivering but joyful blue eyes over a very nervous smile. Gohan straightened up as he and Videl locked eyes and never wavered. They joined hands at the altar and waited patiently for the anticipated speech from the Master of Ceremonies. The crowd remained silent as the event moved forward, ending with a massive cheer when they finally kissed.

* * *

For fairly obvious reasons, the reception meal was kept to a moderately savage display in front of the guests. The only ones that were really drowning themselves in food were Goku and Majin Buu. The rest of the group was more eager for the special tournament that was to follow. Once they arrived at the new stadium, they saw what they were in for. The tournament itself might have been by invite only, but the crowd certainly was not. Satan signs were everywhere and so were the press plus their cameras. Flyers littered the ground with general information about each of the Z fighters, without the alien part of course. There were also plenty of posters of Gohan and Videl in their slightly edited wedding outfits, dedicating the entire tournament to them. Listed on the side was a note about prize money of nearly thirty million zeni for the winning team, which clearly told the story of why a few of the fighters had even bothered entering. After everyone had changed out of their wedding clothes, they all gathered in the lobby. The only noticeable change among them was that Lenz had made a change to her fighting outfit again. She wore an all blue jumpsuit that seemed just a bit too tight in all the wrong places and only extended to her mid-thigh, which drove Roshi mad and made Verto palm his face. Over her shoulders though, she wore a short teal-green jacket that didn't even reach her lower back and was zipped up only halfway, which didn't conceal as much as she thought it would. The way her clothes matched Verto's was almost comical, as the only thing different was her purple hair, which was tied into a high pony tail. The traditional tournament MC was also present, microphone in hand as he went over the rules of the special tournament with the crowd.

"You know, I'm not sure if I should be happy that we're getting acknowledged with this tournament or not. I mean it's great that we're all guaranteed a spot and a chance to win, but looking at the competition I don't feel so great," Krillin said as he scratched at his hair a bit.

"If you want to pull out now, then by all means go. I fight to win," Vegeta grumbled.

"I kinda want to be on your team Vegeta. The fewer Super Saiyans I have to go up against, the better," Krillin claimed.

"Are you saying you'd rather be with them than me?" Eighteen asked.

Krillin winced, "No that's not it at all!"

"It's all luck of the draw at this point. Who knows, maybe you'll end up with Buu," Verto said.

"Nothing about this will be lucky for some of us," Krillin pointed out.

"As long as I get to fight Kakarot at some point I don't care," Vegeta growled.

The short conversation was then interrupted by a loud beep before the announcer's voice hit the air, "Can we have all of our contestants come to the ring please! It is now time for the drawing to determine the teams for this special occasion!"

Verto cast an eye out at the ring as the group slowly filed out, "Stop me if I've said this before, but does that guy even have a name?"

"You know, you'd think we would have figured that out as many times as we've been at the tournaments, I guess it never came up," Krillin said with a shrug as he followed his wife.

Verto grimaced slightly, _Probably something lame anyway. _The crowds cheered, but random murmurs were easily heard as everyone marched out. To the side of the entrance, Gohan and Videl sat upon a small uplifted platform, sipping drinks. Both were still formally dressed from the wedding, though the nervousness was clearly gone.

"Give us a good show!" Videl called out.

"Try not to kill anyone!" Gohan added. Majin Buu turned his head at this, but largely ignored the comment. Satan was the last one out and the crowd went ballistic, save for a small, familiar group off towards the side.

He smiled meekly and held up his victory pose, "Yeah!"

"You're the man Satan, pound these nobodies!"

"You can do it Mister Satan!"

Verto bit his lip as he gave the sources of these shouts an evil glare, "He better not end up on my team."

Goku glanced back at him, "Oh relax, this tournament is only for fun remember? No need to take it too seriously."

Verto stared at him, "Is that why you warmed up for the last hour?"

"Every tournament can be an important test of skills. You never know how these things will play out, so it's best to take advantage of every opportunity," Roshi said as he walked in with his cane.

Krillin's eyes went narrow as he looked at his master, "And which opportunity do you think is going to work against a Super Saiyan?"

Roshi grinned, "No chance at all for you! But there are two pretty girls in this tournament, the chances of getting one are looking good!"

"Oh give me a break," Krillin moaned.

"Notice he had nothing to offer on the fighting part," Verto commented as they reached the ring.

The group remained silent afterwards until the announcer motioned towards the drawing box, "It is almost time to determine the teams in the tournament. But first Mister Satan would like to say a few words."

Satan took the microphone and cleared his throat, "Ahem, as some of you may know, this tournament is a gift to my daughter Videl and her new husband Gohan, the son of Goku. I want you people to fully realize that I am a huge underdog at this event and I do not expect to win. In fact it may be impossible even with my new training. But no matter what happens I am proud to have been your champion!" The crowd's usual cheering subsided some, but almost none showed signs that his humble speech bothered them.

"We're behind you all the way Mister Satan!"

"You've got it in the bag champ!"

Verto snorted slightly, _Makes me wonder if they even understood half of that._

Once the announcer had the microphone in hand, he called the first name, "Our order for the draw was determined at random, and first is Goku, come on up!" Goku stretched a bit before he stepped up, further irritating Vegeta.

The announcer continued the introduction regardless, "For those of you new to this style of tournament, Son Goku has been a regular in the past during his youth. He came in second twice before managing to secure the title on his third try and then moved on to create a family. As the champ already said, his son is now married to Videl. We expect to see many more champion caliber fighters out of this family for years to come. Goku himself is one of the most powerful fighters this planet has ever seen." Goku reached in and pulled out a numbered ball, handing it over before walking back without another word.

"Number seven, that places Goku on Team number three! Next we have a man who needs no introduction, our champion Hercule Satan!" The crowd exploded in cheers again while Satan tightened his white sash and marched up to pull a ball. He wasn't showing it on his face, but the sweat pouring off the back of his head indicated that he was extremely nervous.

"Number four! Mister Satan is on Team Two! Next up, Mister Satan's number one disciple Buu!"

Majin Buu looked around in question, "It Buu's turn now?"

"Step on it tubby," Vegeta grumbled. Buu could barely fit his glove into the box, but managed to somehow without breaking it.

He handed the ball over for the announcer to read, "Number three! Buu is on Team number one, who will face Mister Satan on Team Two!"

Satan's face fell, "Oh no!"

"Ouch," Verto muttered.

"Try not to breathe too hard Buu, he might fall out now," Trunks laughed.

Buu gave Satan a reassuring hand on his back, "It okay, Buu no hurt you."

"Much," Trunks added.

"Master Roshi, please come up and draw! If you don't know who Master Roshi is, you clearly need a history lesson. Not only did he personally train both Goku and Krillin, but several other fighters as well. His development of the Kamehameha Wave is legendary, and he's not above showing this new generation a thing or two about martial arts!"

Roshi raised his cane and bowed a bit, "Yeah yeah, just show me to the ladies!" Eighteen shook her head in disgust, but remained quiet.

"Number twelve, the final position on Team Four! Good luck Master Roshi! Next we have a newcomer, the beautiful Lenz!" Lenz's game face went on as she stepped forward, giving Verto an eyeful when she passed. She intentionally swayed her hips, causing Roshi's nose to drip even more than it already had.

Verto smirked at her, _Well someone's motivated._

"Not much is known about this young girl other than she's considered a strong warrior by her peers. She certainly isn't lacking in the looks department. It'll be interesting to see if she can hang with the boys as much as she claims," the announcer said.

Lenz pulled out a ball and her serious face faded to dismay, "Can I have a different number?"

"No ma'am, I'm afraid your draw is final. And you're number eleven, joining Master Roshi on Team Four!"

"Oh yeah baby!" Roshi shouted.

Lenz did not have the same enthusiasm, "Someone kill me now."

"Piccolo, it's your turn! Some of you may know this name from many years ago as King Piccolo. Everyone can relax, even though they look alike, they are not related!"

Krillin was a bit taken aback by this statement, "Someone has their facts confused."

"I'd let it go if I were you. What people don't know won't hurt them," Roshi advised as he was trying to get his nose bleeding to stop with a handkerchief. Piccolo's long cape billowed in the breeze, briefly blocking the whole view from the back as he reached for a number.

"Piccolo has drawn number eight, he will join Son Goku on Team Three! Lookout Team Four, your opposition just got a lot stronger! Speaking of Goku, his youngest son Goten is up next, come on up!" Goten scampered up to the table and hovered off the ground enough to draw, and seemed to be happy about the outcome.

"Goten is number six, placing him with the champion Mister Satan!"

"Alright, way to go son," Goku said as he gave Goten a high five. No one else was nearly as impressed with this, including Trunks, who was called next.

"The reigning champion of the youth division, Trunks Briefs is next. Many people still claim that his fight against Goten in the last tournament is the best they've ever seen, and at such a young age! I don't know what will happen today, but Trunks has proven before that he can take on the adults and I'm sure today will be no different!" Unlike Goten, Trunks waited for the aide to lower the box down before he bothered drawing a ball out. Also unlike Goten, Trunks was wearing gray gloves for the first time at a tournament. Very few people actually knew why, but no one really asked about it seeing as his father was also wearing them. At first he wasn't happy with the number, but upon glancing at Goten, his spirits were lifted.

"Trunks has drawn number five. He will join his friend Goten and Mister Satan on Team Two. Two champions and a vice-champion on one team? Oh boy, Team number one is in trouble now!" Satan almost looked like he was going to cry at the outcome of the draw, knowing that just Buu alone was enough to beat them all, never mind who else might be fighting against them.

"Goten, we're totally gonna kick butt. I hope they let us fight together, then we can use fusion!" Trunks whispered a little too loudly.

"Oh yeah Trunks! We can beat anybody with that!" Goten said aloud.

"Shhhh, stupid!"

"Miss Eighteen, it's your turn! For those of you who were present during the last tournament, you may remember Eighteen. She fearlessly fended off an attack by an army of evil robots and saved a great many people that day."

Verto folded his arms and scowled, _Add that to the number of things that weren't supposed to happen that day, never mind this whole timeline._

Eighteen grimaced at her draw as she tossed the ball back to the announcer, "Ugh."

"Eighteen draws number one, placing her with Buu on Team One. Look out champs, this lady means business!" Buu didn't really react to the drawing as he was more interested in a cloud that was passing by. The boys weren't all that concerned either, but considering that there were only three empty spots left, the odds of a favorable outcome were rapidly dropping.

"Krillin, you're next! Another pupil of Master Roshi, Krillin is a very accomplished fighter. He is also married to Miss Eighteen, could we possibly see him and her on the same team with Buu? It's time to find out!"

Krillin walked up to the box normally enough, but dropped to his knees and prayed on the spot, "Please Dende, please give me a chance here. I won't ask for anything else!"

"Still afraid of fate," Piccolo muttered.

"Just pick one baldy!" Vegeta shouted.

"Hey, I'm not bald anymore! Alright let's see here…OH YES! THANK YOU SO MUCH DENDE!" Krillin hooted and hollered some more as he made his way back to the ground with a bright smile on display, and his number had yet to be announced.

"Well that was weird, but Krillin does have reason to celebrate. He drew number nine, and will be placed with Goku and Piccolo on Team Three!"

"Alright, this is gonna be fun!" Goku declared while Piccolo grimaced and said nothing. Eighteen gave her husband the evil eye, making him regret his words and maneuver to the other side of the group, hiding behind Buu's fat form.

"Only two fighters are left, shall we start with the youngest? Verto Briefs, come on up!"

Verto hadn't taken a step before Vegeta grabbed him by the arm, "You had better not deny me today boy, I've waited too long! Don't you dare even think that you belong on the girl's team!"

Verto glanced over his shoulder, "I have to ask, what in the hell has stopped you two from just going to some random planet with no one on it? Seriously, the option is always there."

Vegeta released his arm, "Shut up."

"Verto is the adopted son of the Briefs family, making Trunks his brother of a sort. He also put on an incredibly display before losing to Goten in the last tournament. Word these days is that he's grown much stronger than the other two boys, he's certainly growing up faster. Makes us all wonder just what they're putting in the water these kids are drinking nowadays." Verto shifted a slight stare at the announcer's ironic words before reaching in. When he grabbed the first ball, he shifted it in his hands and clearly felt the outline of the number before dropping it.

_Making Lenz mad is better than making Vegeta mad, and I think she still wants to prove something to me. Let the almighty prince have his fun, I can't imagine that he liked being so weak for the last two weeks, saves me a few training lumps._ Verto latched onto the other ball and quickly tossed it to the announcer without much of a look. Truthfully he had long enough to confirm the number before he did so, but the human eye wouldn't have caught it.

"Verto has drawn number two, joining Team One against the Team of Champions. This should be interesting!" Verto sensed a slight hint of disappointment from Lenz, but nothing overly alarming, which did give him some relief. The last thing he wanted to do was give her a reason to be angry, despite the fact that she was wearing her blue suppression crystal. Given the events of the alternate dimension, he didn't feel all that confident that it would hold her power in check if she lost her temper.

He then cast an eye towards Trunks and Goten, who looked horrified, _Could be worse, at least I get to have a measure of revenge for the last time._

Eighteen looked quite satisfied with the draw, "Looks like an upgrade over my brave husband." Buu appeared to be looking for food and didn't say anything.

"By process of elimination, contestant Vegeta will join Lenz and Master Roshi on Team Four!"

Krillin's celebratory expression quickly shifted upon this realization as he looked to Goku, "Please tell me you're going to fight him!"

Goku grinned and locked eyes with his rival, "Naturally." Vegeta's smirk didn't fade for sometime as he headed back to the waiting area.

"That is our full board of fighters. We will begin with Team One against Team Two immediately. Please clear the ring until your team is called!"

* * *

"We will now decide what the terms of the first team battle will be. Teams please meet in the middle of the ring to discuss this now," MC announced.

Verto glanced towards Eighteen as they slowly approached and whispered, "I say one on one. Are you alright with that?"

Eighteen gave a slight nod, "It doesn't matter to me, any one of us can beat all of them. I was supposed to face that bloated phony last time anyway."

"Well you know they're probably going to ask for a three on three fight so the boys can use fusion. That's what I would do in their place," Verto pointed out.

Eighteen stopped in her tracks, "If they do, do you think you can keep the fight from getting out of hand?"

Verto eyed the boys for a moment, who were also whispering to each other, "Probably. I'm sure they know they won't beat me or Buu without it. And Satan's dumb luck might come into play at that point. Either way we should keep our guard up at all times. No offence, but either of them as a Super Saiyan is probably stronger than you at this point, especially Trunks. I suppose they'll assume we'll want a one on one situation and try to pair us off to their advantage, which presents a potential problem with certain match-ups. Now that I really think about it, one on one may not be that easy."

Eighteen huffed slightly, "Hmph, I guess we'll have to see about that."

"There is an alternative to consider," Verto said.

Eighteen stared down at him, "What is that?" Verto motioned for her to bend down and not be overheard. Buu kept on going as the two whispered to each other, not realizing that Verto and Eighteen had stopped to discuss the matter. Only he and the tournament announcer stood right in the middle while everyone else was discussing strategy.

"Hey Mister Satan, we need to have a three on three fight. That way me and Goten can fuse and beat everyone," Trunks suggested.

Satan looked a bit surprised, "You sure about that? I mean if I go against Buu, I'll win. I don't think he'll fight against me. We only need two victories to win a best of three, can't either of you beat Eighteen on your own?"

Trunks and Goten glanced at each other before the former answered, "Not without going Super Saiyan. Before Cell came along she was stronger than both our dads."

"And I think she gets stronger over time, her energy doesn't run out like ours does. At least that's what Mister Piccolo said about Mister Seventeen one time," Goten added.

Satan rubbed his chin slightly, "Alright I guess, but if you mess up your fusion thing we're all toast!"

Trunks held up a victory sign, "No problem, we're professionals!"

"Yeah!" Goten clamored in excitement.

"All team members please hurry up, and remember that everyone must fight unless the judges deem it unnecessary." Goten and Trunks were all grins as they all met in the middle.

The MC looked at Eighteen first and handed over the microphone, "Team One, do you have a preference of how you want this fight to be?"

"We'll take a three on three elimination battle royale, last team standing wins," she said simply.

Verto's head yanked towards her all of a sudden, "That's not what we agreed on!"

"I don't care, I'm getting paid!" she shouted back.

"Did you not even consider what will happen if those two are allowed to be in the ring at the same time! It's going to be a little hard to control the direction of energy blasts!" Verto yelled as the two nearly butted heads.

"Not my concern!"

"Please calm yourselves, you're on the same team for goodness sakes! And our formidable team of champions has yet to be heard from," MC said as he turned towards Satan and the boys. Team Two was flabbergasted over what they were seeing. The meltdown of Eighteen and Verto was quite unexpected and Majin Buu showed almost no interest in trying to calm down either of them.

Goten and Trunks looked at each other before throwing their hands up in celebration, "We did it!"

"Yeah Goten, we're totally gonna crush em'!"

Satan also felt his confidence rising, "I'm okay with a three on three match, but what do the fans think?" Massive cheering erupted as confetti started to fly in from random directions, prompting the MC to wager a final decision.

"That settles it folks! Our first match will feature all six fighters in the ring at the same time. Get ready for an explosive match!" Verto and Eighteen's glare off suddenly ended as quickly as it had begun as they noticed the cockiness oozing out of Satan and the boys.

Eighteen smirked slightly, "I guess we fell right into that one."

Verto nodded as they both turned to the other team, "Too bad, I wanted to go easy today." The reversal of apparent fortune was quickly realized by all members of Team Two as their jaws dropped in unison.

"Can we have a moment to reconsider?" Satan begged the MC as he was stepping back.

"No, of course not. You guys agreed to it and they're not fighting the final ruling," MC said without the microphone switched on. Satan's shoulders slumped as he walked back to the boys, who were still uncertain of what had just transpired.

"I think they wanted us to call for those stipulations, but why? They must have some sort of plan in mind," Trunks pondered.

"Well, if Verto goes all out we're in trouble, even at Super Saiyan three," Goten suggested.

"And that means I'll have to deal with Eighteen and Buu by myself? No thank you," Satan claimed as he nervously glanced over at the other team.

"I have an idea before we get the show started," Trunks claimed.

"What, your fusion thing? I thought you were going to do that right away?" Satan asked.

Trunks seemed to ignore this as he pointed a gloved finger up at Verto, "Hey big brother! Let's fight it out right now and see who's really the best!"

Verto's eyebrow went up at this as he frowned, "What are you implying? You already know the result of this match if you and Goten don't try to fuse."

"Whatever, I think you're just too afraid to fight me on even terms! If Goten could beat you in the previous tournament, I know I can!"

Verto smelled the deception in the air but played along, "If you consider a cheap move like that a victory. See if it works this time."

"Trunks, what are you doing?" Goten asked.

Trunks winked at his partner, "Trust me, I'm gonna find out what they're up to first and then we'll spring it on them. Just don't get knocked out."

Goten nodded with concern, "Okay."

Eighteen leaned down towards Verto's ear, "What do you think they're up to? We gave them the match they wanted, why would they change their minds?"

Verto locked his eyes on Trunks, "He might be playing at this to find out why we did that in the first place. It won't matter if we act quickly enough though. Hey Buu, pick a dance partner."

Buu, who had been quiet the entire time, frowned slightly as he looked over at his friend Satan, "Is it really all them we have to fight at once?"

Verto's eyes shifted off Trunks momentarily, "Yeah, that's what we agreed to just a minute ago. Which part of candy land were you in?"

Buu turned on his heel, "Buu no fight Mister Satan." He walked right off the ring and planted his two feet on the ground, causing the crowd to erupt with random noise, most of which was genuine shock.

"Contestant Buu withdraws from the match before the action even begins! What a turn of events!"

Verto glared as he watched the fat monster go, "Well, that sucks."

"Useless tub of lard. New plan kid, I'll go after Satan as soon as possible and get him out of the match quickly. If you can hold off the tykes for long enough we can use your idea," Eighteen suggested as she shifted her feet into a fighting pose.

Verto's lip twitched slightly as he was still irritated at Buu's sudden departure, "Alright, but I suspect Goten will give you a rough time. Use your quickness to keep them guessing. They won't be able to sense your energy after all."

Eighteen smirked, "Listen to you, as if I need to be told how to fight."

The pair separated and darted to the sides of the ring before changing directions and making a beeline for Trunks and Goten. Satan backed up nervously as the two kids suddenly turned Super Saiyan just before the oncoming attack hit. One bright detonation of energy split into two as Verto and Trunks moved one way while Eighteen and Goten went the other, leaving Satan alone in between. Verto dodged all of Trunks' attempts to strike him, only blocking when he felt it necessary, which wasn't often. Eighteen didn't quite have the same kind of luck with Goten as he was able to catch her in the face with a swift punch shortly after the brawl began. Eighteen fell back initially before bouncing right back and slamming a knee into Goten's face. Goten attempted to retaliate when Eighteen suddenly phased out and Goten lost all track of her. When he spotted her, she suddenly changed directions and flew straight at Mister Satan. Satan panicked slightly at this but stood his ground as a brief aura of white energy surrounded him, which surprised the audience to a degree as they still weren't used to seeing it.

"You want me? Come and get me!" he challenged as he pulled his right fist back.

Verto and Trunks' scuffle paused as they both heard his declaration, which made the latter panic, "No moron! That's exactly what they want you to do!" Goten flew in pursuit of Eighteen, but it was already too late. Satan grinned as he held up his left hand to guard against whatever Eighteen was going to throw at him. Eighteen swung her trailing leg with a moderate amount of force towards Satan, who did nothing to stop it. She appeared to hit him, but nothing happened until his image faded.

Verto's eyes widened, _An After-image move. I'll be damned._

Satan appeared behind her with his victory sign in the air, "How'd ya like that, you can't touch the champ!" In a flash Eighteen turned and smashed Satan's face hard enough to send him flying from the ring, crashing into the wall next to the newlyweds and landing on the ground.

Verto smirked, _And now, reality sets in._ The crowd hushed in utter surprise as Eighteen stood up from the counter attack, and Satan didn't.

"Oh my, Eighteen has sent Mister Satan flying out of the ring with one punch. Our world champion has been eliminated! It is now two on two!"

From the waiting area, Vegeta grunted with a slight hint of satisfaction, "I'm surprised that noisy fool lasted that long."

"Oh that's not very nice Vegeta, we all know that Mister Satan's power level is far from being able to match an android," Goku pointed out.

Vegeta gave him a stern glare, "Thank you for pointing out of the obvious Kakarot. The only use that clown had was to get that ugly blob to quit. Maybe you can tell us how our sons are going to win this match?"

Goku smacked his hand with his other fist, "With fusion of course!"

"The boy won't be beaten by that Kakarot, surely you're smart enough to realize that. I suggest you focus on your match with me instead," Vegeta claimed.

Goku frowned slightly but moved towards the door, "You can do it Goten, focus!" Goten heard his father's words of encouragement, but wasn't relieved by them in the least as he looked towards Trunks for advice. Trunks felt a rush of panic as well and felt the need to pull back. Verto made no motion to go after him, choosing the patient route. The two boys quickly pulled together before standing a few feet apart and raising their arms up.

With the on-going lack of action and silence, the MC pulled his microphone up, "The situation is tense, I'm not sure what move the two boys are considering, but they better do it fast!"

Eighteen looked towards Verto, "Now?"

Verto tensed up but didn't budge, "Not yet."

Goten and Trunks weren't sure what to make of this and both elected to follow through and moved towards each other, "Fu…"

Verto was first to move, "Go!"

Both he and Eighteen fired energy blasts aimed right at the boys, who panicked mid-dance and separated to avoid the hits. Both blasts collided and exploded on the ring surface, brightening the arena. When it cleared, both Goten and Trunks were on opposite sides of the ring, much too far for any sort of fusion dance to work. Eighteen and Verto phased out and Trunks realized what was going on.

"They're trying to keep us separate Goten! You have to beat Eighteen as fast as possible!" he shouted across just as Verto phased into view and swung towards him. Eighteen followed through and attacked Goten and the two fights began in their respective areas.

Trunks attempted to knock Verto's head off, only to have his first punch blocked easily before a rising kick caught him in the jaw, forcing him backwards. Just as he recovered, Verto fired a moderately sized blast that Trunks narrowly avoided by dodging to the side just as it nearly hit him. He made the mistake of watching it go by though, and paid for it when Verto's fist slammed into his face. Trunks tumbled towards the ground but managed to recover and stop his flight before he hit dirt.

Across the ring, Goten was attacking Eighteen with a ferocious barrage of punches that the android could barely block against. Nothing got through until Goten feigned another punch attempt before rolling forward and kicking at Eighteen's head with both feet. Eighteen's guard was broken by the attack and she stumbled backwards just as Goten phased out, catching her in the side with a charging shoulder. Eighteen went flying across the ring and Goten quickly gave chase. Eighteen panicked slightly when she saw Goten coming in fast, but he was suddenly kicked into the ground by Verto. Goten lay face down on the ring floor for a moment as Verto took the time to land and stare down Trunks, who floated motionless on the far side of the ring.

"I didn't need any help," Eighteen claimed as she stood up.

Verto didn't turn towards her, "Yet you mean. But since Trunks isn't sure what to do, I figure why have an advantage if we're not going to use it?" Eighteen snorted slightly as Goten started to pull himself up.

"That was mean!" he declared.

"It's a battle royale, the fight you wanted. You have to expect things like that in an unpredictable situation when your teammates are in no position to help you," Verto said. Trunks was frozen by Verto's glare and didn't look to even want to assist Goten for fear of being counter-attacked the moment he moved. Behind him, Mister Satan was still pulling himself out of the wall, but had looked up long enough to see what was going on.

The MC finally saw a moment to talk and did so, "What a rapid display of teamwork by Eighteen and Verto. With a quick decisive attack, they've isolated young Goten completely and are now in position to win this match going away!"

Just as Goten got to one knee, Satan started marching towards the ring, "Oh come on! You little squirts are the strongest kids in the whole world! Start acting like it instead of a couple of sniveling babies!" His sudden speech seemed to snap both of the boys out of their current funk, specifically Trunks.

"He's right, come on Goten, let's show him what we've got!" Trunks shouted. Goten responded by launching off the ring with a punch towards Verto's face. Verto turned long enough to catch it, allowing Trunks to attack from his blindside and hit Verto with a strong flying kick. Verto was knocked aside but managed to land on his feet a dozen feet away. Both boys lined up in their stances as their golden auras shimmered into view.

Verto recognized the challenge and gave them his full attention, "Alright brats, if that's how you want it."

Trunks and Goten both flew straight at Verto in full attack mode, taking the appearance of two golden torpedoes being launched. Verto kept his own stance and waited for them to arrive before he made a single move. Another bright detonation of light blinded the arena briefly before it fell away to reveal all three boys entangled in a furious frenzy of punches of kicks. Verto's increased his movement speed to compensate for both Super Saiyans attacking at once, allowing some of his deeper power to seep out into his silver aura. Every punch and kick aimed at him was dodged or blocked easily, which frustrated Trunks the most initially. Almost a full minute of this went by before Verto suddenly phased out when Trunks and Goten both punched at the same spot, bumping fists as if they were sharing a greeting. They both looked at each other in astonishment before Verto suddenly phased in behind Goten and aimed a strong forearm shot straight at his head. Goten was knocked silly while Trunks managed to duck and fly out of the way. Verto chased him up into the sky, closing the gap quickly. Trunks led him into the clouds before turning around and making sure he had space. He lined up with the bright sun before raising both of his arms and concentrating his ki. Verto's eyes narrowed as he struggled to see what Trunks was up to. Trunks slowed before changing direction and coming down to meet his opponent head on. It wasn't until he was almost on Verto before his ki ignited into a bright golden blade that extended from his hands. Trunks slashed downwards with all he had, only for his Ki Sword to be stopped by a blue, Psionic one.

Verto hovered with only one arm holding up his Psi Sword to block against Trunks' attack, "Nice try, but save it for a life and death battle, not a tournament." Trunks blinked slightly before he charged his sword with more energy, making it glow much brighter. Verto smirked slightly and dropped towards the ground as he kept his Psi Sword ready at his side.

Trunks held his blade high before slashing downwards without moving, "Burning Slash!" A large burst of golden, flaming energy shot out of Trunks' sword straight down at Verto. Verto scowled slightly and aimed his sword down for a moment before swinging it sideways to parry the blast. Instead his blade cut right through the attack, making it dissipate harmlessly.

Verto was a little surprised himself but snorted slightly at what had happened, "Looks like you need more practice with that one." Trunks grumbled slightly as his sword faded and he flew straight down at the ring, passing Verto quickly. Verto looked down and saw Goten was up and standing ready in the fusion pose as he watched for Eighteen to try and stop it. Verto gave chase from high above, making Trunks realize that they now had a small window of time to use Fusion. Eighteen flew at Goten to attack, making him change tactics. He blocked the initial blow and spun to kick Eighteen in the chest, sending her flying.

Goten then glanced up just as Trunks came down, "Goten let's do it!"

"Yeah!" Goten got into position first about three seconds before Trunks landed. From above, Verto scowled and increased speed, but knew that he wouldn't be in time.

"Fu…."

Eighteen pulled herself off the ring floor and glanced over just in time to see the boys start coming together, "Aw crap!"

"-sion…" Eighteen thrust her arm out and fired a quick blast aimed at area between the two boys just as their arms moved towards each other with outstretched fingers. The blast collided with the boys arms and pushed them out of their stance before exploding, breaking the fusion attempt completely. When it cleared, both boys were laying in a charred and cracking ring area, holding their arms painfully. Eighteen wiped her brow slightly with relief as Verto landed nearby, making the ring shudder and crack under the impact.

"Nice save," he commented.

Eighteen shrugged, "That was close, it almost went either way. I was kind of hoping that they would turn into the fat Gotenks but I was too accurate."

Verto turned his neck slightly to pop its joints, "Either way, the plan is still working, although that blast was a little strong. Stay back, I'm going to finish this."

Eighteen gave him a slight bow and wave, "By all means." Goten and Trunks picked themselves out of the crumbling section of the ring as pieces of it fell out of their golden hair and off their clothes.

"Okay, that wasn't fun," Trunks muttered as he winced slightly.

"What do we do Trunks? She almost messed up the fusion," Goten pointed out.

"That must have been their plan all along, to make sure we stay separated or to mess it up enough that we botch it. We have to create an opportunity where they can't stop us. And I know just how to get one," Trunks claimed.

"How?" Trunks leaned in to whisper briefly before Goten nodded and both boys switched their stances to mirror each other, in a different way. Verto had been walking slowly towards them, but stopped upon seeing this particular stance.

"Don't do it you little ingrates," he shouted.

Trunks smirked as both he and Goten charged their energy up at the same time, "Ka….me….ha…." Verto grimaced for a moment while the arena darkened from the bright blue coming from between the two Super Saiyans.

"Oh my, both Trunks and Goten are going to fire the Kamehameha Wave at the same time! And by the look of things it's going to be a big one! Get ready to duck and cover folks!" the MC called out as he looked for a safe spot.

From the other side, Gohan felt a rush of panic next to his newlywed wife, "Oh no, they're getting reckless!"

Videl cast an eye at Verto and noticed how calm he was, "I think he's got it covered."

"Me…."

Verto demeanor shifted to determination, "Alright, let's see it boys. If you're going to do something this stupid, you had better give it everything you've got!" Both Trunks and Goten glanced at each other and nodded as their combined blast tripled in both size and power.

"HAAA!" Trunks and Goten fired the massive beam straight at Verto, who didn't budge an inch as it came barreling his way. He held his palms out to catch the beam and braced for impact. From the other side, both boys discontinued the beam once they saw it form into a huge ball and stop at the edge of the ring. They saw no sign of Verto or Eighteen being able to see past the Kamehameha Wave and saw their chance.

"Alright, now, while he's distracted!" Trunks shouted. Goten nodded and they refocused their energy into an equal level while Verto appeared to be too busy with their Twin Kamehameha attack.

"Fu-sion, HA!" Bright white and gold shined from their end of the ring while most everyone was focused on the huge ball of blue that had collided with Verto. It suddenly shrank away and was replaced by the brighter light from Gotenks forming, who came out in the Fusion vest and pants, with a larger Super Saiyan aura flowing around him.

"Yeah!" Gotenks called out as he held up his victory sign. A large array of gasps sounded from the audience as they realized that something was different.

The MC wasn't sure how to react, "After that huge Kamehameha Wave, Goten and Trunks have disappeared. And now there's a different golden haired boy in the ring that doesn't look like either of them. What is going on?" A large finger tapped him on the shoulder, revealed to by Mister Satan, who motioned for the microphone.

"Let me explain quickly, those two boys are still here. They have a special trick up their sleeve that allows them to combine into one boy for a short time, making them several times stronger than either of them alone for a little while. It's one of the best tricks I've ever taught them. You can call him Gotenks until he splits again," Satan claimed as gave back the microphone. The crowd settled into a bustle of nods of approval, much to the surprise of anyone that actually knew of the technique.

"Best trick that he's ever taught them?" Piccolo roared from the lobby while Goku turned his head slightly in confusion.

Krillin chuckled, "I have to admit, that was the easiest explanation to our abilities I've ever heard." Verto stood up as the last of the blue Kamehameha faded from his front, scowling slightly as Gotenks warmed up by hopping in place.

"Well, that was a clever and dangerous way to get nowhere," he muttered aloud.

"Ha, you know you can't beat me unless you use your full power! And if I go Super Saiyan Three, you won't have a chance!" Gotenks boasted.

Verto's eyebrow lifted slightly, "If only the fusion technique didn't fill your head with crap, then you'd see that your plan already back fired. I don't need to use Super Mystic since you already gave me enough energy so that I wouldn't have to. I'll match your level easily."

Gotenks was a bit dumbfounded, "Huh? How?" He then spotted the blue sword that Verto had been holding in his hands and realized what had happened, "Oh." Verto's aura brightened into a temporary white before it shifted into golden combined with blue lightning as he turned Super Saiyan. His hair stood completely on end he pushed it into the second level, drawing a gasp from the lobby.

"I thought he couldn't turn Super Saiyan anymore?" Krillin gasped.

"He can't normally, he absorbed all the energy from the Kamehameha Wave while the boys fused, that's what gave him the boost. I doubt it'll last very long but judging by the power I'm sensing, the fight could go either way," Piccolo explained.

"Bah, he should just use his maximum power now and get it over with," Vegeta muttered.

"This isn't a serious tournament Vegeta, maybe he wants to have some fun too," Goku pointed out.

"What match have you been watching, the boy has been toying with them up until now. He could have ended it long before a minute passed if he wanted to," Vegeta countered.

"And embarrassed both Goten and your son at the same time. By letting them hang around in the match, he's at least giving them a chance," Piccolo interjected.

"I hope they send Eighteen flying this way, I'll make sure to catch her," Roshi claimed as he held up his hands suggestively, drawing a few looks.

Krillin scowled, "One track mind as always."

Both Verto and Gotenks' golden auras seemed on par with each other as they stared each other down in the ring. Eighteen backed up to the far side, making sure she stayed well out of the way. When her foot reached the edge, a small crack formed and a single piece of tile fell to the ground. It was enough of a signal to send Gotenks and Verto flying towards each other. Bright gold filled the arena before a barrage of light shockwaves went off from random places in the air, signaling some of the rapid movement that was going on. Every neck in the crowd strained to see where the boys had gone with the only hint being the occasional bright flash that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. When both boys finally stopped long enough to be spotted, they were both in the middle of the ring, hands clasped as they pushed towards each other. The arena shuddered under the weight of their energy clashing together as small pieces of the ring floated off. Verto suddenly pulled back, pulling Gotenks with him as he kicked up into the bare stomach. Verto held on, dragging Gotenks back down into the ring surface just as he slid out of the way. Verto then spun just as Gotenks got back up, landing a sharp hook kick into Gotenks' head, sending him flying backwards. Gotenks flipped around and dug both feet into the ring for a nice dead stop before putting both hands up to his head with a single finger on both sides.

"Charging Mad Bull Attack!" he cried out as he ran in. Verto phased out, making Gotenks stumble slightly before he stopped and turned around for another pass. Verto folded his arms and waited for Gotenks to reach him again, only to phase out at the last second again. When Gotenks turned around again, he was leveled by a hard punch to the side of his head.

Verto stood just a few feet away while Gotenks held his head painfully, "You had better play this a little more serious, I've given you long enough to play your trump card. It would be a waste for me to finish it too easily. I probably didn't even need to absorb the extra energy judging by what I've seen so far!" Gotenks took exception to this and jumped at Verto, attempting to grab him. Verto side stepped the attempt and kicked hard into Gotenks' stomach, sending him high into the air. He managed to stop himself high above the arena and stopped to consider the situation.

"Man, I forgot how good he is. He can read me like a book, so what do I do against him?" Gotenks pondered. He glanced down and took notice of Eighteen standing by on the side of the ring.

"That's right, I have to deal with her too. I should go for the weakest link like Dad says, and then I'll catch Verto off guard when he tries to step in," Gotenks claimed as he shifted his position and prepared to dive in.

"Great idea, maybe you shouldn't say it out loud," Verto said from behind him. Gotenks cringed and swung a back-fist at Verto's head, missing when he phased out. Verto kicked into his back from above, sending Gotenks down towards the ring in a freefall before following. Gotenks recovered midway and adjusted his flight to aim towards Eighteen. She glided towards the side to avoid the contact, and Gotenks touched down long enough to jump towards her. Just when he was within reach, Verto's form slammed into him from above, increasing the damage done by forcing his head into the ring surface at the same time. Verto pulled Gotenks up by the back of his vest and threw him towards the arena wall. Gotenks flailed slightly as he tried to slow down and barely managed to stop before hitting the wall or the ground.

He frowned and folded his arms in thought, _I'm clearly going about this the wrong way, Verto is three steps ahead of me at all times. I can't beat him like this! I have to hit him with a surprise move so I can get Eighteen out and not have to worry about her attacking from behind_. Gotenks took quite awhile to consider his options, giving Verto ample time to prepare for whatever might be coming next.

"Hey, what do you think?" Eighteen asked.

"They're trying to get you out of the picture, or trying to make it appear that way in order to throw me off. Not happening," Verto replied.

"Try not to let any stray blasts get away, my kid is in the stands you know!" Eighteen warned.

"I'm aware of that. Get ready, I imagine he's going to get desperate soon."

Gotenks finished thinking his strategy over and held his thumb up for a moment before grinning and signaling it downwards, "I've got just the move for you punk! It'll blow your mind!"

Verto stood ready as Eighteen moved back, "Anytime you cocky brat."

Gotenks held his arm out and charged a golden blast before quickly firing. Verto glided back and then up into the air when the blast homed in on him. Three more homing blasts were fired by Gotenks before they widened into wider rings of energy. Verto recognized the attack and quickly conjured his Psi sword to slice through the first one and readied for the next set. Three quick slashes were enough to deal with each ring, rendering them useless as they vanished into thin air.

Gotenks wasn't quite sure what to make of this, "Maybe I should do this differently." His palms recharged with energy before he pumped his arms back and forth to fire a barrage of energy missiles. Verto's sword faded as he held up his glowing blue palm and his spinning shield came into view. Each of Gotenks' blasts was knocked away and into the ground despite the even angle they were fired at, leaving a random display of holes nearby.

Gotenks scratched his head slightly before shrugging and charging in with a fist outstretched, "Super Miracle Punch!" Verto's shield faded before Gotenks arrived, and he jumped straight up to avoid the attack. Gotenks had charged in too hard and was unable to slow down quickly, leaving him open to attack. Verto plunged down with both feet and pushing Gotenks so hard into the ring that he broke into the dirt below. Verto jumped out of the newly formed hole easily enough and waited. His eyes shifted around as he felt for Gotenks' energy signal but noted it was missing.

_He's hidden himself under the ring and intends to pop out in a different place. Have to feel it out._

"Contestant Verto has literally buried Gotenks under the ring with a ferocious attack. Gotenks has until the count of ten to come back out otherwise he will be considered knocked out!" MC announced.

"Hey microphone guy, shut up!"

"Yeah shut up, we're trying to watch a match here!" MC jumped out of the way as a few drink containers were thrown his way from the crowd.

The ground suddenly started to shake as Gotenks' started chanting, "Ka…me…ha…me…" Verto's palm filled with green ki as he shifted around and searched for the most likely spot that his opponent was about to emerge from.

From behind him, Gotenks burst out of the nearby grass and fired the massive beam at nearly point-blank range, "HA!"

Verto barely managed to turn in time to answer and aimed at a low angle, "Final Shine!" He poured a larger amount of power into his blast to make sure it was enough to take care of Gotenks' beam. Because of the odd angle, Verto's one handed beam didn't quite counter Gotenks' beam as much as it pushed it out the arena, barely missing the upper seating in the process. The explosion that followed in the distance left a monster of a mushroom cloud though, and everyone on one particular side of the stadium felt a huge sense of relief. Verto panted slightly as the dust settled, his hair having shifted back to black as it fell from its upright position. Gotenks was a bit surprised at the turn of events as well, and brushed off the dirt clods that had come along for the ride on his vest and hair.

"Well, at least now you can see that I'm the best! I'm unbeatable!" Gotenks declared.

Verto's heavy breathing eased as he smirked, "If you say so."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gotenks asked.

"Gotenks has been ruled out of bounds, Verto and Eighteen are the winners! Team One advances!" MC announced.

Gotenks stared at him, "What? How?"

"When you went underground, you emerged outside of the ring rather than within the ring itself. Had you stayed inbounds, there wouldn't be a problem, but any contact with the ground outside the ring is an automatic disqualification," MC explained.

"But, that's so lame!" Gotenks whined.

"Sorry, but it's the rules!" Gotenks pouted slightly before floating over towards the far wall and punching it, leaving a large hole as it crumbled apart.

Verto shook his head slightly as Eighteen walked up, "Nice job kid, we could have done without the dramatics though."

"Thanks, but I think we have to lead Buu back here with a bag of candy or something. I don't think we'll get it that easy again," Verto pointed out.

"You call that easy?" she asked.

"Compared to what we may have to deal with, yes," Verto said as he pointed towards Goku and Vegeta, who were eyeing each other and smirking. Next to them were Piccolo and Krillin watching Roshi stare and drool at Lenz's body. Lenz had her eyes locked on Verto and Eighteen though, and she looked very anxious to begin.

Eighteen's eyes widened just a bit, "I see your point."

**PL**

**Super Saiyan Goten: 105,000,000**

**Super Saiyan Trunks: 115,000,000**

**Eighteen: 65,000,000**

**Mr. Satan: 6,000**

**Verto: 312,000,000; Super Saiyan 2: 450,000,000**

**Super Saiyan Gotenks: 430,000,000**


	109. The Reckoning

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 108: The Reckoning**

The members of Team Three and Team Four all gave each other different glances as they stood a few feet apart in the middle of the ring. Goku and Vegeta had locked eyes and had yet to even notice anything else nearby. Piccolo was watching them carefully, but also glancing towards Lenz and Roshi occasionally. Krillin was biting his lip with uncertainty upon who he would face. Roshi's nose was bleeding as he got a close up look of Lenz, who had her arms folded and was giving him a threatening look.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, the second match is about to start. We will now determine how the battle will commence!" MC announced.

Vegeta snorted, "It will be one on one of course, elimination style. The winner of each match will fight in the next with no rest. Last team standing wins."

Goku turned his head in confusion, "Why elimination Vegeta?"

"Because I don't trust these two fools not to botch it and ruin any chance I have at fighting you. A best of three series essentially says that will happen. I don't think any of you want to chance that!" Vegeta claimed as he gave everyone else an evil glare.

"Um, I'm good with that Vegeta, no problem!" Krillin squeaked.

"Okay, I guess we'll do that," Goku agreed. Piccolo was indifferent to the outcome, but looked a bit bothered by it regardless. Lenz didn't seem to care, nor did Roshi who had yet to even see anything other than Lenz's backside. He had already made the mistake of touching her once and that had only gotten him smacked into the ground.

"That settles it then everyone! The second match will be a one on one elimination battle. Each team member must fight for as long as they are able until they lose! This should be worth everyone's time!" MC claimed.

Verto snorted from the lobby, "Only one match will be worth anything."

"Which one of my dads will win?" Gotenks asked, since he had yet to defuse and had calmed down from his pouting session.

"Tough call, it really could go either way," Verto replied.

"What about Piccolo and Lenz?"

Verto frowned slightly and didn't answer. Truthfully, it was the one potential match he had the most concern over, and it didn't involve Goku and Vegeta. Since returning from the alternate timeline, Lenz had yet to fight anyone, even in practice. He knew she hadn't quite gotten over what had happened when she had lost control during the battle with Vang, and that had been the only thing that Verto had planned to work on afterwards. Lenz had managed to bring out her power in a similar form of Super Mystic where all her energy had converted to Chi, but the fact that she was literally dripping with demon-like energy in that form made Verto hesitate even teaching her to move with it. Added to that was a noticeable overall strength increase that had brought her power very close to Verto's own maximum level. Verto was less concerned with that as he was with the abruptness of it. Her power in a normal state hadn't budged an inch however, which made him wonder why. He knew her level of Ki was not on par with her unstable Psionic energy when used at their fullest, therefore the power increase made very little sense to him given her inexperience. Lenz expressed her own concerns over what her new form made her feel internally, citing that it felt like Kaon was in control and not her, even if that wasn't the case. They had only worked on that together one time before Lenz herself backed off and wanted to practice Psionic control instead. Verto had no issues with that and had complied, even though they didn't get all that far with it aside from the Psi Sword technique. She had enough experience with using the Final Shine move that she could duplicate it in any form, but that didn't stop her from practicing it as well. The only other thing they had time for was the freezing technique, which she had serious problems performing. Every time she attempted to freeze something, it would burn or blow up instead. It wasn't hard to figure out why, and it wasn't because she was possessed by a fire demon. It was as if the concentration it required to actually perform it was beyond her, or something else was blocking it. Most of the time when she had gotten close, some of her Ki had slipped out and completely ruined the exercise, forcing her to start over. When she grew frustrated though, her blast would shift to red and light a generous fire instead, which is what she was trying to avoid. Verto eventually reassured her that it wasn't all that important to know and that they would revisit it another day. What he didn't mention was that he had noticed that she had distinct difficulty keeping her Psionic energy separated. He didn't even bother trying to teach her the Feedback technique, nor the Spirit Bomb version. Her lack of progress didn't make him falter that much, after all her learning curve had been slow before. He was more disturbed by their initial training session when she had powered up with her new form, but he had yet to tell anyone else about it. There were enough horror stories about her time with Vang to keep her mind occupied as she began to recover mentally.

_It's possible she's limited in what she can do with Psionic energy, similar to how Dabura was. If I recall, Kaon didn't do a thing aside from a few small bursts before she transformed on me. Maybe getting that demon out of her is the only way she can progress, but if it's the source of her power like I think it is, then I'm not sure what I can actually teach her. She may have to just go on without it. It's a bit cruel, but it'll have to be done. The time spent with Vang has clearly done more than just increase her knowledge of her own power. I'm less concerned with how strong she is than what could happen as a result of it. It's as if her power is a water faucet that's been left partially on. If angered or agitated enough, she could lose control just like before, and then that faucet would become a geyser. Nothing good can come out of her still having that demon buried within either. If she shows she can maintain control, I'll work with her, but she may have to figure things out herself. But if worse comes to worse, we'll probably have to ask the dragon to remove the demon, I doubt the Kais or Leira will do anything to help. If they could, they would've done it already. _

"Well, are you going to answer me or not?" Trunks asked. Verto glanced over, being so lost in his thoughts that he had forgotten the question and hadn't noticed that Gotenks had separated.

"We'll see," Verto replied.

"I'm cheering for Auntie Lenz!" Goten declared.

"Yeah, Piccolo's too old to be here!" Trunks agreed. Eighteen rolled her eyes slightly and didn't answer. Verto's glance darted back to Satan and Buu momentarily, who were sitting across from each other, playing a game of checkers. Satan was holding a large bag of ice on his head from where he had struck the wall, and Buu was happily eating out of a huge bag of candy.

Verto shook his head slightly, _Thank god Satan had that handy, who knows where Buu would have wondered off to._ His attention was drawn back to the ring, where Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta and Lenz had gone to opposite sides of the ring, leaving Krillin and his old master.

"For the first match, we will have Master Roshi against his former student Krillin. Good luck to both of you!" MC announced.

"Speaking of old," Trunks muttered aloud. Verto didn't respond as he watched Krillin and Master Roshi square off in the ring. Truthfully he didn't need to watch at all, there was no legitimate way for Roshi to win at this point in their lives. Roshi tossed his cane aside and stretched his neck a bit as he lowered into a fighting stance.

"Alright, just don't beat me up too much. It's hard to go out looking for a date at my age," Roshi claimed.

Krillin rubbed his black hair for a moment, "Honestly Master, you shouldn't even be here. I don't suppose you'll just give up now will you?"

Roshi grinned, "Ha, and let you have the spotlight to yourself? Since when do I run away from a fight? A true martial artist never backs down!"

Krillin sighed, "You haven't been in a real fight for what, almost twenty years now? Just hang it up."

Roshi stubbornly remained in place, "No way! I'll show you that this old dog can still bite!"

Krillin shook his head and reached behind his back, "Well, I didn't want to have to do this to you…" The sun sparkled off Roshi's glasses for a brief moment as he prepared for whatever Krillin was about to do. Out from his back, Krillin pulled out a bonded set of paper.

"Krillin has revealed some sort of magazine. This isn't classified as any sort of weapon so it will be allowed!" MC announced. Upon closer inspection though, he realized that it wasn't an ordinary magazine in Krillin's hand, but declined to say anything past a minor groan.

"What is that in his hand? Is it a comic book?" Goten asked.

Verto had long since smacked his own face, "Yeah, something like that."

"Gross," Trunks added. Eighteen had a classic scowl on her face and said nothing. Roshi's demeanor had definitely changed from serious to almost scared. Krillin pulled a matchbox from his pocket and struck a single match as he held it under the magazine.

"Now Master, if you ever want to read this one again, you had better give up now!" Krillin ordered with a sly smirk on his face.

"No! That's a limited edition! Do you know how hard it is to find one of those?!" Roshi pleaded as he stumbled closer in a panic.

"You mail order all your magazines. Don't think we haven't caught you watching for the late night TV ads," Krillin replied.

"Gimme!" Roshi demanded.

"This is what you get for reading these with my little girl around, it's for your own good," Krillin claimed as he backed up. Roshi reached out for the dirty magazine but missed when Krillin glided back to the edge of the ring, leading him on. Roshi seemed to be hypnotized by the hope of saving the magazine, but not his own dignity. Krillin stopped right on the edge and held the flame a bit closer to the pages as he dangled the book over the grass.

"Gimme gimme gimme gimme!" Roshi shouted rapidly as he ran as fast as he could towards the bait. Krillin grinned and silently declared victory. At the last moment though, Roshi tripped on a small piece of battered ring tile that was sticking up a bit from the previous battle, causing him to fly forward. Krillin barely had time to open his eyes and realize that Roshi wasn't diving onto the magazine. The result was Roshi colliding with Krillin, causing them both to fall out of the ring and creating a massive gasp from the crowd. Krillin winced slightly as Roshi snatched the magazine out of his hands and stood on him, reading it frantically.

MC was quick to render a decision, "Both Krillin and Master Roshi have fallen out of the ring! Because Krillin hit the ground first and Master Roshi never actually touched the ground, Master Roshi is the winner!" The crowd let off a minor cheer, but most of it was pure puzzlement as to what had just taken place.

Roshi hopped back in the ring, magazine in hand, and took a bow, "That's right, I've still got it!" Goku looked somewhat sympathetic to what had transpired, though Piccolo was clearly irritated despite remaining quiet. Lenz scowled heavily while Vegeta kept his arms folded and eyes closed. Eighteen groaned notably while the kids were trying to figure out what had happened.

"Man, Krillin must be getting soft if he's letting that fossil beat him," Trunks claimed.

"So what was that comic book Master Roshi was trying to get? Was it Mister Satan's silver edition?" Goten asked.

"Um, no. Just something about golf," Trunks lied quickly.

"Why would he want that, sounds boring," Goten said as he scratched his head in wonder.

Verto rolled his eyes slightly, _At least the side show is almost out of the way._

* * *

Verto was more right than he thought. One look at Piccolo and Roshi was already leaving the ring, despite receiving a standing ovation for effort. Once Roshi had left the area and gone to the stands, Lenz stepped into the ring while a strong breeze caused her long ponytail to flap in the air to her left. Across the ring, Piccolo's cape matched the breeze's flow to his right, and the stare down ensued.

"Don't get too out of hand girl, but know that I won't take it easy on you. This will be a test for me as well. Now show me what you can do," Piccolo ordered. Lenz gave a curt nod before her blue aura sprung to life around her, creating a few sparks in the process. Verto felt her energy rise to a plateau before it promptly cut off and settled down along with a generous amount of dust.

He sensed no change in her Psionic energy output though, _Looks like she wants to go at Piccolo with normal power only and not risk taking things any further. She'll be beaten fairly easily, but the crowd will be spared any sudden outbursts. But if she gets impatient or if Piccolo lets the match go for too long, that will change._

Piccolo seemed to be catching on already, "Is that all you're going to give me? Not even worth my time."

Lenz frowned slightly, "You don't want me to get serious, not today."

Piccolo was undeterred, "I'm your opponent today, not your mentor. Getting serious is the only way you'll win this match girl." Lenz said nothing and dropped into her fighting stance, seemingly deaf to Piccolo's words.

Verto still sensed no change in her energy levels past a few mild fluctuations, _Something's up. I saw the look in her eye when we came here, she clearly wants to prove something today, perhaps that she can stand on her own two feet. Getting beat by Piccolo in the first round like this will defeat any aspirations she had for that. The only explanation is…no, she's crazy if she thinks that will work._ Piccolo had yet to even take a stance as he stood across from Lenz, who didn't' look eager to begin.

"Um, you two can begin at any time! We don't want another repeat of what happened at the last tournament. If you're going to suddenly give up again, please do so now!" MC advised, clearly referring to Piccolo's previous appearance.

The Namek's cape continued to flap in the breeze as he remained motionless. Lenz waited for a few more seconds before she suddenly launched towards him, aiming a kick towards Piccolo's legs. Piccolo caught her leg easily with one arm, stopping the advance much to her surprise. Lenz then swung with her other leg, but it was caught as well by Piccolo's other arm, leaving her stuck sideways in mid air. Piccolo made a quarter turn and threw her aside, aiming towards the ring's edge. Lenz managed to flip upright and stop a foot from the edge before she flew back at him at a much faster pace, kicking up dust in her wake. She pulled back to punch as hard as she could with her trailing arm, but right before she would have hit, Piccolo phased out. She heard him land behind her and kicked back, making contact with his cape. That's all that she hit however as it fell to the ground harmlessly. Piccolo phased in above her and drove his elbow into the top of her head, flooring her. Lenz got up quickly and retreated enough to regain her position. Piccolo held out his arms and they lengthened towards Lenz, who grimaced and raised her arms to guard against the attack. Piccolo grabbed onto her front forearm with his left hand and pulled back hard, forcing Lenz back towards him out of her control. Piccolo's other right arm retracted much faster and he pulled back to punch her upon arrival. Lenz saw through this maneuver and charged a blast with her free hand and threw it forward. It was enough to make Piccolo let go of her and glide out of the way. Once her arm was free, she chased after him, staying aggressive. Piccolo fended off several punch attempts fairly easily before catching her with a single kick that stunned her and forced her a few feet off the ground. Piccolo drove his fist into her stomach with the opening, forcing Lenz back towards the edge of the ring again. Lenz fell to one knee and skidded to a stop, favoring where she had been hit slightly. Piccolo finally assumed a stance and kept his keen eyes on her, not pressing the attack. Lenz was visibly frustrated already, but not as much as Vegeta was from just a few feet away along the ring edge.

"Quit holding back girl, you're stronger than this! If you think you'll be able to beat the Namek with your current level, you might as well give up!" Vegeta said in a raised tone.

Lenz glared back at him momentarily before her expression softened, "I know, I just..."

Her pause only made Vegeta angrier but he kept as calm a tone as he could, "Holding back just to see if you can beat the boy on your own will get you nowhere. If you want to prove yourself, do it now. Or make room for someone who can."

Verto scowled as he managed to overhear the conversation, _Yep, she's crazy._

Piccolo didn't wait for Vegeta to shout at her again and his arms lengthened once more. Lenz had barely turned in time to see them before Piccolo made contact with each of her shoulders and pushed her off the ring edge, towards the nearby wall. Lenz body glowed with a thin layer of bright blue before she stopped. Her purple hair wavered some as her eyes glowed a brighter blue. She reached up and attempted to push Piccolo's wrists off of her. Lenz shook with obvious strain as she managed to get both of Piccolo's hands off completely despite the amount of pressure he was using to push back. One of Piccolo's arms retracted a few feet before glowing gold with Ki. Lenz's eyes widened just before he fired from close range. The resulting smoke and dust covered what actually occurred, but there was no sign that Lenz had been knocked out of the air or forced backwards. When it cleared, a bright blue blade was seen in Lenz's free hand, having successfully shielded her from Piccolo's blast attempt. Piccolo continued to press with his right hand, and Lenz hesitated for a moment before swinging her Psi sword right through his wrist. Piccolo shouted in sudden pain as his arms retracted back to normal, with the exception that his right hand had been cut clean off. The crowd was unified in their gasp as Piccolo's bloody hand dropped to the ground under Lenz's floating feet.

"Oh my, after nearly forcing a ring out, Piccolo's hand has been severed by this Lenz's energy attack. It's like she's made a sword of pure light that can cut anything! This match has just gotten much more serious. Ladies and gentleman, please consider covering your children's eyes before this gets ugly," MC cried out in his microphone.

"Whoa, that was awesome! When did she learn that?!" Trunks exclaimed.

"Is Mister Piccolo okay?" Goten asked. Eighteen kept her eyes on the action and said nothing.

Verto was more than a bit surprised himself, _That was reckless, looks like Vegeta woke her up. At least Piccolo can recover from that without a problem. Now it gets interesting though. _Lenz flew back to the ring and landed on the tiles, keeping her sword at her side in case Piccolo moved to attack her again. Piccolo scowled a bit and examined his injury briefly before holding his painful forearm and concentrating. He showed visible strain for a moment before another hand burst out from his injured wrist, regenerating it completely. Afterwards he bent his head from side to side and shook his newly formed hand a bit before settling into a stance.

Lenz looked like she was ready to stop though, "Sorry, I just reacted."

"It's fine, now come at me like you mean it," Piccolo ordered. Lenz's sword faded before she flew at him again, punching with much more force than before. Piccolo deflected the blows with more difficulty this time, but was still able to keep up without too much of a problem. Lenz gritted her teeth a bit as she tried over and over to land a solid blow, to no avail. Her aura flashed with random bursts of blue, red and purple as she continued to attack. The sudden energy surge caught Piccolo off guard and opened his guard enough for one of Lenz's punches to get through, landing her fist at his upper left chest. Piccolo fell backwards momentarily before suddenly throwing a potent ki blast back at her. Lenz was struck in the side of her cheek before the blast sailed off into the air, seemingly stunning her. She recovered quickly and turned her head back down with a furious expression as a trickle of blood came from her mouth. She reached up to wipe off what had come out and stared at the stain it left on her hand. Almost immediately the ground began to shake as her power spiked sharply. Small red and purple bursts of lightning ignited around her, as if the sight of her own blood had made her suddenly snap. Her hair stood up on end, burning off the pony tail wrap and allowing it to flow somewhat freely. Lenz's eyes shifted to a distinct red as she grunted angrily like an animal would. Verto held onto the side of the building, mainly to keep himself from launching out to the ring.

_What the hell is going on? Just a few seconds ago she was completely fine and now it's as if she's had a mental relapse._ _Like someone hit a switch in her mind, just like Vang did. Is this some sort of side effect of what Vang released in her? _As her power built up, Verto could see that Lenz's special crystal as still dangling from her neck on its string, although at this point it was hovering up and slightly away from her body. It was almost as if the crystal had a mind of its own and was trying to get away from her. _It's not even slowing her down._

The ring began to crack slightly around her position, and a hint of steam managed to erupt from the area just under her feet. The air around the stadium grew distinctly warmer as the random display of energy lightning and pulses continued. After nearly a full minute, the air calmed down and Lenz seemed to settle into her sudden transformation. It was difficult to call it a transformation since the only visible change was her hair was standing up and her eyes had shifted colors. Anyone that was capable of sensing her power knew better. She glanced at her hands briefly as if she were puzzled as to why she had changed. She sighed slightly and shifted her gaze back to Piccolo, who wasn't sure what to think as his jaw had slipped open.

He was quick to regain his own composure, "So this is your new power? Impressive."

Lenz didn't take his compliment well, "Please surrender, I don't want to hurt you. But if you push me anymore I won't be able to control what happens!"

Piccolo didn't heed her warning, "You still haven't beaten me girl."

Lenz's face twisted back to angry quickly and she charged him. Piccolo wasn't prepared for her new speed and was floored by her sudden charge that left a steaming, red fist imprint on the side of his face. He blinked sharply as he was staring up at the partly cloudy skies, more than a little surprised. Lenz turned on her heel and waited for him to get back up with a stern glare. Piccolo turned onto his stomach before slowly getting up, spitting out the small amount of purple blood that had been forced into his mouth. Lenz began breathing heavily like she was tired, but her power level didn't show any signs of diminishing. Piccolo flew high into the air and held his palms together momentarily before concentrating a strong golden blast between them.

"Stop before I kill you!" Lenz shouted at him as she took a single step forward and halted.

Piccolo continued charging his attack despite the look of desperation that she suddenly had,_ So this is why she's been holding back. It seems this new form is much like Verto's Berserker state in which he has no remorse or mercy on whoever he's fighting. Her necklace crystal doesn't appear to be working to hold her power down, or perhaps it's only able to do so much. One more attack will determine just how much control she has._

Piccolo held his arms out and fired, "Masenko-HA!" A large version of the blast burst forth from his hands and shot down at Lenz, whose expression shifted back to a determined fury.

Her palm charged with intense purple Chi for a very brief moment before she fired back, "Final Shine!"

Lenz's purple beam tore through Piccolo's Masenko like a torch through paper before it shot towards him. Piccolo narrowly avoided being hit by dropping to the ground, missing his head by about a foot. When he looked down, Lenz was gone. She phased in just above him and dropped her leg into his collarbone with a descending axe kick. Piccolo slammed into the ring surface, kicking up a large amount of dust and debris in his wake. Lenz lowered to the ground with a look of pure contempt as she held her palm up and aimed towards the area Piccolo had landed in. Red and purple flames swirled in her hand, showing just what she might've had in mind. Vegeta's eyebrow went up as he watched this but said nothing. Piccolo's team felt slightly panicked though, more notably Goku as he clinched his fists and prepared himself to act while Krillin just looked plain scared. From the lobby, both Goten and Trunks had been speechless as they watched what was going on.

"Auntie Lenz is gonna kill Uncle Piccolo!" Goten cried out.

"Shouldn't you go stop her or something, she's gonna do it if this keeps up. She listens to you," Trunks suggested as he gazed at Verto. Verto's arms were at his sides as he watched carefully for what was about to happen, but showed no real signs of interfering aside from fists that were emitting a few sparks.

Verto was considering jumping in, _It's just like when Vang influenced her to fight like this against Laysh. She has no control over this form at all._

_"Lenz, stop this!_" Verto urged telepathically. He received no obvious response other than a slight reduction in the amount of flames dancing around her palm. Just as the debris cloud began to scatter, a blast shot out from Piccolo's position, smacking into Lenz's face again and deflecting off of it. Piccolo emerged from the cloud just in time to see that it hadn't done anything more than make her seethe in rage.

Verto's face fell, _Damn it._

Lenz roared in anger and released her attack, which took the form of a large beam of fire directed at Piccolo, who didn't move nearly fast enough to avoid it. The Flame Jet smashed into Piccolo's left half and burned right through his upper body before moving past and crashing into the wall, leaving a path of smoldering ground behind it as it torched the land beyond the stadium. Everyone gasped as only burnt remains of Piccolo's entire left side fell away as blackened ashes. Piccolo cringed in obvious pain and fell backwards, landing in the grass outside the ring. The flames had narrowly missed his head, but had seared through his left shoulder and torso, leaving a large burnt circle from his neck to his waist that nearly extended to his center.

MC fumbled with his microphone for a brief moment, "Doctors, we need doctors now!" Verto was first to move to Piccolo's aid and phased in directly beside him as he cried out in agony. He saw first hand that while her attack had instantly vaporized his inner organs, it had also cauterized them so that no blood was able to spill out.

Goku stepped in next and had a brown bag in his hands, reaching for the contents inside, "Here, I have some Senzu beans."

Verto pushed Goku's offering hand away, "He has to regenerate first. Piccolo, do you think that you can do that?" Piccolo gave them a painful nod but continued his agonized grunting. Verto stood up and cast a stare at Lenz. Her demeanor had shifted again as she fell to her hands and knees, openly crying. Her tears barely got out of her reddened eyes before they evaporated, leaving only a salty imprint.

Verto stepped into the ring and knelt at her side, taking her warm hands into his, "It's alright, calm down."

"I-I couldn't hold myself back. I almost k-killed him!" she rasped.

"I know, power down before it happens again," Verto said sternly. Her crying paused long enough for her hair to fall back down and her eyes to shift back to blue. The air temperature also returned to normal, aside from the slightly flaming swath of land nearby. Verto stood up and offered his hand to Lenz. She only made it as far as Verto's shoulder before she collapsed down again and leaned against him, soaking his shirt with her tears.

"I tried to stop, but I just couldn't! I'm so sorry!" she bawled.

Verto slipped his other arm around her shoulder and held her tightly, "I know, it's okay, accidents happen. We were lucky this time."

Lenz crying didn't cease, "B-But what if next time it's you I'm fighting?"

Verto held her head up for a moment, "Well whose to say? But I'm tougher than Piccolo." Lenz's lip quivered as she slumped into Verto's embrace again. Verto glanced over to see that Gohan had joined Goku and Piccolo at the ringside, and that they were helping the Namek to his feet. He had already regenerated his body, but was showing signs of extreme fatigue. He quickly swallowed the Senzu that Goku had given him and recovered quickly, but still looked a bit shaken from the close call. The medical team finally reached the arena with a stretcher but stopped when they saw Piccolo was fine and left without a word.

"Can I stop now? I really don't want to continue. I don't care what prince asshole says," Lenz whispered in Verto's ear.

Verto went as far as to pat the back of Lenz's head, "Sure, you don't need to prove yourself to me. Go wait with the kids, I'll be there in a few minutes."

Lenz smiled meekly, "Thanks." Verto let her go and she walked back to the waiting area on her own, weeping slightly as she did. Vegeta bared his teeth a bit as he saw this, but didn't both objecting to it.

"Wait Lenz, you have at least one more match!" MC called out as he ran towards Lenz to stop her from leaving, but Krillin stopped him halfway there.

"Just let her go, I think that was a little too much for everyone," Krillin said.

"Um, okay. Is Piccolo going to be alright?" MC asked.

Krillin closed his eyes and smirked a bit, "Yes, but I don't think he'll be starting any forest fires anytime soon if you get my drift." Piccolo's ears perked at the comment but he said nothing as he moved to the side of the stadium and stood alone for the moment. Verto followed him there soon after as Gohan returned to his seat with Videl.

"So that is her power now, she needs immediate training to control it. We'll have to take her back through the basics again. We cannot wait," Piccolo advised.

"Yeah, I noticed. Let's just get through today without anymore incidents," Verto replied quickly.

Piccolo didn't catch the hint though, "And we have to be prepared to eliminate her if the demon emerges again."

Verto bit his lip as he cast an angry glare up at him, "Don't go there. I'm aware of the threat that she poses if she loses control. But just remember, you're the one that egged her on."

Piccolo folded his arms, "And you've obviously done nothing in the past few weeks to correct it."

"I wanted to be careful not to push her in case something like this did happen. Her power has jumped in a short amount of time and it's almost at my level. She's progressing faster than I did and it's dangerous to mess around with that when we don't completely understand it. I knew that her time with Vang had changed her and I didn't want to rush into it. I was being patient and by her own accord she didn't even want to try that power even in practice," Verto argued.

Piccolo paused for a moment, "I see, that was very prudent, and ineffective."

Verto grimaced at the remark, "Fine, you're right. But we're waiting until after today before we do anything. We won't ruin Gohan's wedding day anymore than we already have, got it?"

Piccolo cracked a very small smirk at Verto's sudden tone, "Acceptable." Verto shook his head in dismay and stepped towards the waiting area while the grounds crew busily patched up the ring.

* * *

The crowd started to grow a bit restless within a few minutes, but it clearly wasn't because of the lack of action. Many were wondering if they should leave based on what they had just seen transpire between Piccolo and Lenz. Before any of them made that choice though, the MC was back on the microphone to continue running the show.

"After a close call, contestant Piccolo has been eliminated and contestant Lenz has withdrawn from the contest. This last match will determine the outcome of this team battle. It's Goku versus Vegeta!" MC announced. Vegeta was already in the ring before the MC had even finished speaking. A large cloud passed over the arena and darkened it with no signs of leaving while Goku warmed up with various stretches. In the lobby, Goten and Trunks were extra giddy as they hopped in place at the door.

"Yeah, go Dad!" Trunks shouted.

"My Dad is gonna win!" Goten claimed.

"No my Dad is!"

"My Dad!"

"My Dad!"

"MY DAD!"

"Enough, you'll miss the damn match," Verto said in a raised tone as he stood next to Lenz.

"Yeah no joke. They're like a broken record," Krillin added.

"So annoying," Lenz muttered. She seemed to have recovered enough emotionally to watch the final match but everyone could tell she was still quite upset at herself. Piccolo never took his eyes off her even as she had her back to him, as if he were trying to dissect her with his eyes only. Verto appeared to be only interested in the match ahead of him, but in reality he was scanning Lenz's energy for any dangerous fluctuations. Other than the obvious turmoil she was in, nothing else seemed off at the moment. Neither Verto nor Piccolo was sure if they should feel relieved about that or not.

"_Hey kid, do you sense the demon's presence?_" Piccolo asked telepathically.

Verto scowled as his eyes darted away from Lenz and to his left, "_Only the energy, not the actual mental presence driving it. It's harder to tell when she's calm but it's there. She mentioned to me that Vang had sealed Kaon with some sort of spell and then released the energy for her to use. But she isn't herself in that form, as if part of Kaon comes along for the ride. I can't quite call it the Berserker power because she doesn't act like an animal in that form, and her energy is Chi based, but it's dark just like the demon's. Vang was even able to force her into that form somehow, as if he had a remote for it."_

"_And she's able to fight quite well in it despite that. But it seemed like it was more based on instinct, much like you are when your hidden power comes alive. It also reminded me of how Super Saiyans are initially before they master the transformation,"_ Piccolo added.

Verto stared forward as Goku climbed in the ring, "_No, it's not like a Super Saiyan, not at all. It's far and away different from anything we've seen before._"

"_I said initially. But perhaps you're right. We should ask the Eternal Dragon to remove the demon and see if that helps. However we should consider the possibility that without that controlling force, her power could rage out of control if she were to lose her temper,_" Piccolo claimed.

Verto lip twitched slightly, "_I'm aware of that._" Piccolo didn't answer further when he saw the momentary aura around Verto, clearly warning him to end the quiet conversation. In the ring, Goku and Vegeta had stepped within a dozen feet of each other and waited for the bell to sound.

"So, how far do you think we can safely take this? I don't think either one of us should be going up to Super Saiyan Three in this small arena," Goku suggested.

Vegeta smirked, "This wretched ring wouldn't even hold us at normal power Kakarot. Let's just see where the battle goes before we worry about such petty things."

Goku smiled slightly as his golden aura spiked up around him, "How about we at least turn the lights on? It sure is cloudy out today." He then transformed to Super Saiyan, lighting up the arena with his golden Ki.

Vegeta was quick to follow suit, "Today we make it official. I'm going to beat you, Kakarot!" The crowd gasped in awe when both fighters charged each other and turned the ring into a dazzling display of white-gold shockwaves.

The MC was quick to add commentary, "It's amazing! Both Goku and Vegeta have powered up to their golden fighter forms and are having it out in a massive super-charged melee that most of us can't even make out! One things for sure though, this fight will be fast and furious!"

"Do you think anyone would notice if I were to throw a rock and hit him in the head just to shut him up?" Krillin asked with an evil chuckle. Their view was brightened by several energy bursts that shook the building's frame, causing some of the ceiling dust to come down.

Eighteen snorted, "Do you think you could actually get a rock through that? It'll disintegrate from their energy output before it even gets close!"

Krillin stretched his right arm, "Okay, maybe not a rock, but I'll bet I could thread the needle with my Destructo Disk!"

"No way, I've got plenty of money that says you couldn't!" Trunks said, trying to bait the hook.

It worked and Krillin started powering up his attack, "Oh you're on, one million zeni for this shot! Bulma is going to be so angry with you!"

"Before you two get too far into this, consider what will happen if you were to accidentally distract or even worse, hit Vegeta, with the disk or a rock. Even the best laid plans won't account for THAT response," Verto warned as he crossed his arms.

Krillin's energy dissipated as he stepped away from the door and he stepped towards his wife, "On second thought, I don't think it's a good idea to mess around with energy disk attacks. They are pretty dangerous and we all want to set a good example for the younger generation, right honey?"

"Smooth," Verto muttered.

Eighteen shook her head vigorously, "Idiot." Krillin exhaled with relief from his momentary brain fart just as the action in the ring came to a sudden stop. Goku and Vegeta had simultaneously struck each other in the face with their fists, but neither was forced away from the other. Instead, they both glided backwards and landed to stare each other down again.

"Not bad Kakarot, it seems your time spent in captivity didn't handicap you as much as I thought," Vegeta said.

Goku rubbed his head with a slight grin, "I guess not, but it's not like you got weaker either."

Vegeta smirked, "In your dreams maybe, but the prince of Saiyans doesn't fall to a parlor trick like poison." Both Saiyans continued their face off as the arena darkened around them some more, which began to draw the attention of others.

"Hmm, wonder why it's so dark? It doesn't seem like it's about to rain," Roshi said as he looked up from the stands.

Yamcha stood up next to him, "Yeah, it's strange. It was bright and sunny a few minutes ago, but now it's as if it's supposed to be midnight. I mean I know that Goku and Vegeta are giving off plenty of light but it shouldn't make this much of a difference. Tien, what do you think?"

Only Tienshinhan's third eye was open as he stood behind them, and it was staring off into the distance as he opened the other two, "I think it can only mean trouble."

A loud crackle of thunder sounded from the ring, which was the result of Goku and Vegeta clashing again. Both of them had attempted forearm strikes at the same time, and instead it turned into a brief struggle as both pushed against the other. Vegeta was first to pull back and punch with his other hand, but Goku blocked it in time. Goku fired back with a strong kick from his left, to which Vegeta ducked under and attempted to sweep with his own leg. Goku jumped high into the air to avoid the attack, passing the top of the stadium easily. When he got up there, he glanced around in wonder, taking note of how dark it was. Vegeta fired a small blast, nailing the distracted Goku in the chest easily. The smoke cleared as Goku coughed some of it away, leaving only a small tear in his uniform.

"Take me seriously clown!" Vegeta shouted up at him.

"Hold on Vegeta, why is it so dark out?" Goku asked.

Vegeta shot up towards him, stopped only a few feet away at an equal altitude, "What is the issue Kakarot? So it's a little cloudy out, big deal! We probably kicked up a storm with our energy, it's not like that's a rare feat for us!"

Goku gave him a concerned glare, "That's not it Vegeta, it would have cleared out just as fast as it appeared if that was the case. And there hasn't been any change of wind nor has it tried to rain yet. This is something else!"

Vegeta scowled as he looked around, "Well whatever it might be is of no concern to us. And if it's some sort of new enemy, it has chosen the wrong day and had better clear out if it knows what is good for it. We are the superior beings on this planet and everyone knows it! Now let's determine who is number one!" Below, most of the crowd wondered what was going on at the top of the arena, though many of them were most concerned with the sudden darkness that had taken over.

At the podium reserved for the newlyweds, Videl stood up as she pulled off her bridal headpiece, "Gohan, I have a bad feeling about this."

Gohan slipped his tuxedo jacket off and loosened his bowtie, "Me too."

"But today of all days?" Videl said with an exasperated expression.

Gohan smiled meekly, "Honestly we should expect it at this point. Our parties usually get crashed."

At the lobby entrance, the rest of the fighters had also come out to stare up at the darkness, including Buu as he shoved candy into his mouth.

"What is going on? The forecast for today was sunny and warm," Mr. Satan claimed.

"Well whatever this is clearly wasn't in the wedding day program," Krillin muttered. Verto folded his arms as he stared up at the roaming dark clouds above, noting that the gaps between them weren't revealing anything. There was no sign of sunlit blue sky or stars, there was only black. Piccolo's attention had also been drawn, but he was as unsure as everyone else.

"Could it be the Dragon Balls?" Trunks dared to ask.

"No, we would have seen lightning and felt wind if it was the dragon. This is beyond weird," Krillin said. Lenz, who had said nothing up to this point, suddenly dropped to her hands and knees like she was sick. She hunched over slightly as dark purple energy began to ooze out of her.

"No! I won't!" she screamed.

Verto's eyes went wide as he jumped to her side, "Get back everyone!" The group scattered as Verto dared to put an arm around her shoulder. A strong hissing sound along with his quick recoil revealed that her temperature had gone up drastically even before it hit the air. Verto stared at his reddened, steaming hand in surprise while flames began to spread from Lenz's aura, quickly lighting the grass on fire. Verto acted quickly and chopped the back of her head hard, putting her into the ground. The flames died out as she seemed to fall unconscious, and everyone near her sighed with relief.

"That was close," Krillin claimed. Piccolo had a stern gaze set on Lenz but he said nothing initially.

Verto's eyes narrowed, "But why did it happen again? There was no reason for it this time."

Piccolo continued to look thoughtful, "Hold on. You said that Vang sealed the demon's presence, thus releasing all of that being's power to Lenz, correct?"

Verto glanced back at him with annoyance, "Yes, and?"

"You also said that Vang was able to activate that power fully when she refused to. As if he had a remote control device?"

Verto's eyes went wide, "That means…" Then he felt it just before the ground started to shake. Everyone that was capable of sensing energy stared to the north-northwest in unison. In the far distance, a bright streak of violet light shot towards the arena and exploded overhead, well above Goku and Vegeta. The detonation cleared up the clouds in the sky, revealing something more troubling. High in the sky, where the sun should have been, there was only a black mass that was casting a shadow over everything. It was large enough that the sun could not be seen behind it, nor the stars.

"What the, where's the sun? And if it's night already, where's the stars?!" MC asked first with his microphone still on.

"It's an eclipse, but that's impossible! The moon has been gone for years!" Satan shouted.

"Yeah, that was Piccolo's doing before Vegeta and Nappa came here over ten years ago. It's been gone ever since then, so how is this possible?" Krillin asked.

"I think the answer to all of this is waiting for us over there," Verto said with a dark glare as he pointed to the north. Above, Vegeta had grasped the situation with a reaction that suited him.

"So this is the day that freak chose to return. The audacity of that demon is nothing short of insulting. Kakarot, our match is postponed until I return!" Vegeta ordered as he suddenly blasted off.

Goku was quick to follow, "Vegeta, wait!"

"Oh boy, looks like we're in a fix again," Krillin said as he hovered into the air.

"Yay, we get another fight!" Trunks celebrated as he followed his father's flight path, with Goten right behind him.

"Get back here!" Piccolo roared as he chased them into the distance with Tien joining him from the stands. Verto didn't follow right away as he shook Lenz a bit in order to wake her from the short slumber.

"It's Vang, he's back," Lenz mumbled.

"I know, we'll take care of it," Verto reassured her.

Gohan landed next to him, "C'mon, we have to go."

Verto sighed heavily, "I don't know how he lived, but I wish this guy would take the hint. Lenz, stay here."

Lenz was up on her feet quickly, "No way, that bastard has to pay for messing around with my power! Let me come with you so I can do it myself! I'm just as strong as you are now!"

Verto shook his head, "Maybe in terms of raw power you are, but you aren't mentally. And he may be able to affect you again just like he did a moment ago in order to use you against us!"

"He's right Lenz, it's better that you stay behind for this one. Let's go, if we use my instant transmission we can catch up to Vegeta and my dad faster," Gohan claimed as he put two fingers to his head and his other hand on Verto's shoulder. They were gone in a flash and Lenz's head slumped slightly.

"Everyone relax! I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for this!" MC shouted as he dodged random items being thrown at him.

Mr. Satan stared at the dark horizon as he stood next to Buu, "I think we should stay out of this one buddy." Buu nodded in agreement and shoved another handful of candy into his mouth. Lenz lifted off into the sky anyway and followed the energy trails they had left behind, but far more slowly. She was barely a mile out of the city when she saw a figure floating in the sky ahead of her. At first she increased speed to intercept, but slowed down when she saw the long red mesh of slightly wavy hair flapping in the crosswind.

"You, what do you want?" Lenz said spitefully.

Leira was unfazed by the sudden outburst, "You're in a delightful mood as always."

"Cut the crap and get out of my way. In case you didn't notice, Vang is back!" Lenz claimed as she pointed to the distance.

Leira's reaction was subtle, "I'm aware of that, in fact I expected it. As your friends are about to find out for themselves, Vang is going to be much harder to defeat this time. This won't be an easy battle for them to win."

That only served to anger Lenz further, "Then why are you here?! Shouldn't you be going there instead to help the others?"

Leira shook her head slightly, "There are only a few possible outcomes to this battle and I cannot interfere with it directly unless the situation calls for it. For now, I'm only to clean up the mess those fools are likely to cause. Knowing them, that's probably about five to ten minutes away, depending on how long it takes for _someone_ to lose their temper."

Lenz's aura sparked with brief fire, "Fine, I didn't expect anything from you anyway."

"One moment, I think you can spare it. There's another matter that we must settle before you decide to involve yourself. And it just so happens that it is your purpose for being here," Leira said.

It drew Lenz's glare, "And what's that supposed to be?"

Leira offered up her hand, "Take it and find out."

Lenz stared at the hand with uncertainty, "Why should I? Last time I did that, my power started to come out and look where that got us."

Leira smiled slightly, "Yes, I apologize for that. You weren't the person I thought you were, or should I say, I didn't expect the other side of you so soon. It was an error in my calculations for the events I anticipated, but everything fell in line more or less the way I expected it to. This is part of the final step of your destiny."

Lenz was taken aback slightly, "My destiny? I thought you wanted me dead? Hell, I thought I wasn't supposed to exist?"

"Some things can't be avoided my dear, especially when someone tampers with timelines, of which I'm just as guilty. There are many possible outcomes that erupt as a result, including species and planets that were or weren't supposed to be. There's also particular events that may or may not take place, which would then affect everything again, it really is an endless cycle. Another prime example is what happens when someone sends an agent to disrupt said timelines and others are forced to act before the damage is too severe, but sometimes it can't be helped. Before you ask who, just know that it was someone that was opposed to my mission and that Vang was not supposed to be part of it. When I discovered Vang's presence in the past, I was forced to alter history somewhat in order to contain him until he could be dealt with. I didn't expect that he would play such a crucial role in my mission. But because of that, Vang is not only here and alive, he's able to make the monster in you come out at his command. And of course, there's the issue of why that monster exists to begin with. Take my hand and I can solve that before it becomes a major problem, and it'll give you all the answers a lot faster than I can explain them," Leira said. Lenz slowly reached forward and a bright, multi-colored burst of light engulfed them both for a moment. When it cleared, Lenz pulled away in utter shock while Leira gave her a much warmer smile than she usually gave.

Lenz's surprise didn't ease, "No way…"

Leira nodded as she closed her eyes briefly, "Yes, you now know why I have done this and why you exist. And it's all true. Now you know what must be done."

* * *

Several white and golden auras streaked through the dark skies to the north, where a violet beacon of light was quite literally calling them there. While Gohan and Verto had caught up instantly, Vegeta had still maintained the lead with his fury alone. Thus he was the first to arrive and stop in midair, less than a tenth of a mile from the light source. The others quickly joined him in the sky as they stared at the pulsing display of purple energy before them. It faded quickly, revealing a male humanoid figure underneath it, but one that none of them recognized. He had long gray hair that reached a few inches past his neckline on all sides and a matching goatee. His body was rather slim under a baggy, black robe that hung past his wrists and feet. His skin was even a paler, more human color. His eyes though were a deep, pulsing red, showing that he was definitely not human.

"So this is your new form, eh Vang? I'm not impressed," Vegeta said with a deep smirk.

"That's Vang? The demon-spirit you guys have been fighting? Somehow I expected more," Krillin claimed.

Verto's constant glare had yet to budge as he stared down the newcomer, "Don't be fooled, it's him. I'd recognize that stench anywhere."

"Yes, you would know even if I were to disguise myself. A true testament to your ability, boy. Too bad it all ends here," Vang said, his voice as deep and evil as ever. It had taken an older sounding tone like a normal man that was approaching retirement, but it was still the same dark presence. Verto attempted to penetrate every fiber of his new body with his senses, but he barely sensed anything. _Something's up, I can barely sense his presence. I should be able to sense his power fully, even when he's hiding it. _

"Strange," Piccolo said as he floated between Verto and Gohan.

"What's that Namek? What has your simple mind stumped?" Vang asked.

"_I can't measure his energy, be cautious_," Piccolo said telepathically to the entire group. Verto nodded slightly but said nothing.

"Um, I can't either," Goten said aloud.

Trunks was quick to slap the back of his head, "Shhh, stupid!"

Vang's grin grew wider, "No need to hide your words Namek, an upper class being of my caliber will always hear them when projected en masse."

The whole group gasped while Piccolo remained steady, "You were able to hear that?"

"Of course, and there's a reason you can't fully sense my power anymore," Vang replied.

"And that is?" Gohan said for his mentor as he floated forward a few feet.

Vang grinned, "Because it's now beyond your comprehension. A few of you may still be able to pinpoint it in your higher forms, but to match it is another story." Verto's eyes went slightly wide as he stared off at the distance in thought.

Krillin felt the need to laugh, "You're bluffing! Don't worry guys, he's in a human body, not a Saiyan's! There's no way he could beat all of us now!"

Vang's eyebrow went up, "Is that a fact? Perhaps the weakest would like to die first, come forward and try me if you like."

"Maybe I will!" Krillin declared with a sly grin.

Goku stopped him with a warning arm, "No Krillin, something isn't right."

"I seem to recall my son telling me specifically that your spirit form had been obliterated along with the remnant black ooze of the Zerg. The boy said the same thing, but now I will confirm it. Trunks, I know you wouldn't lie to me, was that story accurate?" Vegeta asked without turning around.

Trunks glanced at his father in question, "I guess not. But I swear I saw him die. That black spirit-shadow thingy was ripped apart and burned up by Verto's lightning technique."

Vang chuckled, "There is no reason to doubt your son Vegeta, that did happen. Yet I can sense that you expected me to return again. No doubt Leira has mentioned how difficult it is to kill someone like me."

"More than once," Vegeta grumbled.

"It's difficult for me to understand why I was able to come back this time as well, but I can tell you that the boy made a catastrophic mistake in plunging me into the Overmind's essence. One that I wasn't even aware would work in my favor," Vang said vaguely.

Verto snapped out of his dazed thoughts and took the lead position away from Gohan by just a few inches, "Do tell."

Vang smiled smugly, "It will be hard to put this into simpler words for your small minds, but I shall do my best. When you trapped me in that energy ball, I planned to use the rest of my energy to quickly escape to the shadows once I was free. However, when I touched the remnants of the beast, I discovered that its presence had strengthened briefly. Your plan to eliminate it with the sacred holy water had forced every last bit of its energy together in one large, condensed sum. It was that power that had burst forth earlier in the battle when Goku's body had made contact. It was buried again when you used your energy-reversal technique to force us away. I must commend you for being able to pull off such a stunt by the way, you had never demonstrated that technique to me before so I was unprepared for it. But after you dropped me into that pool of death, the contact allowed me to steal most of its energy before I quickly fled to the shadows with you distracted. The only thing that was left behind when you were finished was useless matter and whatever was left of its mental presence. After you were gone, I was able to use the Overmind's power combined with my control over shadows to not only restore my old demon form, but increase my powers to their peak form. This form you see here is nothing more than a smokescreen to my true appearance. The time discrepancy between worlds also worked in my favor, giving me the time I needed to concentrate and pull off such a feat. I must say, everything worked out much better than I had hoped."

"Dare I even ask how that's supposed to work? You can't make a body from just energy," Verto claimed.

"Your naivety continues to astound me boy, surely you know by now that energy and matter can be manipulated if enough concentration is applied. The Overmind was a rather large example of that. Perhaps your lack of skill in that department makes you this ignorant," Vang countered.

"He's partially right kid, you are unable to do much with material conversion spells. Being able to de-materialize and teleport across long distances follows a similar pattern. But to regenerate one's body from nothing is far past anything I've ever heard of. Cell and Majin Buu wouldn't have been able to do this," Piccolo claimed.

"I find it insulting to be compared to those two failed creations, but no matter. I suppose you're right, none of you can fully realize the full powers of a shadow type of demon until you experience the horror for yourselves!" Vang declared as his body glowed with bright purple energy.

"I've heard enough of this trash. I'll end this meaningless discussion once and for all!" Vegeta shouted as his power erupted, causing the others to be pushed away. He hunched over slightly as his body glowed bright and his hair lengthened backwards as lightning clashed around him. Before his transformation was even finished he had already spread his hands out and was charging deadly golden energy that would no doubt make a big impact. Verto stared at him but his focus had drifted off of the moment. He remembered a conversation he had with Lenz regarding what she had said to the Alt-Z fighters about Vang when he was trying to possess him before.

Verto hadn't been worried at the time, "_What about that moment? The others helped me out of it and I beat him, so it doesn't matter now._"

"_But he spoke of a power that was beyond us in every way. Some sort of level of energy none of us could do ourselves. He mentioned that with your energy he could restore his full demon powers and that everything he did before would be simple by comparison. Then he mentioned that he could then achieve something that's rare for anyone except the strongest of demon lords. It was kind of scary to imagine,_" Lenz had said. Verto scowled at the idealistic picture that Lenz had painted for him, as he could imagine quite a bit.

"_There were a lot of things he did that were hard to deal with. Especially when he redirected all of our…"_

"No! Vegeta, stop!" Verto cried out, but it was far too late.

Vegeta thrust his arms forward, "FINAL FLASH!"

Vang grinned even as the gigantic burst of gold rushed towards him, "All too easy." Vegeta's powerful beam suddenly vanished into a swirl of dark purple, which also disappeared as a mountain nearby exploded violently.

"Damn you," Vegeta growled.

Vang's glowing palm lowered as he gave Vegeta the type of evil smirk the Saiyan prince was more known for, "Looks like you've done it now." As the explosion cleared, an extra large crevice with a deep bottom appeared in place of the mountain. Where it should have been dark though, there was only a pulsing blue light coming from the abyss.

"What is that?" Goku asked first.

Vang's smirk had yet to fade, "The end of your world." The ground around the new canyon suddenly broke apart as a huge ball of blue with sparkling white shimmered into view, literally shredding the ground around it. Cracks formed in the earth's surface that stretched out into the distance in all directions, each glowing with the same blue and white energy.

"What's happening?!" Krillin shouted.

Gohan was the first to figure it out, "The rift between worlds. It's destabilizing!"

**PL **

**Piccolo: 300,000,000**

**Lenz (normal form): 250,000,000; Semi-Demon form: 575,000,000**

**Vang (full demon form): TBA**

**A/n: Uh, oh.**

**WDG:** Shit just got real. Also, is it just me, or are these getting longer?

**VB**: I'm sure it's just you (troll face)


	110. Rift Battle 1

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 109: Rift Battle 1: Shadow Horde**

The Earth trembled as cracks erupted over its entire surface. The majority of these cracks formed within a few miles of the disturbance that was creating them, which had taken the form of a huge, unstable ball of blue and white energy. Nearby this great ball of destruction several figures floated in mid air, all facing off with the newcomer directly responsible for the turn of events. Vang folded his arms and chuckled as his opponents began to fully grasp what had just happened.

"Leira did warn you, didn't she? You should not trifle with that which you do not understand," Vang reminded them.

Verto was incensed, "You're the one that did this, so don't lecture us. We'll kill you and then find a way out of this mess."

Vang laughed, "Will you now, that's funny. There are a few things you clearly don't seem to comprehend boy. One of which is that this rift isn't something you can just blow away with a power beam. It is a link between two nearly parallel realms. Granted, one timeline was created by tampering with the other, which I understand is commonplace around these parts. But if you think you can just blow it up and be done with it, you would be very, very wrong. Then again, not acting will result in both worlds being destroyed."

Verto's eyebrow twitched slightly, "Oh I'm gonna blow something up, but it'll be you that gets it first."

Piccolo grabbed onto Verto's shoulder from behind, "Enough, we have to be cautious. We have no idea what kind of powers he possesses this time."

Krillin glanced at him in slight panic, "I don't think we have time for strategy. You heard him, that rift thing is going to annihilate everything!"

"Either way, we have to deal with Vang first. I don't think he's just going to let us solve this problem," Gohan remarked.

Vang's eyes shifted towards him, "I could let you try and fix this, but I don't think you'll come up with the solution fast enough. Suffice it to say, I don't feel like letting you try. This planet will be gone within the hour, and all of you with it."

Gohan's eyes lit up with surprise, "You'll be killed along with the rest of us!"

"Please, use your brain. I don't intend to be anywhere near this rock when it finally goes up in flames. I can escape this fate at anytime I choose, but first I think I'll play with the lot of you. After all, I owe most of you some sort of receipt for my previous defeats," Vang declared.

Vegeta's remaining patience quickly faded, "Tch, we'll see if you even last one minute!" Vegeta's aura pulsed with bright gold before he charged in like a madman. Vang's grin didn't falter as he waited for Vegeta to close the gap. Just as Vegeta threw a powerful punch at his face, Vang's body faded from view. Vegeta managed to reverse his momentum and stop in mid air, frantically searching for Vang's new position. He was above with his arms still folded and his mood had yet to change either.

"Still such an overrated hothead. I suppose it has its uses, but not very many," Vang muttered.

Vegeta's forehead filled with veins, "What was that?!"

"You heard me," Vang replied without looking. Vegeta's response was a rapid volley of Ki blasts numbering close to a hundred easily. Vang didn't appear to do much of anything to avoid them, but they all missed. Below, the other fighters watched on in dismay.

"I still can't sense his power level," Goku said.

"I can't sense much either Dad, but I can tell that he's not even trying. It's as if his power is so great that he doesn't even need to use it on us," Gohan said as a cold shiver went up his back. Verto's aura pulsed to life briefly before it filled his hair with its silver tone. Once his energy had fully converted to Chi waves, Verto took another scan of Vang. There was almost no change in what he had sensed before, but there was a distinct feeling that the Vang before them was hiding something that felt like a tidal wave ready to swallow them all.

_I won't let him_, Verto thought as he floated forward.

"Wait Verto, you don't know what he's capable of yet!" Piccolo urged as he held onto Verto's arm.

Verto yanked away from Piccolo's grasp, "You guys can wait here if you want. I'm not going to let that bastard get his way anymore!" Verto powered up quickly before blasted off towards Vang's position, despite the storm of Ki blasts in the air from Vegeta. Verto's green sword formed in his hands as he locked onto Vang and prepared to attack head-on.

Vang looked at him briefly, "Pointless."

"We'll see about that!" Verto shouted as he swung his blade right through Vang's neck. Just as his sword passed through, Vang vanished from view again. Verto barely sensed the energy signal nearby, but found it on the darkened ground near the ever-growing crater.

Vang glanced up at him in question, "Really, why do you bother? If you can sense my power, you should just give it up kid!"

Verto grinned wickedly, "Now who's making the jokes?" Vang didn't respond, but did finally bother to move his arms, aiming one of them towards the sky. It lit up with purple energy and formed a dense ball before he promptly fired it. Verto recognized the Shadow Bolt technique and swung his sword to bat it back towards its owner. Vang sidestepped the counterattack and it crashed into the ground, kicking up a slight amount of dust and dirt.

"Honestly, I'm not going to even give this any effort if you won't," Vang claimed.

Verto turned his head slightly, "Who said I was the only one you are fighting?" Vang frowned as a bright flash came from behind him, precluding the huge ball of blue energy courtesy of Vegeta. The resulting explosion rivaled the unstable rift's light, but dissipated quickly, leaving behind a nuclear cloud. Vegeta cautiously lowered his palm from firing his Big Bang Attack, unsure of what damage he might have done. When the smoke cleared, a pink and purple shimmer showed that Vang was still there. Around him, a dim energy shield shown around his position, whereas the rest of the area was flattened.

"You're kidding, how could he survive that like nothing happened? Vegeta's aim was perfect!" Krillin claimed.

"When it comes to this demon, even the best aim isn't enough," Piccolo said. Vang's demeanor changed into a distinct laugh, which echoed around the lands.

"Now what could he be so happy about?" Goten asked.

"We're about to find out. Get ready," Gohan ordered. Verto lowered to the ground as Vang's laughter continued unabated.

"I don't know if shaking that off was all that funny. You still have all of us to deal with, and I seem to recall that the mere thought of that made you a bit nervous in the other timeline," Verto reminded.

Vang's eyes locked onto Verto, "Do you know why you can't clearly sense my power right now boy?"

"You're holding it back, duh," Verto mocked.

"Partially, but there's another reason. Leira most likely explained to you that once someone acquires a certain amount of energy, it can evolve to the next level, if properly handled. The potency increases exponentially, and only those that are able to wield it can sense it fully. This is why most of your friends cannot sense your Psionic energy as fully as the more common life-based Ki energy, whereas they can sense the combination of the two much easier," Vang explained.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. Both energies can be converted to Chi waves if enough power and concentration are applied, as I understood it," Verto said carefully.

Vang's grin grew larger, "Now imagine what happens if the same theory is applied to Chi waves, but is taken to the next level."

Verto's eyes widened, "What?"

Vang's answer came in the form of a sudden rush of energy that forced Verto backwards by quite a distance. Around Vang, dark surges of energy swirled around him, giving off frequent lightning bursts and causing the ground to shake even more. Verto was able to gain control of his flight after being pushed a few hundred yards, and let a gasp slip when he felt the energy in the air. He felt Vang's energy level skyrocket past his own and quite literally break down any ceiling it may have had. The concentration of this energy was also past anything he had ever done or sensed before.

_It's like some sort of super concentrated Chi, but it's also different entirely. What does this mean?_ Vang's body also began to change during the power up. His skin grew darker and grayer while his muscles bulged up suddenly. His gray hair turned black and lengthened along the sides, spiking out and down across his neckline as well as the side of his temples. Vang's already reddened pupils brightened briefly before shifting to a very dark gray while the rest of his eyes turned pure black. His body grew slightly in size, enough to shred the top of his tunic completely. His arms increased in size at least two fold while his fingers became sharp and pointed like claws. The light armor boots he was wearing splintered apart, revealing dark gray feet with sharpened toes that looked more like talons. Towards the top of his head, a thick set of horns grew out of his hair, matching their black color as they bent upwards. Behind him, a thin but long tail protruded from his backside, wagging slightly like a dying fish out of water. It eventually stopped growing and resembled a shark fin at its very tip. His breath became a bit heavy as his transformation finished, but it wasn't from exhaustion. Verto's legs trembled as he got a good look at Vang's new form, and he felt real fear creeping into his whole body.

_This must be his true demon form, the one that Leira had mentioned before. He's even stronger than Ranot and Frost. How in the hell are we going to beat that?_ Verto glanced at the others, most of whom didn't appear to react at this new development.

"He looks scary Trunks," Goten said.

"Y-yeah," Trunks stuttered.

"Hmmm, I still can't sense that much of a change," Piccolo said.

Goku nodded, "I can't either." Gohan was the only one that appeared to be able to sense what Verto sensed, and his knees were shaking quite severely.

Vegeta scoffed slightly, "Well well, is this the real you? Such an ugly cretin!"

Verto's head turned towards Vegeta slightly, _He can't sense his power, none of them besides me and Gohan can. It must be because they're not able to fully sense Chi waves, never mind whatever this energy is called. This is bad._ A dark laugh filled the lands again, coming from Vang, whose voice had deepened into a truly demonic tone.

"Dear Saiyan prince, it is you that is the cretin. You, who can't comprehend what greatness stands before you. Well, you'll know soon enough," Vang cackled.

Vegeta scowled, "Hiding behind your pathetic shield doesn't prove anything demon. Fight like a man!"

Vang chuckled, "Do you see a man around here, _monkey_?"

"You know what I see, a _turd_ that I recently flushed down the toilet!" The two continued to stare each other down while the other parties quickly weighed their options.

Gohan glanced towards Verto, "_I hope you can sense that. He's beyond anything we've ever faced before!_"

Verto gulped, "_Yeah, I noticed. We're the only ones that can sense it fully._"

Gohan nodded grimly, "_Which means we're the only two that can truly fight him at this level. The others can help but they'll only get in the way at best. As much as I hate to admit this, not even my dad will be able to stand up against this foe. We have to work together and fight him at the same time._"

Verto's face switched to serious, "_You're right. I don't like our chances, but it's better than doing nothing. Let's do this._" Gohan tensed up a bit as he transformed to Super Mystic suddenly, surprising the others around him.

"Gohan, can you sense his power?" Goku asked.

"Yes, and it's beyond all of us. Only me and Verto can sense it," Gohan said.

"The two of you can't fight him alone, we'll help you!" Krillin claimed.

"And we can fight once we can do fusion again!" Trunks claimed.

"Yeah!" Goten added.

"It won't do any good. If Vang is as powerful as Gohan says he is, then there's no point in having Gotenks fight at all. We need a better plan," Piccolo suggested.

Gohan shook his head, "We don't have time for one, you heard him. The Earth is history if we don't stop this now. Don't worry, we won't be alone, not when we have all of you behind us."

Krillin looked thoughtful, "Maybe we can do more than that. Can't the eternal dragon help us at a time like this?"

"Yeah, a wish to Shenron should be able to fix this in a snap!" Goku claimed excitedly.

"It's worth a try, but we have to prepare for the possibility that this may be more than the dragon can handle. It's possible that this wish would exceed his power," Piccolo warned.

"Maybe, but remember that time before the Zerg showed up? We were in the past with Bardock and those other guys. That whole timeline got messed up, but the Namekian dragon was still able to send us back," Trunks pointed out.

"That's a good point. I vote that we go try it," Krillin said.

"Good idea. Trunks, I want you to fly to Capsule Corp as fast as you can and tell Bulma what's going on. Then get the Dragon Balls and summon the dragon," Goku ordered.

Trunks saluted him, "Yes sir! We've already got all the Dragon Balls at home!"

Goku nodded, "Good, Goten go with him!" Goten mimicked Trunks as they both turned Super Saiyan.

Gohan looked on and smiled, "Alright, let's do this before he figures out what we're up to."

"Good luck, kid," Piccolo said as he grasped Gohan's shoulder.

Gohan glanced at him briefly, "To all of us."

A little further away, Vang and Vegeta were still trading insults, though the former had taken notice of movement behind him. Vang turned and saw Goten and Trunks in the process of leaving.

He laughed, "Oh, it's too soon to leave little boys. You need a proper spanking before you go home to your mothers!" A dark purple aura erupted around him just as Goten and Trunks blasted off. They didn't get far before they suddenly ran into a dim but solid purple barrier.

"What the?" Vegeta gasped as he looked on. The barrier faded into view all around them, blocking out the already dark skies, but also eliminating any view of the horizon. It appeared to extend to nearly a mile in diameter and half of that into the air. The bright flashes of the unstable rift were also dimmed out considerably, as if someone were trying to shine a flashlight through a heavily tinted window.

"He's trapped all of us inside," Piccolo exclaimed.

"Impossible," Tien claimed. The boys were just as stunned and attempted to punch through, but were unable to make a dent. A black shadow from below suddenly shot upwards and latched onto their legs, pulling them down to the ground just as quickly. Both of them landed painfully and were dazed as they tried to figure out what had happened.

"No one leaves, not after I went through so much trouble to call you all here," Vang declared.

Gohan quickly looked towards his father, "Dad, use your instant transmission to escape!" Goku nodded quickly as he placed two fingers to his forehead. After several seconds though, he gritted his teeth as if under severe strain.

"I can't sense anything outside of his barrier," Goku claimed.

"That means you can't teleport either?!" Krillin gasped in surprise.

"Nope, we're stuck alright," Goku admitted.

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

After seeing all this, Vang's laughter echoed even louder with a dome to catch his sound, "I told you didn't I?"

"I'm gonna turn you inside out demon!" Vegeta roared behind him. Vegeta's powerful aura burst to life again as his rage took over and he charged in again. Vang turned in time to see this, but didn't react right away. Vegeta stormed in at full speed and landed a crushing blow to Vang's face, kicking up large amounts of dust and debris when he stopped. Vegeta's thick smirk ran true for the moment, but was quickly replaced by fear when Vang had barely twitched at his strong attack. The demon shrugged off Vegeta's fist like nothing had happened, but it had left a slight blemish on his dark skin.

Vang frowned slightly, "And to think you're a Super Saiyan Three. So pitiful." Vegeta didn't have time to react before Vang had shoved a fist into Vegeta's stomach. The armor plating covering it snapped apart easily as Vegeta went flying all the way into the barrier. Upon impact, the barrier lit up with a bright light and a large burst of purple lightning struck him over and over again for several seconds. His screams were quickly followed by deafening silence when he fell to the ground and out of Super Saiyan form.

"Vegeta!" Goku called out, to no response.

Verto's eyes remained wide as he allowed everything he had just witnessed to replay in his mind, _It isn't just his energy level that's increased. Pure strength and power that surpasses anything we can dish out. It's the total package, any of his previous weaknesses are gone. _

Vang glanced at his fist, noting the trace of blood that had managed to land there, "One down."

* * *

"So who is next to fall, you should probably decide quickly," Vang stated as he observed the Z fighters. Among them, only Verto and Gohan were powered up, but neither looked eager to charge in at him. Vegeta was still down on the far side of the barrier's extent. On the other side, Trunks and Goten were still trying to figure out how they had been stopped, tapping on the barrier's solid, dark surface just to be sure they hadn't imagined it. Goku, Krillin, Tien and Piccolo stood by behind Gohan, ready to act if needed.

Vang's dark eyes shifted between them all, "No volunteers? I suppose I can't blame you, but none of you are going to be left out of the action. I'll see to it personally."

Verto's lip twitched angrily, "The only thing you'll see is your own grave!"

Vang turned to Verto, "Then come bury me boy, if you can!" Verto's silver aura burst to life just before he charged at Vang with his right fist drawn back and full of green energy.

Vang's expression shifted into a toothy grin, "Now we're talking. Give it all you have, don't hold back!" Verto's fist powered up even more as he closed in, though his advance was slower than normal. On the side of the battlefield, the others looked on with concern.

"What's he doing, we have to help him!" Krillin claimed.

Goku glanced at his son, "Gohan, are you about to…"

"Quiet Dad!" Goku stopped speaking at his son's sudden outburst, noting that Gohan seemed extremely focused on the moment. Ahead of them, Verto had closed the gap between him and the waiting Vang. Just as he would have hit, Verto's green fist only hit air when Vang suddenly phased out, appearing above him. Vang quickly dove at Verto, who was unable to avoid the attack from above at such close range even as he flew forward.

Vang grin wickedly as he held out his claw, "Now you're history!" Just before Vang could swing down, a pair of boots belonging to Gohan suddenly smashed into him, driving Vang into the ground. Gohan's sudden pounce allowed Verto time to recover, which he used to suddenly phase out and reappear just above Vang as Gohan moved out of the way.

"Super Galic Fist!" Verto's attack exploded into a bright burst of green light that blinded all that saw it for a moment. When it cleared, Verto realized that he was only touching dirt that had formed a small crater around it. He glanced up and saw Vang hovering a few feet off the ground nearby, unharmed.

"Nice try, that might have even hurt me if it had landed. That isn't an attack I would care to get hit by again," Vang admitted.

Verto stood up as Gohan stepped up next to him, "Well he saw through that one. What's next?"

"I'll fight him in close range while you try to hit him with energy attacks. We both know that you're better with ranged attacks and I'm better at melee combat. This way we both utilize our strengths," Gohan suggested.

Verto shook his head grimly, "That's fine, but he's going to expect that. We need to attack him at the same time, even if we have to use tactics that we're both weaker with."

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll go in on the left and cover you."

Verto's green Chi sword emerged in his right hand, "Got it, I'll go first."

Vang tensed up slightly as Verto flew towards him quickly, "Do your worst boy!"

Verto held his sword with both hands, slashing towards Vang's head. Vang ducked out of the way fairly easily and reached for Verto's boot with his claws. Gohan suddenly phased in and stopped him by grabbing his wrist. Vang twisted out of the grip and attempted to attack Gohan instead. Vang changed directions when Verto's sword nearly took his arm off, forcing him to fly backwards. Gohan kicked him in the back from behind, and the forward momentum made him a prime target for Verto's next sword swing. Vang was gone well before Verto's blade got close, reappearing behind him and aiming an open claw strike at the back of Verto's head. Gohan teleported in and kicked Vang's hand away, giving Verto time to turn around. He quickly refocused the energy in his hand into a bright green swirling charge that continued to build as he waited for the opening. Gohan's next two punch attempts were caught fairly easily, and Vang grinned slightly in confidence. Gohan lurched forward and slammed his own head into Vang's face. Vang painfully held his bruised head and took his eyes off his opponents just as Gohan phased out.

"Final Shine!" Verto shouted as he fired. The massive beam shot out of Verto's right hand and bore down on Vang, who could only stare at it. The beam's size was dwarfed by the explosion it caused, which shook every inch of the isolated area. When the blast cleared, Vang stood at its center with only his arms up to guard himself. The ground however was indented in a large circle nearly ten feet around Vang, and it shimmered slightly in the air above it. Once the smoke was completely gone, Verto could see a dim energy shield fading from around Vang's position. _Damn, his shield technique is even stronger than before too._

Vang's shield completely faded as he lowered his arms, "That wasn't a bad try, but you're still lacking in power." Gohan suddenly phased in behind him, aiming another kick to his backside. Vang rolled forward to avoid it, but stood up just in time to see Verto's sword coming at him from above. Vang phased out just in time again, leaving his opponents staring at each other. Along the edge of his bare shoulder, a dark and very slight nick revealed just how close Verto's sword swing had come.

Vang examined the minor injury without too much concern, "I'll admit, fighting the two of you at the same time is going to be troublesome, even for me. My power is far beyond both of you, but my physical body hasn't caught up in a way that I would prefer. It seems as though my plans are in jeopardy."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "Then why are you so calm about it?"

Vang's toothy grin reappeared, "One always saves his trump card for situations such as this. But don't worry, I'll make sure you all get to enjoy it before the end." His arms suddenly spread apart in a wide angle, which caused his barrier to start glowing again. Near the top of the dome, a large black circle formed in mid air just below the barrier and slightly off-center. Soon after, multiple clouds of black smoke seemed to drop of it at a fast rate, as if smoke bombs were being dropped. Upon contact with the ground, the black smoke dissipated just as fast, but each one left something behind. Verto suddenly sensed a scattered energy coming from the ground around him, as if the smoke bombs were alive. A small, dark creature leapt out from the smoky grounds, bearing black claws and teeth that matched its body. Many more creatures of the same type followed, each identical to the last. Each were completely black from head to toe and besides the sharp claws and teeth, they had no other obvious distinguishing marks. To Verto, they looked like Zerglings, but they were smaller and obviously not the same color. He noticed that a few of them were imp-like and could stand on two feet rather easily.

"What are they?" Gohan exclaimed.

Vang dropped his arms as more of the shadowy beasts dropped out of the hole in the sky, "They are mine."

"What are they, some sort of Zerg hybrid?" Verto asked.

Vang chuckled, "I suppose they are similar, but they are not the same. They are called 'Bikou-Souzou' or just 'Bikou' for short. Its rough translation is Shadow Creature, how terribly accurate. These are the lowest rank of shadow realm demons, far below my stature. If I am a ten, they could be considered a one. Instinctual-based cretins, the lot of them. Easily influenced by their betters, but not so easily turned away by the enemy. Like the Zerg however, it is unwise to underestimate them, especially in such high numbers. Now my minions, surround them all!" The mass of shadow creatures suddenly rushed out in all directions, with most of them moving straight for the other Z fighters nearby. The Bikou split apart in various directions, each focusing on at least one Z fighter. Goku turned Super Saiyan immediately as a group of Bikou closed in on him and his friends. Goten and Trunks both powered up as a large group moved towards them. In the middle, another group surrounded Verto and Gohan, leaving about a dozen feet of nothing between them.

"Well, this is just fucking great. I thought I was done with this kind of crap," Verto muttered as he turned his head left and right.

Gohan remained tense, "Apparently not."

On the far side, several of the Bikou moved towards the fallen Vegeta, who had yet to visible recover from Vang's counter attack a few minutes prior.

Trunks realized that his father was in danger quickly enough, "C'mon Goten, we have to help my Dad!" Goten nodded and the pair blasted off into the air, narrowly avoiding the jumping Bikou just below them. This particular group of Bikou chased after them, nearly running each other over while following their targets. Goten and Trunks landed next to Vegeta and took a defensive position. Everyone was surrounded by the new shadow demons at this point, but the Bikou had yet to attack. Vang grinned evilly as the black portal above suddenly shrank away and closed completely.

"I suppose that a few hundred is good enough for now," Vang claimed.

"You make it sound like this will actually work, I wouldn't bet on it," Verto retorted.

"Oh you'll see soon enough. I'll let you witness the horror of watching your friends get slaughtered first. Bikou, attack!" Vang ordered. All at once, the mass of creatures rushed in on the Z fighters, with the exception of the group surrounding Verto and Gohan. Goku was first to be attacked, to which he was quickly scratched on his arm by one of the beasts. Goku winced slightly before he punched it away, noting the trail of blood that had been left behind with the claw mark. Krillin was also hit quickly as he punched and kicked at the attackers, taking several hits on his back and arms. Piccolo lengthened his arms and grabbed two Bikou before swinging them around in a circle, causing them to collide with their brethren. Tien's arms became nearly invisible as he counter attacked the Bikou with ferocious punches. Several were knocked away easily, but one managed to jump on his back and dig into the side of his head, leaving a gaping bloody wound. On the far side, Goten and Trunks were struggling to keep the demons off of Vegeta. Each of them had received several scrapes and bruises in a relatively short time. For each Bikou they knocked away, two would take its place. Goku and Krillin were in the same dilemma as they stood back to back and fended off several Bikou at once.

"So, what do you think?" Vang asked as the Bikou continued attacking the others.

Verto turned his head as he observed the battles taking place, "I think you're an idiot."

Vang's black eyebrow raised up, "Oh? How is isolating each of you an idiotic thing to do?"

Gohan folded his arms, "We've faced and beaten the Zerg before, don't think we can't do the same again!"

All at once, the area lit up in a dazzling display of energy blasts going off. Goku and Krillin rapidly fired a barrage of blasts that wiped out every single Bikou that they hit, causing them to suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke. Piccolo's eyes lit up with energy before he fired twin laser beams that cut down too many Bikou to count, killing them instantly. Tien did the same with his third eye, destroying anything that was close. Goten and Trunks had each fired a Kamehameha, which they moved to blast through anything that was on the ground in front of them. Vang cringed slightly and waved his hand slightly, causing the hundred of so Bikou around Verto and Gohan to veer off and chase down the younger demi-Saiyans. Goten and Trunks lined up to join attack beams, but before they could fire, a larger golden beam shot out from behind them. The Bikou caught in the blast evaporated, leaving almost none left alive.

Super Saiyan Vegeta spat as he lowered his palm, "Pathetic!"

"Dad, you're all right!" Trunks shouted happily.

"Of course I am, those pitiful excuses for scum won't be able to touch me!" Vegeta bellowed.

Vang scowled as he became the focal point once again, "So that's how it is."

"Looks like your little Shadow Horde is gone, what's your next plan?" Verto asked.

Vang seemed undeterred, "Don't underestimate the Bikou. Unlike the Zerg, they will keep coming if I want them too!" In the skies, the black portal emerged again, and numerous black shadows dropped out of it.

"A few more won't make any difference," Gohan said.

"A few, no. But what about an endless stream of them? The Zerg's potential numbers are impressive, but they are limited to a finite amount of forces based on how many they can currently control. The Bikou do not have that weakness, and by the time you could eliminate them all, you would find that it's far too late. So tell me, how long do you think you can hold out before you grow tired and weak?" Vang asked.

"I don't think that'll be much of a problem," Gohan said. His aura sprang to life and intensified, spreading into a wide area around them. The Bikou stopped momentarily at this, but then drew closer anyway. Nothing seemed to happen when they crossed into this silver lit area, and they continued to approach.

Gohan grimaced slightly, "So much for that idea."

Vang chuckled, "I told you, they are not the Zerg. Increasing your energy output won't affect them in the same way. You will have to attack them first."

Verto grew serious as the Bikou began to surround them again, "Then the answer is that we have to seal the gateway that led them here, which is your doing. That makes me think that killing you will make the gateway disappear."

Vang closed his eyes momentarily, "Yes, that could work. If you can do it."

Verto stepped forward to begin again, but Gohan grabbed him by the shoulder, "Hold on."

Verto's eyes shifted to Gohan, "What?"

Gohan chose to answer quietly, "_He's up to something here, we shouldn't just charge in._"

"_But we can't sit back and do nothing either! We clearly have an advantage fighting him two on one, we should use it._" Verto claimed. Gohan gave Vang a stern glare as the area behind him lit up randomly with Ki blast explosions from the other Z fighters.

"What is it?" Verto asked aloud.

"_I don't think we have that much of an edge. You've sensed his power and at this point, he could easily wipe us out at any time. Instead he's summoning these creatures to wear us down. I think he's waiting for something. His physical ability should be much more than he's putting out now_," Gohan explained.

Verto also gave Vang a hard stare down, "_I suppose that's possible."_

Vang's grin held firm, "I hope this isn't a private conversation. I would hate to hear how you're going to destroy little old me. But you are partially right in your assessment, I am capable of much more."

Gohan's eyes widened, "You can hear our thoughts?"

Verto scowled, "Stay the hell out of our heads!"

Vang shrugged, "I can't help it when you project your thoughts so close to me. You should have noticed it with the Namek, but I suppose you were too surprised by my appearance to think rationally. Don't be concerned, I can only hear your telepathic communication, not your direct thinking. I'm afraid that's what happens when you achieve an ultimate power, you gain abilities that you may not need or want."

"For an ultimate power, yours seems a little puny. You haven't shown that you can defeat us as easily as you boast. Maybe all that time hiding in the dark has blinded you," Verto said in a mocking tone.

"Heh, for a brat, you are amusing. But your current skills will not suffice, especially when you are clearly not reading my energy correctly. There's a reason that it seems like I'm weaker than I'm projecting. I'll allow you to figure that out on your own," Vang remarked.

The Bikou around Verto and Gohan suddenly rushed in, overrunning them in an instant. A bright silver flash from both of them forced most of the Bikou away, with a few being too close to the energy burst and simply burning up on the spot. Verto's Chi sword snapped back to life and he slashed several Bikou apart when they closed in again. Vang grinned and charged at Gohan, attempting to claw at his face. Gohan deflected Vang's wrist and glided backwards, straight into a Bikou pack. One of the creatures managed to jump on his back, only to be thrown off. Vang took the opportunity and slammed his elbow into Gohan's head, knocking him down. Verto saw this and flew towards them, only to have a dozen Bikou block his path. Verto leapt over them and charged in towards Vang with his sword held high. Vang smirked and phased out, reappearing dozens of feet away. Verto scowled as the Bikou encircled them again, blocking any path on the ground with their massive swarm.

"He's trying to isolate us with these things. That way he can pick us off one by one," Gohan suggested.

Verto nodded grimly as his sword faded for the moment, "Then we'll have to do something about that."

Gohan glanced up at the endless funnel of Bikou coming through the black portal, "How is he doing it?"

"What?"

"Keeping this portal open? It seems like it would take a lot of energy to do something like that," Gohan noted.

Verto grimaced, "Well Majin Buu managed to do the same thing."

"With a lot of effort, Vang barely looks winded. And the barrier, how is that still up?" Gohan pondered.

Verto stared at the dark purple shroud that covered the skies, "That's a good point. He must be continuing to channel energy into both techniques to keep them going."

"But why, he could have done either to keep us bottled up from the start. Think about it, he went to the trouble of blocking out the sun and then calling us here. He's trapped us inside with him and instead of fighting us directly, he's bringing in all these minions instead. It's possible that both the barriers and the portal are keeping his power level lower and we just can't tell yet. But why would he do all that when he could just defeat us and be done with it?" Gohan pointed out.

Verto snorted, "Because he's an asshole that likes to toy with us."

Gohan shook his head, "No, there has to be a reason for this. Each time we've faced him, he's tried to rush the fight, right? The first time he fought us, he used his potent techniques despite having an immortal body. Obviously he wasn't completely prepared for your Berserker power, but it seemed like he might have known that he was in trouble. You said he also quit playing around when he realized what you were doing in the other timeline too, before the alternate me and the others got involved again. This time he could have avoided Vegeta's beam, but he went through the trouble of purposely redirecting it into the rift cave to blow it up. Then he traps us inside with him and these Bikou things. Other than preventing Instant Transmission, what would be the point? He could easily hunt us all down with his Shadow Teleportation, but he's barely making any effort here."

Verto looked thoughtful as he looked around, specifically at Vang and the purple swirl around them, "Maybe the barrier wasn't to keep us in. Maybe it's to keep others out."

Gohan's eyes narrowed slightly, "Like who?"

Verto didn't even have to guess, "Like Leira for one. She's been directly involved with Vang before and she's been around during our encounters. She wasn't in the other timeline, but she approached me about it before and after that battle. I suppose Kibito wouldn't be able to intervene here either. If we can't sense anything through the barrier, I doubt they could either. And if they don't know what's going on, then they wouldn't know to take action either."

"Then we have to find a way to take him or the barrier down before the rift explodes," Gohan said as he resumed his fighting stance.

"Are you two done talking yet?" Vang asked as he yawned slightly.

"You attack him Gohan, I'll cover you and keep these things off your back. When we get the opening, we both hit him with full power," Verto suggested.

Gohan nodded, "Sounds good." Verto's palm lit up with green as he filled a potent orb the size of a beach ball, which began to send up brief bursts of lightning. Gohan charged through the Bikou pack, splitting it apart in an instant as he rushed towards Vang. Verto held up his lightning orb and channeled more power into it, brightening the entire area with its glow. The Bikou ran towards him and he unleashed the orb's power, sending out arcs of lightning that spiraled around his position. Not one Bikou managed to get within twelve feet before they were skewered apart and killed. As the Bikou hurried to their deaths, Gohan continued his attack on Vang nearby. His first few punches were blocked rather easily by Vang's claws, and Gohan changed tactics. He phased out and attempted to kick from behind, but Vang ducked out of the way the moment Gohan moved. A furious display of phasing began in which Vang would vanish once Gohan tried to attack him, making him miss each time. Verto saw this and extinguished his Spirit Orb, though most of the Bikou that had come close had been wiped out. He noticed another pack of them running towards him and ignited his energy sword again, slashing them apart one by one as he tried to monitor the battle between Gohan and Vang. He saw that Gohan was using Instant Transmission for each attack and was still missing every attempted blow. He could barely see Vang's movement, but it wasn't teleportation he was using.

_His reaction time has increased enough to counter Instant Transmission? Gohan's right, he isn't trying at all. He's fighting a defensive battle and drawing this out on purpose while his barrier keeps us trapped and others out._ Gohan quickly grew flustered and fired a point blank blast, which Vang dodged just as easily by gliding away. When Vang stopped, Verto phased in from above, aiming his sword at Vang's head. Verto's sword slash promptly halted when it struck a solid energy shield which showed no signs of wavering.

"Tricky and bold, I've always admired that about you," Vang admitted. Verto flipped around and landed just a few feet away as his sword glowed with additional power.

"Admire this, Galic Slash!" Verto shouted as he swung his blade. A bright green burst hurled out of his sword and crashed into Vang's energy shield, detonating an instant later. When it cleared, Vang stood unharmed while his energy shield pulsed around him.

"Nice try, but not only am I familiar with that technique, but my energy shield is far too concentrated to be broken by your attacks. You won't succeed like you did before. If you don't believe me, then feel free to test me. I promise I won't move," Vang offered. Verto's eyes narrowed and he jumped backwards far enough to be side by side with Gohan. The Bikou halted their advance when Vang held his arm up, as if to stop them and allow both Saiyans to attack at once.

"He's bluffing. He's probably just going to teleport away and make us waste energy," Gohan claimed.

Verto gave Vang a stern glare, "I don't think it's a bluff. He didn't have any reason to come back here other than to test his skills. I say we give him a taste of our combined power and see what he does with it. He won't be able to redirect our energy beams easily if he has to maintain his shield at the same time."

Gohan looked unsure, "That's an awfully big risk Verto. If he sends it towards the others, they may not be able to escape. You remember what happened before don't you?"

Verto nodded grimly, "Yes, but with each battle he didn't start using his arsenal until he was pressured and lost his confidence. At the very least, we'll know where we stand."

Gohan conceded, "Alright, let's try it." Both of them lowered into mirrored stances as they held their palms back and charged up their energy.

Vang folded his arms as his shield came into full view, "Anytime, monkeys. Take your best shot!"

Bright green filled the area between Gohan and Verto, "Ka…me…ha…me…HA!" Their beams combined together as they fired, forming a Kamehameha more intense than ever before. The beam carved through the land and any Bikou in its path before slamming into Vang's shield. Vang was quick to unfold his arms and hold them out, channeling more energy into his shield in the process, making it glow bright purple. The powerful Twin Kamehameha pushed Vang backwards a bit before completely stalling out while Vang's shield stayed strong. Verto stopped channeling his energy and stood up in surprise. Gohan joined him a moment later with the same expression. The beam eventually dissipated enough to be deflected away and explode harmlessly off the barrier above.

"That's not good," Verto muttered.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Gohan noted.

"I should have used Kaio-ken," Verto claimed.

Gohan shook his head, "I don't think it would've mattered."

Vang grinned wickedly as a trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face, "Thank you for that. I admit that even I wasn't sure how I would hold up in the face of both of you at once, but now I know. You're all finished!" Just as Vang finished speaking, the Bikou began to swarm in around Verto and Gohan again.

"We can't give up Verto, we have to attack him directly and hopefully disrupt his concentration somehow. Otherwise he's just going to wear us down like this," Gohan suggested.

Verto nodded, "Got it!" Gohan charged forward shoulder first and plowed through a Bikou pack before engaging Vang again. Verto was quick to follow, until a sudden flash of purple blocked his path and he ran into something solid. He fell backwards and stared ahead, seeing another dim barrier blocking his path.

"No!" Verto cried out as he ignited his sword and got up. Gohan turned and saw this too late, for Vang was already in his face. His first claw swipe tore into Gohan's chest, leaving a large gaping wound that oozed blood. Gohan gasped as he glanced down and felt the open wound with his fingers, gazing at the blood that was pouring out.

"Lucky, I missed your heart by an inch. I guess you get a few more minutes to live," Vang declared. Gohan slumped to the ground in utter shock and fell backwards as his hair faded to black. Verto slashed at the Shadow Barrier blocking his path but could not break it.

_Damn, he was just playing with us. Whatever this new type of Chi energy is, it's too strong for us to face._ The Bikou quickly came in and Verto was forced to divert his attention. Before they could overwhelm him, he ignited another Chi sword and began spinning rapidly with both blades. A whirlwind of swords formed and tore through the Bikou pack, ripping them apart quickly. Inside the barrier, Gohan grunted painfully as he tried to get to his feet. Vang stepped down on the fresh wound in Gohan's torso, driving his foot into it and keeping Gohan on the ground. Vang put all his weight on Gohan's chest with one foot, and then dropped his other one directly onto Gohan's left arm, breaking it almost instantly. Gohan's painful screams echoed, but all Verto could do was attack the shield and the Bikou around it. Goku turned his attention to what was going on from afar, but was soon attacked by more Bikou coming through the portal in an endless stream. The other Z fighters were also under continuous attack despite clearing out many of the beasts already.

"My brother is in trouble!" Goten shouted.

Trunks nodded as he punched a Bikou away, "But we can't use fusion yet!"

Vegeta snarled as he held an injured shoulder slightly while kicking away another shadow demon, "Blast it all."

Vang laughed as he reached down and grabbed Gohan up by the throat, "I'm going to enjoy squeezing the life out of you."

Gohan struggled to move as the remaining air was choked out of him, "N-Not like t-this!"

Vang's smirk grew, "Yes, like this. I'm going to finish you off, and then I'm going to tear that kid limb from limb. You never had a chance against my full demon form, I merely allowed you to think that you did. Prepare yourself, for the end." As Vang tightened his grip, Gohan began to gag and squirm to escape, but with his injuries he didn't have a prayer.

"Kaio-ken!" Verto shouted. Bright green erupted from the edge of Vang's shield, pulling Vang's attention as he dropped Gohan. Verto's potent aura had shifted to bright green and any of the attacking Bikou were quickly destroyed by the sudden burst.

Vang shook his head, "It's pointless you know."

Verto's fist glowed with all of his power as he thrust forward, "Super Galic Fist!" The detonation lit up the lands again, but when it cleared, nothing had happened. "Damn it!" Verto growled as his energy fired up again. Both hands glowed with the potent green Chi as he began rapidly punching Vang's extra-strong shield with a rapid volley of Galic Fist attacks. Each blast flashed briefly before showing no effect.

Inside the barrier, Vang felt the need to chuckle slightly while this barrage went on, "I told you that it's pointless. But you always were a slow learner." Verto breath became short as he had put as much effort as he could into breaking the shield, to no avail.

"Just fucking break!" Verto bellowed as his energy erupted into an erratic flame around him. Fist and shield collided, creating a clash that sparked with energy lightning. Verto's aura began to spark rapidly with a multi-colored display as he tried to break Vang's shield with all his might. Vang looked concerned for a moment while this struggle continued and said nothing. In front of Verto, he noticed one small crack forming next to his balled up fist.

_Now!_ With a mighty shout, Verto's Galic Fist exploded with random shades of blue, gold, white and red before brightening the lands with bright white. The blast cleared quickly and Verto stood still with his fist outstretched, panting heavily. In front of him, Vang's shield had broken apart like glass for about twenty feet around the impact site. Multi-colored sparks came off of the edges from the residual energy and Verto stepped through. His energy quickly came back up as he charged towards Vang with another Galic Fist ready to go. Vang phased out just as Verto swung, missing him completely. Instead of trying to find him again, Verto knelt at Gohan's side to examine the injury, panting while he did. Vang reappeared next to the breach in his barrier, which had yet to dissipate. He felt the edge of the glass-like barrier and scowled before turning back to Verto. The rest of the shield vanished around them a moment later.

"This barrier one of my strongest ones. It is tougher than most metals and can survive nearly any energy attack below its level. The fact that you've broken it tells me just how strong you really are. Or rather, how strong you potentially are. But you shouldn't waste a precious resource. You may or may not know of what you just did, but I can tell you that it was a complete waste," Vang explained.

Verto ignored him while he knelt at Gohan's side and poured energy into his palms, "Hold on Gohan!" Green Chi waves flowed over Gohan's chest wound and began to mend it. Halfway through, Verto's energy faded along with his Super Mystic form while he continued to breathe hard.

"Damn it," Verto grumbled.

Gohan's eyes opened as he struggled to move, "Are we dead?"

Verto wiped the sweat from his brow, "Not yet." Gohan's wound had been sealed, but he was still far too weakened to attempt even getting up at this point.

Verto's fatigue washed over him as he held the ground with his hands and knees, _What was that I felt? When I switched on Kaio-ken, I didn't feel anything weird initially, but when I put everything I had into the Galic Fist, my power exploded and then drained off. It was like it was feeding into something else. Whatever it was broke the barrier, but now I can barely stand up. Why did that happen? I've been able to hold Kaio-ken for longer and not be this tired, but I did expend a ton of energy. What the hell was it?_ Vang's confidence looked slightly depleted as he stepped towards the exhausted pair of Saiyans.

"I have to admit that this will be a bit dull and anti-climatic, but you leave me with little choice. Looks like I was right to try and take your body before, but now I have no need of it. I knew Leira and her precious Guardians wanted to recruit you, but now I see that you pose a greater potential threat than I first thought," Vang claimed.

Verto's breathing slowed slightly, "Then w-why don't you just fuck off! I'm sick of dealing with your ugly ass!"

Vang grinned, "Can still display your wits eh, that's not bad for someone who almost shattered his own limits. That attempt should have killed you. Do you even know what you almost did?"

"No, and I don't care. All I was doing was trying to stop you, the rest is hearsay," Verto claimed defiantly.

"Ignorance will get you killed brat. I suppose it's better this way though, I would rather take care of you now then face the remote chance of dealing with you later," Vang said as his palms lit up with bright purple energy.

Verto closed his eyes, "Just get it over with." Vang smirked momentarily until something flashed above him. The barrier above him was giving off a bright, silvery tone, as if something was attempting to break through it from outside.

"What is this?" Vang asked. Verto also looked up but was just as clueless. Cracks formed in the larger barrier just before it broke apart. A bright thin beam of white light shot down and collided with the land just a few feet in front of Verto and Gohan. This light expanded outwards in an instant flash and passed through everything. All of the Z fighters stopped as this occurred, but the light appeared to do nothing to them. The Bikou however evaporated on the spot and all were gone within a few seconds. The light also passed through the black portal and caused it to vanish. As it collided with Vang's gigantic barrier, the light seemed to absorb into it and create a vivid swirl of white and purple before it vanished. Darkness overtook the lands again, but it was more from the huge rift that was continuing to pulse. Above, the darkness that had blocked out the sun and stars had vanished, and the sun could be seen on the far west horizon, signaling twilight. Verto covered his eyes to the brightness of whatever had landed in front of him, which was still shining with the same intensity as before. He could make out silvery hair covering the person's head, as well as a white and velvet robe that hung off the person's sides. Verto could make out a sword sheath on the left, which the newcomer was holding onto at the hilt with the other arm. Pure Chi waves flowed off this new presence, but in a soothing, non-evil manner which made Verto feel warm and safe.

Vang's teeth showed as he grew angry, "You!"

Gohan struggled to sit up, "Who is that?" The light faded away and Verto got a look at the person who was standing before him, causing him to gasp slightly. The purple eyes and white-silver hair was enough of a giveaway before he saw the facial features. The figure smiled and gave him a knowing nod before turning towards Vang.

"Who is that?" Gohan repeated.

"Etarb…" Verto said in amazement. From afar, Piccolo had noticed the same thing, though at this point the new arrival had pulled the attention of all the tired Z fighters.

Etarb Erec pulled the sword from his side as he continued to glow with bright white energy, "By the authority of the Guardian Council, Vang, of the Shadow Demon Realm, you are under arrest!"

**PL**

**Vegeta (SS3): 600,000,000**

**Super Mystic Gohan: 760,000,000**

**Super Mystic Verto: 624,000,000; Kaio-ken burst: 936,000,000**

**Vang: 1 billion**

**A/n: Aww shit, the cops are here!**


	111. Rift Battle 2

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 110: Rift Battle 2: Guardian Protocol**

Verto couldn't help but tremble a bit in sight of the newcomer that he had only met once before. It was less out of fear than it was surprise considering the situation. Vang's reaction was kept to a mild growl of frustration after the initial flashy entrance. The rest of the Z fighters save for Piccolo were all clueless, but also amazed at the power that Etarb Erec was emitting.

"Well, at least I can sense this guy's energy, now who is he?" Krillin asked.

Piccolo grimaced slightly, "I'm not sure we can call him a friend just yet given our last meeting, but I doubt he's here to fight us."

"Whoever he is, he can use the same transformation that Verto and Gohan can. But he's clearly not a Saiyan," Tien pointed out.

Near the center of the battle field, Etarb turned just slightly, "I suggest you get your friend out of here. He's in no condition to help in this battle anymore, and he needs to stay alive."

Verto nodded and helped Gohan get to his feet, "Can you fly on your own?"

Gohan grunted painfully, "I'll be alright, but you won't if you plan to stay. Your power drained away when you broke through his shield. It looks like this guy has everything under control anyway."

Verto stared at Etarb's glowing form and then gave Vang another intense glare, "I don't think so."

Etarb nodded slightly, "You're probably right. One on one, I'm likely not a match for him in a conventional battle of strength on strength. But neither Vang nor I are conventional warriors. Get Son Gohan to safety before you worry about me. I promise you I'll last at least that long."

Gohan turned his head slightly, "How did you know my name?"

Etarb grinned, "I hear stories, and I'm a very good listener."

"Never mind that, we need to go," Verto said before bracing Gohan's shoulder and taking off into the air.

Vang let them go as he locked eyes with Etarb, "So, it seems my plan to keep you Guardians in the dark was foiled. Pity."

Etarb's sword glowed with white energy, "Vang, even you cannot hide from us, especially when you have taken on such a powerful form in the mortal realm. Did you think we could not notice even when you erected such a strong barrier? Even if you had been able to shield your presence completely, it is very hard to ignore the breaking down of a temporal rift. Breaking its seal instantly alerted us. That was a very foolish move on a world that is already under close observation."

Vang grinned, "Technically _I_ didn't break it. But if you think coming here will scare me back into hiding, you are mistaken. I have broken past the punishment you Guardian fools set upon me. You and your kind thought to imprison me in that hellish void after destroying my body. Did you honestly think I couldn't escape at some point? I am a patient demon and all I had to do was wait for the opportunity to grab a host. Once I have a host, all it takes is a little time. Time in which I have built my power back up to where it used to be. After that, I confess it gets a little complicated in regaining my demon body. Now that I have, I will take my revenge. No better place to start than here, where I was given life again. This world and many others will be swallowed into the darkness!"

Etarb pointed at Vang with his glowing sword, "I won't allow that to happen, demon."

Vang folded his gray arms, "You won't be able to stop me, Guardian. My powers exceed yours. Your best effort won't be able to hurt me and you know it!"

Etarb's purple eyes flashed with intensity, "We'll see."

Vang's part of the conversation ended then once he begin charging what appeared to be a larger version of his Shadow Bolt to fire. From the side, the confused Z fighters gathered quickly due to the new distraction. Goku helped Gohan stay on his feet while Verto pondered what he should do next.

"Just who is that, boy? You obviously know him," Vegeta pointed out.

"He visited and fought with me before that ordeal with Frost. He has Super Mystic powers just like Gohan and I do, but other than that I really don't know him at all. He used similar techniques that I learned, but he also has his own set. He didn't exactly stick around that day to spill the beans, but I know he's a colleague of Leira's," Verto explained briefly.

Piccolo nodded, "Yes, his presence was a mystery. But I know that we shouldn't underestimate him."

Vegeta snorted slightly, "Judging by his power level, Vang will wipe the floor with him. He's weaker than most of us, aside from the humans." Krillin and Tien scowled at this direct insult but said nothing.

Verto shook his head, "No, he's stronger than he was last time I saw him."

Vang finished charging his attack and flashed his toothy grin, "Since you're going to arrest me, I'm afraid I'll have to resist! Shadow Bomber!"

Vang launched a ball of purple energy larger than most mansions, targeting Etarb who had yet to move. Etarb pulled his sword back for a moment before hurling it towards the large ball of death bearing down on him. The blade continued to glow with white energy as it spun directly into the darker energy ball of Vang's. On contact, the ball was split in half by Etarb's sword and appeared to be falling apart. Instead, the two halves suddenly bubbled up with more energy and burst apart. Out of each, hundreds of smaller Shadow Bolts rained down towards Etarb at varied distances. Etarb was quick to begin dodging them as he fled from the target area. Each Shadow Bolt shot into the dirt all around him, missing his body by inches and turning the ground into a field of holes. Etarb turned just as the last Shadow Bolt struck near his trailing foot, taking note of all the small smoking holes Vang's attack had left behind. Above, Vang had his hands raised to charge another attack, but there wasn't much energy coming into view. Etarb's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what Vang was up to. His answer came in the form of realization when he sensed that Vang wasn't charging energy as much as he was pulling it towards him. Each hole before him suddenly spewed out columns of flames into the skies at Vang's command, combining into a ball above him. Vang's own energy pulsed to life and helped create a black and orange flaming ball above him that spun with evil intent.

Etarb managed a grin, "Going to your full arsenal already? You flatter me."

Vang returned the expression, "This is merely overkill for a piece of Guardian scum. You won't feel flattered when you fall."

Etarb chuckled, "If that's my destiny then so be it. But I don't think you'll be able to make good on your word."

"Then stop me!" Vang dared. Verto grimaced as he watched Vang charge up the Shadow and Flame attack that he had faced before.

"Not that one again. Get ready to move guys," Piccolo suggested.

"I hope this Etarb guy has a plan for that," Krillin prayed. Etarb stood very calm in the face of danger and raised only one palm to the sky, in which his fingertips glowed bright white. Vang's eyes narrowed slightly as he shifted higher into the air in preparation to fire. He suddenly sensed something coming from behind and turned to see what it was. Etarb's glowing sword came screeching towards him at an extreme speed, barely missing Vang's head when he sidestepped. The blade flipped back around as it returned to Etarb's hand, where he held it at the ready. The side of Vang's face suddenly peeled open, revealing a slight cut that had been made.

Vang growled at this, "So, that's how bad you want to die? Very well, I will oblige! Shadow and Flame!" Etarb's sword glowed with more intense white energy as he held it behind him for a moment. Vang's Shadow and Flame ball was about halfway to him when Etarb suddenly swung and fired an arcing blast from his sword.

As soon as he fired, Verto jumped into the sky, "Get off the ground!" The Z fighters quickly followed him into the air, even if a few of them weren't exactly sure what was about to happen. Etarb's white arc-blast sliced through Vang's ball of fire and caused it to split like before. When it did, even more blasts came launching out in all directions, each aflame like a meteor. Because of the altitude of the sudden burst, the range of each flaming shadow bolt had expanded to nearly a half mile away, which was just below where the Z fighters now hovered. The grounds became soaked in mini-explosions that covered the lands in fire briefly before fading. The Z fighters collectively sighed with relief.

"I'm glad you warned us," Krillin said.

"You'll have to stay on guard at all times. Vang's attacks don't react in a way we're used to," Piccolo advised.

"How many times can he use something that powerful?" Tien asked.

"Any number of times. Vang can draw additional energy from the shadows, and manipulate them in whatever way he wants. This is just the tip of the iceberg," Verto explained.

"Man, this Etarb weirdo better have some good tricks up his sleeve," Trunks muttered aloud.

"Trust me, he does," Verto replied.

Goku's fist shook slightly, "It should be me out there."

"I know how you feel Dad," Gohan said solemnly. Vegeta growled slightly and said nothing as they all looked on to the next move either warrior made. Vang floated in mid-air, a bit dismayed at how much damage his Shadow and Flame ball hadn't done.

"It appears that you've come prepared to face me. Either that, or you're just a lucky fool," Vang remarked.

Etarb smirked, "It could be a little of both. Fortunately I was trained to handle Shadow Realm demons as well as many others that employ unusual tactics. None of your tricks will work on me Vang. My, unusual experiences, allow me the courtesy of handling many different foes, even those stronger than myself."

Vang folded his arms briefly, "It isn't just techniques or trickery that I now have, Guardian. You're not the only one who has gained from unusual situations. But you do bring up a good point, so from here on I will not use any techniques, including my Shadow Teleportation. I will crush you head on!"

Etarb sheathed his sword, "Somehow I doubt your sincerity."

"You'll soon see that I need no tricks to beat the likes of you!" Vang shouted as his dark aura sprang to life. Vang turned and dove head first towards Etarb, who jumped out of the way just as Vang would have landed, kicking up a large dust cloud. As he was gliding backwards, Etarb clasped his hands together, fully intertwining his fingers onto his knuckles. A brief burst of white-blue energy came up around him before he landed and thrust his hands into the ground below him. Nothing appeared to happen right away, except for Vang charging at him again with a claw extended.

"I'm going to rip off your stinking head Guardian!" Vang declared. Etarb froze in surprise just before Vang's large hand wrapped around his throat. Etarb attempted to fight him off, but there was no escape. He squeezed until he heard a loud snap and Etarb's head bent to the side.

Vang's evil grin grew by several times, "Disappointing, but I still enjoyed it."

"Oh no!" Krillin gasped. Goku was trembling in anger as he prepared to launch into the battle, but Verto was the one to grab his wrist.

He promptly shook his head when Goku glanced at him, "Not yet."

Vang began to laugh with the corpse in his grasp, "You don't know how good this feels to kill one of you again!"

Etarb's eyes blinked and his head turned towards Vang, "Too bad you haven't done it yet."

"What the?!" Vang's grin faded as Etarb's body suddenly turned brown and mushy before it slid away, as if his body were made of mud. The muddy fluid fell into the ground and vanished before springing up twenty feet away. It shifted colors back into Etarb's previous form, unharmed.

Vang growled slightly, "An Earth clone, how clever. You're more prepared than I gave you credit for."

Etarb brushed a few specs of dirt that had appeared on his uniform, "It's not that complicated. I believe that you once employed the same type of technique. I've honed mine to an art over the years. Would you care to try?"

Vang's hand charged with a furious burst of purple energy, "Would you care to die?!" Vang threw the blast and hit his target dead on, causing a small explosion before it sailed off into the distance. The only thing remaining of this Etarb was a muddy pair of stumps were his calves were supposed to be, which then fell away into the ground again. Another Etarb clone shot out of the ground next to Vang, but was punched so hard by Vang that he exploded into a cloud of brown mist. Three more Etarbs came up shortly thereafter, each in a position to charge a powerful energy attack.

Vang eyed each one as green Chi beams formed between their palms, "Come now Guardian, you know this won't work." The three Etarbs responded by firing from near point-blank range, filling the skies with a huge green explosion.

"Wow, he got him good!" Krillin celebrated. Only Goten and Trunks felt well enough to cheer with him.

"No, that was too weak to finish Vang," Verto said.

Gohan nodded, "It probably didn't even scratch him." Both appeared to be right when the smoke cleared and Vang was standing in a crater by himself. Around him was the same dim, solid shield that Verto had punched through before, only this time it was still whole. The Etarb clones were gone, but Vang still looked to be ready for the next attack.

"Guardian, I know your time is limited. Once that rift explodes, this realm will likely fall apart from the hole in time and space. If they're lucky, it will only destroy this planet and its duplicate. So come out and finish this," Vang ordered.

"Be careful what you wish for demon, for you just might get it," Etarb's voice said as it echoed around Vang.

"Come on coward, you won't even bruise me!" Vang challenged. There was not response right away, until the crater Vang was standing in suddenly shifted slightly. Cracks appeared all around it and it seemed to drop deeper into the ground while Vang lost his footing at the center. Just as he regained his balance, a pair of dirty hands reached up and grabbed his feet. Vang kicked the hands away, only to have another pair latch on from behind his heels. Six more sets of hands popped out of the ground and held Vang firmly in place before they suddenly drug him downwards. Vang started firing blasts at his feet while he sunk into the crater, but it was no use. Before his head was submerged, the hands and forearms all wrapped around his upper body and began to glow white.

Vang's eyes went wide, "Nooo…" The crater also glowed with intense and blinding energy before it detonated. The Z fighters were forced to duck down for cover as the explosion blinded them. The wind it created as equally intense, but none of them were sent flying. When the bright blast faded, several acres of land had been blown off the map around ground zero. Only a deep, dark hole existed where Vang and the battlefield used to be.

"Stay here, I'll check it out," Verto said as he floated off the ground.

Goku nodded, "I'll go with you just in case." The pair quickly flew over the devastated land, taking note of the crater that had been left behind.

"Wow," Goku exclaimed when they stopped over it. Verto was just as amazed, but wasn't ready to throw up the victory flag yet. They weren't overhead for more than a minute before they saw a white flash from below. The flash turned into an aura surrounding Etarb as he flew out of the darkness and into the sunlight once again. On his shoulder was Vang, who wasn't moving. Etarb motioned Goku and Verto to the nearest topside ground and landed there, promptly dumping Vang's body into the dirt. Vang was covered in darkened bruises and scrapes, some that bled black while he remained unconscious. Verto and Goku cautiously lowered to the ground next to a dirtied Etarb, who had a distinct scowl on his face.

"Is he…" Goku started to ask.

Etarb shook his head, "No, but I doubt he'll wake up for some time. He was holding back on what he could have done to me and I caught him unaware. That was my strongest Earth Element technique and without his shield, even he couldn't avoid damage at that range. I was fortunate that he fell into my trap like that." Verto bent a little closer, carefully examining Vang's head, which was slightly battered and both of his horns were broken off.

"Earth Element huh? Well he obviously uses Shadow. Are there any other ones to know?" Verto asked as he stood up straight.

Etarb smiled, "Someday, I think you'll know them all, or at least some of them. A great many of these techniques came from a different realm in which they wouldn't appear to be all that powerful, but when used by beings such as us, they pack a much meaner punch. It's more about deception than it is power though, remember that."

Verto's eyebrow went up, "I take it that these techniques come from the same place that weird sealing scroll of Leira's came from?"

Etarb nodded, "The very same. I admit that I developed several of my techniques from there just like you have from here, but enough about that. I really must finish things now before Vang wakes up. He won't fall for that trap a second time and I won't have enough power to put him down again." Etarb drew his sword again and held it firmly over Vang's motionless body as it glowed bright white. Goku grimaced slightly at the sight, drawing Verto's gaze.

"He has to Goku. You remember what he did to us before, to you?" Verto pointed out.

Etarb glanced at Goku briefly, "That's right, you have a moral complex about killing. I share the same conviction, but this must be done. In this form, Vang can be killed more conventionally but we have to act while we can."

Goku sighed heavily, "Yes, I know. Just get on with it." Etarb nodded slightly and lifted his sword up a bit. Vang's eyes snapped open just before a burst of purple energy forced all three of them back. Goku and Verto were knocked to the ground on Vang's left as he got back to his feet. The way he had bounced back was as if nothing had happened, aside from the evidence nearby. Etarb remained standing on his right, but Vang had shifted his gaze towards the two Saiyans.

"Quite clever Guardian, though I put most of the blame in my own arrogance. Rest assured, it won't happen again. As for you two, you'll die now!" Vang proclaimed as his power increased. He charged at Goku and Verto as his claw filled with bright purple energy. Verto backed up a step and into a stance, to which Vang moved towards him first. Goku jumped to Verto's side and grabbed his shoulder. Vang swung his claw at the pair, but only hit air when they phased out. Vang grunted slightly as he landed with his attack still ready. Upon a brief search, he found Verto and Goku had teleported back to their group of friends, which was much further away.

"No matter, I'll deal with them soon enough," Vang muttered as he turned around.

Etarb's sword swung at him from just a few feet away, "Not before you defeat me!" Vang sidestepped so quickly that Etarb's sword swing looked like it was coming in at a snail's pace. Vang wasted no time and buried his shin into Etarb's stomach, sending him tumbling off the dirt for several bounces. Etarb had somehow managed to hold onto his sword and had to use it to help himself up. Blood leaked out of his mouth as he coughed hard from the blow and struggled to stay upright.

Vang chuckled slightly, "Looks like that time is near, Guardian. I will honor you by not holding back any longer." Vang's claw full of purple energy increased momentarily before he fired a vivid beam from it. Etarb dug his feet into the ground and held up his white-glowing sword to defend himself. He swung into the beam, attempting to carve it in half like before. The intense purple light bent just slightly as Etarb's blade sliced into it, but it also began to shove him backwards. Etarb gritted his teeth and stepped forward to shove as much effort as he could into it. His aura came to life as he poured more energy into the effort, making the metal turn white as a result. Vang's beam showed no signs of letting up and Etarb felt himself slipping. At the very last moment he turned his sword around and drove it into the bottom side of the blast, sending it upwards and into space instead. Once it was gone, Etarb dropped to one knee as he heaved in and out for air. His sword clattered to the ground and the metal's glow promptly faded before turning into silver dust, leaving only the hilt.

"Ah hell," Etarb said between breaths.

Vang grinned as he slowly stepped towards his enemy, "Now that's a problem isn't it Guardian? You needed that sword to not only travel here, but also to reseal the rift. A shame that you won't be able to now! I guess you'll have to die with the rest of these vermin!" Etarb didn't answer him while he continued to gather his breath.

Vang's slow movement suddenly became a dead sprint, "Not feeling talkative eh? Well choose your next words wisely, they will be your last!" Etarb got up to block Vang's charging knee, but took a hard punch to his face instead. Vang followed that up with another knee into Etarb's torso, sending spit and blood flying.

Vang's head turned slightly at this before he grabbed Etarb up by his robes, "You're weakening, Guardian, you can't even protect yourself now. You put too much power into your little Earth Bomb in hopes that it would destroy me and now you're on fumes. But your agony is not going to end yet. Oh no, not without a receipt!" Vang then head-butted Etarb hard enough to draw blood from his forehead before throwing him aside and into the dirt, dozens of feet away. Etarb's robes tore off his upper body in the process, which Vang tossed aside as he slowly chased his target on foot.

"Uh oh," Trunks muttered from afar.

"That guy is in trouble, we need to help him!" Gohan claimed.

"How? He was stronger than all of us!" Krillin pointed out.

"Well thank you for pointing out the obvious baldy. Maybe while you're at it you can come up with a sure plan to beat Vang? What's that, you can't? Thought so," Vegeta grumbled as he held his injured shoulder. Verto glanced at his friends and then the struggle before him before sighing heavily.

He held out his hand to Gohan, "I need your energy Gohan."

Gohan didn't even balk at him and took his hand, "You got it."

"Wait, what's going on? You can't," Piccolo claimed. Goku and Vegeta both looked over in tune with the others, completely perplexed.

Verto's eyes shifted towards him, "Look, we're all too weakened now to fight him directly. That's probably why he summoned all those demons to separate us to begin with. Gohan's hurt, but he still has enough energy to charge my power back up to normal. Etarb needs our help now, you can clearly see that. And I would prefer to do something about it rather than just sitting here, waiting to die again."

"You won't beat him by yourself boy, even with Gohan's power giving you a boost," Vegeta claimed.

"Vegeta's right, let me help you," Goku said.

Verto grimaced, "As much as I would like to, your power alone won't help me much at this point. Hell I don't think my power is going to be much more than normal after I broke that shield. When I used Kaio-ken, it drained off incredibly fast, and I'm still not sure what exactly happened. And after fighting off those demons you probably can't go Super Saiyan Three, right?"

Goku smiled, "Yeah, but it's not like the others can't give me their energy to compensate, right guys?"

"Yeah!" Goten, Trunks, Krillin and Tien shouted in unison.

"We'd be better off if you and Vegeta could fuse…" Piccolo started to say.

"Don't even think about it Namek!" Vegeta retorted quickly.

Goku merely grinned at his rival, "Vegeta's too hurt right now to try it anyway."

Vegeta resisted the urge to attack him right then, "Watch it Kakarot, I can still tear you limb from limb."

Goku ignored him, "I just need a minute or two to gather the energy and power up. Full Power Super Saiyan Three will be much more help than you think, just stay clear when I step in. Can you hold him off for that long Verto?"

Verto's aura sprang to life as he transformed to Super Mystic and released Gohan's hand, "I'll think of something."

Goku nodded, "Good, I'll see you out there." Goku's power increased as he concentrated, and Verto took off into the air.

Back on the battlefield, Vang had closed to within ten feet of Etarb, who was struggling to get to his knees. He spotted the demon coming long before but was trying to muster any sort of energy he could use to do something about it.

"Poor Guardian, you've always been a one hit wonder. Once you put all your effort into something, it just falls apart upon failure. A shame such talent is wasted, but I suppose for the strong to survive, they must suffer these little indignities. Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to have any hope. You're not the one that's going to survive here after all," Vang said with an evil laugh.

Etarb spat blood at Vang's feet, "Spare me your useless play on words, demon. I have no time for it." Vang's foot suddenly found Etarb's jaw, sending him flying up into the air. Vang phased out and appeared above Etarb, prepared to drive both fists into his body. A green blast smashed into Vang from the side, which allowed Etarb to fall back to the ground unhindered, where he was able to land safely and take a knee. Vang glanced over as the smoke faded, looking quite annoyed at Verto's sudden arrival.

"Well, look who's feeling up to another round. I was beginning to wonder where you were boy. I would invite you to take your best shot, but I'm fairly certain you've already wasted it. You and the Guardian seem to have that in common, which makes complete sense now that I think about it. It's ironic really. Too bad for him that he's not as durable as you Saiyans," Vang chuckled.

Verto's green energy sword appeared in his right hand, "I don't see how trying to destroy you the moment a chance arrives is a waste. If it works, the battle is over."

Vang grinned, "You make a good point, but that only applies if you are strong enough to take down your enemy with such a gamble. You're not."

Verto's eyes shifted briefly to his left when he felt Goku's power rising rapidly, "Maybe, maybe not. We'll see soon."

"Is that supposed to be a threat? Remind me to quiver in fear," Vang mocked.

Verto frowned as his sword brightened, "My only threat is that I'm going to take your fucking head off!" Verto charged in with his sword held back across his body, intent to swing it forward. Vang saw through this easily and phased out to a position above Verto as he plowed through. Verto's aura turned back on as he quickly moved through the sky like a meteor, arcing around to stab at Vang from his right. Vang frowned at this and held one forearm up just before the blade made contact. It stopped off a partial shield just above Vang's darkened arm. Verto's aura maintained its intensity as he pulled back and swung forward at a different angle, only to hit the same arm shield again. He slashed many more times only to see Vang lazily block each attempt with the same arm. Verto's eyes narrowed at his lack of progress and he pulled back for one last swipe. Vang yawned in response, and Verto suddenly changed tactics as his sword formed into a ball of energy in his hand, which he threw forward.

"Final Shine!" Vang grimaced slightly as his vision filled with green light that engulfed him. Verto glided backwards as he shielded himself from the close proximity explosion. The smoke hadn't even cleared before Verto literally bumped into Vang behind him. Verto quickly realized this and reformed his sword just as he turned to swing, only hitting air.

"You missed boy." Verto nervously searched around, finding Vang waving at him from a few dozen feet away in midair. Verto's teeth showed as his lip turned upwards and quivered as an angry scowl. He poured energy into his sword and prepared to charge again. Vang's confidence didn't waver as he formed his own energy blade, made of darker, purple Chi that had embedded patches of black and pink.

"So you like to play with swords. How nice, so do I!" Vang declared as he brandished his own. Verto flew at him anyway with his sword clutched in both hands above his head. Vang easily guarded himself with a one handed block, grinning at Verto's surprised face as they came within inches of each other. Verto kicked forward, but Vang sidestepped out of the way just in time. Verto stabbed towards Vang's back in that instant, but Vang's sudden spin and parry literally knocked Verto's Chi sword out of his hands and into the air, where it vanished quickly.

Vang held his own glowing blade up to Verto's neck at arm's length, "Quite terrible, even for a novice sword wielder. Would you like to try again?" Vang allowed Verto to back away and reform his sword before he moved in to attack. Verto was quick to block against Vang's sword swing, creating a violent clash. The clash between the two swords gave off bright sparks of gold and white with occasional bursts of red and blue. Verto's teeth clenched as he felt Vang's strength washing over him like a tidal wave, and he was slowly forced down and away while Vang kept the pressure on. They descended to the ground like this, in which Verto was forced to his knees upon reaching dirt. Sweat poured off Verto's body as he became extremely tense while keeping Vang's sword at bay.

"What's wrong? I hope I'm not being too hard on you," Vang said with a cackle. Verto felt himself fading and realized he could barely move his arms without getting killed in a blink. However, his hands weren't locked, and he managed to turn the angle of his sword just slightly. The clash between swords changed completely as energy from Vang's blade suddenly poured into Verto's blade instead. Vang's black and gray eyes widened as he felt his energy being ripped away. He quickly glided backwards, ending the struggle. Verto was panting slightly from the exertion, but felt slightly renewed as well as he reabsorbed his sword and all of the energy that had followed him. He felt something was off immediately though and stared at his hands.

_That was pure Chi I absorbed, no question about that. But I thought for sure I would get a taste of whatever his new energy type is called. All that did was reimburse me to where I was at the start. There's no change in his power from what I can tell. Maybe he's limited to defense only and this new energy is only used to power his regular Chi waves, or something like that._ _Other than his power signal, the only time I've sensed that energy again is within his hardest barriers. _

Vang's expression didn't waver, "Yes, it is something like that, little worm."

Verto grimaced, "Is there no privacy around here?"

Vang folded his arms, "Not from me. As for why you're confused, you shouldn't waste a valuable resource, as I said before."

Verto hit realization, "So you're saying that when I used Kaio-ken earlier, I tapped into that type of energy and was able to break through because of it?"

Vang grinned, "You do catch on quickly once a few facts are introduced. But if you think you'll be able to do it again at this point, you're insane. As you saw before, it drained you so fast that you weren't able to do much at all with it. Only one that has experience can properly wield such a power, and know not to waste a finite source of energy. I admit there's no way for you to truly understand how limited you are, but I think the best way to put it into human terms would be this: Your car can only go so far on one gallon of fuel before it runs out. Increasing speed will only drain it faster, get it?"

Verto's sword reappeared, "Oh I got it, you didn't have to dumb it down that much. Good thing I have some help to push the car if needs be."

Vang dropped his arms to his waist, "Who would that be, your pathetic friends? Please, those cretins only gave me pause while I was in Kara's body. The others only served as practice in the other timeline. Now they're just witnesses."

Verto grinned, "We'll see just how much witnessing they're actually going to do."

Vang chuckled, "You really are one hell of an optimist boy. If even one of them could land a blow, I'll…" His speech was interrupted when a golden swath of hair suddenly blocked Verto's view, before Vang was seen tumbling downwards from a single punch. Super Saiyan Three Goku stood in his place, with a wildly electric aura dancing around him. Vang flipped around and stopped down before, snarling in slight anger from the surprise blow.

"Nice timing. I thought I'd have to stall him for at least another minute though, knowing you," Verto said.

"Thanks, but it's a lot easier to get to full power when you have help. Now stay back. I'm going to go all out on him and you'll only be in the way if you try to attack. Go check on your friend down there," Goku suggested.

Verto grimaced, "Be careful, and I don't think you should rely on using energy waves too much. He uses a completely different type of energy that is stronger and more concentrated than anything we've seen before. He'll probably only use it for defense but that's not a guarantee."

Goku nodded, "I'll be alright." Verto was hesitant to leave, but he saw Vang flying up towards them and made up his mind to avoid the initial brawl at the very least. He dropped down towards Etarb, who was back on his feet but holding a stomach wound that looked ready to gush again at any time. Blood had trickled out of his mouth and down to the bottom of his neck at this point.

"You okay?" Verto asked.

Etarb smirked slightly, "Not really, I admit. I'm going to be in a bind though no matter how this turns out. Guardian protocol states that in the event of a crisis, only a Guardian can act on behalf of the world and or realm he's charged with defending. It's a do or die situation. I'm afraid I'll face the brunt of every joke when I return, if we survive that is."

Verto stared at him, "That's all you're worried about, a few insults to your pride?"

"No, I was just trying to lighten the mood," Etarb claimed.

Verto's face fell, "This isn't the time."

Above, gold clashed with dark purple as Goku and Vang stared each other down.

Vang kept a darkened glare focused on Goku, "You know, this would have been much easier on you and your friends if you would just die quietly."

Goku raised his fists, "Well I don't do things the easy way, you should know that by now."

Vang nodded, "All too well."

Vang darted forward through the swath of gold around Goku, attempting to slam his own head into Goku, horns and all. Goku managed to catch Vang by the horns and keep them away from his vital points, but he was still forced back. Vang grinned as his thin tail sprang forward, moving underneath to wrap around Goku's leg, pulling him down suddenly. Goku was forced to let go of the horns, only to see a vivid blast forming inches from his face. Just as Vang's beam fired, Goku phased out instantly, burying his feet into Vang's back. Vang's beam sailed into the distance at an angle, detonating with bright purple covering the lands. The Z fighters guarded themselves from the blast, but the fight above didn't stop to watch. Vang grabbed a hold of Goku's long golden hair and pulled him backwards. Just as he was about to drop an elbow into Goku's stomach, Goku fired a small blue blast to counter it. Vang let go of Goku to avoid it, paying for it when Goku suddenly slammed his fist into Vang's face. Vang appeared to be stunned from the fierce blow, and Goku didn't allow him to recover from it. He was all over Vang with a barrage of punches and kicks, none of which were blocked or avoided.

Verto's eyes narrowed as he watched on from the ground, "Something's wrong."

Etarb coughed slightly as a brief burst of blood come out of his mouth, "You're right." Vang almost looked out of it as Goku buried one last fist into his torso, sending him spiraling towards the ground. Goku phased out and sped ahead of Vang, reappearing in his path to kick him back into the air.

Goku's palms glowed as he cupped them together to charge his signature attack, "Ka….me…ha…me…" Despite his eyes being closed, Vang grinned slightly as he continued to fly out of control.

Goku fired, "HAAA!" The Kamehameha he fired was larger than any he had ever made before, complimenting the power that was likely behind it. As it neared Vang, the demon suddenly stopped in mid air and thrust out of palms as they glowed purple.

"You fell for it, stupid Saiyan!" Vang shouted as the beam slammed into a distortion and vanished into it. On the ground, a similar distortion opened up directly behind Goku, to which his beam came barreling through from only a few feet away. The ground exploded violently and Goku vanished in the light as it filled the field with wind, fire and ash. The heat dome that was formed swelled to a ridiculous size as Verto helped Etarb into the air to avoid it. When it finally fell apart, another abyss was laying in place, one that likely drove at least a mile into the Earth's crust.

Vang chuckled as he brushed himself off, "So much for him."

A burst of gold erupted behind him, "So much for who?" Vang's jaw dropped just before Goku's punch leveled his head and hurled him back to the ground with equal force. Goku hovered in the air afterwards, showing no effects of the blast that had just engulfed him.

Vang shrugged off the blow and set an evil glare upon Goku as he rose back to his position, "How did you survive that, there's no way you had time to teleport!"

Goku rubbed the back of his head and grinned slightly, "Well, it's called _Instant_ for a reason, isn't it?"

Vang snorted, "That was pretty clever for someone as brainless as you."

Goku put his hands firmly on his waist, "Maybe, but I could tell that you weren't trying. I figured you might be up to something, so I fooled you into thinking you had fooled me. My Kamehameha blast was big, but I really didn't put that much power into it. You probably couldn't tell because you're so strong now."

"Nevertheless, you wasted some of your energy in a vain effort to damage me. Perhaps you didn't make the same mistake as that Guardian fool, but it will still cost you. For every blow you landed, I will repay you three times over before you die!" Vang declared.

Goku slipped back into his stance, "Do your…" He couldn't finish the phrase before Vang rushed toward him, catching Goku in the jaw with a stiff kick. Goku flew upwards from the sudden impact, where Vang chased him. Just as Vang was about to strike from the side, Goku phased out instantly again. Vang spun just in time to catch his opponent's golden fist, an inch from his dark face. He did not catch the power kick that found his side a moment later. Demon and Saiyan separated for the moment, until Vang's dark aura crackled to life as he turned around and made a beeline for Goku.

"You think you can handle even a fraction of my power?!" Vang roared as he shot towards Goku, who could barely react. Vang's knee slammed into Goku's face, causing blood to spew out of his head and nose. Goku didn't move as he floated in midair from the attack, giving Vang all the time in the world to act on it. He did so by grabbing Goku by the throat and applying severe pressure in order to choke him out. Goku gagged initially and clutched at Vang's forearm as he struggled to get loose. Once he had his wits about him again, he fired a point-blank blast at Vang's head, but missed when Vang bent backwards to avoid it. Vang hoisted Goku up and kicked into the back of his neck as his hand let go, sending Goku flying through the air.

On the ground, Verto's fists clenched tight enough to draw blood, "Damn it all. He can't do it alone, I have to help him."

Etarb had managed to stand on his own at this point, though he looked quite concerned, "I agree, but you won't be able to do it alone either. I still have enough energy to provide some assistance, but it won't be much. The key to victory will be making sure you can get through Vang's shield. Neither of you have the power to do that directly because of the difference in your energy, and I'm not speaking of just pure strength in this case. You and Goku will have to act fast while he can maintain his current power. You know from before that he's susceptible to multiple pronged attacks, so I suggest you concentrate on that. Break off any attempt if he conjures his energy shield, you'll know when that is if you keep a close watch on his energy. And be careful about communicating with telepathy, Vang is more likely to overhear."

Verto scowled at the long-winded chatter, "Yeah, I got it. No need to explain every detail."

Etarb gave a light-hearted shrug, "Just making sure." He then clasped his hands together in the same pose that he had used earlier, "Go! Try and lure him to the ground if you can. Use any measure you have to get him out of the air. When you see the opening, don't dare to hesitate."

Verto nodded and took off towards the brightened orb of light above. Vang and Goku were slugging it out inside, and Vang was quickly gaining the upper hand as Goku struggled to block or counter his fast attacks. They only split off long enough for Goku to get in a breath of air before Vang was on him again. Both were covered in bruises and scrapes, but the damage to Goku was far more apparent. Verto stopped flying towards them once he was within decent blasting range, but he remained behind Vang and did his best to hide his presence. As he watched the melee go on, it was increasingly obvious that despite Goku's extreme power, he wasn't going to last against the demon. His hand turned upwards as he focused blue Chi into it that formed into a sparkling ball with a white core.

_I don't know if this will work or not, but I have to try. It's still one of my best techniques._ Once the small Spirit Bomb was formed, Verto watched intently for an opening while Vang was still focusing on Goku. Goku managed to fire off a string of blasts under duress, all of which Vang dodged easily before hammering Goku with another round of blows. Verto launched the Spirit Bomb in response, but kept a hold of it with his hand just in case. Just as it was about to hit, Vang's eyes shifted to the side, hinting that he had sensed something. Goku saw what was happening and attempted to attack Vang to keep his attention. His hard punch was caught blindly even while Vang had his head turned.

"Ah, it seems one of you understands at least," Vang said as he phased out.

Verto grimaced, _Shit!_ His fingers closed together halfway and the Spirit Bomb stopped inches from Goku before taking off towards Vang above. Vang arced through the air before turning to face the potent technique with one palm raised.

He concentrated a black sphere of energy with a slight hint of purple at its core before letting it fly, "Obliterate!"

Verto's eyes widened, _What the hell is that?_ Upon sensing the energy involved, he could tell that it was the same energy that Vang had been emitting for awhile. But the evil intent behind it was incredibly vivid. Vang's orb of black smashed into Verto's Spirit Bomb and wiped it out in an instant.

Vang grinned maliciously as his power orb flew back to his hand and vanished, "I'm sure you didn't expect something like that you little rodent. You wisely held that trump card back from me before, but as you can see, I had an answer for it this time. It's a similar technique to yours, but far more advanced at this stage. However it works in an opposite way, and is aptly named, Obliterate. Instead of disabling those with extremely negative intentions like your Spirit Bomb, it takes down those with any nature of energy. That obviously includes other sources of energy, good or bad. If you want to know for sure, you can try and take it head on, but I wouldn't advise it. Even if I never use it again, you're doomed. Face it child, you and your pathetic friends can't win!"

Goku suddenly phased in at Verto's side and put a hand to his shoulder, "We can win! The odds have been against us before and we've found a way. We will find a way to beat you too!"

Vang folded his arms, "Ever the optimist aren't you Goku? I've seen your greatest fears, and I will soon make them a reality. I broke the other Goku, I can certainly break you before this place is ripped apart. Your power level has already dropped significantly just with a few skirmishes. Pretty soon you won't be able to keep up with me."

Verto gave Vang a hardened glare as his silver aura snapped to life, "Then I guess we better beat you before then!"

Vang waved him on, "By all means boy." Verto charged towards Vang with both arms drawn back at his sides. Vang grinned as he glided backwards a few feet for defense. Verto stopped in midair and fired a quick burst of green Chi blasts that exploded before getting they reached Vang, a result of part of his energy shield appearing there. As the smoke faded, Vang was unharmed behind part of his barrier. Goku suddenly phased in behind him and caught Vang behind the shoulders in a strangle hold, locking his hands together to maintain it. Vang cringed and struggled to get free, but Goku managed to keep a hold of him. Ahead, Verto flew around the barrier and came at him with his glowing green fist charging up.

Vang bared his teeth, "Damn you!"

Verto reached Vang and began punching forward, "Super Galic…"

Vang grinned before the fist made contact, "Enough of this!" Black and purple energy erupted from him as if there was a huge electric surge within the demon's body, sending Verto flying backwards before he could land his attack. Goku struggled to hold onto the demon that had been completely enshrouded in the erratic dark energy. He could feel this energy burning his own Ki away at a rapid pace. Vang facial features could be seen smiling under the energy shroud as he suddenly arched his head back and met Goku's own head. Goku's hold was broken as he fell away, but Vang didn't let him go without a receipt. He phased out to bury both fists into Goku's abdomen and send him back to the ground, where he landed painfully. When he managed to get out of his own crater, his golden hair had shortened.

Goku's breath came short as he stared at his hands, "Not already, it's too soon!" Vang phased in and smashed Goku's face again with a backhand, sending him sprawling away.

The black and purple energy faded from around Vang as his body came into full view again, "Yes, it has been a bit fast for the amount of power you had. But bearing in mind that you were past your limits and fool enough to hold onto me for far too long, it's simple to see how your power faded so fast. Whatever was left of it must have protected you from my power. Anything less would have disintegrated almost instantly," Vang explained briefly. Two columns of dirt suddenly sprang up next to Vang in the forms of Etarb Earth clones. Vang's new aura flashed to life for a brief second and both clones exploded into clouds of dust, causing Goku's jaw to slip open in surprise when he saw it.

"I think you see my point. I suppose that it's more of a compliment to the toughness of a Saiyan, but it doesn't matter at this point," Vang said. A large green blast launched from behind Vang, to which he frowned slightly.

"Don't you ever give up?" Vang shouted as he turned and fired another black orb. His orb collided with Verto's Final Shine and spun its way through the beam, shredding it like paper. Verto lit up with surprise as the black orb sailed at him with blinding speed. A pair of dirty hands grabbed Verto by the legs and drug him down just before the orb arrived, causing it to sail into the distance. The resulting explosion and resulting black mushroom cloud made most bombs seem like a bottle rocket detonation. Verto cast an eye at Etarb, who still had his hands clasped, but he was clearly struggling with whatever energy he had left. His hair had shifted back to its normal blue color as he panted slightly.

"Hmph, a minor inconvenience, Guardian. I suggest you come up with better," Vang said as he shifted his attention back to Goku. Goku was back on his feet but was now at the first level of Super Saiyan, which was nowhere near where he needed to be.

"As much trouble as the boy is, I have this itch to get rid of you first," Vang claimed. A sudden spark of energy entered their sensing range as Vegeta suddenly flew in and landed at Goku's side. His shoulder was still red and covered in dried blood from earlier, but he was no longer favoring it.

Vang snorted, "Look, it's alive. Would you two monkeys like to share a banana as a gift for surviving this long? I'm sure you have enough time to find one before this place goes under."

"I will not stand by any longer demon, prepare to feel my wrath!" Vegeta roared.

Vang folded his arms in confidence, "Stop, you're making me quiver in fear."

Vegeta sidestepped a few paces to Goku's left, "You should be afraid demon. You won't know what hit you until you realize why you're in Hell!"

Vang laughed, "I've been to much worse places than your version of Hell. Even if you could kill me, and trust me, that is a big if, you'd be well on your way yourself soon enough. As soon as that rift accelerates to Stage Two of destabilization, it'll only be a matter of minutes."

"For someone so confident in his abilities, you sure did choose a quick and easy solution to defeating us! Why so afraid demon? I thought you were the all powerful monster here to slay us all!" Vegeta said with a smirk.

Vang's expression matched Vegeta's, "Don't bluff, Saiyan Prince, I can see right through it. As for your planet, I did it because I felt like it. I wanted to see the hopeless fear in each of your eyes. I want to see the oh so strong pride melt away. Especially from you. I guess I need to do a little more work for that to happen."

Vegeta's smirk faded, "That's the funny thing about a Saiyan's pride. When it finally goes, you should run away, very fast. When a Saiyan has nothing left to lose, prepare for the worst. You never know what even the most arrogant and prideful one will do to win. Did you get that, Kakarot?"

Goku nodded as he lifted his arms to his right, "Crystal clear Vegeta."

Vegeta's arms also lifted to a mirroring pose opposite Goku, "Good, because I'm not going through this again!" Vang's gray eyes widened in surprise and he attempted to move forward to stop what was happening.

Verto landed before him with his green sword held out, "Yeah right, go ahead and try it!"

Vang bared his teeth for a moment, "I won't have to!" His energy pulsed briefly as his hand gripped into a fist at his side. When Verto realized that he didn't sense the Fusion technique working, he spun to see why. A dark purple swirl of energy had wrapped around Vegeta's body, binding his arms to his sides. Vang lifted his fist and Vegeta suddenly flew into the air out of his own control.

Verto's eyes widened along with Goku's, "No!" Vang flung his fist aside as he opened his hand, and Vegeta went flying into the far distance.

"A pity that little maneuver won't kill him, but I doubt he'll be back any time soon. Now you see that you won't be hatching any more of your usual plans to win," Vang proclaimed as he stepped towards Verto despite his green sword flowing before him. A white burst of energy flew by them, belonging to Etarb as he hovered in the air in normal form. He had the hilt of his broken sword in his hand, and was giving Vang a look of contempt.

Vang stopped to observe, "And just what do you think you'll do Guardian?"

Etarb frowned deeply, "Anything that I can. At this point I can't do much, but I can at least do this!" In a truly strange maneuver that stumped everyone present, he hurled the sword hilt straight at the pulsing rift.

"And what is that supposed to do?" Vang asked.

Etarb gave him a glimpse of confidence, "It's a last resort."

Vang's eyes shot open again, "Surely you wouldn't dare!"

"Dare to do what?" Verto asked.

Etarb gave him a knowing look, "You'll see."

Verto noted the panic in Vang's demonic eyes as the rift suddenly pulsed much brighter than before, "Tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

Vang backed away, "You, you're insane Guardian! You would purposefully destroy yourself and this entire realm to kill me?!"

Etarb closed his eyes for a moment as if to mock Vang, "No, nothing like that." The rift bubble suddenly condensed into a much finer layer of deep blue as it seemed to calm itself. At its center, the portal that they had all traveled through appeared, though it was only for a moment. A figure shot out of the portal before it faded and the rift burst back into its unstable state. Both Verto and Goku stared in surprise as the familiar figure flew towards Etarb first and handed him the sword hilt before coming down. Vang himself felt the need to feel genuine surprise as the newcomer transformed to Super Saiyan.

"You guys alright?" Alt-Goku asked.

Verto nodded nervously, "Kind of."

"So, you've come. What a waste of a last resort Guardian. Just another annoying pest for me to squash," Vang claimed.

"Oh I don't know about that. I think we're similar enough in size and power, don't you Goku?" Alt-Goku asked.

The other Goku grinned and nodded, "I don't think there's another person that's as perfectly matched to me than…me!"

Vang cracked his knuckled slightly, "If you think I'm just going to let you two fuse and cause me trouble, you had best think twice!"

Verto's green sword blew up with energy as he swung towards Vang, "Super Galic Slash!" The arcing green blast exploded around Vang's position, kicking up dirt, rock and smoke to cover his position.

Verto glanced behind, "Do it Goku!" Both Goku's nodded and assumed the Fusion pose. Verto's eyes shifted nervously as Vang shot out of the cloud of smoke and grabbed Verto by the head, forcing him into the ground. He quickly fired an intense purple beam at the Goku pair as they were halfway through the dance. Both of them stopped in time to see the blast and appeared to be frozen in place. Just before the blast reached them, both phased out. Vang growled slightly as he looked high above just before bright golden light took over the skies.

"Stinking Saiyans, such a nuisance," Vang remarked as he glanced down to see he had Verto's head buried in the dirt with just his foot. Verto's hair had returned to its normally black color and his energy appeared to have subsided. Vang kept a firm hold on him as he set his attention on the vivid golden form taking shape in the air. When the initial light faded, the distinct appearance of Super Saiyan Two Goku emerged, though wearing the Fusion Vest and pants instead of his typical uniform. He plunged towards the ground in front of Vang as if to impede his path forward.

"Now you fight me!" he said.

Vang snorted, "And just who do you think you are now? You're just a pair of monkeys that have combined into one. Zero times two is still zero."

"I am the one who will put you down for good demon! I am the one light in the darkness that will rise to overcome any obstacle before me! I will not be defeated! I am the man that comes from two worlds, two parts to the same whole! I am Gokuu!"

**PL**

**Super Mystic Etarb Erec: 800,000,000, drops to 550,000,000 and then lower.**

**Super Mystic Verto (recharged by Gohan): 620,000,000**

**Super Saiyan 3 Goku (Full Power): 800,000,000 (drops as the battle goes on); weakened SS1: 250,000,000**

**Vang: 1 Billion**

**Super Saiyan Alt-Goku: 250,000,000**

**Fusion Gokuu: ?**

**A/n: I wanted to do something a little different for the fusion this time. Especially since everyone and their dog was expecting Gogeta.**


	112. Rift Battle 3

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 111: Rift Battle 3: Goku Times Two**

Vang frowned with distaste as he stared down the fusion form of Gokuu. He hadn't expected Etarb to be able to stabilize the rift long enough for travel between the worlds. He did expect Goku and Vegeta to attempt fusion from the start, thus why he had intentionally angered the arrogant prince to a point where it would overwhelm his normally cold and calculating nature. That would then allow him time to summon his Bikou army to stall the rest while he singled out both Verto and Son Gohan. Etarb's arrival had completely changed the flow of the battle and now he had both versions of Goku to deal with and a fusion on top of that. He didn't need much convincing that the combined version before him was going to be a problem for certain. Below, next to Vang's foot, Verto was still laying face down and out of it for the moment. Inwardly the demon was quite agitated that the runt of a boy had given him enough pause to stall him, even in his true and most powerful form.

Vang seemed to settle down though and grinned, "Well, I suppose it will be easier to kill you both at the same time. I was already thinking about returning to kill the other one before these worlds are wiped out. A lot less hunting this way."

Gokuu smirked back at him, "You can try."

Vang placed his foot on Verto's back, "I really don't have to try at the moment now do I? You're going to be a good little Saiyan and sit still. Even with your new strength, I could kill him much faster than you can even…" Gokuu's golden fist promptly smashed into Vang's face and sent him bouncing along the ground for several hundred yards. He didn't chase the demon initially, but did stand guard over Verto until he stirred a few seconds later.

"Ow," Verto groaned as he reached a sitting position, holding his bleeding forehead.

"Stay put, I'll handle this," Gokuu ordered without looking down.

Verto winced as he wiped some of the blood from around his eyes, "Sure, knock yourself out. But promise me that there are no more chances. We have to stop this prick by any means necessary."

Gokuu nodded grimly, "I promise that he won't leave without paying for everything he's done!"

Verto sighed heavily, "He's all yours." Gokuu phased out and there was an instant barrage of shockwaves that followed in the near distance. Verto pulled himself up to his feet to watch, but he couldn't see any of the movement. In his normal form, he couldn't sense much of Vang's energy once again. He could however detect Gokuu's, and it almost scared him when he got a real measurement compared to even his own. Etarb landed next to him as the battle quickly moved from left to right before them.

"I'd say that was a successful backup plan, wouldn't you?" Etarb asked. Verto didn't answer as he kept his focus entirely on Gokuu. He sensed something different about the fusion, something that he had never detected from any fusion before. He was in a normal enough form of Super Saiyan two, but his golden energy was telling a different story. It wasn't until he had stopped moving and commenced the first stare off with Vang that Verto was able to really notice the change. _He's emitting Chi waves. They must have passed the power threshold with the fusion._

Etarb closed his eyes and smiled slightly, "Correct, I guess I needn't ask if you knew about that or not. Leira said more than she should have, eh? I guess that's to be expected, you had to have known after your fight with the Renegade known as Ranot."

Verto scowled, "What is it with you people reading everyone's mind at all times?"

Etarb stepped back and put his hands up, "My apologies. But to be sure, your friend is going to give Vang quite a headache."

Verto managed to grin, "More than a headache. One Goku would be tough to get around, but two? With a fusion to boot? He's putting out way more power than I can, surely he can break Vang's defenses easier than I did."

Etarb's smile faded as he glanced down at Verto, "That's doubtful, not if Vang uses his new power wisely. He could certainly outlast Gokuu's fusion time. By then, the rift's destabilization will likely reach stage two and this planet will be out of time."

Verto grimaced, "Then why are you still standing here? Aren't you here to fix that too? This is what we call a golden opportunity!"

Etarb held up his broken sword's hilt, "If only that were possible. In this condition, my tool will not function as it's supposed to, if it works at all. Don't worry, we do have a fall back option for that as well. In the meantime, we must destroy Vang."

Verto scowled again at Etarb's vagueness and turned back to the battle, "On that part we agree." Above, the epic stare down reached its end when Vang made the first move. He pulled his arms up over his head, clasping one wrist with the other hand for support as he charged a vivid purple blast of Shadow Chi. It pulsed with his evil intent as he set his sights on Gokuu.

"You appear to be quite fast, but let's test your new strength and see if it's up to par. I put in the same amount of power to wipe out that Guardian fool down there when he was at his best, how will you fair?" Vang asked evilly.

Gokuu beamed with confidence, "We won't know until you try."

Vang's own confidence appeared to waver slightly as he took aim, "Now to hell with you!" He fired an enormous beam that seemed to span most of the sky. Verto and Etarb were forced to shield themselves long before the attack reached its target. Gokuu's grin didn't budge as the beam overwhelmed his position and he seemed to vanish in the bright fume of indigo. The explosion that followed left a sizeable indention in the lands below despite the altitude it had detonated at. Verto lost his balance and tumbled to the ground, as did Etarb and the Z fighters in the distance. Above them, the smoke was quick to clear out due to the wind being generated from the rift. Vang's toothy smirk awaited the results of his undefended blast. That confidence melted away when Gokuu emerged without even a scratch.

Verto felt his heart leap a few inches, "Yes!" Etarb only nodded and smiled. From at least a mile away, the other Z fighters also took note of the early sign of victory.

"Man, Goku is incredible," Tien said.

Krillin shrugged, "He's always been like this, why are we surprised?"

"Yeah!" Goten and Trunks both shouted with joy. Piccolo declined to say a word as he stood next to an equally wary Gohan. Neither of them felt like celebrating at the moment, but there was a hint of relief in the air.

"C'mon Dad, you have to win!" Gohan urged.

Vang frowned deeply as he and Gokuu stared each other down. The demon took in a deep breath and appeared to ready himself for what was to come.

"Well, it's been a long time since I've seen an un-altered Super Saiyan of your stature. Quite remarkable how powerful you are even in this lower form," Vang admitted.

Gokuu blinked slightly, "Un-altered?"

"One of your kind that hasn't been tampered with to gain strength. In other words unlike your son or that freakish boy. It's almost too bad," Vang continued.

"Too bad for what?" Gokuu asked.

Vang shrugged, "Too bad that you won't live long enough to achieve the ultimate Super Saiyan form. Let's just say that I've lived long enough to know what Saiyans were like before they were forced back down to above average pond scum. A necessary process mind you, both demon and Guardian had their hands full with the lot of them, no matter which side they favored. One could say that in the old days, Saiyans might have become strong enough to rival both sides. You and your friend's levels of power were not uncommon, and your new power wasn't completely rare either. Had any of your kind employed this fusion technique then, there would have been a significant threat to most of the universe. You certainly have the potential, well, both of you. But that level of Saiyan power would just be wasted with you, so best not trifle with such things."

Gokuu's golden aura burst to life, "You're stalling again Vang. You should know better than to do that."

Vang's own aura matched the intensity of Gokuu's, "Oh, you caught me. I have no problem having a go with you at my utmost ability, but be forewarned, I am done holding back. I will kill you and then all of your friends before this planet goes under!" The last word was barely out of his mouth before Gokuu's fist slammed into it again.

"Not if I can help it! I'll stop you!" Gokuu declared. Vang flew backwards before suddenly phasing out and coming at Gokuu from the left. Gokuu blocked the attempted claw swipe and then latched onto Vang's forearm with both hands. Vang nervously cringed as Gokuu yanked him hard before turning around in a circle. The combination sent the two into a spinning blur in the air, one that moved at terrifying speed. After nearly ten seconds, Gokuu released Vang, who tumbled through the air, disoriented.

Once Vang was away, Gokuu's palms cupped together as he began charging his signature technique, "Ka…me…ha…me…" Vang's blackened eyes snapped open as soon as he sensed the surge in energy, but he continued to spin out of control.

Gokuu's beam finished and he quickly fired, "HAAA!" Once the blast was away, Vang quickly regained his bearings and flipped around with plenty of time to dodge. Instead he thrust out his hand as it glowed purple. The massive blue beam suddenly vanished into a dim, purple vortex, sparing Vang any chance of being hit. He set his sights back on Gokuu and grinned evilly. Gokuu pulled his arms back and prepared another Kamehameha. Before he could finish it, another vortex opened directly behind and below him, right before it became brighter than the sun. Gokuu's previous beam barreled through and appeared to have given him a harsh shove towards the atmosphere. Vang chuckled confidently until he saw the afterimage fading and heard the whooshing sound behind him.

"HAAA!" Gokuu's second Kamehameha slammed into Vang and pushed him away into the sky as he tried to block it. With no time to prepare any sort of defense due to the Instant Transmission, blocking with his forearms was about the best he could do. As Vang was being pushed back, he suddenly realized that the bright beam wasn't the only source of light nearby. He turned his horned head to see he was being pushed right into the path of the first blast in a crisscross pattern.

_Oh bloody hell!_

The two bright balls of light collided and merged together for a split second before both exploded violently. The detonation lit up the skies half a world away at the tournament. While many of the spectators had left, there were several dozen chanting for Hercule Satan to go and save them. Back near the source of the explosion, Gokuu lowered his palms cautiously. He could sense that the battle wasn't over, but was certain that his attack had done some sort of damage. Black lightning bursts struck around the smoke over Vang's position. Soon, Gokuu could see Vang, but he was behind a dim barrier of his own making. It faded at his command, allowing Gokuu to see if he had made an impact. Vang was slightly bruised all around his body, but it didn't appear to be very significant. If anything, about the only thing the attack had done was make the demon angrier.

It showed as Vang hissed and bared his fangs, "Curse you Saiyan!" On the ground, Verto watched carefully, feeling slightly confused at the situation.

Etarb quickly took notice, "Vang is likely upset due to not only having to face someone as strong as himself, but also that he was unable to get his defenses up in time. Some of the blast got through."

Verto gave him a dirty look, "I can see that. I'm only wondering how it did get through? Gokuu's energy wasn't any different just now. It certainly wasn't super concentrated like mine was for a moment or like Vang's has been."

Etarb sighed heavily, "To understand why, you must first know what type of energy that is and its limits. And I'm not sure that is necessary…"

Verto cut him off quickly, "Don't give me that crap, not when I nearly tapped into it just before you showed up. Not when all our lives are on the line to fight a demon that you Guardian people were supposed to keep out of the lives of us 'mere mortals'. Don't give me that 'you wouldn't understand' shit either, because anyone that thinks they know me at all should know that I can't stand being kept in the dark. Especially when I _am_ smart enough to figure out what people like you are hiding sooner or later. You may as well get it over with."

Etarb was slightly taken aback but shrugged it off, "Still as direct as ever when the chips are down. Very well, the energy you're sensing from Vang is the same type of energy that formed most of the cosmos. There are very few that can handle that type of energy for more than a few seconds anymore, not since the days of the Elder Gods, whom the oldest of the Guardians and Demon Lords descended from. They were the only ones that could handle it with ease, thankfully. We call it **Cosmic Energy**, for obvious reasons. As you have probably noticed, it is even more potent than any other energy type and equally more powerful when wielded correctly. However, it is nearly impossible for anyone, even an immortal, to even attempt channeling. In the hands of the untrained, it is likely to not only destroy the planet they're on, but also the whole star system with one mistake, such as a poorly aimed blast. One could make the argument that you and the other Super Saiyans are at that point now with one good shot at the sun, but trust me, there is no comparison. A blast from you could destroy your sun and thus plunge all the planets into a death-ridden deep freeze. A blast from a Cosmic energy amateur would wipe it all out easily."

Verto's eyes widened, "So this, Cosmic Energy, is _that_ strong?"

Etarb nodded grimly, "A trained master could easily destroy an entire galaxy with it. Worry not, Vang is nowhere near that level, nor could he be, not alone anyway. There are very few demons that are, and none of which you would ever want to face in battle. For someone like Vang, he can only use it for small, potent attacks, defense, or to continually supply his normal energy, as he has done in this battle thus far. Anything more, and he'd likely kill himself by accident, it's a very tricky type of power to wield."

Verto gazed up at Vang for a moment before shifting his attention back to Etarb, "He doesn't seem to be having much trouble. And if he can continuously draw power from this energy source as he hinted at earlier, then we're screwed!"

"On the contrary, he can't use it like that at all. As I said, there aren't many who can handle it for more than a few seconds before they must rest, or else they face great risks. Not only would it tire him out too quickly to summon it, but he would also risk never using his powers again. Cosmic energy is a double edged sword, so strong that it can and typically does just as much damage to the user as it does to the enemy if used too long or improperly. You were lucky earlier that you didn't tap into it long enough to do much with it," Etarb said.

Verto wasn't relieved, "About that. How did I do it anyway? Other than the desperation, I just happened to be using Kaioken at the time. That never happened in any of my battles before and my power level hasn't changed that much either. Actually, at one point against Ranot, I was stronger and there was no change. It can't be mere coincidence that I just happened to get close enough to that particular wall and barreled right over it when I didn't before."

Etarb nodded, "You're correct about that. There are many requirements before anyone can just tap into Cosmic energy, overall strength and energy is a given. However one must have a spirit and mind that is calm and not in turmoil. Can you safely say that over the past several months? Ever since you first learned how to tap into your latent demon energy with your rage? Then of course after you faced Frost, it took you a considerable amount of time before you remembered how to keep your feelings in check again and not rely solely on anger. Once you achieved balance again, the door was open, all you had to do was walk through, and you did that. Balance is the key to just about every aspect of life. Without it, everything eventually burns."

Verto grimaced as he that that information over, "Alright, that does make sense. So what about you Guardians? Can you use Cosmic energy?"

"Very few of our elders can, when the situation calls for it and that is very rare. I've never actually seen it myself, only rumors. We're in essentially the same boat, though there are some ways around that. Both sides make use of tools and weapons that are specially crafted and can convert the user's energy without any risk or strain. For example, my sword can take in my Chi energy, condense it, and then focus it into Cosmic energy when I have need of it. Or at least it could, before Vang broke it." More shockwaves covered the sky as the two overly powerful warriors clashed, providing the two fatigued fighters with extra dust and wind.

"Well great, just chuck a bunch of knives at him then," Verto said sarcastically.

Etarb smiled meekly, "Well I doubt I could hit him with his current speed and his teleportation…oh you weren't being serious were you?"

Verto shook his head in dismay, "It really shouldn't have taken you that long. Anyways, thanks for at least explaining this Cosmic energy to me. Now I'll know what to call it next time it happens."

Etarb frowned with concern, "Verto, I must be frank. You must never again try to use Cosmic energy. Stumbling upon it is one thing when you are beyond your limits and trying too hard. You really only caught a tiny glimpse of it, and you should feel lucky. Trying to attain it is a much different story and there is an extremely high chance that you would kill yourself with just the training. Either that or lose any ability to wield energy again, that would be the best case scenario."

Verto snorted, "Okay, I get it, you don't need to…"

Etarb finished his phrase, "Beat you over the head with it? Actually I probably do since you're the stubborn type. This is not a power that's meant for humans, Saiyans or really any other type of mortal creature, myself included. Anyone who believes that they have no limits will quickly find out otherwise once they push too far, and that's exactly what will happen to you. What you did to achieve the glimpse of it you had, you cannot do so ever again, understand?"

Verto was staring at the battle above, "I already said I did."

Back in the sky, Gokuu and Vang were exchanging in another melee, one that didn't appear to be leaning towards either side. The brawl broke apart again when Vang missed a wide claw swipe as Gokuu phased out.

Vang's energy randomly erupted around him as he snarled, "Damn it, why can't I kill you?!"

Gokuu floated in front of him, "I don't know, maybe you're not trying hard enough."

His answer only angered Vang more, "Alright Saiyan, no more playing around!"

Gokuu turned his head slightly, "Didn't you say that already?"

In an instant, Vang's fist collided with Gokuu's face, completely unblocked. Vang followed that up with a ferocious barrage of rage filled blows all over Gokuu's body, none of which were even defended. Vang's last punch sent Gokuu spiraling to the ground, where he lay stunned for the next several moments.

Vang grinned and folded his arms as he descended near Verto and Etarb, "Well boy, aren't you going to help your friend?"

Verto smirked slightly, "Are you sure I need to?" Before Vang could answer, Gokuu appeared behind him, unscathed.

He rubbed the back of his neck a bit, "Nice try, that one hurt a little."

Vang's jaw slipped, "This isn't happening!"

Gokuu slid into a minor stance, "Whether you choose to believe it or not Vang, I am going to beat you!"

Vang's angry aura brightened the sky some more, which was quickly becoming a persistent theme. His palms lit as he formed two large balls of dark, spinning energy. Gokuu made no obvious move to this, but remained attentive. Vang launched both energy balls at the same time, but neither appeared to be on target. Both passed left and right of Gokuu before Vang's hand went up to stop them. Gokuu eyed both spheres of raw Chi next to him, unsure what Vang was going to do with them. The answer came when the purple spheres lit up briefly before several bolts of lightning shot out between the two, with one solid but erratic beam connecting them. Gokuu narrowly avoided the initial burst and glided backwards to miss the rest. To his great surprise, the twin electric orbs moved with him at the same relative speed. Gokuu changed course many times, but the lightning orbs kept up without any trouble as they continued to arc lightning between each other.

Nearby, Vang chuckled as he lowered his hand, "It's no use running Saiyan. Those Shadow Orbs have locked onto your energy signal and will follow you wherever you go! If one lightning bolt even touches you, your body will crumble into dust!" Gokuu phased out multiple times, only to find the pair of lightning orbs chasing him down the instant he reappeared. Once this happened, Gokuu stopped cold and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"That's enough of this!" he declared. The twin Shadow Orbs quickly caught up, which prompted Gokuu to throw his arms out wide. Bright blue Chi shot out from each hand and smashed through Vang's Shadow Orbs, wiping them out completely. Once the threat was eliminated, Gokuu realized that he had lost track of Vang. The demon quickly phased in from behind with an evil, toothy smile. In his palm was another black Obliteration Orb, which he then aimed towards Gokuu. Gokuu reacted quickly by raising both hands up around his head and spread his fingers wide.

"Solar Flare!" Vang howled with enraged pain as his attack sailed harmlessly into the sky while he clutched at his demonic eyes. Gokuu left him zero time to recover and buried his fist into the demon's stomach. The shocked look on Vang's face was almost comical as he doubled over. Gokuu slammed both fists into Vang's upper back, sending him tumbling towards the ground. Gokuu instantly phased out, stopping Vang's fall with a fierce knee to the gut. Spit and blackened blood flew out of Vang's mouth, which did not go unnoticed.

"Yes! Finish him Gokuu!" Verto called out.

Gokuu pulled his leg back and let Vang freefall towards the ground momentarily. Just before Vang would have hit, Gokuu phased in and kicked hard into the demon's shoulder, sending him bouncing across the rugged landscape. Vang groaned when he finally stopped as black blood was seeping from several cuts along his arms and torso, adding to what had come up from his throat. Gokuu slowly approached on foot, giving the demon a wide berth for a few seconds. Once Vang recovered enough to look for him, Gokuu's golden aura brightened and he quickly moved in. Vang panicked slightly and brought his hands up over his face. Gokuu's punch collided with a dim but thick energy barrier, stopping it completely. Gokuu back-flipped and quickly fired a strong Kamehameha, which rushed over Vang's barrier, seemingly swallowing it and the demon. Gokuu frowned as there was no explosion nor any other actions and stopped channeling his energy. Once the beam faded, Vang's barrier emerged unaffected. It faded soon after and Vang himself appeared, breathing very heavily.

"He's weakening," Verto muttered aloud. Etarb didn't answer as they continued to watch with cautious optimism. After a few moments, Vang's newer black aura shot up again and he appeared to catch a second wind as his power topped out.

Verto scowled, "So much for him getting tired. Bastard is like the Energizer Bunny."

Etarb looked at him in question, "I don't quite understand that reference, but you were spot on about him wearing down. Have you noticed his problem yet?"

Verto stared back with his own questioning look, "Problem?"

Etarb nodded, "Just watch closely."

Vang's aura switched back to purple before it fell away, and this time Verto felt a distinct change in the air but couldn't quite identify it. He powered back up to Super Mystic so he could sense things much easier. Once he did, he quickly noticed that Vang's Cosmic energy was in a state of flux. After another brief break, Vang's power spiked once more for a few seconds, and this power surge seemed to fill his energy reserves completely back up. Vang's breathing had become calm again and his wounds appeared to close up. Once his power up was complete, Verto could no longer sense any of the strange Cosmic energy, other than the few short bursts that had just occurred. A few moments passed before Verto could sense it again, and it wasn't anywhere near as prominent as before.

"Do you get it?" Etarb asked.

"He used Cosmic Energy to restore his Chi back up to full? Well we covered that already, so I would guess that Gokuu is starting to wear him down some," Verto guessed.

"That's partially correct, but you did miss a very key detail that we also discussed. Think back to every instance that you've sensed Vang use his Cosmic energy and see if you can detect the pattern," Etarb pointed out.

Verto grimaced, "You just can't tell me can you?"

Etarb grinned, "A wise man once told me that every possible moment can be used as training, even when one is reduced to a bystander. Besides, as you like to point out, you're smart enough to figure it out."

Verto rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that guy doesn't get stressed out either. Not exactly the best time to worry about training when two worlds are about to go boom!"

Etarb frowned, "It was your predecessor that told me that! And he stressed himself thin often! Now use what you've learned and try to find the pattern to unlock Vang's secret!"

Verto took note of Etarb's rare serious tone and watched as the battle continued. Another brawl had broken out by then, though it was rather even with both fighters landing a few blows. They broke apart quickly when Vang fired a large purple blast. Gokuu summoned up enough strength to bat it aside with both arms, sending the blast away to the distance.

Vang appeared behind him with another blast prepared, "Now you die Saiyan!" Gokuu phased out just as Vang fired, reappearing well out of the blast's path. Vang was undeterred by this and only turned around to grin wickedly at Gokuu, who was up in the air behind him. Gokuu didn't know what to make of this until he saw Vang's second blast disappear into a vortex. Gokuu ducked out of the way when a similar vortex opened up behind him, allowing the shot of energy to narrowly miss him. Gokuu stopped and sighed with relief as it sailed into the sky. The relief didn't last when another blast suddenly smashed into Gokuu from the side.

Vang laughed as he saw a smoking silhouette of Gokuu tumbling towards the ground, "You forgot about the first one, stupid monkey!" The smoky form of Gokuu soon dissipated, revealing nothing but dust and debris floating down. Vang barely had time to blink before Gokuu phased in behind him with his right hand extended. As Vang turned, Gokuu fired an even larger blast than Vang had, and the demon's only response was a painful scream as he vanished into the swath of blue. Vang's body was pushed towards the horizon when an eruption of black suddenly stalled Gokuu's beam and cancelled it out. Verto sense a Cosmic energy burst at the source, one that vanished again once Vang's position had reestablished. Verto watched the demon like a hawk while he appeared to recover. Like before, Vang's energy fluctuated randomly until his power leveled off. When Vang finally moved back towards Gokuu again, Verto caught onto the change.

"He has to wait at least seven seconds before he can use Cosmic energy again. That's the window isn't it?" Verto asked.

"Correct, and I suspect he will begin getting desperate soon. He's realized by now that he won't beat Gokuu easily and likely not before their fusion time is up," Etarb replied.

Verto's lip twitched slightly, "Something doesn't make sense though. He could use it for longer periods when this battle started. I'm not sure how long he was using it before, but I'm sure there wasn't any noticeable gap before he could summon it again. That damn shield especially."

"Given the situation and overwhelming power he has, it's not surprising that you didn't notice a difference before. Also, Cosmic energy is a very valuable resource that will run out like any other power source when used too much or too long. I dare say it's more limited than any other power source," Etarb explained.

Verto fretted slightly, "Well in any case, we can't sit around and hope that Goku notices it. How long before that rift decides to kill everyone?"

Etarb glanced at the unstable mass of energy, "I'd estimate that we have fifteen minutes before Stage Two. Collapse is imminent after that. Gokuu needs to finish this before then."

"Fine, we need to tell him about that weakness. He's probably caught on by now, but he may not act upon it fast enough. The whole thrill of a good fight and all," Verto said.

Etarb nodded, "Very true, but if Vang realizes that his secret is out, who knows what he may do. Go and tell him verbally, and take this with you." Etarb handed Verto his sword hilt, which made the latter pause in question.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Verto asked.

"It's insurance, besides I don't have enough energy to use it now anyway," Etarb said vaguely.

Verto stared at Etarb, "You want me to use it? I thought it was broken?"

Etarb beamed at him, "I explained how it works earlier, but don't use it unless you have to. It's not the same as your own conjured energy sword. Be careful."

Verto sighed with exasperation, "After that whole speech about not using Cosmic energy, which I'm not even sure how I did it to begin with. Now you give me a weapon that does just that."

"I chose my words wisely when I said that we've developed tools to get around that issue. However, that is a broken tool, so use extreme caution," Etarb warned.

Verto tucked the sword hilt into his side pocket, "How about I don't screw around with something I'm not familiar with?"

Etarb nodded, "That is generally a wiser course of action given any situation."

Verto rolled his eyes slightly as his silver aura appeared for flight. He didn't have much power left to fight with aside from maybe one good shot. Normally he wouldn't have bothered transforming, but he had to just to sense what was going on. Added to that, he needed speed to get through this warzone. In the skies before him, there was another rapid and violent clash taking place. The shockwaves being generated prevented Verto from getting close, not that he wanted to just yet. Both demon and Saiyan were showing a lot more wear and tear at this point. This was even more apparent once Verto saw them literally go back and forth trading unblocked blows.

_I wonder if I can get away with just sending Gokuu a telepathic message from here? Vang probably won't be listening in while Gokuu has his attention. I certainly don't want to fly into the middle of that brawl. Maybe I should test this out first, tell Vang he sucks shit or something._

Vang's head turned towards Verto just before Gokuu's fist plowed through it and sent the demon flying.

Verto gave off a confused grin, _Okay, whatever._ He quickly flew in towards Gokuu, who didn't look too pleased that he had interfered.

"What is it?" Gokuu asked.

"Vang has to wait seven seconds before he can activate his…" Verto started to say.

Gokuu held his hand up, "I know, I figured that out a little while ago. I just haven't been able to take advantage yet. Don't worry, I've still got at least ten minutes of fusion time as long as I don't take it any further."

"Then I'll help you get the opening. We don't have much time before that rift blows up and I would prefer us to have a chance," Verto said.

Gokuu frowned, "You don't have much energy left, certainly not enough to keep up and not be in the way. If you miss any attack…"

Verto smirked, "There's more than one way to distract him, if you couldn't tell a moment ago."

Gokuu gave in, "Alright, but be careful. He's strong enough that he could kill you before you can blink."

Verto nodded, "I know, I'll try to keep my attacks minor and at range. Once he uses either his shield or anything else, hammer his ass with everything you've got!"

"Alright, let's do it!" They had barely finished speaking when Vang flew into vocal range.

He was as angry as expected, "I'm getting really sick of your pathetic little antics, boy! You should feel relieved that I'm allowing you and your petty friends to live long enough to see your doom first hand and prepare yourselves for the afterlife. I suggest you don't tempt me into reconsidering my plan of drawing this out."

Verto's grin widened, "Blah blah blah blah."

Vang's eyebrow went up just before he phased out. Verto was frozen in place due to not being able to see Vang at his speed. The attack never came though as Gokuu intercepted Vang and forced him away from Verto. Punches and kicks flew ferociously in midair while the closest bystander charged up a spinning sphere of blue and white.

_This won't be enough to stop him, but it should be enough to scare him into using his shield. And I won't have to worry about hitting Gokuu by accident._ Verto arced his arm back a bit once his small Spirit Bomb was complete and watched for an opening. It wasn't easy to see due to Gokuu staying between them, but he knew that was to keep Vang from knowing what was happening. Gokuu pressed the attack by trying to bash his way through Vang's guard, forcing the demon back a bit. Verto realized that the opening wasn't going to be available until Vang over-pursued with his own counterattack.

_What a pathetic demon, can't even beat a monkey._ The sudden angry burst from Vang was enough of a success indicator. Gokuu phased out as Vang tried to take his head off. The demon's eyes widened when all he saw was Verto floating there with a Spirit Bomb ready.

"Gotcha," Verto said as he hurled his arm forward. He fired straight at Vang, who was clearly unprepared for it. Nevertheless, his dim Cosmic shield materialized around him, canceling and dispersing the Spirit Bomb upon impact. Verto could see Vang was short of breath again inside the bubble and felt quite tempted to act upon it.

_Gotta keep him off base to lure him out._ Verto sensed Gokuu was waiting for the barrier to drop and decided to act upon it.

"I see you're still hiding behind that stupid shield. If you're such a badass, come out and prove it!" Verto taunted. Vang was slow to respond, though Verto could clearly see his fangs being bared.

"Say another word boy, and I'll rip your head clean off!" Vang threatened.

Verto's eyebrow went up at this, _He's been quicker to anger in this form, just like he was as Mercurial. It also appears that he can't hear my thoughts at all times, maybe his Cosmic energy shield has something to do with that. I have to take advantage of that._

"Well, I'm waiting! It's sad that you have to essentially blow up the planet to grab our attention. And also that you have to stall for time instead of fighting us like a real man, or demon, or whatever. I think I'll go with the best words to describe you. A pathetic coward that can't even wipe his own ass without help. Of course it isn't right to consider it your own ass, you lost it years ago…"

Vang lost it, "ENOUGH!"

The barrier went down just before he flew at Verto with burning rage. Gokuu instantly arrived and stunned Vang with a hard knee below the jaw. Gokuu swiftly followed it up with an uppercut to the same spot, sending Vang into the air. Gokuu cupped his palms and began charging his signature move.

"Hurry up Gokuu! Three seconds!" Gokuu was barely into his usual chant and cut it short as he fired. Vang managed to recover in time to see the Kamehameha coming and dropped towards the ground to dodge easily. Vang's black Cosmic energy flared right at the seven second mark as he quickly formed his Obliteration Orb. "There's the negative Feedback move, we can't let that touch us," Verto reminded. Gokuu was already in the air when Vang fired, but the Obliteration Orb quickly hooked towards him at Vang's command. It stopped though once Gokuu changed directions, causing him to turn around in wonder. Vang grinned evilly as he aimed it down towards Verto instead. Verto's eyes popped wide as he motioned to get out of the way. A pair of dark, shadowy arms suddenly sprang from the ground, wrapping around his legs to hold him in place. They were coming from his own shadow, which was glowing slightly courtesy of Vang.

"Crap…" Verto muttered.

Vang laughed manically, "Well, isn't this a predicament? Say goodbye runt!"

Verto could only stare at the black orb coming crashing down on him. A loud whoosh sounded before the ball arrived, and all he could see was gold around a black and orange vest for the moment. Gokuu shielded Verto from the Obliteration Orb, but in turn was hit by it. Black and gold energy waves pulsed around Gokuu's body as he screamed painfully and fell to his knees.

"No, Gokuu! Damn it!" Verto swore.

Vang's evil laughter echoed through the lands, "Hahaha, well fancy that! You bloody fools _saved_ me the trouble of dealing with you one by one. Now you can all die, together!"

**PL**

**Vang: 1 Billion**

**Fusion Gokuu (SS2): 1 Billion**


	113. Rift Battle 4

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 112: Rift Battle 4: Cosmic**

Verto gritted his teeth in anger initially, but his mood changed as he quickly searched for a solution. Gokuu's agonizing screams made him a bit panicked, in addition to the obvious lack of time at this point. The Obliteration Orb was doing its work of not only keeping Gokuu down, but also taking his energy.

_He used this move before to cancel out my Spirit bomb. I'll bet the same will apply in reverse!_ Verto's palm lit up with white and blue as he gathered a suitable amount of Chi and refocused his mind. His hair faded to black during this, signaling just how much energy he actually had left.

"It's no use boy! Accept defeat!" Vang called down from above. Verto panted slightly and ignored the demon as he finished the technique. It was barely finished when he thrust his palm into Gokuu's chest, plunging the small Spirit Bomb into the fused Super Saiyan. There was an immediate burst of white energy that surged into the unstable swaths of black and gold. Gokuu's screams eased, but he began to convulse as if he was going into a seizure. The energy around him shifted into a random display of color, much like Verto's had earlier in the battle. Gokuu seemed to stabilize a moment later, but he remained motionless on the ground while this new energy continued to surge around him.

"Damn it, why didn't it work?" Verto whispered.

Etarb suddenly landed next to him, "It's because you only neutralized the negative aspect of Vang's attack. The Cosmic energy is still there and because Gokuu cannot use it himself, it will rapidly consume his energy until he can no longer resist it. Then the shear weight of it will crush him from the inside. It must be removed, but I'm afraid that's beyond my ability."

Verto's Psi Sword flashed to life, "But not beyond mine."

Etarb's eyes widened, "No, you mustn't! You can't handle that kind of power!"

Verto glared at him, "It doesn't matter if I can or not. He took the bullet for me a moment ago and I _will_ return the favor. I don't care what it does to me because without Gokuu we're done! Toast! Ka-boom! If you can't understand that at this point, then go crawl back to wherever you Guardian people live and study it for a few years. I'll take my destiny into my own hands, not yours, or Leira's, or Vang's, or anyone else's! It's my life, let me live it!"

Etarb paused slightly before backing off, "So be it."

Verto knelt down to Gokuu's side, "Gokuu, I'm going to remove that energy ball with my sword. Keep your thoughts clear and positive and it won't hurt you. Nod if you understand." Gokuu managed a painful nod and Verto waited no longer. He stood up and dropped his blue Psi blade right through Gokuu's stomach. Verto immediately began to pull in some of the golden energy from Gokuu, but couldn't detect the Cosmic portion yet.

"Damn, where is it?" he muttered. His sword turned gold from Gokuu's Chi and he was forced to absorb that power into his body to maintain control. When he did, a multi-colored burst shot out of Gokuu and into Verto directly. Verto's jerked slightly and his face became blank from apparent shock as his sword faded. His body glowed white with multi-colored sparks coming off him initially while his skin felt as if he were on fire. Blood leaked out of his mouth and nose shortly before he collapsed into a fetal positioned heap. He wasn't even able to scream out in pain as he appeared to struggle for air while he squirmed on the ground like a fish out of water. Gokuu quickly recovered and came to his aid, though he wasn't sure what to do.

"Don't bother trying to help, it won't do any good. He chose this path," Etarb said.

"But there must be something we can do. Can't you remove this power?" Gokuu asked.

"As I told him, no. Not without very advanced tools. The best thing anyone can do is hope for a quick end. I might be able to help him, but I can't actually remove this power from him like he did for you. He must do that himself and it's doubtful that he will be able to at this point. The Cosmic energy will burn right through anyone not strong enough to wield it. Go and defeat Vang, while you still can. I'll stay with him," Etarb replied. Verto had stopped moving at this point and lay prone while his body continued to glow with multi-colored energy. Gokuu took one last look at him before balling his fists and staring up at Vang in anger.

Vang laughed as he folded his arms, "What's wrong Gokuu? Has it finally dawned on you that you can't win? With that runt out of the way, you should be happy. It's finally one on one, just the way you monkeys like it!" Gokuu didn't answer as he shot off the ground and flew up to Vang's altitude, seething in rage. Etarb watched him go before kneeling down to Verto's side. He molded his hands together before extending his index fingers together and concentrating.

"I'm sorry my friend, but I must help this boy, this descendent of yours before it's too late. I know it will prevent him from reaching any of your goals, but against this opponent there may not be another option. If I don't, he and the future will die together and all your work will be for nothing. All he needs is just a little bit of your power to stabilize him," Etarb whispered. His right hand flowed with white Chi before he slapped Verto's stomach with it. A white fire took over Verto's body for a moment as Etarb stepped away.

"I pray that will be enough," Etarb mumbled as he turned his attention to the battle above.

Gokuu's power erupted, making his bright golden aura spark with increased intensity.

"Is that your answer? Typical. Let's finish this Saiyan, I have other places I'd rather be," Vang claimed.

Gokuu's eyes narrowed, "You make it sound like this is going to be easy."

"Oh it will be. After taking the full hit from my Obliteration ball, your energy has dropped off considerably. The boy saved your life at the cost of his own, but you're still weakened. With my energy pool, I can outlast your pathetic fusion easily. At this point, it won't be very difficult," Vang boasted.

A very small smirk appeared on Gokuu's face, "Is that right? I guess I shouldn't hold back any longer!"

Vang's eyebrow went up, "Holding back? That's pretty funny, tell me another one. Actually, no need, you would just waste your remaining intelligence repeating the words I used towards you before. Too bad you don't have another trick up your sleeve."

Gokuu crouched down a bit in his power up stance, "Oh I think you already know how the next one goes." Gokuu's power exploded outwards as it increased rapidly, generating an absurd wind field.

Vang himself had to block against it, "Damn, he really is crazy enough to use that." The ground shook so violently that it was as it the Earth itself was trembling in fear. Gokuu's battle cry filled the area for several miles before he settled down.

_Can you take away every single day?  
That we have given to another false prophet  
Can you give us all a reason not to fall?  
Before you take away another broken promise  
_

Once in Super Saiyan Three form, Gokuu paused long enough to look himself over and then set his sights on Vang. The demon looked nervous as most villains would be at this point. That didn't keep him from putting on a brave front though.

"So, you're willing to risk losing your fusion quickly now. All the easier it is for me," Vang claimed.

Gokuu's fists balled up tight, "You should know by now not to underestimate a man protecting his home!" Gokuu phased out suddenly and Vang doubled over as Gokuu pulled his fist back from the demon's stomach.

Vang's shocked expression took a few seconds to really set in, _So fast._

Gokuu smashed Vang's surprised face with a power kick like none seen before. Vang was sent flying only to be cutoff and kicked again, this time higher into the air. There, Gokuu bashed him back to where he originally started, and then the cycle continued. It was unclear if Gokuu was using Instant Transmission to move or if it was his ridiculous speed at this point. About the only thing anyone could make out was a black figure being bounced around between three golden points like the inside of a pinball machine.

_Show your pretty face  
Hide the bitter taste  
You're still the rapist of an entire nation  
You wanna be the man you gotta be a man  
But you were nothing but a sad insinuation  
How can we ever live this down?  
How can we ever live this down?_

From the distance, Krillin rubbed his eyes, "Geez, I think they're moving fast enough. A double Goku fusion and a Super Saiyan Three, that's a bit much."

"It's necessary for this type of opponent. Now where are those damn boys! They've been gone for too long, we need the Dragon Balls!" Piccolo said in a tone just under a shout.

Gohan sighed next to him, "At their level, it's not that far to West City and back, but it's still going to take a few minutes."

"Where's Verto in all of this? I saw him save Goku from that strange black energy and now I can't even sense him," Tien pointed out.

"He's still alive, but I can't be sure what kind of state he's in. The sooner Trunks and Goten get back here the better," Piccolo stated. On cue, two small golden forms appeared on the horizon, allowing a collective sigh of relief from most of the group.

"It's about time!" Piccolo yelled.

Trunks landed nearly out of breath, "Hey, don't blame us! You try flying against this headwind! We just got knocked out of the sky a minute ago when we sensed Goku go Super Saiyan Three." He set down three Dragon Balls as did Goten.

"Wait, where's the one star?" Gohan asked before anyone else could.

Trunks threw up his hands, "I dunno. We looked all through the house and didn't find it. Mom said all seven were together when we left this morning."

Goten nodded, "Yeah, we looked everywhere for it!"

Piccolo bared his teeth, "Obviously not!" Both boys recoiled slightly, but no attack followed.

After the air settled, Trunks looked thoughtful, "I wonder if that one lady took it like before?"

Piccolo stared at him, "What?!"

Gohan came to the quick conclusion, "That's right. Leira admitted to Verto that she hid the Dragon Ball in the other timeline. That's what led Trunks to finding the rift in the first place, right?" Trunks nodded, though he stayed wary of Piccolo's response to this.

"She must have a good reason for this, but I can only guess what that might be," Piccolo surmised.

Their discussion was cut short when the pinballed Vang suddenly went flying with a massive Kamehameha chasing him into the atmosphere. Vang cringed painfully as he twisted out of the way just in time to avoid the blast. In the moment following, he had a chance to visually see the damage Gokuu's newest assault had done. Most of the demon's body was cut up with minor scratches and larger bruises. Black blood oozed out of several different places on his head, including the temples, nose and mouth.

_Keep your fingers crossed  
The truth is at a loss  
Big decision for an ordinary coward  
The only problem is your fucking rhetoric  
We're more in danger than before you took power_

_I've weathered the initial storm, I should be able to keep up from…_ Vang's thought hadn't even finished when Gokuu instantly appeared and hammered him back down with a double axe handle smash. As Vang's body was falling out of the sky, Gokuu phased out and landed near where the demon was poised to land.

Gokuu pulled back one hand, charged with blue Chi, "This ends now!" Vang's eyes snapped open as he became aware of what was awaiting him. Everything seemed to slow to a crawl as the demon neared the ground. Vang saw Gokuu's arm come forward and quickly sent out a burst of purple Chi. The ground darkened just before Vang hit it, causing him to sink right through as Gokuu fired his next blast that wiped out another large portion of terrain. Gokuu scowled slightly and pulled his blue beam upwards a bit to send it into space. He then looked for Vang, but didn't see him at first. His energy signal was still quite present, so Gokuu knew the demon was still around nearby. His sense pinged suddenly as a black hold opened behind him. Gokuu turned and glided backwards just in case. Out of the vortex, a pulsing black orb shot out with Gokuu's name on it. Gokuu merely moved his head aside to dodge it, and it flew off to the horizon. The area below his feet suddenly glowed before a shadowy pair of hands yanked him down by the legs. Gokuu was pulled into the dirt about halfway before the dark hands vanished, trapping him in the ground. Vang emerged from the first vortex with an evil grin and another Obliteration Orb charged and ready. Gokuu burst out of the ground with such force that Vang was blown backwards. As he was pushed back, Vang launched his attack. Gokuu phased out, causing it to miss and sail up into the air. Gokuu cut off Vang from behind and planted him into the ground with one strong axe kick. He then grabbed Vang by the leg and threw the demon high into the air. A rapidly charged Kamehameha followed, one that looked to be dead on target.

_Now it's just a game  
God you'll never change  
You'd sell us out if you could only find a buyer  
You don't give a shit  
As long as idiots  
Are in your corner you could set us all on fire_

Vang grimaced slightly, _Come on, let this be just in time._ Gokuu's massive beam closed in on Vang and detonated. The skies lit up as Gokuu filled with cautious optimism. When it cleared however, a familiar dim shield was revealed behind the smoke, covering for a heavily panting demon. _That was too close. He's far too strong to fight head on. I have to wait out the fusion for at least a few more minutes. I certainly can't fight at his pace even if I only evade._ _I'll have to lure him into a drawn out battle to buy time. _

Gokuu shot off the ground suddenly, making Vang's eyes pop open at his speed. Fortunately for Vang, his shield was still up, and it stopped Gokuu's next physical attack cold. Gokuu pulled back just a bit as his palms charged with golden Chi.

Vang quickly realized what was coming as a nervous bead of sweat came down his face, _I can't drop the shield yet._ All at once, a huge barrage of blasts swarmed in from Gokuu, covering Vang's Cosmic Shadow Shield in small but potent explosions. Vang channeled more power into his defenses, but his black aura suddenly cut off as his time ran out.

_Damn, I can't maintain it. I'm almost to my limit in this form!_ Small cracks in his shield formed quickly and Vang began searching for an escape. The shield faded a moment later and Gokuu's blasts stormed through unabated. Vang was able to dodge a few of them before getting out of the way by diving downwards. Gokuu cut him off almost instantly, kicking him across the sky.

_You never wanted to be  
They only wanted a parody  
You want the world to be free  
What the hell is free about it?!_

Gokuu was quick to follow that up, "Ka….me…ha…me…" Vang sensed the attack coming and flipped around with his own potent purple blast to counter.

"Let's see what you've got Saiyan!" Vang challenged.

"HAAA!" Blue and purple Chi collided in the skies, sending strong energy waves out in every direction. For the first few seconds, Gokuu's beam was clearly winning the struggle. When the collision point was nearly into Vang's face, his black power erupted and pushed it back to the midpoint between them. This didn't last long before the cosmic fuel stopped and the struggled returned to Gokuu's favor. Seven seconds later, Vang pushed it right back. The demon grinned at this turn of events, _This is perfect! I can outlast him like this as long as I keep to the seven second interval and don't overextend. I never thought he could push me so far, but now victory is mine!_

On the ground, Verto's eyes snapped open as he took in a deep, gasping breath while sitting up. The burning sensation of the absorbed energy had faded somewhat, but he still found it difficult to move. _It feels like I'm in more than five hundred times gravity. How the hell does Vang move like this?_

Etarb was quick to answer, "It's a little different for him, after all he can use it efficiently, you can't." Verto scowled at the telepathic intrusion but said nothing while he strained nearly every muscle just to get to his feet. Once he was up, he saw the beam battle taking place above him and noticed how Vang was keeping up. He also sensed a slow and subtle energy drain coming from Gokuu, one that was steadily increasing over time.

"So what did you do to me?" Verto asked.

Etarb's eyes widened, "In your condition, how could you possibly tell?"

Verto gave him a glare that made him very uneasy, "I wasn't completely out of it you know. Out with it!"

Etarb sighed, "Well, I stabilized you, nothing more. You won't die now but that hardly matters considering the situation."

Verto's glare didn't subside but he chose instead to look up into the skies to watch the beam battle, "He's going to lose if we don't do something."

"Very true, but I'm afraid that we can't do much to change that. My power is depleted and with you disabled from taking in Cosmic energy to save Gokuu, we're pretty much useless," Etarb said. Verto's eyes narrowed and shifted towards Etarb, though mostly at the change of tone and inherent lack of optimism. He carefully let the previous conversation replay through his mind before he pulled Etarb's sword hilt from his pocket. Nothing happened at first, but then Verto gathered what energy he could into his palm. There was a nearly instant reaction as it began to pull in his power and produced an energy blade. It too was multi-colored and Verto felt much lighter all of a sudden.

Etarb grinned slightly, "As always, you catch on quickly. However, if you are to use that, you should probably hurry. If you run out of your own power before using up that Cosmic energy, it could burn away any ability to wield energy again. Again, that sword will not work in the same manner as your normal one, understand?" Verto nodded intently before shifting his focus to the beam battle and taking off. He quickly flew under Vang's position before coming up from the lower left side with the sword brandished. Vang saw him coming and conjured his Cosmic Shield when Verto swung the energy blade at him. A violent clash occurred and Vang's beam began to cut off as his attention was diverted.

"You little pest! Why won't you just stay down?!" Vang growled. He phased out and kicked Verto in the back, pushing him straight into the path of Gokuu's giant beam. Gokuu panicked and stopped channeling, but even he knew it was far too late. Verto quickly turned and swung the blade into the beam instinctively to hold it at bay, but it still pushed him through the skies. Verto cringed at how powerful the Kamehameha was and knew what he had to do to survive. He stabbed the sword end into the very front of the beam and began pulling the massive Chi into himself. Something immediately felt off, but he knew he couldn't stop.

_Now we reached the end  
Just get it over with  
But this is building to an adamant conclusion  
Come what ever may  
There's gonna be a day  
When we have figured out a possible solution!_

Etarb's eyes widened, "No! That sword is not designed for that purpose!" Verto gritted his teeth as he struggled with his predicament. He already felt the Cosmic-Chi overwhelming him and there was plenty of energy left to deal with. He quickly used what he had already taken in to power up, turning his hair bright white almost instantly. This vastly increased the amount of incoming energy he could withstand, but the Cosmic portion was very different. The Kamehameha energy eventually ran out and Verto plummeted to the ground once he was done. He landed a little hard, and the ground dented from the sheer weight of the energy within him. In his right hand, Etarb's sword hilt had cracked and split apart. When Verto dropped it, both halves crumbled and blew away like dust.

Verto grimaced, _Well shit, there goes that solution. What I get for not listening._ His Super Mystic power was almost up to full again, but he could feel it wearing away little by little as his insides felt as if they were on fire. Up in the sky, Vang had watched with great interest, looking hesitant to act upon this new development. Gokuu on the other hand, had been forced to power back down to Super Saiyan Two. Verto figured this to be a way to save some fusion time, but knew that he still didn't have long.

_Even at full power, I won't keep up with Vang, not unless I…_ He stopped and glanced at Etarb briefly before shifting back to Vang. _Well screw it, you only live once, except here. If it worked somewhat before, even by accident, it should work again. I'll have to act fast._

Vang floated down and folded his arms, "So, back to this form? That shouldn't be possible but I'm not surprised at this point. You really are a frightening child."

Verto shifted his stance, "Don't worry, it gets worse! Super Kaio-ken!" Vang's expression shifted to surprise as an abnormally strong, white and electric aura surrounded Verto, giving off sparks that ripped up the ground nearby. The multi-colored Cosmic energy followed, sending his hair into a whipping frenzy along with the wind being created. His eyes had completely turned white with no visual pupils. It was almost as if he had taken on another transformation, unlike what he had previously displayed using Kaio-ken.

_Everything you've done  
Is killing everyone  
A little smile on a homicidal bastard  
You wanna be a man  
You gotta have a plan  
Another failure is a guaranteed disaster!_

Vang backed up with caution, _The speed of his kid's progression is astounding. Still, I doubt he can maintain this power for very long, not without risk. I have nothing to fear._ His senses then detected an attack from behind and he turned in time to block Gokuu's incoming punch with one hand. It was a very shaky block for Vang, but something was off about it.

"Nice try Saiyan, too bad your power has dropped off too much to be a threat. I guess Super Saiyan Three has its drawbacks when it comes to fusion," Vang said. Gokuu's responding grin alerted Vang to his huge mistake and he quickly kicked his opponent away before turning to summon his dim Cosmic Shadow Shield. He barely got it up in time before Verto's Galic Fist smashed into it. The younger Saiyan's aura had became a nearly solid blaze of flames as he pushed into Vang's barrier. The shield cracked very quickly this time and Vang had to fly up to avoid being hit by Verto when he broke through. Vang spat in distaste when he saw the ease of how it was broken this time. A distinct whoosh sounded above, where Gokuu phased in and smashed Vang hard in the back and sent him right back down, stunned. Verto's energy sword burst to life in anticipation, matching the colorful swirl that had come out of Etarb's sword before, and that woke Vang up as he quickly phased out to get away. Verto gave chase through the skies, but Vang increased his flight speed and maintained a safe distance.

Verto lagged behind a bit as his breath became short and exhaustion started to hit hard, "Damn it, I have to finish this. Gokuu!" Gokuu promptly teleported in on Vang in his Kamehameha pose, forcing the demon to stop cold and summon his shield again. Gokuu kept charging and didn't fire, bewildering Vang. Verto's aura brightened as he put everything into his flight speed and slashed into Vang's shield. Vang flew up again quickly when it shattered, only to have Gokuu suddenly teleport and drop an elbow into his skull.

Verto came up fast from beneath with his sword held high, "Go to Hell!" Vang couldn't avoid it this time and was stabbed straight in the chest. Verto's expression changed from anger to frustration as the blade had barely gone in an inch and threatened to fade on him as they began to sink down through the air.

Vang grinned painfully, "What's wrong worm? Can't quite finish the job? Once again, the worthless monkey child can't follow through with his threats!" A storm of rage overwhelmed Verto as his power surged and his hand positioning changed. Vang's eyes filled with fear as the sword became a narrow but fierce and concentrated beam. With a loud battle cry, Verto fired every bit of energy he had left, which shot up through Vang like a laser. Vang groaned painfully as an eruption of blood came out of this throat. This was dwarfed by the amount of black that spilled out of his split chest.

"Damn you, little Saiyan brat! You're going to pay for that!" Vang managed to shout down. Verto's hair faded as he fell backwards to the ground, but he grinned painfully as he held up a middle finger salute to the demon. Vang was incensed by this and aimed his claw towards the ground as he charged a vivid blast at the free-falling Verto. He never got a chance to fire when he sensed the presence appear behind him.

"Oh…"

"HAAA!" Gokuu shouted as he fired.

"SHIIITTTTTT!" Vang cried out. Gokuu scored a direct hit with his Kamehameha this time, washing over Vang as he disappeared in the blast's light with a surprised expression plastered on his dark face. Almost as soon as the blast was away, Gokuu's body separated back to the two originals, both of them exhausted. The giant Kamehameha Wave struck a mountain nearby and detonated, giving everyone another blinding light display to put up with. Both Goku and Alt-Goku descended as they caught their breath, landing near a prone Verto who was dealing with more than normal fatigue.

Verto didn't show it though as he had a slight smile on his face, _We got him._ That thought alone gave him plenty of strength to stand up and greet his allies. As soon as he did, he felt something very wrong with him. His equilibrium felt off from battle, but that wasn't the problem. He couldn't sense any presences around him, not even both versions of Goku standing right there. His right hand tingled with residual energy for a moment and he stared at it only to realize that he could see right through it. His hand seemed to be fading from existence, but soon it came back and the tingling feeling was gone. Something else was gone however, or at least by Verto's perspective.

_What the hell was that? And why can't I feel any energy?_ He didn't' have much time to dwell on this before a bright flash erupted in the distance, in the opposite direction of Vang's apparent demise.

This pulled everyone's attention, especially Goku's, "The rift!"

Alt-Goku nodded grimly, "It's about to collapse!"

* * *

_"Come Whatever May" by Stone Sour._

* * *

**PL**

**Vang: 1 Billion; weakened: 850 million**

**Super Saiyan 3 Gokuu: 1.2 Billion; weakened SS2: 900 million.**

**Super Mystic Verto (Cosmic Energy Mode via Kaioken): 950 million (drops quickly).**

**A/n: Now THAT, is a moonhanger!**


	114. Rift Battle 5

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 113: Rift Battle 5: Goodbye**

Both versions of Goku watched as the unstable rift between worlds pulsed violently, sending out variably sized bursts of lightning and wind that sheared the land. Boulders were ripped from the Earth and sent flying as loud claps of thunder echoed through the lands.

Verto shield his eyes a bit as he stood between the two Goku's, "Well shit, what do we do now?"

"I don't know, I sent the boys to get the Dragon Balls but they've been back for a little while now and they haven't summoned the dragon yet," Goku said.

Alt-Goku looked thoughtful, "Don't they have all seven?"

Verto scowled angrily, "If they don't, that means Leira must've hidden one again. God damn it!"

Etarb slowly walked over, "You shouldn't swear, a god might be listening. You also shouldn't be so sore with Leira, she is only doing what she has to for the good of all parties involved."

Verto pointed at the mass of unstable energy, "And what the hell is so good about that?"

Etarb shrugged, "Well not even fate can determine every outcome. For example, would you prefer to have stayed bound to the Zerg?"

Verto turned his back to Etarb, "Shut up."

"I see my point was made," Etarb replied. A new set of forms flew in, belonging to the Z fighters that had been on standby.

"That was so awesome Daddy…wait, I have two Daddies?!" Goten exclaimed as he stopped in his tracks.

"Don't be stupid, that's the other Goku from the alternate timeline," Trunks scolded.

"Goten…it's really great to see you," Alt-Goku said with hesitation.

"Ummm, you sound like you've missed me. Isn't there another me in that other place?" Goten asked.

Trunks bit his lip slightly in dread, "Uh, how do I put this?" Verto was tempted to answer, but Goku gave him a warning glance and shook his head.

"I'm sure the other Goten is just fine. Time moves differently here, so I really don't know," Alt-Goku replied.

Goten seemed satisfied with the half truth of an answer, "Okay."

Piccolo was first to step next to Verto, "Kid, your energy…"

"I'm fine, I'm just tired. Search for any signs of Vang, just in case," Verto requested.

"Can't you tell?" Gohan asked.

Verto looked away, "Not at the moment."

Gohan nodded, "I understand, I'll do it." He glanced around before locking onto something on his left, away from the rift. "There's something over there, but it's really faint."

"There's a chance that Vang was able to escape death, but even if he did, he isn't the main threat any longer. The rift is, and we don't have long," Etarb said.

"We can't just let that guy get away," Krillin argued.

"Oh I don't think we'll have to worry about that," Goku said as he put a hand over his eyes to help him see into the distance.

* * *

Deep in one of the impact craters, a figure stirred from his resting place on the ground. Vang had landed there after managing to escape certain death. However, the cost of survival was quite high. His body had now taken on the form of a small, black, imp-like creature, barely two feet tall with a single horn on top of his head. He had resorted to this form and broken out of his previously ruined body before the blast exploded, as if he were discarding a shell.

_Damn those Saiyans! I can't believe they pushed me so far. Any additional use of Cosmic Energy and I might have faded away permanently. Still, having to resort to this form, I really should have anticipated their actions better, especially the Guardian. It was my own fault for being overconfident in my new form. No matter, I have to escape before the rift destabilizes any further. If I don't hurry and make a portal to anywhere other than here, I'll be killed in the blast._ Vang's scrawny arms went to his sides as he began pulling in energy from the shadows around him. He appeared to be struggling to do what had been quite simple a short time before. Eventually his body glowed purple and he gathered sufficient energy for the task.

_It's risky, but I'll have to return to the Deadzone for now. I haven't got the time nor the strength to reach my own Shadow Realm, and the Bikou would turn on me if I tried to enter. Oh well, I can lament the fact that this place will go up in smoke._ Vang laughed slightly as he concentrated on the area right in front of him, revealing an almost gremlin-like voice.

A voice that likely gave him away to a passing object that landed right behind him, "Going somewhere?" Vang's eyes shot open in horror as he turned around and saw Vegeta standing there, barely ten feet away. The partial portal vanished behind Vang, and he knew he was in deep trouble. Because of the new size disparity, Vegeta might as well have been a mountain come to life.

"Now what do we have here? Is the big bad demon actually trying to run away?" Vegeta asked.

"Something like that," Vang admitted.

Vegeta smirked, "Oh, what's wrong? Were we too much for you? Not feeling so superior anymore? That's too bad." He took one step forward and Vang scampered backwards, tripping on a loose rock and landing on his behind.

"Oh, the little imp fell down. Maybe I should help him up," Vegeta offered.

Vang crawled back as Vegeta closed in,"Vegeta, I beg you, be reasonable!"

Vegeta's cocky grin vanished, "Don't be ridiculous, demon. You're not going to attack _my_ home and just walk away. Oh no, that's not how this game works."

Vang piped up suddenly, "But you enjoy a good game, don't you, prince of all Saiyans? If I am allowed to leave and recharge my powers, not only would I fix this problem for you, but you'd also have another opportunity at a glorious battle. I know how you enjoy those."

Vegeta's expression didn't budge, "You'll have to do better than that, demon."

Vang grimaced slightly and changed tactics, "I didn't kill anyone, and the rift is only a minor problem. Those Guardian fools always blow things out of proportion, I doubt its detonation will do much other than leave another crater. Besides, Leira wanted me to eliminate you and I refrained from doing so. You owe me a chance I would think."

Vegeta appeared to think it over for a moment, "Interesting proposal, allow me to grant you ten seconds while I consider it." Vang cautiously got to his tiny feet while Vegeta closed his eyes.

Upon the time passing, Vegeta gave Vang a softer glare, "You have a point demon, I do owe you something."

Vang smiled as he turned around and began focusing his energy again, "You won't regret this."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed as he lifted his palm, "You're right, I won't." Vang never saw the blast coming, and his tiny body evaporated in the golden light of Vegeta's kill shot.

"Never, ever, turn your back on the prince of all Saiyans," Vegeta spat as he watched the remnant black dust fall to the ground.

* * *

The others watched Vegeta's parting gift to Vang, though the relief was short lived.

Verto turned to Etarb, "So what's the plan?"

"Now that the rift destabilization has advanced to Stage Two, we have less than ten minutes. The connection between timelines must be severed in order to spare both worlds the destruction. However, the rift must first be stabilized from the inside before it can be destroyed. Otherwise the resulting explosion would create a massive tear in the fabric of space-time and destroy not only the planets of both realms, but potentially their corresponding galaxies as well," Etarb explained.

"Come again? Can you explain that without all the science?" Krillin asked.

"It'll make a big fucking boom!" Verto summarized.

"Crude, but accurate," Etarb agreed.

"Why does Leira not want us to try and use the Dragon Balls, they could be the answer to this," Piccolo claimed.

"As you might know, it's doubtful that the eternal dragon Shenron could have helped given his power. Without my sword tool, I'm afraid I cannot do this either. Only a particular person with very strong Chi or Cosmic energy can both seal the rift and then destroy it from the inside. This person must also have outstanding technique and energy control, no common person would be able to do so," Etarb replied.

"That's me or Verto then," Gohan said in realization.

"Of the people present, maybe. Goku would have been able to before the fusion wore off, but that wouldn't have been much better. The explosion will destroy whoever attempts this from the inside, and in this case that would have been both of you. Even if you were able to survive, you'd be trapped between realms in limbo and death would swiftly follow anyway. I'm afraid that it is a suicide mission," Etarb claimed.

Verto gave him a stern glare before staring at the rift, "I don't suppose you have one of those candies handy?"

"No."

"Had to ask, any of you think you could loan me a little more power so I can take care of this?" Verto asked the others.

"Verto, he said it's a suicide mission!" Gohan pointed out.

Verto glanced at him, "Your point?"

"Do I need to have one? You'll die, or be trapped somewhere with no way out!"

"If I don't, then we're all dead anyway! It's my mess, let me clean it up!" Verto argued.

"It's not just your mess, not anymore. We share your burdens just like you share ours! That's what friends do, or did you forget already? No one should have to die! There has to be a better answer to this," Gohan declared. They all looked to Etarb for an answer.

He shifted his eyes between them all, "Well I'll put you at ease as best I can. Whether Verto could handle this problem or not is irrelevant given his current state, despite his odd enthusiasm. The amateur use of Cosmic Energy has burned him out and he couldn't even accept any donation or power, never mind use it right now. Another attempt and death would be…generous, compared to what could've and nearly happened already. Son Gohan is also far too exhausted."

"Cosmic energy? What is that?" Krillin asked.

"Explain it later. What are our options? There isn't enough time to evacuate the population," Piccolo said.

"No, there isn't. And don't bother just trying to blast away at it either. That would only hasten the rift's detonation. Luckily, Leira put in a contingency plan in place for this very scenario. She should be here any moment now," Etarb replied.

Verto snorted, "Great, can't wait to see what this is."

Etarb looked at him, "You may regret those words, sarcasm aside." From the skies, Vegeta flew in, still looking a bit beat up, but nothing that seemed too bad for him.

"So, did you get the demon?" Krillin asked.

Vegeta smirked, "What demon? I squashed a bug, nothing more."

"Right, I shouldn't have even asked," Krillin muttered.

Vegeta turned to Etarb, "You, is that woman coming here or not?"

Etarb nodded slightly, "Patience."

Vegeta scowled, "She could hurry it up then. I would prefer not to hunt her down in the afterlife. This is her doing after all, she should handle it!"

"I see you survived, lucky me," Leira said as she landed next to them, followed by Lenz.

"About time woman, now go fix your mistake!" Vegeta growled.

"Shut up for once. This is going to be hard enough without your bloody Saiyan pride eating away at my ears," Leira said spitefully. Lenz locked eyes with Verto, who couldn't help but wonder why she had come with Leira, the person she hated so much.

"It's time, girl," Leira said.

Lenz looked back sadly, "Can't I at least say goodbye?"

"Lenz, what's going on?" Verto asked as a sudden feeling of dread crawled up his spine.

"Make it quick, we don't have much time," Leira ordered.

Piccolo stepped next to Gohan, "Are you sensing that? Something is very different about the girl." Gohan nodded but didn't reply as he put up a hand to silence his mentor. All eyes went to Lenz as she stood about a dozen feet away from Verto, well past her normal distance.

_I dreamed I was missing, you were so scared  
But no one would listen, cause no one else cared.  
After my dreaming, I woke with this fear  
What am I leaving, when I'm done here?_

_So if you're asking me, I want you to know…  
_

"What is it?" Verto asked again.

"Little brother, I want you to make me a promise," Lenz began.

Verto's eyebrow went up in question, "And what is that?"

"Never, ever, change. Stay true to yourself, even if it means you have to take drastic measures. I've always admired the way you can calmly take in every situation and make the best decision that you can. I also like when you don't take any crap from anyone, no matter who it is. And you always do the right thing, even when other people hate you for it. Promise me that you'll stay just like that, forever," Lenz pleaded.

"You're not making any sense, why are you talking this way. You're starting to sound like Leira when she's not at that time of the month, did she brainwash you or something?" Verto asked. Leira took exception to the insult but didn't say anything to it.

"I know it sounds strange, and the reason for that is…" Lenz tried to say.

"Girl! We had an agreement, I suggest you follow it!" Leira bellowed.

"Well excuse me, but how do you think I feel? You're not the one who has to go up and do the work!" Lenz shouted back.

"Stop stalling!"

Lenz shot her an evil glare, "Piss off bitch, I'll get to it!" The two females nearly created sparks between them as the others looked on silently.

"Well at least that part is normal so I'll rule out any brainwashing. Now stop beating around the bush and tell me what's suddenly gotten into you," Verto said.

Lenz frowned sadly and looked over at the pulsing rift ball as a few tears dropped down her face, "I have to go…and serve my purpose."

Verto's eyes widened in shock, "No, you can't mean that…" He turned towards Etarb and Leira, "_**She**_ was your backup plan? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

_When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me leave behind some, reasons to be missed  
And don't resent me, and when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest._

"Please don't be mad, I have to do this," Lenz claimed.

Verto's angry glare shifted towards her, "Why? Why is it suddenly your problem?"

"Because I'm…"

"Lenz…" Leira warned.

"I know, I know! It's because of Kaon, the demon inside me. She'll come back as long as I'm still alive. She'll kill everyone you care about and then some," Lenz explained.

"I thought she was sealed up by Vang, you told me yourself," Verto pointed out.

"I can feel her crawling her way out more and more every day. These outbursts I've had, they weren't because of Vang, they're because I'm becoming more like her every moment. Everyday I wake up, burning inside, wanting to go out and do something horrible to someone. The only thing stopping me was you. I have to do this so she can never hurt you or our friends ever again," Lenz claimed.

Verto shook his head, "I refuse to believe that's the only way. I don't care what Leira wants from you, it's your life, your decision! Just because someone tells you to do something doesn't mean you do it."

"I know, but as you said, it's my choice, and I'm making it. I see you jump into impossible situations head on without another thought, I'm sure you even tried to here. Please let me save you for once," Lenz said.

Verto stood rigidly still with an expression of half fear and half anger, "I won't let you."

_Don't be afraid, I've taken my beating  
I've shared what I made._

_I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through  
I've never been perfect, but neither have you._

Lenz stepped in closer and knelt down slightly as she embraced him, "Please don't ever change. And don't ever forget me!" She suddenly slammed her knee into his chest, sending him to the ground as the wind was knocked out of his lungs. Verto clawed for her feet as she stood over him and dropped her blue crystal necklace.

Verto finally realized that she was serious, "No…" Bright silver and white suddenly engulfed Lenz as her blue eyes brightened and her hair shifted to white and silver.

Verto was amazed, _Super Mystic?_ Lenz took one last look at everyone before lifting off the ground and flying straight towards the rift.

Verto stumbled to his feet briefly before taking off into a dead sprint, "No Lenz! Come back!"

He was pulled to a sudden stop by Goku, "You can't change her mind, I'm sorry."

Lenz paused just before entering the unstable rift energy and looked back for a moment, "Goodbye."

_Forgetting, all the hurt inside, you've learned to hide so well  
Pretending, someone else can come and save me from myself  
I can't be who you are._

Verto was held firmly in place by Goku as he forced himself to watch. Lenz gave him a slight wave before turning forward and entering the rift, vanishing from view. The rift ball shifted violently as it shot off the ground and crackled with lightning and thunder. Streams of white and velvet energy emerged and surrounded it like chains. Soon after, the ball turned completely purple and flashed bright while it spun in place. The wind generated increased, forcing everyone to shield themselves. Goku hoisted Verto over his shoulder and flew back to a safe distance. Verto watched on helplessly as he could hear Lenz's screams from inside, stinging him deep inside. The sound the rift ball produced resembled thousands of freight trains moving at once. Then, it suddenly stopped and the rift ball darkened to black. As it did, the bottom side began to crack and then crumble away. The debris also vanished into thin air from this. Verto pulled away from Goku and ran towards the underside of the crumbling ball, fully expecting Lenz to fall out of it. Instead, the inside was completely empty, and the rest of the black ball fell away around it. Verto stood still as he watched the remaining dust blow away, catching sight of a few, loose violet hairs that came down with it.

_When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done  
Help me leave behind some, reasons to be missed  
And don't resent me, and when you're feeling empty  
Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest.  
_

The others approached from behind, mainly keeping a wide berth with one exception. Leira was the first to step within a dozen feet of the motionless Verto, who didn't even acknowledge her presence.

"Look, I know you're upset…" she began. Leira never got a chance to finish before Verto leveled her face with a strong right hook. Leira found herself on the ground with a shattered nose, looking straight up at a pair of crimson eyes. There was no indication of any excess energy coming out of him, but one didn't need that to know that he had snapped.

Verto's voice was almost an animalistic growl, "Give me the Dragon Ball."

Leira grimaced as blood ran out of her smashed nose, "I can't, there's a specific reason for…"

Verto dropped his fist into her face again, "I said give me the fucking Dragon Ball, NOW!"

Leira held her face painfully before looking him dead in the eye, "No, not until you calm down and think rationally." Verto pulled his fist back only to have Vegeta, of all people, stop him.

"Enough boy, you're not going to get anywhere with this. Pounding her to death, as much as I would enjoy that, won't do you any good," he said. Verto snarled as he yanked his arm away and stomped off opposite the group.

Leira was quick to get up and start after him, "Hold on! Let me explain, there is something you need to hear!"

Piccolo blocked her path, "Leave him alone, you've done enough for one day."

"I know he's hurt, but if he'll let me tell him why…" Leira argued.

"Does it look like he cares what you have to say? He'd much rather rip your heart out, if there even is one in there. Let the boy mourn before you bother him with your nonsense. Otherwise you will have much bigger problems to deal with," Vegeta warned.

Etarb put a hand on her shoulder, "Come Leira, this happened much too fast for all of us. You can plead your case after the air has cleared."

Leira finally gave in, "Fine."

"What about the one star Dragon Ball? Where have you hidden it?" Piccolo asked.

"I'll give it back after he hears what I have to say, I give my word on that. I shall return at high noon tomorrow, make sure he's ready by then," Leira ordered.

"You do realize that he will want to use them immediately," Piccolo pointed out.

"I'm well aware, Namek. I've already taken care of any chance that Shenron will complicate things. Also, whichever Goku is the one from the other timeline, you'll be taken back to your home tomorrow," Leira said.

Alt-Goku rubbed the back of his head, "Okay." Both Leira and Etarb then vanished into thin air without a trace.

"I find it really strange that they can just disappear and reappear at will, but it takes them so long to travel anywhere," Goku said.

Gohan gave his mentor a suspicious glance, "What did she mean by Shenron complicating things?"

Piccolo scowled, "It means that she has found a way to prevent Shenron's interference in life and death. In other words…"

Gohan came to the quick realization as he stared at Verto in the distance, "Lenz won't be coming back."

* * *

_"Leave Out All The Rest"_ _by Linkin Park_

* * *

**A/n: It feels very strange to be posting this particular chapter on Christmas eve.**


	115. Origin of Lenz

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 114: Origin of Lenz**

Sunshine blared through a window belonging to Capsule Corp, annoying a certain half-Saiyan enough to wake up. Verto was slow to rise out of bed due to the fatigue he still felt, both physically and mentally. He wanted nothing more than to lie back and wallow in misery, but he knew that Vegeta wouldn't allow that, even on this day. He could even sense the Saiyan prince already threatening to move back in his direction if he didn't move soon.

_Well that's an improvement, at least I can sense something again._ His wounds and injuries had been healed the night before by a personal stop from Dende, but his energy wasn't up to par yet. About half of his Ki had returned during the night from both sleep and what food he actually felt like eating, which wasn't much. His Psionic presence was non-existent though, and that bothered him. He was overly used to sensing two signals from every life form nearby and now he barely sensed the one again, depending on how strong they were of course. It had made everything so much easier, being able to sense everything about a person allowed him to not only react faster but also see the early warning signs of any threat they posed. It also allowed him to detect their emotional states quite easily, as well as being able to decipher truth from lies from time to time. It didn't work with the Z fighters much, but normal humans were very, very easy to see through. The human-based androids Seventeen and Eighteen were the same, though they felt like regular humans.

_Well, maybe it's for the best. It's almost as if I can see their thoughts or at least guess them. And I know how I despise that being done to me so best not be a hypocrite about it._ _I'm glad I never tried to learn how to read minds._ Verto slowly got dressed as he gave the mirror a long stare.

_I can't believe she's gone. If only I had made sure that damn demon was dead before…_ He found himself staring at the empty bed, where he had put her blue crystal necklace for the time being, as if he expected her to suddenly reappear. But this time was different, and he knew it because he had seen it with his own eyes. Lenz was gone, likely forever if Leira and her ilk had anything to say about it. Verto wasn't sure if he could convince himself to even speaking to that red-head again, but knew that he had to sooner or later.

He grimaced slightly as he attempted to put on the tie around his white dress shirt. He had always hated wearing suits in any situation but out of respect for the dead he was willing to tolerate it. That didn't exactly stop him from 'accidentally' shredding the tie after it snapped in half on him. Verto shook his head and slipped on the black jacket, foregoing the tie completely. He wasn't exactly looking forward to the funeral to say the least. Before his transformation and journey to this world, he had never coped well with the service. The Dragon Balls relieved that source of stress, but that was temporary. Eventually, everyone has to face the reality of death, a fact that he was being brutally reminded of now, despite dying twice himself.

Bulma had handled all of the details with the exception of where to erect the tombstone. Since it wasn't going to be a true burial with no coffin or corpse, it really didn't matter where the ceremony would be. Verto had specifically chosen the area where he and Lenz had frequently trained together. The battle site didn't feel right even if that's where it had happened. He knew Lenz had always been happiest training with him, thus that place would've suited her just fine.

The others were all still a bit confused by this, but didn't object. The fact that they couldn't use the Dragon Balls disturbed everyone. Once Verto had calmed down and been told what Piccolo suspected about Leira's actions, he had requested they perform the funeral service immediately. It was 'his way of coping' they all guessed. It was hard to say that it was a false assumption, but Verto knew that he had to get over this quickly. He knew from experience that if he let it drag on too long, it would destroy him as it nearly did with Fasha, depending on how you look at it. Strangely, he had taken this loss much harder than Fasha's, harder than losing his own world when this all began.

_Maybe I've just grown too attached to this world and forgot that even with the Dragon Balls, I'll still lose friends and family._ _Attachment is only going to burn me again if I let it happen too much with anyone I might meet in the future. It may go against Lenz's wishes a little, but I've got to separate myself from getting too attached to other people. If I don't, the end result will be more of this misery. I don't have to change much for that_.

The other issue with attachment was a potentially bigger burden, that being his inherited demon energy. While at the moment it wasn't rearing its ugly head, he knew full well that he could easily pop off and lose control again. Especially now with his emotions compromised and all this sadness and anger to fuel it. Verto scowled at the idea of that occurring again and slipped on his dress shoes before leaving his room. Capsule Corp had emptied out by then, as everyone had departed early in the air boat. Verto had elected to fly himself so he could be alone with his thoughts. Despite that, he arrived only minutes behind the rest of them.

The whole gang was there, most of which were dressed properly for the second day in a row, this time in black. Bulma was doing a lot of the directing on who was to sit where and how many chairs would be in each row. Chichi had taken on the duty of keeping Goten and Trunks under control, as well as baby Bulla. The newlyweds had already sat down near the front with Mister Satan, where Videl had broken down to tears next to her husband. Most of them were talking amongst themselves until Verto landed. His appearance silenced everyone to barely a whisper, though he needn't wonder why. Out of everyone there, Verto laid eyes on Kibito Kai first and an immediate warning sign was given. That didn't seem to stop the Kai like it normally might have, and he strolled up to Verto like nothing was amiss.

"I must speak with you, it's urgent," Kibito claimed.

"It can wait," Verto said in a low tone. As he moved by, Kibito dared to grab onto Verto's shoulder to hold him up.

Verto paused and raised his Ki level just enough to get the Kai's hand off of him, "Don't make me say it again. If you think I won't take my anger out of you, consider what's been happening lately. I doubt you can heal yourself."

Kibito recoiled from the oddly calm but elevated voice that Verto used, "Alright, you win. I will come for you this afternoon." He promptly teleported away, leaving whoever didn't hear the short outburst more than a little confused, but there weren't many. Once Verto moved towards the front again, the low level chatter resumed. He met up with Bulma first, whose makeup was running a little from the overall mood.

"I'm so sorry kid. Are you sure you can't use the Dragon Balls to bring her back?" Bulma asked as she wiped a tear away.

Verto was like a stone in terms of emotions, "I have a feeling that it won't work, but it's the first thing on my list of shit to look into. Is everything ready here?"

Bulma nodded, "We decorated the grave marker but I left the stone blank. I'll let you decide what to write on it. As you requested I brought her favorite music and told everyone no speeches. Can I ask why?"

"Whatever they want to say can be said at the reception. Just play the music and keep it simple," Verto said.

Bulma grimaced slightly, "Alright I guess." Verto moved straight to the grave marker to look it over. It was a fairly standard gray tombstone slab with a rounded top and a blank face. Around it was an array of purple and white flowers that dangled in the breeze. Verto eyed the attending priest for a moment before taking a seat at the front next to Gohan.

His friend started to say something inaudible before Verto held up his hand, "Later." Gohan nodded grimly and there were no further interruptions.

* * *

Once the funeral procession was finished, a majority of the group departed quickly for Capsule Corp. Verto did not do much more than stand and stare at the tombstone though, seemingly lost in thought. He had yet to shed one tear that day, as if he were unable to actually do it. After the airboat took off, only Vegeta and Piccolo remained to keep a close eye on their prodigy. There wasn't much concern that he would do something crazy, but neither of them felt good about leaving Verto on his own. They both gave him plenty of space during that time, not wanting to provoke an already upset Saiyan. At high noon, he finally seemed to come to his senses and turned on his heel, walking straight towards them as if he were finished grieving. Just as he laid eyes on them, he gave off an incensed snarl. His Ki rose sharply as he seemed to be focused on them with a deathly glare.

Vegeta folded his arms, "You want to have a go boy? I'm game. However don't think I'll just serve as a punching bag for you."

Piccolo frowned as he sensed another presence behind him, "I don't think he's targeting us."

"No, he's far too angry with me to bother with anyone else," Leira said as she came up from behind.

Verto locked eyes on Leira and turned his head just slightly to give her an even meaner expression, "What the hell do you want now? I'm not in the mood."

"So I noticed, but you'd do well to get in the mood. You probably want to hear what I have to say regarding the girl. If we can get a moment alone," Leira said, motioning Piccolo and Vegeta to leave.

"They can stay," Verto quickly cut in.

"What I have to say is for your ears only, not theirs," Leira claimed.

Verto shifted his feet slightly as his aura began to show, "And who do you think is going to keep me from ripping you to pieces?" Leira's eyebrow went up as she glanced at the two and then at Verto, who looked as if he was going to attack at any moment.

Leira grimaced slightly but sighed and ran her hand through her hair, "Fine, I suppose it won't matter with the Namek's hearing anyway. Now first thing's first, how do you feel?"

Verto's expression didn't change, "Like I want to tear _someone's_ head off."

Leira shook her head, "Typical. I meant have you felt anything strange since yesterday?"

Verto finally seemed to relax a little as his aura faded, "My Psi energy is still gone, I can't even feel it or anyone else's. I assumed that it's a side effect from all the effort I put in yesterday."

"It's to be expected. Cosmic Energy isn't meant for someone like you or even me. Just because we have the potential doesn't mean we need to be trying it out like a new suit. What you're feeling now is minor compared to what could have been, as Etarb told you. I myself can't use it for much more than one technique and that's with a whole lot of control and training," Leira explained.

Verto snorted, "It wasn't that hard to be honest. Just had to push."

Leira shook her head, "Oh yes, push until you finally give out, then you'll understand. That's how you've been after all. What Etarb didn't tell you was that there's more than good chance that even a professional's use of Cosmic Energy can have dire effects. There's a reason we try to avoid it, because it can transform your body into pure energy. There needs to be a balance in all things, including matter and energy within yourself. However, the two are interchangeable, and the Kaio-ken technique contributes to this. With Cosmic Energy though, there is no fatigue factoring into the aftermath. You shouldn't need to do any math to know that when you eventually weaken in that state, you would vanish. There would be no afterlife for you, no Dragon Balls to restore you. You would be gone."

Verto looked slightly disappointed, "I get it, so I probably shouldn't use Kaio-ken ever again because of that risk?"

"Definitely not for as long as you can use your full power. One slip up and not only could you completely lose the ability to control your power, but you could easily wipe out this or any other planet just by drawing on it. And of course the whole vanishing into thin air and not existing part. I don't know what Kibitoshin was thinking teaching you that technique," Leira said.

Verto almost smirked, "Oh, he didn't do everything you told him to, isn't that a shame? While we're on the subject, when can I expect my power to return? It was starting to come back awfully fast there for awhile."

Leira looked away, "I can't answer that right now. It depends on what occurs over the next day or two. We'll know more by then."

Verto's lip twisted at the vague answer before he gave Vegeta and Piccolo a quick glance, "Fine, let's get to something you said you would answer. Why did you force Lenz into sacrificing herself and why won't you let us bring her back?"

Leira eyed him without turning back, "You won't like the answer, but it will be the truth, I'll swear to that."

Verto snorted, "Truth, you use that word so much but I doubt you know what it means. And I'm really sick of hearing that word when it's being followed by lies and deception. Now out with it."

Leira folded her arms and turned to him, "First I want to revisit another tender topic, regarding the twisted soul that you were implanted with when the Old Kai unlocked your power. As you may recall, it took on your darker, evil characteristics and then split off from you on its own. Do you know why?"

Verto's mood didn't improve any, "The way I remember it I forced it out. Between you and the Kais, it was pretty much explained that he was put in there to help control my hidden power. Specifically the extra negative demon energy that likes to come out when I'm pissed off. And that which I inherited from your brother, Auntie."

Vegeta's eyes went wide, "What? You two are related?"

Verto gave him a warning glance, "Indirectly, leave it at that. It's bad enough that I have to see someone that looks like me making out with her in my dreams. My turning from human to Saiyan was no accident, even if it's only half. I was selected, not randomly picked off by a passing satellite. That was just a cover story while you experimented on potential candidates, wasn't it? Hell I doubt that version of Frieza even believed that his technology was THAT good. You just happened to come up with results to make it somewhat believable." Leira frowned as Vegeta and Piccolo turned between her and Verto, more than a little surprised at this.

"You're a little too smart for your own good, as was my brother. It's almost sickening how like him you actually are, aside from the bratty disposition," Leira said.

"So what he said is true?" Piccolo asked.

"I won't deny that, but it's hardly the point anymore. Spilling information like that to try and gain leverage? Very clever, my brother was known for that as well. But that goes both ways, nephew. I wouldn't exactly call your life here a television show with a happy ending, would you?" Leira said in rebuttal.

Verto scowled at the hint and conceded, "Fine, what about that thing the Kais put inside me?"

"The Kais performed that risky procedure because they were ordered to do it by me and my superiors. When a potential prospect with overwhelming power comes along, there are always risks that they will become very…volatile. In this case it was proven correct, wouldn't you say?" Leira said.

Verto's face twisted just a little more, "Your point?"

"I'm getting there. With the case of an extremely strong and evil presence buried within, and the fact that we sort of put it there to begin with, it was necessary to attempt to handle it by adding a weak soul to take it all in. It worked, but there was the slight issue that it could split off and become its own being, which happened. A similar procedure exists that involves the same act to a degree, with the actual intent to split the two. The original remains roughly the same while the second becomes essentially their opposite or negative. Bear in mind that it works both ways, so the new soul could be a good hearted person too, assuming of course that it is provided a body. Obviously most evil prospects are not even considered by our group so that is a non-issue, nor do demon lords care to promote such activity," Leira explained.

Piccolo's eyes narrowed, "What are you two speaking of, what group?"

Leira was about to answer but Verto was quick to do so, "Her organization is above the Kais, I know that at least. And they want to recruit me. That's what a lot of the crap we've been through was about, a test. There was mention that they wanted all of us but I have my doubts about that."

"Above the Supreme Kai as well?" Piccolo asked in shock.

Leira gave Verto a warning glance, "That's right. They are the Guardians, a group of overseers that help keep the peace from a realm outside normal space and time. They are basically the last of the of the first sentient species in the multi-verse known as the Elduar, descended from the Elder Gods, who helped to create and shape the universe before they vanished and timelines began to form. While they are powerful, immortal beings, they are not gods. Many years ago, most of the pure Elduar died off in battle, so mainly hybrids remained afterwards. Now, with only a few surviving Elduar left, a vast majority of the group come from mortal realms like this one. We police the multi-verse, but we try not to interfere unless we have to. Our enemies are of the Demon Realm, another place outside of the normal that the Elder Gods created. The cold war you keep hearing about, that's who it is with."

Piccolo looked to be deep in thought, "So, these Elder Gods just vanished? Where did they go?"

Leira shook her head, "No one really knows. It's hardly the point now, literally billions of years later."

"So what about this cold war between these Guardians and the demons?" Vegeta asked.

"Of course you would ask that. In a nutshell, the war started the way most do, a disagreement over borders. The Guardians maintained peaceful control of most of the known universe and the demons didn't like that. A long, bloody war followed, spanning thousands of years and an equal amount of worlds suffered. Peace wasn't brokered until both sides agreed that they should remain out of mortal affairs. You see they both had nasty habits of interfering too much in the development in other species for their own gains. The result was even more chaos with multiple factions setting up within each side. Once it was decided that immortal beings needed to stay out of the lower realms, both sides retreated back to their own dimensions to carefully watch for the other side's eventual attack. Each realm then had overseers appointed, such as the Kais in this universe and it's adjacent timelines. Neither side has made any major incursions towards each other, thus a cold war. There have been continued and occasional intrusions into the mortal realms, but most of them have been minor, save for one," Leira explained further.

"Let me guess, the Super Saiyan civil war I heard about," Verto asked, turning Vegeta's attention.

"That's right. We can talk about that more later, I assume you want to focus on why I'm here now."

Verto nodded, "Anyways, why do this soul split crap to begin with? Seems like it would be a waste if you end up killing your recruits. And of course, if you create more problems and enemies than solutions and allies."

Leira was quick to agree, "Yes, and if things were up to me, they wouldn't even happen. Suffice it to say, they're not up to me. The procedure done to you was for containment, the other is for balance. I point out both procedures for a very good reason, and know that the balancing ritual is not done to anyone but our own agents when we need to keep our nose down so to speak. It helps keep our power below extreme levels, but it also limits us, more on that in a moment. With both procedures, duplicates are not only possible, but very likely if the right circumstances prevail. In the containment case, interference from an outside source or incredible trauma typically causes a split. I believe you experienced both."

Verto's lip twitched upward, "Not that I needed to be reminded of it again and again."

"You're coping with it well though. When a containment fails and splits off, it also takes on a negative and opposite characteristic. If it's able to find and use a body, then the effects literally come to life, as they did because of the Overmind. However it also maintains some of the more dominant traits. Your darker counterpart was like this, correct?" Leira asked.

Verto grimaced as he glanced at Vegeta, "Not that I recall, he was just a prick in my opinion."

Vegeta nodded in agreement, "He did display acts of both honor and cowardice. But that's all they were, acts."

"True that he wasn't around that long so it would've been tough to distinguish anything but a few core differences between you and him, but he was likely just you colored in a different light. Remember all of the changes you've been through lately, accepting the fact that you sometimes have to take a harder stance to everything you do," Leira pointed out.

Verto's aura threatened to flash on with a few sparks, "That guy was nothing like me!"

Leira let him simmer down before continuing, "In the case of the intentional split, it is the same with one exception. The negative's actions will often offset with the original. They can't always help themselves either, because it is in their nature. We call this the Counter-balance, and believe it or not, it exists in all things. It is a universal constant that helps maintain the balance between good and evil. As you know, where there is light, there must also be dark. Imagine for example if this world never spun on its axis and wasn't given a chance to cool down, the planet would cook eventually. Or maybe that Son Goku never struck his head as a child and became the beacon of darkness instead. Even when it seems like luck, many times it is the constant that is silently working to maintain balance. We Guardians must adhere to this universal constant at all times, even if it means making difficult choices. If the scales tip too far in one direction though, it will eventually correct itself, with sometimes catastrophic results. This planet nearly had that happen yesterday."

Verto's eyes narrowed at this, "So you're saying that we somehow sent the universe's good and evil gauge out of whack? We upset the balance?"

Leira sighed heavily, "Not exactly. I did, by interfering in the events that have occurred."

Verto was taken aback, "Okay, I'm confused."

"Damn it woman, make some sense!" Vegeta demanded.

"Be patient and I will. What happened here was due to multiple sources of interference by me, Vang and one other that was likely pulling some strings behind the scenes a bit. I still don't know who that was, but I have my suspicions. In my case, when a Guardian agent is sent to influence a particular outcome, even indirectly, they must go through the soul splitting ritual. The result of that means they are greatly weakened and their Counter-balance is hidden at random in the same realm, just in case things spiral out of control. It is sort of a way to clean up the mess that could be caused, one way or another. Sometimes this Counter-balance can directly affect the desired outcomes, for better or worse. In all cases though, a direct contact with the Counter-balance by the original often brings chaos and great destruction. The Counter-balance will become aware of the situation, and wreck havoc because that is what they do, even if their intent was not evil. I suspect that the one other that interfered intentionally placed my other self rather than letting it happen at random. I doubt I would've even encountered it if it wasn't for that one person being conveniently around. It's likely that the one other that interfered had looked ahead in time and saw that I would come into contact with this particular person and deliberately traveled backwards to implant the Counter-balance. Luckily, because of what happened yesterday, your planet and likely galaxy's end was prevented," Leira claimed.

"So Vang was your Counter-balance? Makes sense if you're partially demon too. I mean you knew everything about him and wanted him contained or dead at all times. Plus his first host was an Earthling that you ran into," Verto said.

"Not Vang. That demon was captured long ago and sent to live the rest of his existence as a lost ghost in the middle of a dead zone. Him being able to come back was another part of the interference that I didn't expect but I attempted to work around. You see I used to side with the demons over the Guardians and as a double agent, I would get sent into these situations to handle them one way or another. I made a deal with Vang so that I could complete my mission. My Counter-balance was the Saiyan-hybrid girl, Lenz," Leira said plainly.

Verto's eyes shot open, "What?!" Vegeta's own reaction was more reserved, but he was clearly just as surprised.

Piccolo shared Verto's expression for a moment, "So the demon Kaon, is actually your other self. And the bulk of her power came from you?"

Leira nodded grimly, "That's correct."

"So all of the attempts to have her eliminated were because of the risk she carried. How long did you know it was her?" Piccolo asked.

"Shortly after the first incident with Vang when Doctor Wheelo was starting to show his hand. Because you were weakened by the first emergence of your demon energy and your own self-doubt, I decided to contact the girl and release some of her potential to help you out. By attempting that, I woke the Counter-balance and set things in motion that eventually led us here, and at that point I couldn't manipulate the timeline directly anymore. When that happened, I was forced to re-broker my deal with Vang to have her killed and set him loose in the other timeline. I sent him there with the goal that he would return and motivate you a little more to master your powers, something that you had to do in order to deal with the eventual loss. That more or less happened as I had hoped, but I didn't expect him to act the way he did, nor did I expect him to actually join with the remnants of the Overmind. There were a lot of variables I didn't count on. The Saiyan Ranot and the other Renegades are another good example of this. I had to go well out of my way to give Frieza's son a chance at life and that put me in the exact situation I wanted to avoid," Leira admitted.

"That aside, you were trying to get the girl killed even before all of this, I don't buy it woman!" Vegeta claimed.

Leira sighed again, "It wasn't just her, Vegeta. Because of my interference in your early life, Frost took pity on Saiyans at a young age. Like his father though, he saw them as a means to an end and saved a handful of outcasts that should've died when Frieza destroyed your home world. Even though Frost eventually killed off the purebloods, I was ordered to make sure that all the surviving cursed Saiyans, specifically the hybrids, were eliminated or at least no longer a threat. Saiyan and demon bloodlines are not a mixture you want to see. Add to that any other race and whatever special abilities they might have. Bringing the girl back to life with the Dragon Balls shouldn't have been allowed, but those idiot Kais fowled that up with their own curiosity. And don't think I didn't know about what you were planning to do, Saiyan Prince. My fellow agents had to go through the afterlife and take care of the problem before you attempted to use Shenron revive the rest of the Saiyan hybrids. If you had, you would've introduced a very chaotic element into an already unstable section of the universe, one that I really didn't feel like dealing with again. As far as Lenz goes, it wasn't my intention to cause him so much emotional harm, but it was unavoidable. I'm sorry for that."

Verto didn't look very accepting, "Let's say I believe you, so why in the hell would you implant your 'Counter-balance' inside an innocent girl? That just reeks of wrong."

"It wasn't my choice and if you were listening, I said it was supposed to be at random. I knew before taking the mission that there was a small chance I would encounter my other half. Remember, I've been on this mission for longer than you know. It wasn't just time travel I was doing, as you found out from the other timeline and from the Pendulum Room," Leira pointed out.

"Hold on, if Kaon was your counterpart, shouldn't you be dead as well? I assume your splitting ritual is the same as the Namekians," Piccolo guessed.

"No it isn't, evidence of that is Verto being here as well, though there are some similarities and differences with each. Since Kaon was implanted in the girl, she had a body to begin with. She isn't like Vang, a shadow demon that can revert to an apparition-type form. And the process cannot be reversed unless joined with the original. So before you ask, the only way for Kaon or the girl to return is if they were joined with me," Leira explained.

"And the odds of that are…" Verto trailed off.

"None, both of them were obliterated by that explosion. I've already checked with King Yemma, there is no sign of the girl in the afterlife realm. And there is no probable way I can see that anyone could have lived through that anyway, you saw that yourself," Leira reminded.

Verto was undeterred, "Well then what about the improbable? If she died and went to Other World before, then surely…"

"This time was different, you know that. That was a tear in the fabric of space and time. If she had survived, she would have been trapped between dimensions and wouldn't have lived long anyway. She would be stuck in limbo and well out of anyone's reach, Shenron's included. Accept it, she is gone," Leira claimed. That silenced Verto for about half a minute as he seemed to be close to a boiling point but was also affected by her words. Despite all that had happened, he couldn't see any sort of lie in her eyes, and he so desperately wanted to at the moment.

"So that's it? You just stroll into our lives with all your bullshit and expect us to deal with it?" Verto asked in anger.

"Life isn't fair, you know that as well as anyone here. And I recall many chances to deal with the problem before it escalated. It's your own fault for getting too attached. Her death is just as much on your hands as it is mine. That may be a hard pill for you to swallow but it wouldn't be the first time you've made a mistake like that and certainly won't be the last if the trend holds, so get over it. And as far as Vang goes, you had two chances to bury him before it came to this, but you hesitated with the thought of killing his host. That's the mistake that you have to live with. Trust me, it was better that she went out the way she did instead of you having to kill her yourself later after she turns this planet into her own personal scorched playground," Leira said sternly. Verto's Ki rose sharply for a moment and stirred up the air around them. The expression on his face was enough of a signal of what he wanted to do. But he chose not to act on it and settled down.

"You're lucky I don't feel like checking to see if you actually have a heart," he muttered.

Leira smiled slightly, "Well that option is still open to you. But I want you to consider this: Kaon inherited all of my bad qualities, but Lenz was the opposite from the beginning. She inherited the same love I had for my brother and she directed it all to you. I'm not saying that I'm going to dye my hair purple or anything but I want you to remember that her feelings came from me. You're not the same brat that I once thought was a waste. And like you once heard, I did all this for love. You recall what you read on my brother's grave don't you?"

Verto's expression switched quickly to almost disgusted, "You're crazy if you think I'll be a life partner for you."

Leira chuckled, "No, I wouldn't expect nor want that. One Verto in my private life was enough, a second would drive me to suicide. I'm just saying that Lenz may be gone, but her feelings and love for you will live on in your heart and from me. I don't have to tell you to remember the good parts about her. If it makes you feel better, you can just train your ass off to prepare for the day you meet whoever else changed history."

Verto smacked his fist into his other palm, "As if you have to motivate me for that. So what's next, tracking that bastard down?"

Leira shook her head, "No, something a bit more formal. You'll find out what this afternoon, I suggest you clean up and be in your usual uniform for this. I doubt you'll see any action but one can never be over-prepared."

"What is this for?" Verto asked.

"Kibito will pick you up for it, all I can say is that your fate will be decided," Leira said vaguely. Verto's expression quickly went from angry to dazed and confused, but Leira shook her head to silence him. She pulled the one-star Dragon Ball from behind her back and tossed it to Piccolo, "You may have this back now, keep it safe." She then vanished without a trace.

After his long silence, Vegeta was first to speak after she was gone, "What trouble did you cause this time boy?"

"I honestly don't know, but I have a hunch that it has something to do with this Guardian group she works for," Verto replied.


	116. Guardian Council

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 115: Guardian Council **

True to his word, Kibito reappeared later that day near mid-afternoon. Verto had returned to Capsule Corp by then and donned his teal-green uniform, waiting somewhat patiently for the Kai to show up. For once, Kibito didn't have bad timing and teleported into an empty lobby, aside from Verto sitting there.

"So where are we going?" Verto asked.

Kibito grimaced, "Leira warned you ahead of time, great. Well we are going to my planet first, it isn't up to me after that."

"Fine, let's get this crap over with." Kibito nodded and grabbed his shoulder before teleporting them both off of Earth. Once they arrived on the Kai planet, he found two new figures waiting for him. One was Etarb Erec, who looked like he was still recovering from the battle with Vang. The other was a tall woman that he didn't recognize. She was six and a half feet tall, looked to be around forty years of age, white-silver hair, and a wicked set of tattooed eyelashes that arced off her face and extended towards her temples like a snake's forked tongue. She wore loose formal dress robes consistent with Etarb's, white and velvet but of a slightly different design. No matter what though, Verto could tell that she was a person of noteworthy importance. At her side were twin swords, sheathed in black. He wasn't sure if he sensed all of her potential power or not, but a baseline reading was enough of a hint to know that she wasn't to be messed with.

Etarb bowed slightly to Verto in respect, "A pleasure to see you again."

Verto hesitated before returning the gesture, "No offence, but I don't really feel the same at the moment. With everything that's happened I would've preferred some peace and quiet."

Etarb ran a hand through his blue hair, "Yes it's unfortunate and expected. Nonetheless, I must ask you to maintain your composure from this point forward. No irrational outbursts, no explosions, no fighting. Do you understand?"

Verto's eyebrow went up slightly, "I won't put my hand up and swear to it. I get the feeling you're about to piss me off anyway. In your condition, I wouldn't suggest it. I already feel like smashing a few skulls in and I don't really care who they belong to."

Etarb grimaced nervously, "Oh dear…"

The tall woman laughed, "I like this kid already."

Verto gazed up at her, "And you are?"

She smirked down at him, "I am Venestra of the Guardian Council, commander of the militia and arms division."

Verto's eyebrow didn't drop, "I've heard that name somewhere before."

"Yes I imagine you might have by now. I am Leira's biological grandmother, not on the demon or Saiyan sides. And due to your connection to her brother, I guess that would make you my ancestral grandson. Just what I need, another reminder of my age," Venestra said with a scoff.

Verto couldn't help but chuckle despite the revelation, "Well it doesn't show that much, Granny."

Venestra's semi-cheerful tone was quickly gone, "You get one pass for that remark. If I ever hear it again, especially in front of the troops, I'll slice that pretty little nose off before you can smell your next breath."

Verto took the threat a bit more seriously than the odd choice of words as he eyed her swords, "I'll keep that in mind."

Etarb shook his head slightly, "That was lucky. Your predecessor once had the nerve to call her that in front of the entire Guardian Realm. He was let out of the infirmary six months later."

Verto stared at him and grimaced before turning back, "I could've used that warning a little sooner. So what do you want with me?"

"You will go before the Guardian Council to be judged," she replied plainly.

"Great, what's the crime? I'd prefer to know what I did wrong first," Verto said with distain.

Venestra was taken aback, "You misunderstand. The testing phase is over. You're to be judged on if we'll allow you to join us. Leira did make it clear that we we're looking to recruit you, correct?"

Verto scowled, "Oh right, that. I guess next time I should answer with smaller words."

Etarb shook his head again, "It's a great opportunity Verto, not one that should be shunned despite your feelings."

Verto's head snapped towards him, "And what would you know about my feelings? And don't read my mind, that shortcut won't tell you anything."

Etarb straightened up, "No need to be angry at an offer. And here's what I do know about you. You will strive to help people and do the right thing when the ball is in your court. You're not the type that would turn away someone in need, despite your outward behavior."

Verto's glare lightened, "But why me? I thought I made it clear to Leira that I had no wish to be involved in your little cold war with the demons."

Venestra snorted, "Cold war, good term for it I suppose. And it's hard to say that we're at war with all demons, just a particular group that happens to be above the rest of them. And this 'cold war' will be a hot war soon enough. I suspect that nearly every mortal realm will be pulled in this time. Both sides probably would've tried to destroy each other completely if I hadn't brokered that treaty that has kept us in gridlock ever since. Sometimes I wonder if I should've just let it break down when I screwed up, just to get it over with."

Verto ignored the urge to make another age reference, "And what did you screw up?"

Venestra nearly bit her lip, "I made a mistake with the Demonkin ambassador and we sired my son. It was forbidden, but since we were both equally guilty the truce wasn't broken. However, both sides agreed that due to conflict of interest, neither of us could raise it on our own. And because we didn't get along, we had to split time with him, similar to how divorced parents do things in your world. He spent an equal amount of time with us before he ventured into the mortal realms to find his own place. I think you probably know where this is going."

Verto nodded, "I'm guessing he found a Saiyan woman's bed and not long after a set of twins popped out."

Venestra managed a small smile, "Whether it was that quick or not I have no idea. I'm guessing he didn't think that children were possible. It's funny what happens when you disguise yourself to a compatible form to the other partner and find out that isn't the case. The mother died in childbirth due to the strength the children had, so we have no idea what she was like. Neither Guardian nor Demonkin were too happy about this, and my son was banished from both realm home worlds for all time once they learned of it. He eventually vanished off the radar so to speak, even I have no idea where he might be, if he's even alive. Both children were given a choice of place they could go since the Saiyan planet was out of the question until they could control their advanced abilities. Verto chose the Guardians and became a Demon Slayer. Leira chose the demons initially but eventually came back to our side. I trust you don't need much more history on the subject right now?"

Verto shook his head, "I think I've got the jest of it, but I still don't see why you want me in your little club to fight your war."

"Both my son and grandson wanted no part of it either, but, as they learned, life isn't fair, so deal with it. Now shut up and get ready to leave, you too Kibito!"

Kibito's eyes widened and he pointed to himself, "You want me to go along? But us Kais are not allowed in the realm of the Elder Gods."

"And if they were still around they could punish you. I shall beg their forgiveness at the very first chance," Venestra said sarcastically as she pulled one of her swords. She slashed at the air with one swipe and a circle of dark blue formed before a similar portal opened up. Beyond it, Verto could see darker patches that likely represented buildings.

"Go on, it's safe for travel," Venestra claimed. Verto gave her an unsure glance before stepping through. The scenery on the other side was much different than he expected. It looked almost exactly like Earth on the other side, with the exception of a bit of a time discrepancy. There was a definite sense that he had entered a place that still followed medieval traditions. Each small building was of far eastern design with thick, brushy tiles covering their roofs. The larger structures were the same, with some sort of identification on their sides. Verto couldn't read the language, but guessed that those were not only there for landmarks, but also for reserved personnel. Straight in front of him was a long narrow path surrounded by huge pillars with smaller statues scattered between them. The partial canopy provided by the pillars made the path darker despite the abundant sunshine.

Venestra took the lead on that path, "This way." Etarb waited for Verto to follow before bringing up the rear with Kibito. The younger Saiyan was feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment but wasn't too obvious about it. He sensed strong life forms all over the place, but there weren't any close by. Most of them were at least as strong as he was based on the power level reading, but the distance between him and them made it harder to tell just how strong they actually were. He was also taken by the statues, which were all very well carved. Some of them looked human, but many of them weren't. Only once did he stop to examine one a bit more closely, a rabbit-like person in a martial arts uniform. At second glance, Verto wasn't sure if he was supposed to be a rabbit or a cat or some sort of combination.

Etarb quickly caught up and directed him to keep moving, "I know you're curious, there will be a time for that later."

"Gee, did you need to read my mind to figure that part out? First time being here and all," Verto reminded snidely.

Venestra turned slightly but didn't break stride, "Mind reading is forbidden here. Any attempts to do so will bring swift and harsh punishment. Your thoughts are your own."

Verto grinned, "I like this place better already."

Venestra smirked, "I thought you might. Etarb has mentioned several times how much you dislike having your mind read like an open book. There is a special dampening field here that prevents such violations from taking place without permission. Otherwise we would all go mad and be at each other's throats I imagine. Of course you can give permission, say to maybe a hot young girl you may or may not meet, and it's okay."

Verto grin faded, "That implies me staying here for any longer than I have to. Question, if that's okay."

"Certainly."

"What do I need to know before we get wherever we're going?"

"Just use your common sense, and your manners. Since we're going straight to the council chambers this shouldn't test your patience too much. The Guardian Council is made up of twenty-seven members, each with their own personalities and opinions. Some of them may come across as very rude, but do not respond in kind. Always face the Chairman, even if someone else is speaking. He'll be the one in the middle. Do not speak until spoken to, and do not interrupt anyone. You will be treated fairly as long as you don't do anything rash or stupid. And above all else, do NOT lie. Our Chairman has an uncanny ability to read people up close. He will know you're lying before you even speak the words, so don't test him," Venestra warned.

Verto shrugged off the warning, "Sounds easy."

Venestra closed her eyes for a moment, "If only it were." They came up to a gargantuan door a few minutes later, easily as big as a ten-story building. It opened slowly, giving Verto and Kibito plenty of time to take it all in.

"Quite an amazing place isn't it?" he whispered in Verto's ear.

"I'll give you my opinion later," Verto said without turning. Inside the overly large castle, the corridors towered at least a hundred feet high and were wide enough to serve as a four-lane highway. For the first time, Verto finally spotted other people besides their small troop. They came in all shapes and sizes, all dressed in a similar white and purple dress robe. Most of them seemed human enough, but he noticed more than a few that resembled various animal species. He did his best to keep his eyes forward and not stare, but he couldn't completely help himself. A shining example of this was when he passed by a clearly female patron that looked like a cross between a human, a cat and a rabbit. She had long rabbit ears that stood up as if she were a cartoon, but she had sharp claws, a thin tail and narrowed vertical eyeballs much like a cat. Another staring target presented itself when Verto noticed a towering man of nearly ten feet with a horse's face, walking on two legs. His hands were most definitely hooves, but he walked like a human would. Verto shook off any more attempts to even look at others and just focused on keeping his path straight. The most overwhelming part was that all of the power levels he was able to sense were at or above his own, most of which were all in a relaxed state unlike him.

_You'd think they could've sent an army to deal with Vang._ A few of these people greeted or nodded to Venestra on the way by, some to Etarb as well. Every single one of them stared at Verto for at least a moment, many of which with some level of surprise. Enough that there were a few crashes while confirming that their eyes were still working and that Verto was real.

Verto grimaced slightly, _Looks like I resemble Leira's long lost brother a lot more than I thought, great._ They eventually turned right and into a fairly empty hallway before walking what felt like a mile past hundreds of doors. There were far, far less people here aside from dozens of guards posted along the way. A few of them were human in appearance, but most of them were split between large ten-foot crocodiles and eight-foot velociraptors in armor. Each guard had a massive axe, sword or spear on them, along with some sort of sidearm blade. The long walk eventually brought them to another large set of double doors, though vastly smaller than the first set.

Venestra finally turned around, "This is the council chamber, you and I will go on from here. Etarb, please escort Kibitoshin to his seat."

Etarb nodded and motioned Kibito to follow him, "Come Supreme Kai."

Venestra turned to the door and knocked twice before it opened up. Verto immediately noticed another set of gator guards covered in armor, easily handling the heavy doors. Inside was a small auditorium with a wide open middle with light shown on it. Along the edge of the floor was a half circle of stairs that led up high, further than the light seemed to reach. Verto could barely make out a double stacked row of thirteen seats with one throne-like chair just above the center set. Verto's eyes darted side to side as he followed Venestra through to the brightest part of the floor. He could already hear some low whispering despite the fact that each seat was spaced about a dozen feet apart. Only one seat was empty on the right side, which Verto assumed was likely Venestra's. Each seat featured a desk and a lamp as well as what appeared to be one guard for each council member, but beyond that the darkness hid the rest.

_If it's anything like a Congress, they probably need the guards just to keep order among themselves._ Venestra stopped a little past the floor's center, motioning Verto to stop on that spot instead.

She then cleared her throat, "Mister Chairman, honored council members, I present my grandson's successor, Verto." The throne moved forward and levitated off the balcony, revealing the Chairman. He appeared to be an elderly human that was likely in his last term. From his seated position, it was hard to tell how tall he was, though Verto was certain that his beard was at least three feet long. His energy was vast, but clearly not as strong as it could have been. His face was quite wrinkled and slightly discolored while his eyes were almost forced shut by age.

"Thank you Madam Venestra, you may be seated," he said with surprisingly strong and deep tone for someone so old. Venestra nodded, shooting Verto a quick glance before leaving the floor. The ailing Chairman's throne set itself down just in front of Verto, as if to make sure he had his full attention.

"Tell me young man, what do you think of your situation?" he asked.

Verto locked eyes with him, "I think you went through a lot of trouble to get me here, as did I."

"A cautious if not honest answer. Why do you think you're here today?" Verto's eyes shifted at even the slightest shuffling sound, suddenly feeling like he was under a microscope with all the attention of the chamber on him.

He took in a deep breath, "I don't know. I can only guess that you want me to join you, but you're not completely sure about me yet. I know you've probably been watching me for awhile."

"That is correct for the most part. The truth is that we've been watching for longer than you know, or can perceive. We would like to get your thoughts on some of the evidence we've gathered," the Chairman explained.

"Evidence? Of what? Is this a trial?" Verto asked in quick succession.

The elderly Chairman raised his aging hand, "Maintain your calm please, there is no need to panic. Yes this is a bit of a trial like one that you might recognize, but in other ways it is not. There isn't an incarceration awaiting you no matter the outcome. Please present the evidence on the large screen." A large video screen opened up above and behind him, displaying a younger looking Super Saiyan fighting against Majin Buu.

"As I've already said, we've been keeping an eye on you for some time. We certainly commend you for your bravery against a much stronger monster," the Chairman noted. The video did not show anything overly prudent other than Verto's couple of fights against Fat Buu and then Kid Buu.

"Bravery hardly matters. Mister Chairman, can we please skip ahead to the more prudent evidence?" another voice said, echoing in the chamber somewhat. Verto's eyes darted at the sound of this new voice, but he didn't turn, remembering what Venestra had said. He did think the voice sounded familiar though.

"All aspects of this case will be noted and examined, not just your extensive part of the investigation, Lord Razil. However, if you would like to present your analysis first, you may. It is, as you've pointed out many times, very crucial," the Chairman offered.

"It's more than crucial Mister Chairman. This boy is an unresolved, reckless, killing machine in the making. His few good deeds can be chalked up as deception to win favor." Verto bit his lip slightly in realization and was very, very tempted to turn to give the newcomer more than a few words, but the Chairman stepped ahead of him and kept his gaze on the video screen.

"No matter what you have to show us, everyone will have their turn to speak, the boy included. Now let's please take a look at his more violent tendencies, as you've told us about in excessive detail already," the Chairman said. The first set of images that popped up was quite graphic, and Verto grimaced when he saw them. The screen displayed his time in the past with Bardock's crew, specifically when they were sent to Planet Treme to put down a rebellion. Even though he had held back considerably that day, the rebels were still slaughtered quite easily. To his surprise though, the next clip featured the moment later in the day when he had saved many citizens from being wiped out by the Rebel's massive cannon.

The Chairman pulled out a small, remote-like device and paused the video, "Before we move on, I would like you to answer a question. Why did you risk exposure and save those people? You didn't know them and you certainly had no qualms about killing their rebellious counterparts."

Verto scowled slightly, "The rebel faction you speak of were oppressive, which I realize is ironic considering the government was allied with the tyrant that sent us. But whether I was on the other side or not, I would've done the same thing. They were turning that thing on civilians too, not just soldiers. I saved them because it was the right thing to do."

"Hmph, such a rehearsed answer. It's obvious that the rules were broken and that you've been prepared for this," Razil said from the left side of the chamber. Verto's head slowly turned to glare at the source of Razil's voice, but he was shrouded in the dark shadows produced by the large screen and pillars nearby. About the only thing Verto could see was his bald head.

The Chairman cleared his throat, snapping Verto back to his full attention, "Let us continue." Time skipped quickly, leading to an incident Verto barely recalled, the bar fight he had both started and ended on Planet Vegeta. Verto's heart leapt a bit at the sight of Fasha, but he knew he needed to control his emotions at this point and that ship had long sailed anyway. The video paused again just as Verto saw himself dispatch the pack of elites that had victimized Fasha that day in the bar.

The Chairman looked amused, "Quite chivalrous, aren't you lad?"

"I don't like bullies. Men who abuse women deserve that kind of beating. I would've done it again in a heartbeat," Verto answered with disdain.

"Yet later on you would attack a female that was making a sexual offer? I will not air that act in this chamber, but won't you admit that you are being hypocritical?" Razil asked with a snide tone.

Verto bit his lip again as frustration was already setting in, "We're talking about a situation where my body had gone through sudden changes and Saiyan women can be a little forceful sometimes. We had all been accidentally warped back in time and we were trying to keep our activities down so we didn't affect the timeline. I tried to let her off easy."

Razil snorted sharply, "Yet you were clearly not fighting any urges to search for a mate and you turn one down like that? If that isn't a sign of erratic behavior, I don't know what is."

"I'm sure I can show you a much better example of that, besides she lusted after me, not the other way around. And since you appear to have missed it, she was also the bullying type. She just ran into a brick wall. I don't think my crazy love life is any of your business though," Verto said.

"Listen well, monkey brat. Every aspect of you has been thoroughly examined by our intelligence team. What you do and why is the prime reason we've even allowing you to live at the moment. You should remember that before speaking out of turn," Razil warned.

"Obviously you missed some things, must be that crack intelligence team," Verto snapped back.

His facial expression had changed enough for the Chairman to step in, "Settle down young man. I will allow you to speak your mind in time. Answer without letting your emotions get out of control."

Verto gave the dark area around Razil a sharp glance before sighing heavily, "Sorry."

The Chairman then leaned over to whisper, "He is going to try and unravel you with your own anger, do not let him. Be patient and you will see that you're not the only one who is being watched here."

Verto's eyebrow hit the air in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

The old man stepped back, "Please continue with your findings Lord Razil." Verto had expected the next display, when he had brutalized the past versions of Frieza and his henchmen. No one spoke until the scene of Verto ripping out Dodoria's heart was shown.

"Oh dear, that was bloody," the Chairman said.

"Quite a display boy. Why so much rage to those enemies? We've already seen some of your anger problems, but clearly you are an animal at heart, not fit to be part of any evolved culture. Have you anything to say to that?" Razil added.

"I regret some of that, but I don't regret killing them. They wouldn't have hesitated nor felt guilty about it given the chance," Verto replied.

"Earlier in that battle, you didn't take the initiative and chose to let the Saiyan prince die before you acted. Care to explain that?"

"Because I have respect for Vegeta, no matter which version of him. I know he would rather die on his feet than live on his knees. To rob him of the honor of fighting for his own freedom on his terms would be wrong. On top of that, he had ordered me not to interfere until his other self went down. That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. If it's all the same to you, we wished him and all the other Saiyans back with the Dragon Balls of that place," Verto reminded.

"It's been witnessed that you constantly disobey the Saiyan prince as often as you breathe. I think you just wanted him out of the way so you could then showoff to your new friends at the time. Does anyone here disagree with that assessment?" Razil asked in a louder tone. There was no answer from any other presence in the room, though the Chairman was the only one Verto could see clearly.

"As I thought. Next we will show the council how this boy blatantly violates the laws of the mortal and afterlife realms."

Verto scowled, _Great, which part is this gonna be?_ The screen flashed and a slightly younger Verto appeared, facing off with the wizard Babidi and his made minion Freddy. Verto's eyebrow went up, _They skipped the entire Zerg War?_ The scene progressed quickly, slowing only when Verto had nearly turned on Kibito and then of course when he had torched Freddy's evil soul, wiping him out with his Soul Blazer attack.

"I think this says enough, this boy will intentionally violate the laws of any realm he's in just for vengeance against a lowly, weak human at the bottom of Hell. He clearly shows no restraint and will upset the balance of the realm by eliminating the souls of even the most meager of enemies. Do we really want someone like this in our ranks? I think not, we would only be courting chaos and disorder," Razil continued. Again there was no response from anyone else in the room.

Verto was itching to say something at this point but managed to restrain himself, _This prick is stacking the deck against me, but why?_

The Chairman cleared his throat after nearly thirty seconds had gone by, "Do you have any more evidence to present Lord Razil?"

"I've barely begun Mister Chairman. There is enough to keep council in session for another week. Since we all have better things to do than waste our time on a lost cause, I shall finish with the following gem," Razil proclaimed. The scene changed to Verto and Frost on Frieza Planet number seventy-seven. It shifted between discussions with Frost and Bojack to fights with Chal and Frost, including a gruesome tornado of death when Verto had killed Frost's soldiers. Things moved quickly and almost seamlessly to battles with Ranot and the other Renegades, highlighted every time Verto had given in to his rage and used his Berserker form. The lasting image of Verto beating Ranot bloody when he had the chance stayed for a moment before the screen turned off.

"There you have it ladies and gentlemen. This boy has such a thirst for battle that he would conspire with his enemies and then turn on his allies. He switches sides so often that we can't even tell if he's good or evil. One thing we can determine though, he has no problem using his demon energies whenever it suits him, thankfully that power has not matured yet. It's also abundantly clear that if he doesn't get his way, it's kill or be killed. We cannot let such a deception and chaotic creature into our realm ever again. I now move to the final vote and I will push for banishment to the Demon Realm. An abomination like you deserves to be with his own kind," Razil declared.

Verto stood eerily still and raised his hand, "Can I speak yet?"

"If there is nothing further from Lord Razil, then by all means," the Chairman replied.

Razil scoffed, "The boy can say whatever lies he wants, they'll be the final words we have to suffer through."

Verto turned his head just slightly to look in Razil's direction, but still faced forward for the most part, "I couldn't help but notice how selective and edited these clips were. Real nice way to show your council all the bad with none of the good. I guess that's fine, I'm getting used to crap like that. I've learned not to expect nor give full disclosure of information."

"Oh I could have kept on going, but what would be the point of that?" Razil asked. Verto let a very slight smirk creep up on his face, _Time to walk him in._

"I won't argue your point, I certainly want to be with people that understand me as much as I do them. And they would know that I would _never_ turn against my friends. I can't say the same for you."

Razil kept right on going, "You say that and yet you conspire with their enemies, bargaining their lives just so you can fight more enemies."

"You're one to talk about conspiring. The last two enemies I fought both worked for you," Verto finally said. This produced more than a few whispers from the gallery, and Verto could sense the sudden anger from Razil.

"Don't try to put your faults off onto someone else, that trick won't work here," Razil claimed.

"Then why didn't you answer that one? I just called you out on your own bullshit," Verto said blatantly.

The Chairman ignored Verto's rude tone and turned to gaze up at Razil's position, "Your response to this accusation, Lord Razil?"

"It is obviously a ploy to continue his bad boy attitude by defying authority. He can spin his little tail as much as he wants, only the truth will mean anything," Razil replied.

"You want truth? I overheard the Saiyan Ranot speaking to you through a scouter, a device that can transmit over a very large distance. You wanted him to kill me and the guy I was sent to protect in that other dimension. The overseer of that realm came to us because that had happened and it had completely wrecked their timeline, thus he asked for our help. I wasn't the only one to overhear that either, one of the other Renegade Saiyans did as well. I recall mention of getting someone named Venestra kicked off a council. At that point I thought you two were discussing the ruling council of the Renegades, but the representative that also overheard it assured me that she had never heard of anyone named Venestra or Razil. Now that I've come here, I know which council is which. There was also mention of you wanting Ranot to stop looking for pieces for some sort of artifact, saying that his actions were very noticeable and that it was an impossible quest or something. I never figured that completely out, but if it has anything to do with him punching holes in the fabric of space and going into other dimensions, it would make sense considering what you people supposedly police. I have zero doubts though that you probably directed him to that world to change things," Verto finally paused to let things soak in, though the room was clearly intent on hearing more at this point.

Laughter eventually came down from Razil, "Hahahahaha, oh I haven't been entertained like that in a longtime! It's a very amusing piece of fiction. But how, pray tell, would these Saiyans have gotten through any breach in the dimensional walls? They can't breathe in space naturally, and any ship would be torn apart."

"You tell me, but that ship looked very advanced. Maybe you even gave Ranot the technology to do it. That rip in space did not look like it was supposed to be there."

"I'm sure it didn't. So tell us, how did you get to this mythical idea that I was involved with your other enemy? You have so many that it's difficult to keep track."

The Chairman cleared his aging throat, "First, can you describe the tear in space that you went through?"

"Mister Chairman, you can't seriously believe…" Razil started to say.

"Silence!" the Chairman shouted, "I will hear this boy out. Continue."

"It looked like a violent storm, just a lot bigger. You guys have the footage of me and Ranot fighting, that's where it took place. It was on that other Earth with tons of weak demons around and such. Otherwise I'm not sure I would've met him anytime soon," Verto answered.

The Chairman nodded, "Go on, what of the other incident you claim Lord Razil was present."

Razil dared to chuckle aloud, "Yes, please tell us where we supposedly met this time."

Verto smirked slightly, _I get it, Razil is the crossexaminer but the Chairman is the judge and already knows or suspects that he's guilty of tampering. They wanted me to confirm it, an outsider that shouldn't know any of them. He must be the other person that interfered with the timelines just like Leira said. Well, no use going halfway._

"The other time was very recently during my second battle with Vang, a Shadow Hunter or whatever you call that type of demon. I had lured him away so my friends could use the cleansing sacred water to cure the Overmind's influence from the alternate timeline. That way they would help me against Vang, which they did. The plan almost fell apart though when Razil showed up in the middle of it and warned Vang about it. I can only assume that he was watching all along from here or wherever he spends his time."

Razil's mocking tone returned, "Oh, and I suppose I magically appeared out of thin air? I hope I looked presentable."

Verto snorted, "I wouldn't know."

"There, you heard it from the monkey's mouth! All lies!" Razil proclaimed.

Verto's eyebrow went up again, "What I meant was that I wouldn't know because I didn't see your whole face. All I could make out was a shiny bald head behind what looked like one of your portals." A smattering of low murmurs and whispers followed from the other council members, enough for Verto to know that he had gotten their full attention.

"Hmph, that hardly proves anything. Well over a third of our ranks are bald," Razil sneered back.

The Chairman turned, "So, you acknowledge that illegal interference took place?"

Verto could almost hear the sudden silent recoil from Razil, _Got him._

"No, I don't acknowledge any of the guilty monkey's statements. I have not participated in anything he claims!" Razil said, though his tone had clearly changed.

"Lord Razil, may I remind you that I can sense lies before they are even told. I have detected several lies from this room in the past few minutes. And right now, every lie has come from your seat. Come forth and face your accuser!" the Chairman bellowed.

"Very well, Mister Chairman." Verto backed up a step as Lord Razil suddenly flew into view and landed closer than he would've preferred. The man was near seven feet tall with a bulky but still athletic build. His head was very smooth even for a bald man, though it had a slightly orange tint to it as if he had been out in the sun frequently. His robes were a mixture of crimson and black with a long black cape that extended from above his neck line all the way down to his knees. Menacing green eyes glared down at Verto, though his pointed nose covered some of them from that vantage point. Razil almost looked comical to Verto, if not for the power level he was sensing from the man. Razil carried with him a long staff with a clear crystalline ball on its top. Unsure of where this was going, Verto backed up a few more steps.

"What's wrong monkey boy, afraid? You should be," Razil laughed.

"That is enough of your disrespect Razil. If it continues, I will personally decide your fate. Now do you have anything to say in your defense? You are accused of high treason and illegal manipulation of mortal affairs as well as conspiring with _our_ enemies. Seeing as one of those enemies supposedly tried to murder you before, it is very suspicious," the Chairman pointed out.

"I demand a trial by combat. Let a fight between me and this all-powerful runt decide things. Obviously the fair and balanced approach of this council has failed," Razil said, drawing more than a few looks.

Verto folded his arms in disgust, "That would hardly be fair. Now that the cat is out of the bag, you suddenly look for a way out?"

Razil grinned, "But isn't that what you want boy? Surely your blood must be on fire with the will to pound my face into mush. To beat me within an inch of my life. It's your way, the Saiyan way. Since when do you care about fairness?"

Verto's eyebrow went up again, "Since always, moron. Clearly you missed that during your report, among other things. You're pathetic, trying to draw me into a fight because you know I'm still weakened from the other day and can't use my full power. On an even field I'd bury you. I think I'd rather see what all your colleagues think of you screwing with the lives of billions of people in multiple places just to get your way."

"I think I speak for the council when I say that they wouldn't want such a cowardly recruit in our ranks. And a hot-headed monkey to boot. Very well, since you have conceded in a trial by combat, may we get this final vote over with Mister Chairman, fellow council members?" Razil asked in a victorious tone.

"You must practice preaching to the choir a lot. Can't imagine that actually works though," Verto remarked.

"Enough from you! Guards! Take this waste of time away!" Razil ordered.

The Chairman's cane tapped the ground loudly, "Belay that, remain at your posts. As you wish Razil, a vote will be cast before we do anything further…"

Razil nodded, "That's perfectly fine with…"

The Chairman quickly interrupted, "The vote concerns your status as a council member, Lord Razil!"

"What?! No! This meeting was called to discuss this runt's future. Any action against me is null and void because he conceded a trial by combat! It is the law!" Razil claimed in sudden desperation.

The Chairman's eyes opened just wide enough to give Razil an intense glare, "That law only applies to our people. He is not one of us, as you so plainly pointed out."

Verto didn't even try to hide his amusement, "Ouch, sucks to be you. I'd probably drown in lava before I could lower myself to the level of failure that you've achieved."

Razil gave Verto an overly intense stare, "No matter what happens boy, this won't end well for you."

Venestra's voice suddenly filled the chamber, "All those in favor of revoking Lord Razil's status?" Thirteen green lights suddenly lit up bright from various parts of the chamber, more than bright enough for Verto to see clearly.

"All those against?" Thirteen red lights filled the gaps in between the green ones, making it an even push.

Verto was stunned, _A tie?_

Another council member piped up suddenly, "Mister Chairman, may I remind you that in such a crucial and situational vote, you cannot cast your vote to break the deadlock, nor can Lord Razil. And I feel in this case, we must hear more. I suggest a very thorough investigation of the accused. We cannot ignore Lord Razil's service record."

The Chairman sighed heavily, "Very well, councilman Stonehawk, I concur. However seeing as Lord Razil's involvement directly affects this case, we should continue this discussion later after our collective thoughts have been refocused. I suggest we take a recess and reconvene later today."

"I agree," Stonehawk said.

"Very well," Venestra answered. The Chairman turned to sit back down on his throne, while Verto looked flustered.

"Are you kidding me? You're going to just sit on this?" Verto asked.

"Young man, you've displayed great honor and courage to bring us this information. Do not let your emotions spoil it. We all need time to reflect on this development," the Chairman said.

It wasn't enough to calm Verto down, "So one of your own breaks your own laws, interferes with countless lives in more than one dimension, blatantly lies to your face, and your decision is 'we'll think about it'? Are you fucking serious?"

The Chairman sat up in his seat, "I will not have a prudent choice be questioned by a rude, reckless little boy. Venestra, calm your prospect down and remind him of his place before the next meeting."

Venestra flew down in an instant with an apologetic expression, "I will, Chairman."

Verto planted his feet firmly into the ground, "I know my place old man. You yourself said I would be given the chance to speak my mind. Then give me that chance now instead of when it's convenient for you." The Chairman's eyes shot towards Verto, as did most of the room.

Venestra had an incredibly threatening look that she directed straight towards Verto, "That's enough boy!"

Razil couldn't help but chuckle, "Even when he gets an advantage, he's the type to throw it all away. Such pond scum doesn't deserve to be a Guardian."

Verto cast an unimpressed glance at Razil, "Who says I want to be one of you? You people screw with lives and timeline outcomes just to get what you want. And you do it in such a half-assed way. What is life to you, some sick game? 'Oh, how about we try and recruit this powerful being? Oh he's dead. Let's turn back time and make sure he's not! He's got strong friends too, let's recruit them all, whether they want in or not. Oh, next let's turn a monster loose and see how they deal with it. Oh, this monster is too much for them, let's turn back time again and create another enemy so he can take out the monster instead! Oh he won't? I guess the monster is going to run wild then, oh well!' Here's a fresh thought, how about you leave us the fuck alone?!" Verto stopped and caught his breath in exasperation, in full realization of his rude words and not caring who they affected. Razil looked like he was about to applaud, whereas Venestra looked like she was out for blood.

"My apologies Chairman, I'll personally remove this ungrateful brat from your sight," she said with clear disdain.

The old man grunted, "You'll do no such thing! I promised that he could speak his mind, so let him speak it! Now tell us more about this monster we supposedly unleashed."

Verto blinked in confusion, _He couldn't tell that I was being sarcastic? All I did was indirectly reference both Frost and Lenz…_ Verto's thoughts skidded to a stop at the thoughts of Lenz, or rather her alter-ego Kaon. He remembered what Leira had said regarding how she shouldn't have run into her Counter-Balance so easily.

_Wait a second, he thinks I was serious because I described a true set of events. The monster unleashed was Kaon, but the way he said it back to me actually says that the group as a whole didn't sign off on such a thing. Hell they might not even know, which means…_ He slowly turned towards Razil, realizing that the man that he wanted to find was standing right next to him.

Verto's eyeballs narrowed in shock and anger, _That son of a bitch, he knows who is responsible!_

"Go ahead boy, enlighten us with your vast array of knowledge. It's been fairly amusing so far," Razil mocked.

Verto's breathing slowed in an attempt to calm down, _I can't snap on him, not if I want to get my point across. I'll save that bastard for another day when I'm not handicapped. But I can turn this little tidbit on him, maybe he'll even admit who did it before I beat it out of him_.

Verto turned back to the Chairman, "Question, when you choose to interfere in a timeline, who decides where to plant the Counter-balance thing that is supposed to keep things from spiraling out of control?"

It was the old man's turn to blink, "You know about the Counter-balance?"

"I knew it, this boy is too well informed. The level of interference by Leira and her superior is well beyond her mission parameters!" Razil pointed out.

"You're one to talk about interference!" Venestra shouted back at him.

"Silence!" the Chairman bellowed again, "Young man, how did you come to know about the Counter-balance?"

Verto hesitated for only a moment, "Leira told me that it was how you people use your agents to ensure that the universe isn't thrown out of balance. The whole good and evil scale and all. Personally I think it's not a very good investment, as too many things can go wrong with it."

The Chairman kept his composure, "You're not wrong about that, but I sense that things didn't transpire completely. Venestra?"

"The Counter-balance scenario didn't take place to its predicted end, due in part to the Demonkin Vang and Lord Razil's suspected involvement. My granddaughter's encounter with it was very unexpected, as it resided in the body of a cursed Saiyan hybrid ordered destroyed. However, the boy came to care for that girl, not knowing what was within her until it was too late. Had the full scenario played out, we would've likely seen a rapid imbalance take place, and the likely result would've been the complete destruction of that realm. It seems more than just coincidence that the Counter-balance was in play so soon, even if the worst case scenario didn't pan out," Venestra explained.

"I see, that further raises questions about Lord Razil's unauthorized interference, seeing as he is in charge of making sure that the Counter-balance is placed randomly," the Chairman said. Verto's eyes shot towards the surprisingly calm Razil, whose cocky demeanor had yet to leave his face since Verto's initial outburst.

"I don't deny that. But the boy obviously needed a little adversity in order to grow up. Pity it hasn't happened yet," Razil said with an evil grin.

Verto's hair shifted slightly upwards as his energy stirred in intense anger, "You sick son of a bitch! You would be so low as to deliberately place that monster inside an innocent girl and completely ruin her life like that? I ought to wring your neck into the twisted worm you already are, at least the shape would match!"

"Oh now we're getting somewhere, you're burning with so much rage that you can't even get your insults out straight. Honestly, you really should be thanking me. Attachment is your only real weakness," Razil claimed. Verto's aura came on in full and he stepped towards Razil, only to be stopped by Venestra's hand.

"No, he's only egging you on so you act out violently, don't fall for it. You wouldn't be able to fight him in your current state," she warned.

"Ahem, Mister Chairman," Stonehawk's voice came in again, "I believe we have heard enough. All those in favor of Lord Razil's immediate discharge?" Twenty green lights came up green with only five red ones following them. The one not lit up belonged to Venestra since she was keeping Verto at bay.

"Guards, escort Lord Razil to the dungeons. Remove him from my sight now!" the Chairman ordered. Four heavy crocodile guards in armor came towards Razil, each with a large two-handed axe at the ready.

Razil smirked and held his staff up, "I'm afraid I won't be going to the dungeons. It's been fun, all these years, pretending to be part of the team. But I'll have to seek my goals elsewhere!" Razil twirled his long staff to keep the guards at bay before leaping over them and making for the exit.

"Stop him!" the Chairman shouted. Another set of reptilian guards filled the doorway as it opened, causing Razil to stop in his tracks. He put one hand on the crystal top of his staff and turned sharply. An eruption of hot energy burst from it as he directed it towards an empty wall. A portal to a fiery, barren land opened up there, flooding the chamber with warm air.

"He's trying to escape to the Demon Realm, stop him!" Venestra urged. Amongst the large scrambling guards, Verto darted through them and yanked Razil's cape, causing him to trip slightly.

Razil managed to recover and tore his cape off, kicking Verto away, "Little pest! I'll deal with you later!" When Razil looked up at the guards, he quickly realized someone was missing.

One of Venestra's swords suddenly slid under his chin, "You're not going anywhere!" Razil was quick to raise his staff to guard his neck as he slammed his head backwards into Venestra's. She fell away from the blow, clearing the path to the portal. As he moved towards it, bright blue light flooded the room from behind.

The source of the light was a Kamehameha nestled between Verto's hands, "Hey asshole, you'll deal with me now!" He fired, aiming at the portal in an attempt to cut Razil off. Unlike most targets, Razil jumped in front of the beam at the last second, which then pushed him through the portal.

"Damn, retrieve him!" Venestra shouted.

"Belay that, the portal is already closing. If we march through there, we'll break the treaty and start a war with the Demonkin!" the Chairman pointed out. Verto stopped channeling his beam as the fiery hole in the wall closed quickly, darkening the chamber once again.

"Good riddance," Verto spat.

"I think we can safely declare Razil a traitor and outlaw without another vote Mister Chairman. It could have been handled better though," Venestra said, casting an eye at Verto. The Chairman nodded slightly, and the guards vacated the chamber floors.

There was a hint of satisfaction in the air, prompting Verto to ask another question, "So you knew he was meddling in my affairs all along? Why didn't you toss him out sooner?"

"Only recently were we informed by Agent Leira that Lord Razil might have been tampering with the operation. We knew that somebody had been and gave Leira special permission to take things further in order to help us determine who might've been behind the events you experienced. In the past, Razil has been approached and attacked by Vang and other Demonkin many times. However this now appeared to be secret meetings that our operatives may have stumbled upon by accident. His involvement with the Saiyans is also a concern since the one named Ranot killed your predecessor. Only someone of Razil's rank and status would've been able to help him slip through time and space undetected. Mortals shouldn't have technology that allows them to not only travel but penetrate the boundaries between realms, which makes your entire life one full of interference that should not have happened. Razil has likely been feeding information to the Demon Realm for a long period of time as well," the Chairman explained.

"About the realm boundaries, would a magical being be able to do it? Like Babidi? Or the Overmind?" Verto asked.

The Chairman shook his head, "No, they likely discovered that tunnel by accident after one of Ranot's travels. Because of that, the Zerg invaded your realm, or should I say, your friend's realm? Either way you look at it, Ranot is responsible for much of your life since he killed the previous Verto and set this all in motion. Or at least whoever found him is."

"Whoever found him?" Verto asked, noting the vagueness in the Chairman's voice.

"Think of it like a pre-destined paradox where certain things that seem like they weren't supposed to happen end up occurring and the future is connected to the past in an unlikely way. It's best not to dwell on such things too much," the Chairman replied.

Verto sensed that he was trying to get off the topic and for once complied, "Okay, whatever. So what now? I helped you get rid of him, so what's next?"

"Be patient!" Venestra rasped at him.

The Chairman cleared his throat again, "Since the entire council is still here, we need to elect someone to take Razil's chair. I would nominate his protégé Etarb Erec, who has proven to be trustworthy many times."

"I'll second it, we should also decide the boy's fate. We never finished with _all_ our findings," Venestra pointed out.

"That won't be necessary, I've seen enough. Because of the illegal interference, the test was incomplete. However, I feel this boy would do very well with us. He has a strong will and a fairly good heart as well. Verto, I hereby invite you to join the Guardians," the Chairman announced, "You're still very rough around the edges and have a bit of a temperament issue, especially with authority. But I feel that we can work around that. Agents Leira and Etarb Erec both speak very highly of you, as does Kibitoshin, the Supreme Overseer of your realm. You will be given any sort of training you want, be allowed to explore all avenues of your existence. Past, present and future will be open to you. No questions will go unanswered, no stone unturned. In time, your friends will also be invited to join us, so you won't be alone. Do you accept this honor?" Verto's eyes had been wide for most of the Chairman's words, and he almost spit out answer but stopped to think it over.

Verto stole a glance towards Venestra, who gave him a warmer smile and nodded, "It's okay to think it over." Truthfully, Verto didn't need to think it over; he had his answer well before the question was even asked. He looked straight at the Chairman's waiting eyes and made sure he spoke both loudly and clearly.

"No."


	117. Fate

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 116: Fate**

The Chairman of the Guardian Council was nearly at a loss for words, "Why would you deny yourself this honor? You were meant to join us."

Venestra was even more stunned, "He's right. My grandson…"

"Is not me. And I'm not him. I'm sure both he and you meant well by setting things into motion like you did and deciding on me to be his successor. I get it, I really do. I understand why you guys did what you did and in many ways I'm grateful for what has happened. But I didn't ask for this, nor did I want it. I want to go home and I want to be with my friends and family, it's as simple as that," Verto said.

"You shouldn't take this offer so lightly kid. We have ways of forcing your cooperation," Venestra warned.

Verto made no mystery about how that statement irritated him, "And where would that get you? You want another rebellious agent on your hands, Granny?"

Venestra gave him a heated glare, "How dare you!"

The Chairman held up his hand to stall any advance by Venestra, "We are obviously at an impasse. What could we do to change your mind?"

It was Verto's turn to be stunned, if only for a moment, "You'll take a request in order to keep me? Sorry, but I don't bargain for something I don't even want. Especially not when others are trying to decide my fate for me."

"I understand that there isn't much gray area with you young man. I respect that kind of integrity. But there must surely be something we can agree to," the Chairman said.

Venestra shook her head slightly, "That's simple. He wishes to see the Counter-balance girl be brought back to life. I'll do one better kid, we'll make sure the demon inside her is suppressed forever. You could see her every day, I'd even allow her to stay with you here in our realm."

Verto's lip twitched in thought before he stared at the ground, "Now that I know the truth about her and why she chose to die for me, how could I face myself if I toyed with her destiny just for my gratification? I would be no better than any of you, Razil or the demons. It would be one thing if I could use the Dragon Balls, but I wasn't allowed to and I understood and accepted why that was. I can't even be sure if her feelings for me were genuine, or inherited from Leira."

"I'm fairly certain they were real…" Venestra began to say.

Verto's head snapped up towards her, "…And there's the matter of how you would bring her back. How could you without tampering with timelines, plus risk Earth's destruction? She asked me to remember her the way she was and to follow my own path, not the one someone else lays out. Bribery isn't going to work, the answer is still no."

Venestra frowned, "What will it take then?"

"Your idea with the girl may only bring him more pain Venestra, especially since he's apparently coped with her death and let her go. I have a much different proposal, what if we brought back your home world?" the Chairman suggested.

Verto froze in surprise, "You could do that?"

"Not right away, it's not a simple matter after all. But if you accept our offer and remain here to learn, we would consider it a very likely possibility. However the mission to do this would take time and is extremely difficult. You would need to be prepared. And even if things worked out that way, you couldn't return to it," the Chairman claimed.

Verto scowled, "Time in which my mind could be changed or you would distract me with something else. And by the way, when I say I would want my world back, I mean that I would go back to living there too. Let me live my life, don't decide how I live it."

The Chairman sighed heavily, "I don't suppose offering to bring your friends here would do any good either. I see there's no realistic way to change your mind at this point is there?"

"Not without force, and I don't recommend that. I stand by what I say," Verto said sternly.

"Something we find both admirable and troubling with you. Venestra's grandson was the same way, he disagreed with us quite often as well. Very well, we're prepared to compromise and allow you to return to your life as it was this morning. However, it will not be without some sort of give on your side," the Chairman offered.

"What is it going to be, punishment or something for not getting your way?" Verto asked in disgust.

"No, but there is a piece of evidence we didn't show you yet and it's a lesson you need to learn because you keep making the mistake," the Chairman said as he nodded to his side. The video screen lit up to the sight of Super Mystic Verto hovering above Earth with Majin Buu, channeling his healing technique.

Verto grimaced, "Really? You're judging me for saving most of the planet from a runaway virus of alien origin?"

The Chairman held up his finger, "Not judging, warning you. Because of your unique powers, you can directly affect those around you. It's a result of having both Elduar and demon energies within you, inherited from the previous owner of those powers. As you might know, these energies can cause radical changes in humans and other beings that are susceptible to energy fluctuations."

Verto's jaw slipped, _That's right, I forgot about the mutations._

Venestra folded her arms, "The fact that you are Cosmic Energy sensitive makes this problem potentially worse. You don't like us meddling in lower realm affairs right? Well your presence and at times, reckless use of your powers would be nearly the same, without any calculated moves. You probably know this already, but even if you kept your energy suppressed at all times, as unlikely as that is, you'll still potentially affect anyone around you. It might be minor like telepathic ability, or you might cause a rapid change in human evolution."

Verto let out an exasperated breath, "Yeah, I've noticed that."

The Chairman stood up, "Another problem is that you are genetically half human and half Saiyan, which means your energy is similar to both. The easy translation is that both species can be affected much easier. That was a problem with the previous Verto. He was only half Saiyan, but it was enough to radically change their strength levels and abilities. It was resolved eventually as you might have heard, but it could have had a lasting impact on the entire universe. And because of that genetic disposition, you can easily transfer your energy to another just like you. The other one like yourself, Son Gohan for example."

Verto's eyes narrowed, "Wait, so what does that have to do with anything?"

Venestra sighed slightly, "Son Gohan wasn't meant to have any Psionic or extended powers past what the aging Supreme Kai unleashed in him. Being around you changed that, though you could make the argument about most of the timeline changes that occurred. You two developed at nearly the same rate, which likely wasn't noticed by the Kais since their visions of the future had changed. Fortunately Son Gohan can't easily transmit these energies like you can. Only those he is close to for extended amounts of time will see a difference. And since you two are similar in power and energy disposition now, neither of you would've noticed anything different when you transferred your energy to him to defeat Ranot with. Should you do such a thing for other half-Saiyans however…"

Verto's face fell, "Including if I'm just trying to save them I assume?"

Venestra nodded, "Yes. When you were attempting to save your adopted brother Trunks Briefs and transferred a small amount of Psionic energy into him, he gained a mental ability to read memories. Had you transferred a large amount of Psionic energy, he could have feasibly transformed to what you refer to as Super Mystic, given enough energy on his part. Even if that were to only happen once, he could become like you in terms of energy levels if he were given enough time to develop it. We already suspect that he may have latent Psionic potential that no one can detect yet. This is something that is very difficult to reverse. Just imagine then if you improved the power of someone with a much darker heart than yours, even accidentally. Power like this corrupts most mortals, that's why yours is limited."

"What do you mean by limited?" Verto asked.

"Do you recall your lessons in matter-energy conversion?"

Verto nodded slowly, "Yeah, I never got that one down. The only things I got out of that was the ability to throw my stasis technique and instantly freeze something, changing or repairing clothes."

Venestra gave him a stern expression, "And that's one example of what I mean by limited. That may sound like a simplistic example, but it's a correct one. A mortal with the potential power of a god in his hands is a frightening thought. We were hoping that you wouldn't be Cosmic Energy capable, but you shattered that notion the other day."

Verto sighed again, "Then take them."

"I beg your pardon?" Venestra asked.

"If it's that dangerous, take these powers away," Verto said.

"It's not that simple," Venestra argued.

"Why not? It couldn't have been that simple giving these powers to me in the first place, but you did. Surely you can take them away just as easily if you really are gods," Verto countered.

Venestra held her head slightly, "Except we're not. The power you inherited is yours from now on, there isn't much we can do about that at the moment. Plus it is forbidden for us to try and reverse a procedure like that. You would likely die in the attempt, and you certainly wouldn't be the same afterwards even if you did survive. We didn't try it with the Counter-balance girl for the same reason. We felt it would be easier on you if she died in battle."

Verto rubbed his chin slightly, "Wonderful theory. Here's another one, you should use a sealing technique. Leira did that before I went after Ranot and the other Renegades in that other realm. Terrible idea mind you, but I did learn a few things from it."

Venestra grimaced, "We would prefer not to. Completely sealing off one's energy is not an effective solution, nor is it permanent."

Verto shook his head in dismay, "Look, I'm not going to change my mind just because it's inconvenient to you. I like the idea of being without my energy even less, but I won't leave my friends to come here."

The Chairman cleared his throat after a long silence, "We also have to consider that he would need his power to face future challenges. To rob him of the ability to defend himself against powerful foes is wrong."

"Can't you just set some kind of spell on me that blocks Cosmic Energy? That's obviously what you're most worried about," Verto suggested.

"There isn't currently a technique that can fully resist Cosmic Energy since it's the strongest. It's similar to how your energies evolve and overtake the weaker forms, except there is nothing beyond that level. And with your potent Chi, you would likely keep affecting normal humans and the remaining Saiyans. Sure we could place a seal on you for that purpose, but because of the Kaio-ken technique's effects on Chi energy at your current full power, you could easily break it and we would be back to square one," Venestra pointed out.

"Can you erase specific memories?" Verto asked.

Venestra blinked sharply, not expecting that question, "When the situation calls for it, why?"

"Then problem number one can be fixed by making me forget how to use Kaio-ken. As useful as a power boost that it is, it's not real strength, nor it is reliable if I risk blowing myself up every time I use it. Even worse with this Cosmic Energy crap," Verto said.

Venestra nodded in agreement, "If you are alright with that, we would accept this. That solves any feasible accident with Cosmic Energy."

Verto turned his head slightly, "How? I thought that if my Chi energy was strong enough it would automatically convert or something."

Venestra shook her head, "That only happens with Ki and Psi, the lower energy types that feed into Chi. It's why Son Goku didn't suffer the same fate despite being at a stronger level than you or Vang. Your power could conceivably keep growing over time. The sudden amplification and concentration that the Kaio-ken technique and others like it bring is where the risk is. You shouldn't believe everything a Demonkin tells you."

Verto snorted, "Or take them too literally."

Venestra smiled, "Indeed. That still leaves us with the issue of accidental power transfers."

"And there's the problem of your demon energy coming to the surface. Whether you can control it or not, it can only bring death and destruction as well as further attract dark forces to you," the Chairman added.

"Problem number two can be handled by sealing off only my Psi Energy. It solves both problems at once," Verto pointed out.

Venestra was taken aback, "Are you sure about that?"

Verto shrugged, "No, but I'm not one of the all-knowing experts either. Yes I'm sure."

"Sarcasm aside, you do realize that you'll be giving up most of your technique arsenal? Added to that, your senses, speed and perception will be dulled as well. You'll no longer enjoy any advantages over anyone of equal or, at times, greater strength," the Chairman reminded.

"Strength isn't everything, and the other things you mentioned can be gained back somewhat with enough training. I'm not worried about being the one to always play hero and save the day on my own. As long as I have my friends with me, we'll find a way. I've made the mistake of forgetting them before, I don't intend to do it again," Verto said.

The Chairman looked displeased with that response, "It's honorable of you to remember them. But also bear in mind that when you fight with a team, sometimes you have to make the tough decision of sacrificing someone you know for the greater good. You haven't had to face that hardship yet since you prefer to do things yourself. I pray that you never have to. So be it, we will follow your plan. Since Agent Leira is more familiar with you, she will set the seal. Leira, please come forward." Out of a darkened corner, Leira emerged from the shadows, looking more than a little disappointed. Verto was almost happy to see someone he knew at this point, even if it was Leira.

"I had hoped you would reconsider, but I saw this coming a mile away," she said.

"We can't always get what we want," Verto said with a grin.

"Tell me about it. Hold out your hands, we will do this like before," Leira ordered. Verto did as she asked, flinching when she reached up further to move his wristbands up before her hands glowed white.

Leira paused before she did anything, "If it's alright with you Mister Chairman, Grandmother, I'm going to add a conversion spell to the Soul Binder Seal."

"What will that do?" Verto asked.

"Sealing off your Psi energy completely is impossible without sealing some of your Ki with it to stabilize, quite a bit of it actually. After all, that was how you originally learned how to use Psi. Secondly, you still have enemies that will prove too much with your power cut by more than half. This will allow you to receive additional energy and use your Super Saiyan form. It is similar to how Son Gohan uses his Psionic energy to boost his Ki instead. Be cautious though, you will only be able to draw about half of it out before the Soul Binders will tighten automatically. You won't even be as powerful as you were in your base form now, so this boost won't compare with what you're used to either. I'd say it'll be roughly sixty percent of your current full power as a maximum. Most days you probably won't need that much though," Leira explained.

Verto shrugged again, "Well, it was my idea so I can't complain if there's going to be a perk with it."

The Chairman nodded, "I agree with this plan, proceed." Leira's hands flashed brightly, giving Verto's wrists a tingling feeling. When they faded, there was a smattering of strange lettering that spiraled over the underside of Verto's wrists.

He glared at this a bit before glancing up at Leira, "Is that all then?"

Leira sighed, "So impatient. You might want to know if the sealing spell works like it's supposed to. You probably didn't feel a difference because you were weakened from yesterday. Go ahead and power up." Verto barely waited for Leira to backup before letting his Ki rise. To his surprise, his aura came out blue instead of the usual clear and white that his normal form had adopted. His energy also bellowed up easier, as if he had just eaten a Senzu bean. The ground shook just slightly as his power topped out, and he felt quite weak compared to his earlier levels.

Verto glanced at his hands, "I take it there's a special procedure to do this?"

Leira nodded, "Tap the bottom sides of your wrists together like you're making an X sign. Once the Soul Binders make contact with each other, it will activate the conversion spell and release the energy to you. You won't need to deactivate it, it will close automatically after releasing the amount of power I've set it to. Go ahead and try it." Verto grimaced as he did what she said, feeling a bit silly. When his wrists made contact, both glowed bright gold for a moment before he felt a huge rush of Ki wash over him. He didn't have to ask what to do next as his hair shifted to gold and stood on end while Ki lightning wrapped around his aura. The Chairman even felt the need to block his face a bit at the sudden burst of light that filled the room while his beard was blown to the side slightly by Verto's power up.

"I'd call that a successful test," Leira said with a grin.

Verto's golden eyebrow went up slightly, "I wasn't expecting Super Saiyan Two, though it's not as strong as it was before."

Leira nodded, "Considering your base power is still well beyond a typical Super Saiyan, it shouldn't be that surprising. I would estimate that your current power is equal to that of the Fat form of Majin Buu."

Verto snorted slightly, "Hard to believe that it could be considered a downgrade when you put it like that. I take it every time I need to take things this far I'll have to do that little wrist tapping routine?"

"Yes, but you won't be able to do it more than once per day. Unless you are healed and have recovered by way of one of those Senzu beans or the like," Leira replied. Verto promptly powered back down, forcing the extra Ki down before sighing heavily as he pulled his wristbands down over the seal.

"You're welcome," Leira said.

Verto eyed her with a slightly disgusted expression, "Yeah, thanks for everything."

Venestra scowled, "You should be more grateful…"

"That's enough Venestra, the lad has been through enough. You can't blame him for not trusting us yet," the Chairman claimed.

"I really don't see it happening, ever. Are we done now?" Verto asked.

"One other thing," the Chairman said before gesturing to the video screen. The scene that appeared was one that Verto had nearly forgotten to ask about and certainly hadn't expected coming. It showed his older, human self with a tail lying on a table as Future Trunks were leaving the room for the evening. Things skipped ahead a bit before Leira was shown walking into the room with Trunks showing her the way. She appeared to order him to leave before she walked over and shook her head slightly. Out of thin air a bright light opened up and an unconscious body that was decidedly smaller floated out of a portal. Using some sort of telekinesis, Leira levitated both bodies into the air. As she did, she placed her hand on the larger human's head, creating a dim blue light that came off with her hand. She then pulled it to the smaller body's head and seemed to attach it. The light then pulsed between the two bodies, primarily from the larger one to the smaller. The process seemed to take awhile as Leira was showed pacing during it. Once it was finished, Leira levitated the larger Verto away and put the smaller one on the table, tossing a few clothing items on as well as if trying to disguise something. After she did this, she pulled out a small container, opening it to reveal a bright ball of multi-colored light. She took this light and placed it on the body of the smaller Verto, which it sank into a moment later, darkening the room once again. The larger body then went through the portal and vanished along with Leira, who took one moment to look back before the portal closed.

Verto's lip twisted slightly to his right as he nodded in an irritated way, "Well that explains that."

The Chairman turned the screen off, "Yes, we wanted to clear the air with you about that."

Verto turned to Leira, "So Trunks knew about it the whole time, I'll assume Bulma did as well."

Leira looked away slightly, "For the most part. They didn't know exactly how I was going to perform the transfer or what I did with your unstable human body. Obviously I wasn't allowing them to witness such a thing. But I figured the story I gave them to tell you would be better than the truth, even if it wasn't quite believable. Obviously that included your name as well."

Verto shook his head in dismay, "I'm better with truth to be honest, even if it hurts. And why the small kid thing, I'm still lost on that one?"

Leira grinned, "Keeps you free from distractions of an intimate nature, didn't last long though did it?"

"The real reason please," Verto groaned.

"It was so your power developed slowly rather than just dumping it all on you at once. I expected rapid development with Saiyan style training, so I made sure that it wasn't too fast. After all, you wouldn't want what happened the other day to be happening right from the get-go would you?" Leira claimed.

Verto snorted, "I guess I can accept that. I suppose Trunks was supposed to keep an eye on me until you could, wasn't he?"

"Not quite, as I knew that too many timeline incursions could be bad. I instructed him to wait for eight to nine months before returning instead of hanging around. It was just a strange and timely coincidence that he showed up during the crisis with Majin Buu," Leira explained.

Verto's head turned slightly when he let some of her statement go through, "Instead of hanging around? He wasn't given the chance to even go the first time because of Frieza wiping my home planet out and boarding their ship. They had to get me out in kind of a rush. So how do you think he could have even introduced me unless…" When Leira looked away from him completely, the veins on Verto's head threatened to pop out. "You know what, no, never mind. Don't want to even fucking know what you had to do with that. Otherwise these stupid Soul Binders are going to get one hell of a test. Are we done?"

"Yes, Etarb Erec will guide you and Kibitoshin back to your realm. But one thing before you go, we will be watching. We haven't given up on you, and if there comes a time in which we must restore your powers either by need or request, then the deal is broken and you will have to join us at some point," the Chairman said.

Verto shook his head in dismay, "You couldn't have mentioned that before giving me a free set of tattoos could you?"

The Chairman grinned, "It was your suggestion. Agent Leira will be assigned to your planet to keep an eye on you, so don't be surprised if she drops by."

Verto glanced at Leira briefly, "It's less of a shock every time. But why does she even need to?"

The Chairman turned on his heel, "Like I said, we'll be watching."

* * *

Verto and Kibito had an uneventful return to the Z realm, until he teleported them both to West City. Vegeta nearly bull-rushed them both to hear what happened, and Kibito teleported away in a panic, forgetting to let go of Verto's shoulder. The smaller passenger suggested they go to his training grounds instead, which were still decorated for Lenz's funeral earlier that day.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for what happened. But I am surprised you chose this path," Kibito claimed.

"Well don't be, I'm not as pissed at you as I thought I would be when you picked me up," Verto said.

Kibito was relieved, "That's good to hear. If there's anything you need, don't be afraid to ask," Kibito reminded.

Verto's eyebrow went up, "Actually there is something. Do you remember when Gohan broke the Z Sword and released the old fart?"

Kibito nodded, "Of course."

"Could you conjure up another cube of that metal? I want to use it for training."

Kibito turned his head slightly, "That's the strongest known metal in the universe, aside from lifting, how could you train with it?"

"With my Psi and Chi gone, my energy sword is not going to be as strong as before with just Ki. And there are differences between the two that I need to figure out for myself. I'll retrain myself to condense the energy better and regain some of what I've lost. And there's someone else that could use that kind of precision training," Verto hinted.

"As you wish, but I seriously doubt you'd be able to cut Katcheen metal. I'll give you two large blocks," Kibito said as he lifted his hand. Two large black metal cubes materialized at his command and hovered down to the ground before sinking just slightly into the dirt before settling.

"There, is there anything else I can do for you?" Kibito asked.

"No, I can manage from here. Thank you," Verto said as he nodded slightly.

Kibito was slightly surprised by the gratitude, "I must admit, you're taking this better than I thought you would."

Verto shrugged, "Flying off the handle and smashing a bunch of things won't help anything."

"True. Verto, before today's events occurred, we the Kais foresaw only two futures based on your choice to leave or stay. One of them had a peaceful outcome and one had complete and utter destruction. I won't say which was which, but both involved extreme hardships ahead. I sincerely hope you made the right choice," Kibito admitted.

Verto nodded grimly, "You're not the only one." Kibito gave him a last look before teleporting out, leaving Verto alone to his thoughts. He gazed over the entire area a bit before stepping over to the gravesite.

"Well, I've decided to stay and do things my way, just like you wanted. It might get a little crowded here in the next few months, so plug your ears," Verto said aloud. He immediately felt silly, knowing that there was no way Lenz had heard him. But silently, he hoped she was watching from wherever she was. He was about to leave when he realized that he hadn't tested to see if all of his plan had worked.

_Crap, I don't think Leira erased the memory of Kaio-ken yet. All I have to do to test that is…is…wait how did I do that again?_ Verto stared at the ground as he tried to remember, but nothing came to him.

He almost laughed, _Well at least she's thorough._ Verto took off from the ground and turned west, knowing that a certain Saiyan prince was eagerly waiting for news.

* * *

"You turned them down? Why would you do that boy?" Vegeta asked in his usual gruff tone.

"My choice, if I wanted to leave, I would have," Verto said simply.

"But still, it sounds like a wonderful opportunity just passed you by," Bulma pointed out.

"And they sealed off your power for denying yourself every avenue. That is not a bright move, boy," Vegeta added.

"I suggested it if you must know. You can't tell me you'd rather be a part of an organization that meddles with timelines and other people's lives just to test things out or get exactly what they want out of it. What's the point of watching me, interfering and judging my life without allowing me to even live it?" Verto countered.

Vegeta grunted, "Well, at the very least it means you'll have to train hard to make up the difference. In your state, you wouldn't be much help against someone like Frost."

Verto smirked as he had neglected to mention that he could use Super Saiyan forms again, "Maybe, but it's not like I'll have to fight him alone. Isn't it your turn to have a crack at him?"

Vegeta chuckled, "Well said boy, well said."

As he left the room, Bulma cleared her throat, "Just what he needs, a goal. I suppose I'll be working three times as hard to build a new gravity room while I finish the bunker."

"No need, I'm going to train out where Lenz and I did," Verto said.

"But, alone? Why?" Bulma asked.

"Because I want to, but not only that, I'm thinking about training others. Not just our friends either. Remember when Mister Satan tried to setup a training camp during the Zerg War? Did he ever get anywhere with that?"

"I'm not sure, you'd have to ask him, but I never heard much about it afterwards."

"Alright, all I need then is the capsule house to be handy," Verto said.

Bulma frowned, "You really should stay with us, you know that."

"I intend to be around, it's not like you think. I only want it available if I stay out late, so I don't disturb you or anyone else," Verto claimed.

Bulma's eyes narrowed, "Have you got something else up your sleeve?"

Verto grinned slightly, "I'll put it this way, it's time I start doing something other than training myself or fighting all the time. Whether I'm training others or doing something else, I want, no, I _need_ to stay busy. Besides, I doubt Gohan will need to be doing any patrolling at night."

Bulma pulled out a capsule set and reluctantly handed him an orange capsule, "As long as you're not gone for more than a few days at a time without letting me know. Even Vegeta worries."

"I doubt that. Where's Trunks?" Verto asked.

"It's five in the afternoon, you know where he is," she replied.

Verto grimaced, "Right, poke-crap. I guess it'll have to wait, I'll be in my room getting a few things together."

Bulma watched him go and put a finger to her chin, _He's changed, it's like a huge weight has been lifted off him._

Outside, Piccolo stood against the side of Capsule Corp with a slight grin, _It seems something good did happen despite Verto losing some of his powers. Maybe it's for the best, he seems much more content now._ His sensitive ears picked up on a pair of black boots sliding across the grass and coming closer.

Piccolo turned to see Leira standing next to him, "Maybe it _is_ better this way, but I don't think he will find any peace as things are."

Piccolo disregarded the sudden arrival, "Better that he has a chance to enjoy life before you and your superiors try to reel him back in."

"True, but it won't be that simple, as you and everyone else will soon learn," Leira claimed.

"I don't suppose this threat you elude to has a name?" Piccolo asked.

"Depends on which threat you speak of."

Piccolo scowled, "Enough games, why are you still here?"

"I've been assigned to keep an eye on everyone, but not to contact or interfere unless the situation calls for it. There is something I must tell you, but not here or now. When the time is right, there is also a technique I must show you, and only you," Leira said vaguely.

"Does this something involve Verto in some way?"

"Yes, and no. But since I don't want him to know about it just yet, you'll have to remain in the dark as well. Farewell." Before Piccolo could get another word in, she was gone.

The Namek stared up at the sky, _Well, at least for now we can rest a little easier._

* * *

**Epilogue**

Far away, on Frieza Planet number seventy-seven, a familiar changeling scowled as he looked at a set of reports. The officer that handed him that report sweated nervously, as Lord Frost had been very unhappy lately. It hadn't been enough for him to suddenly kill off his soldiers, but that was always in the back of everyone's mind when dealing with the son of Frieza. Nothing they did or said could snap him out of his bad mood, ever since his battle with Verto and Goku. Repairs to the home base had also been slow, though one couldn't expect much given how much damage had been done. Most of it had been annihilated, and the rest was in shambles. Frost's order for his troops to mobilize had also gone slowly due to the distance the message and therefore fleet would have to travel. On top of all that, Frost's left eye had been destroyed in the battle by Verto's Psionic Sword. In its place was an advanced mechanical replacement, capable of reading power levels much like a scouter. It could also read physiologic changes in the air, such as the nervous soldier before him whose heart was racing in dread.

Frost handed the report pad back, "I want this place rebuilt in the next three months. I don't care if you have to pull the slaves from labor camps ten sectors away, get it done!"

"Yes my lord!" the soldier stammered before he scampered out, leaving Frost alone in his makeshift replacement throne room. He immediately set to starring at a mirror nearby that he had ordered put in. The sight of his mechanical eye angered him greatly, but he refrained from doing anything rash. Truthfully, he could have transformed and then shed his heavily armored tank form several times by now to heal completely. The reason he didn't was to remind himself that his revenge was still not complete. It was the time things were taking that pestered him constantly. A loud beep pulled his attention as a red light on his armrest flashed.

"Go ahead Buro," Frost said as he pressed it.

"My lord, may I request that you come down to the medical bay? We've discovered…something," Burotsuno said.

Frost scowled, "Lieutenant, unless it's a new biological weapon, I'm not interested."

"It's a Saiyan we found sire, one that you know very well."

Frost's right eye shot open with determination while his metallic left adjusted to match, "I'll be there in a moment, do not wake him!"

Buro hesitated, "Pardon sire, it's not a him, it's a her."

Frost's eyes narrowed as he quickly stormed out of his throne room, _The girl? What could she be doing out here? Why would she be anywhere but at the side of the boy?_ Frost arrived outside the medical bay to see a nervous Burotsuno pulling at his yellow fur. A security detail was also trying to break into the closed lab door, which confused Frost.

Buro bowed, "I take full responsibility my lord! I told them not to wake her, but she just came alive like something out of a bad dream!"

Frost looked on, unsure of what was going on, "Why is the door sealed?"

"The doctors locked it down when she killed the first one, I barely got out in time," Buro replied, quivering as he did.

Frost then sensed a strong energy fluctuation in the lab, but didn't recognize the owner's energy signal, "Are you certain it's the girl?"

Buro's eyes widened, "Hard to say that it is _her_ my lord. The resemblance is unmistakable, but this woman is older by several years and fully developed. It's her eyes that have me worried, darker than the blackest of hearts!" The corridor suddenly shook violently before the wall ten feet from the door exploded outwards. Buro and the two guards ducked down and coughed due to the dust and smoke while Frost set his eyes on the newcomer that emerged from the large hole in the wall. A scantily clad adult woman with spiking purple hair appeared before him, not a young girl as he expected. As Buro had said, her eyes were indeed very dark, bearing a crimson tone with a black vertical line, as if she were some sort of animal. Her clothing consisted of extremely small and black garments that barely covered anything, leaving very little left for imagination. The most notable change was her demeanor though, which could easily be seen despite the fact that she was merely eating a large hunk of cooked meat. Frost realized that the meat still had bones and more specifically, digits on its end.

"Is that part of one of my doctors?" Frost asked.

The woman glanced at him, "Yes, quite bland for my taste, but it's been ages since I last ate so anything will do. Want the other arm?"

Frost felt the bile rise in his throat, "No."

She shrugged and continued munching, "Suit yourself." She turned on her heel and stepped away, to which Frost followed, sneaking a peak at the lab while he was at it. What was left of the room was a charred mess with a distinct stench of burning flesh left behind. Frost could even see two of the doctors slowly burning away into a pile of hot cherries.

"So what is your business here?" he asked.

The woman turned back and tossed about half of the fried arm away, "I thought you could use a friend, Lord Frost. After all, you'll be going up against the mighty Super Saiyans and you'll need a lot of help."

Frost wasn't sure if he should be angered or amused, "You've turned your back on them and switched sides? Do you think I'm a fool, girl?"

"You can believe whatever you want, dear changeling. Make your own reality if you must. That's my favorite thing to do, make a new reality. A reality that reminds mortals what fear and terror really are. I offer you my services, to help turn the Earth and her children into the universe's largest barbeque, if that's your desire," she said with a slight bow.

Frost snorted in disbelief, "After what's happened between us, you expect me to trust any of what you say, Lenz?"

She grinned evilly, "You are mistaken my lord. Lenz is dead. I am Kaon."

**PL** (for display's sake)

**Verto (normal form): 160,000,000; Super Saiyan 2: 380,000,000**

**A/n: And that closes Saga 7. It's been a big roller coaster ride both within the story and outside in the real world. A lot of things have changed, but I still maintain that I will continue writing this story until time I see fit to end it. I will be on break from posting anything regarding Saga 8 until late fall. But be on the watch for a possible lost chapter or parody that I may release at some point. Once you've read this line, you may click the review button.**

**WDG: **Sometimes I wonder if your cruelty knows no bounds. For many reasons, that I won't spoil. ;)

**VB**: I was going to end it at "No." But I felt that would be criminal. There's far more than even you know on the horizon that I can torture everyone with.


End file.
